A summary of paper presented at the DMI Winter School Mini-Conference, Amsterdam (January 2012)
Abstract:
Twitter is a social media platform where users’ messages can take flight, gain elevation (RT function), achieve direction (@ function), and be grouped together (# function) like a flock of birds or a murmuration of starlings.
Broadly speaking, the paper examines how…
As you may have realised, the title of this blog post is a parody of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb. If you’ve seen the film, you know it involves bypassing a networked system, perceived to be perfectly designed, for catastrophic (and hilarious) results. It highlights the use and…
Where there are communities there will, almost inevitably, be researchers observing and studying them. Just as the Internet provides a refuge for fan communities to dwell, so to does it provide a site for academics to research.
Dr Natasha Whiteman studied two online fan communities: Silent Hill Heaven, a website and forum dedicated to the videogame Silent…
Avoidr is a plugin powered by Foursquare which allows users to see check-ins of those they want to avoid. It seems perfect for dodging that awkward moment when you bump into an ex, evading conversations with that annoying or boring acquaintance or helping you elude battles with your arch-nemesis (Useful if you’re someone like James Bond!)
Social networking sites allow a user to have all the combined knowledge of their social groups at their fingertips. It is no wonder that the Facebook status tool, for example, has been re-appropriated for question asking purposes.
Even outside the designated question tool, a brief scroll through my feed throws up numerous questions being asked by friends in order…
I am sitting in a room, different from the one you are in now. I am trying to find my voice. (Maybe I should just steal it).
“Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.” (Polonius’ advice Laertes in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3)
Our voice is important. Implicit in this quote is the knowledge that our voice communicates…
How much are you willing to disclose online? Do you post your phone number? Do you have embarrassing pictures on Facebook? Do you Tweet your current location? I think it’s fair to say most people have boundaries when it comes to posting personal information online. However, this blog post explores the infamous /b/ forum on the image board