January 2012
1 post
Call for Proposals for an Edited Collection
CfP: Internet Mutations: Resistance and Control
Editors: Erika Pearson (University of Otago, NZ)
Tessa Houghton (University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus)
Contacts: erika.pearson@otago.ac.nz
tessa.houghton@nottingham.edu.my
Dates: Chapter proposals (title + 300-word (max) abstract + brief CV of the author/s) are sought by 02/12 for consideration by the publisher...
August 2011
3 posts
1 tag
the magpie problem
I’ve often talked to my students and colleagues about the magpie problem, but I’ve never blogged about it. So what is the magpie problem?
Different academics have different names for it. The Thesis Whisperer spoke about The Dark Side, and I’ve also heard it called the Distraction Game, and Condensed Procrastination. I like to call it the Magpie Problem because it lets me do...
Monday's Snow Post
Stuck at home in lieu of skiing to work, but that’s okay because the Otago Graduate TweetCon is running right here on my desktop. Check in, or read back the tweets and watch grad students (including some of mine!) explain their research in six tweets and then answer questions.
Pretty awesome idea, full props to @OtagoGRS for organizing. Next, we totally need to get the STAFF to tweet...
retweet is not a tweet
Since I’ve been lax and lazy, an off-schedule post. I am always happy to take suggestions for academic blog post topics! (leave a comment!)
But anyway, in lieu of a real topic, have some vague ramblings. Two things have converged in my head recently. Firstly, I’ve been playing more in tumblr (gracious hosts of this blog) and I’ve been coming to grips with the ‘new and...
July 2011
2 posts
imposters syndrome and evading the fraud police
Another monday, another post. This week, the topic comes once again courtesy of twitter: imposters syndrome.
My remarks are brief: everyone, at some stage, feels like a fraud. At any moment, someone around you is afraid the fraud police are going to leap out and go “AHA! GOTCHA!” and cart them off to Fraud Prison in full view of everyone, who will forevermore know that they...
things i learned in my phd, by erika, ages 3 1/2
Last night on twitter, the usual suspects of @thesiswhisperer, @witty_knitter , @bradyjay and I started talking about possible blog topics. And we soon homed in on the idea of all of us blogging on a single topic and interlinking our different perspectives. Some more people joined the twitter discussion (~waves~) and soon (after some bad puns and an X-Men reference) we came up with our first...
May 2011
1 post
from the Dominion Post
Facebook Friends - hordes become more exclusive
March 2011
2 posts
just pretend it's still the beginning of the year
I really want to use this blog more often, however, I often feel that the things I might post about wouldn’t be of interest to anyone else. So, I’m crowdsourcing: is there anything I might write about that you might be interested in reading?
My research musings? Bullshit stories about life in the ivory tower. Aunty E’s helpful tips for the masses? Random links? Nothing at...
the academic job hunt
(below is a rough recap of some of the things discussed at the ‘so you want to be an academic’ pre-conference workshop at IRGO2. If I’ve missed/forgotten anything, hit me up in the comments - e.)
Searching for a job does not have to feel like you’re facing a firing squad. I’m going to talk about my experiences on both sides of the desk, but it must be noted, I’ve never gone...
January 2011
2 posts
#IRGO2 - the final countdown
IRGO unConference 2.0 is almost upon us - are you coming?
The hashtag on twitter is #irgo2 if you want to follow along, and I may be live-blogging a few of the sessions.
academic job hunting
as part of the prep for a pg workshop I will be co-running at the 2nd IRGO unConference next week, I’ve asked my twitterlist for websites every jobhunting academic should know.
Here’s the list so far, in no particular order.
http://sterneworks.org/academe/ http://business.academickeys.com/seeker_search.php?start=0 http://www.unijobs.com.au/...
November 2010
1 post
how am i known? let me list the ways
Ok, so as you may or may not know, my thing is performance of identity in virtual spaces. I’m particularly drawn to the symbolic interactionism perspective on identity performances, and the way we use signs to construct and reconstruct our identities, and to receive feedback on those constructions. And last night, looking at my twitter feed, I realized there is perhaps one underexplored, symbolic...
