Several SMC'ers are also alum of the Oxford Internet Institute's fabulously dynamic summer workshop for emerging scholars. Here's a taste of the sense of humor and, I'd argue, intellectual richness you'll find at OII (courtesy of 2012 SMC PhD intern, Shawn Walker!): The MethodsGuestTour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-c2AWWw65s&feature=youtu.be
The Problem with Crowdsourcing Crime Reporting
There has been some excitement about the idea of using technology to address the problems of the Mexican Drug War. As someone involved in technology, I find it inspiring that other techies are trying to do something to end the conflict. However, I also worry when I read ideas based on flawed assumptions. For example, …
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Socl Data Available… for Science!
The incredible growth and presence of social technologies in all aspects of life translates into large data sets that help researchers understand human behavior, social system design, and the development of digital culture. However, as John Markoff points out in a recent NYT article, most of these data are “forbidden to researchers.” Among the reasons …
Something fun/provocative for a Monday
How to think about ringing in your ears as something bigger than you: Check out Mack Hagood’s new piece on tinnitus and the prospects of an applied sound studies: http://bit.ly/MA5wzn
Bringing Research to Bear on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors (a.k.a. “child sex trafficking”)
I believe that technology can be leveraged to empower people in amazing ways, but I also recognize that it can also be used in deeply disturbing ways. All too often, when we as a society see technology being used in horrible ways, we want to blame and ban the technology. As a researcher invested in …
Video: TL Taylor on Pro Gaming, Live Streaming & Spectatorship
Current and future visitor TL Taylor spoke last week at the Berkman Luncheon series on "Live Streaming, Computer Games, and the Future of Spectatorship." Computer gaming has long been a social activity, complete with forms of spectatorship. With the growth of live-streaming the boundaries of audience are shifting. Professional e-sports players and amateurs alike …
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The Curious Case of EBook Sharing Sites
The popularity of ebooks has skyrocketed in the last few years. The Association of American Publishers reports that eBook sales by US publishers were up 300% in 2011: Total eBook net sales revenue for 2011 was $21.5 million, a gain of 332.6% over 2010; this represents 3.4 million eBook units sold in 2011, up 303.3 …
News and Updates – June 2012
Welcome to a new semi-regular feature where I update what various SMC members have been up to lately (think of this like the class notes in your alumni magazine, without the weddings and with less babies). Kate Crawford joined SMC as a Principal Researcher in February. She has a number of new papers out: danah …
The case for a social study of technical departure
Hello there. My name is Jed Brubaker and I am one of the very fortunate interns working with the Social Media Collective this year -- a perk of which is a return to blogging here on the SMC blog. Typically you will find me in California where I am a PhD candidate in the school of Information and Computer Sciences at UC …
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The Ethics of Attention (Part 2): Bots for Civic Engagement
Cross-posted from the Department of Alchemy blog. Last month, Ethan Zuckerman of the Center for Future Civic Media (MIT Media Lab) posted a great article on his blog called The Tweetbomb and the Ethics of Attention (constituting Part I to this story, so make sure you read it!), in which he calls into question the …
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Social Media Collective 