I realized after posting my thoughts on how to think about social media as a site of human interaction (and all the ethical and methodological implications of doing so) that I forgot to leave links to what are, bar none, the best resources on the planet for policy makers, researchers, and the general public thinking through all …
Social Media Collective weigh in on the debates about the Facebook emotions study
I have the privilege of spending the year as a visiting researcher with the social media researchers at Microsoft Research New England. And for the last two weeks or so, its been a particularly stimulating time to be among them. Spurred by the controversial Facebook emotions study and the vigorous debate surrounding it, there's been a …
Continue reading Social Media Collective weigh in on the debates about the Facebook emotions study
A system designer’s take on the Facebook study – a response to danah boyd’s blog post
Last week I sent an email reply to danah boyd in response to her thoughtful post about the Facebook study. She encouraged me to post it publicly, but I was a bit scared by the viciousness and panic of the reactions. At the same time, I worried that the silence of people who do research …
What does the Facebook experiment teach us?
I'm intrigued by the reaction that has unfolded around the Facebook "emotion contagion" study. (If you aren't familiar with this, read this primer.) As others have pointed out, the practice of A/B testing content is quite common. And Facebook has a long history of experimenting on how it can influence people's attitudes and practices, even …
Continue reading What does the Facebook experiment teach us?
Corrupt Personalization
("And also Bud Light.") In my last two posts I've been writing about my attempt to convince a group of sophomores with no background in my field that there has been a shift to the algorithmic allocation of attention -- and that this is important. In this post I'll respond to a student question. My favorite: "Sandvig says that algorithms …
New Report Released: Few Legal Remedies for Victims of Online Harassment
For the last year, I've been working with Fordham's Center on Law and Information Policy to research what legal remedies are available to victims of online harassment. We investigated cyberharassment law, cyberstalking law, defamation law, hate speech, and cyberbullying statutes. We found that although online harassment and hateful speech is a significant problem, there are …
Continue reading New Report Released: Few Legal Remedies for Victims of Online Harassment
What Is Music Technology For?
(x-posted on Super Bon!) In late March and early April, I attended three events that together signal some interesting shifts in thinking about music technology and sound. The first, a day-long symposium on March 24th I co-organized with Nancy Baym, was entitled "What Is Music Technology For?" It came after a weekend-long instalment of MusicTechFest, …
A Manifesto For Music Technologists
March 21-23, we held the first Music Tech Fest in North America at Microsoft Research New England. It was a three day bonanza of ideas spanning a mind-bending spectrum of ways to connect music and technology. The day after, 21 scholars met for a symposium we called What is Music Technology For? Our goal was …
Adding the bling: The role of social media data intermediaries
Last month, Twitter announced the acquisition of Gnip, one of the main sources for social media data—including Twitter data. In my research I am interested in the politics of platforms and data flows in the social web and in this blog post I would like to explore the role of data intermediaries—Gnip in particular—in regulating access to social media …
Continue reading Adding the bling: The role of social media data intermediaries
SMC is hiring a Research Assistant!
UPDATE: At this time we have a great pool for 2014 and are no longer accepting applications. ---- Microsoft Research (MSR) is looking for a Research Assistant for its Social Media Collective in the New England lab, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Social Media Collective consists of Nancy Baym, Mary Gray, Jessa Lingel, and Kevin …
Social Media Collective 