October 2010
1 post
June 2010
1 post
journal is out
Since I posted the CfP, here is the final piece: PRism 7(3) - Online Social Networks, Communication Practice and PR. Get it hot off the virtual presses.
May 2010
2 posts
1 tag
Leave Facebook Day Countdown to Friday
Leave Facebook Day is the 21st of May (or the 31st if you want a little more time to prepare!) In honor of this, here are a few suggestions to count down to Friday:
* monday: tell everyone you’re leaving and why - tell the media, tell your friends, tell whoever will listen WHY you’re leaving (and don’t forget to tell us too.) * tuesday: back up all the contacts you want to keep...
1 tag
Leave Facebook Day
I’ve had it up to here with Facebook, and their constant distancing from issues of privacy and the concerns of their users. The benefits of being able to connect and get information about my social network no longer outweigh the costs of FB using and abusing my social graph.
So I’ve decided to leave Facebook. It’s not going to be easy. Facebook make sure that deleting your...
April 2010
1 post
for the SCOM students (and other interested...
Some podcasts, blogs, and media sites of interest to get you started:
1. Podcasting for Science CERN Podcasts: http://www.cernpodcast.com/ AAAS Science Podcasts: http://www.sciencemag.org/multimedia/podcast/ SciAm Podcasts: http://www.sciam.com/podcast/ This Week in Science: http://www.twis.org/ 2. Video and Embedded Content YouTube to UniTube: http://richard.otago.ac.nz/media/home.do ...
October 2009
2 posts
Some thoughts on recent changes in the...
1) Facebook - another layout change (which sucks, but that’s another tumblr-post) — one thing I’ve noticed as I’ve been hunting around trying to find the features I used to easily use is the “Reconnect with friend” ad at the top right of the main page.
Are Facebook trying to enforce connection? Do they honestly expect that people want to maintain the same...
Prezi and IR10
Wondering if it would be possible to use a group mindmap tool like Prezi to map the info pouring out in realtime of the IR10 conference? It might be able to use things like time of posting, usernames, even keywords to map tweets to a framework of the conference schedule. Sources like flickr and blogs mind need a little more metadata or manual entry into the approriate slot.
Thoughts?
September 2009
1 post
IFIP 9.5 WG Virtuality and Society Conference CfP
CALL FOR PAPERS (Please direct all inquires to the website/email links below) IFIP 9.5 WG Virtuality & Society http://www.ifip95wg.org are pleased to announce our next gathering as a part of IFIP’s 50th Anniversary conference: WORLD COMPUTER CONGRESS 2010 20-23 September 2010 Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre Brisbane, Australia http://www.wcc2010.org/ CALL FOR PAPERS...
August 2009
4 posts
Twitter Study Reveals Interesting Results About... →
socialspacestation:
Pear analytics undertook research to see what people tweeted about and to attempt to classify Twitter based discussions. (c/o Mashable)
Tags: twitter research content analysis news
I haven’t read the full whitepaper yet, but this quote jumped off the page at me from the overview on the mainpage:
Note that we did not collect any tweets during the Michael Jackson...
Busy busy busy
The two massive posts preceeding are the reason for the long radio silence on this blog. IRGO unConference. PRism special issue. Check ‘em out.
PRism Special Issue CfP: Online social networks,...
Call for Papers: Online social networks, communication practice, and public relations The social networking emerging online is now seen as one of the defining characteristics of Web 2.0 and beyond. From virtual worlds to microblogging, individuals and groups are forming diverse and sometimes apparently novel ways of building and maintaining social bonds. These mediated exchanges between...
1 tag
IRGO unConference: New Zealand's Internet Futures
IRGO is pleased to be hosting the inaugural IRGO unConference on the 23 and 24th of November 2009 at the Centre for Innovation, University of Otago, Dunedin.
