I'm thrilled to say that my new book, Custodians of the Internet, is now available for purchase from Yale University Press, and your favorite book retailer...
Night modes and the new hue of our screens
Information & Culture just published (paywall; or free pre-print) an article I wrote about “night modes,” in which I try to untangle the history of light, screens, sleep loss, and circadian research. If we navigate our lives enmeshed with technologies and their attendant harms, I wanted to know how we make sense of our orientation …
The Senate Talks to Zuck
(or: "I will get back to you on that, Senator.") Here is an early response to Zuckerberg's testimony before the US Senate today. If you want my overall score, as of 3:30 ET I think Zuckerberg is doing quite well, but some of the things being discussed need a lot of unpacking. Those Poor Fools …
Congratulations to the incoming SMC interns for summer 2018!
Another stellar crop of applicants poured in for the SMC internships this year, and another three emerged as the best of the best. Thanks to everyone who applied, it was painful not to accept more of you! For summer 2018, we're thrilled to have these three remarkable students joining us in the Microsoft Research lab …
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Content moderation is not a panacea: Logan Paul, YouTube, and what we should expect from platforms
What do we expect of content moderation? And what do we expect of platforms? There is an undeniable need, now more than ever, to reconsider the public responsibilities of social media platforms. For too long, platforms have enjoyed generous legal protections and an equally generous cultural allowance, to be "mere conduits" not liable for what …
Call for applications! 2018 summer internship, MSR Social Media Collective
APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 19, 2018 Microsoft Research New England (MSRNE) is looking for advanced PhD students to join the Social Media Collective (SMC) for its 12-week Internship program. The Social Media Collective (in New England, we are Nancy Baym, Tarleton Gillespie, and Mary Gray, with current postdocs Dan Greene and Dylan Mulvin) bring together empirical and …
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We are hiring a Postdoc
The Social Media Collective at Microsoft Research New England (MSRNE) is looking for a social media postdoctoral researcher (start date: July, 2018). This position is an ideal opportunity for a scholar whose work draws on anthropology, communication, media studies, sociology, and/or science and technology studies to bring empirical and critical perspectives to complex socio-technical issues. Application deadline: …
Heading to the Courthouse for Sandvig v. Sessions
(or: Research Online Should Not Be Illegal) I’m a college professor. But on Friday morning I won't be in the classroom, I'll be in courtroom 30 in the US District Courthouse on Constitution Avenue in Washington DC. The occasion? Oral arguments on the first motion in Sandvig v. Sessions. You may recall that the ACLU, …
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We’re Hiring a Research Assistant
The Social Media Collective is looking for a Research Assistant to work with us at Microsoft Research New England in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MSR Social Media Collective currently consists of Nancy Baym, Tarleton Gillespie, Mary L. Gray, Dan Greene, and Dylan Mulvin in Cambridge, Kate Crawford and danah boyd in New York City, as well as faculty visitors and …
Big Data Surveillance: The Case of Policing
Former SMC Postdoctoral Researcher, Sarah Brayne (University of Texas at Austin), has recently published a piece in the American Sociological Review about police use of big data. The article is evidenced off over two and a half years of fieldwork with the Los Angeles Police Department -- including observations from ride-alongs in patrol cars and interviews …
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Social Media Collective 