The topic of the unConference is “New Zealand’s Digital Futures.” Our opening address will be by Professor Greg Hearn, Director of the Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation at QUT. Our closing speaker will be announced shortly.
...
July 2009
1 post
I need to get to Milwaukee for IR10. Anyone?
Anyone want to help Andrew Get To Milwaukee? Come on, we need him for our panel! Help!
andrewlong:
The Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) run an annual Academic conference where the eminent (e.g., Barry Wellman, Steve Jones, danah boyd, Nancy Baym, …) and the not-yet eminent meet to discuss the latest in cutting edge social/technical internet-facing research.
The conference this...
April 2009
4 posts
IRGO Seminar Series 2009 - updated
irgo:
Monday, May 25th, 12-1pm: John Kaiser, Manager, ICT Strategy and Services, Division of Health Science, will be facilitating a discussion on fostering innovation in ICT in the health sciences. School of Business Boardroom CO4.20. Friday, June 12th, 12-1pm: Andrew Long, Information Science, will be speaking to the topic “Life is Tweet: Emergent Micro-narratives on Twitter”. School of...
How To Email Academic Staff/How To Reply
Emails are becoming an increasingly important mode of communication, both for socialization and information exchange. One of the roles of an academic teacher (particular a communications academic teacher) is to help students develop a style of communication which is functional, correct, effective, and in their own voice.
Given the proliferation of posts in the blogs I read about how to email a...
hyperreality or absent-mindedness?
Just before the weekend, I was in a meeting, and I mentioned that the topic under discussion in the meeting might also be of interest to my friend and colleague, Sarah Stewart. Oh, said Leigh B., who was also at the meeting, why don’t we invite her up to join us?
That might be hard, I said, as she’s back in Queensland, Australia.
No, Leigh replied. I saw her this morning,...
March 2009
4 posts
"thought in cold storage" or "ideas on the boil"
As the hour of my academic reckoning approaches, I’ve become more engaged with the debates around the shifting question of ‘what is quality scholarship?’
‘Quality’ evokes a value judgement, which means that someone has values that they judge against. For academics and scholarly writers, this might be some lofty idea of “excellent research,”...
another article - Futures
The joys of peer review means that there can be nothing for months, then two in a week ;)
You can read my new Futures article here:
Pearson, E. (2009). Forecasts or Fallacies: Two issues for futures research on the Internet. Futures. 41(3), 140-146.
Abstract: This paper explores the idea of futures research online, and considers whether two issues in particular — high rates of change, and...
Cinema Journal SI: Digital Scholarship and...
Cinema Journal is not required reading for many people in internet studies, but in their latest issue they have an awesome set of papers on digital scholarship and pedagogy.
Papers:
In Focus: Digital Scholarship and Pedagogy
Introduction: Media Studies and the Digital Humanities Tara McPherson Peer-to-Peer Review and the Future of Scholarly Authority Kathleen Fitzpatrick Engaging...
New Article Out (and everyone can read it!)
Pearson, E. (2009). All The World Wide Web’s A Stage: The performance of identity in online social networks. First Monday, 14(3).
http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2162/2127
For those that are unfamiliar with First Monday, it is the open source journal of Internet Studies, and while it may not be all that in terms of traditional modes of publishing, in the...
February 2009
4 posts
Interview on Radio National Afternoons. Extract...
SNS Gives You Cancer???
I shall be on Radio New Zealand National: Afternoons are 4.50ish local time to refute claims that SNS gives you cancer. Tune in!
who's back in black?
SNS users are going black in protest of NZ copyright law changes. Twitter, Facebook, and Bebo user images are being replaced with black frames in a “blackout protest.” As I noted, only somewhat tongue-in-cheek, in my Twitter stream, this is preaching to the choir a bit (high volume internet users are certainly going to have an opinion on the guilt on accusation and ISP aspects of the...
friends don't let friends make fools of themselves...
I’ve been thinking a bit lately about online aliases, and the move back towards reintegrating real and virtual identities. Sites like Facebook strongly encourage the use of your actual (legal) name, and I’ve been noticing the increased use of real names on sites that do allow alias creation (such as Twitter and blogs). This may just be a reflection of my shifting position in my online networks,...
January 2009
1 post
Telstar Logistics? →
This is a thing of beauty. Click on the “About” link to get the skinny. Corporate culture as briccolage, parody, subversion. I am impressed.
December 2008
1 post
Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives | Media and Technology | AlterNet
I have already admitted elsewhere in this blog to being uncomfortable with the concept (or the reasoning) behind the term ‘digital natives.’ Whilst there is a seismic shift occuring in culture, I’m still not convinced that a label like this is helpful in anyway.
This is a...
November 2008
3 posts
Key of Reason Going Quiet
Things haven’t been as verbose as usual around here. It’s the end of semester, sliding into summer. I have two conferences in November — the Spotlight on Teaching and Learning, where I participated in a panel discussion on using blogs in the class (yep, past tense. It was awesome, ask anyone who was there!). I am also part of a panel on postfeminism for the SAANZ conference -...
More media coverage...
Election coverage goes interactive in race for viewers - 06 Nov 2008 - NZ Herald: Entertainment News, Reviews and Gossip from New Zealand and around the World
The coverage was almost as intriguing as the race, and I’m glad to see people starting to discuss what it all means. And as my twitterfeed noted this morning - oh what we could do with those holograms in a teaching context. Of...
October 2008
1 post
The Key of Reason is going on tour
Off to Copenhagen this weekend to attend IR9. Depending on connectivity and whether I feel like lugging the laptop around (yes, laptop - I’m <I>old</i> school!) I may be live-blogging some of the sessions.
See you all on the flipside!
September 2008
4 posts
Generational Myth - ChronicleReview.com
I gakked this link from the always-interesting Geek Studies blog, and both posts resonated quite strongly with me. I have a strong dislike of the term ‘digital native’ that I am slowly learning to articulate.
The first link in particular highlights two ‘trueisms’ of the internet that I think a lot of the more spurious...
drive-by post
Busy week, so a quick link to keep you amused:
9 Top Tips for Media Students: but really, they’re appropriate for any student. I am particular fond of #1 and #4 :)
Any tips missing from this list, do you think?
Me! (Dr Erika Pearson) on the phone with the...
Seen me type, hear me speak
If the typos are driving you nuts, you can hear me stutter off the key of reason today, 4.40pm (NZ time) on Radio National Afternoons with Jim Mora. They seem to be loading the audio as they go, so if you miss my (not-so) dulcet tones live, you can catch a recording there.
The topic? Is Google Making Us Stupid? You know I have opinions. Be interesting to hear what the other speakers have to...
August 2008
4 posts
The glass bedroom is such a nice metaphor on so...
From Computerworld’s e-Tales:
Holy Spirit goes spooky This is spooky. Arizona pastor Irwin Alton has gone all digital and hooked into MySpace to discover his parishioners’ sins. He then castigates those poor lambs who have strayed from the narrow way, from the pulpit. He doesn’t actually name them — just their sins. One poor chap thought the Holy Spirit had gotten into the pastor — it...
It's All In The Mind: an apologia for practical...
Before we get into the meat of the opinionated rant for this week, I feel I should fly my colours and make my position clear. I am a big fan of hands-on learning. Huge in fact. But only as it benefits the students. Let me explain.
Here in my wee departmental home, we have started experimenting with hands-on learning in a variety of different modes — by setting practical tasks for the...
Does the iGen have the attention span of...oh...
Every so often, it reappears in the media. You’ve seen it. The claim that the internet/videogames/mobile phones/technology are making us stupid. The ‘always-on’ stream of information at our (read: young people’s) fingertips is creating a generation who are lazy, unfocused, and undisciplined (and probably immoral, gluttenous and cruel to boot!)
Having read pieces like...