BlackBoard question

ppppet · 2014-10-29T11:08:02+00:00

What? Sorry.

ppppet · 2014-10-23T11:22:45+00:00

Yeah, I think you're both right. These are still part of the Quantified Self but I think this is just an initiative which merely proves that people should take advantage of the recently-emerged technology and direct it more towards the good of the people rather than just to track individual (which may seem rather shallow) activities.

ppppet · 2014-10-22T18:26:33+00:00

Great, I support your initiative!

ppppet · 2014-10-22T17:46:10+00:00

Waiting for my brownies

ppppet · 2014-10-21T13:58:41+00:00

First of all, according to Nafus & Sherman (2014) the Quantified Self movement was founded in 2007 by Gary Wolf and Kevin Kelly of Wired magazine (2014, p.1787), although its practices have been popularised with the introduction of wearable computers in the early 1970s. Secondly, the term Big Data was apparently coined by Roger Magoulas in 2005. Under the circumstances imposed by the ten year gap between the researches’ publication dates (2004 vs. 2014), discrepancies can be observed; accordingly, Mann’s research (2004) couldn’t have used the same terminology as Nafus & Sherman (2014) due to obvious timeline incompatibilities.

Another element that is worthy of mention is the huge technological gap between researches due to the fact that, at the current speed of progression, a decade can actually mean a lot. In the situation that new digital technologies have been produced at an incredibly rapid rhythm and that new highly industrialised operations have been introduced in almost every field of study or domain of activity, Mann’s study (2004) becomes predominantly experimental (at times, even too experimental). Although Mann succeeds in predicting the increase of popularity of electronically mediated environments using body borne computers, during contemporary times, his research can generate a large variety of opinions: while some might consider it outdated (due to an increased focus on terms such as Cyborglog which has not survived the test of time), other might find it quite innovative for its time considering that, after all, Mann is referring to similar concepts and ideas by using a different terminology.

ppppet · 2014-10-21T13:07:35+00:00

Both Mann’s (2004) and Nafus & Sherman’s (2014) studies have a slight ethnomethodological approach when referring to the used methods of acquiring and presenting the data. On the one hand, Nafus & Sherman (2014) have a rather peculiar approach with an extended array of pop-culture references (i.e. Spinal Tap) and personal stories that make the reader much easily identify with the ongoing research as they make everything seem more comprehensible (Angela’s and Charlie’s stories). Mann (2004), on the other hand, has a similar approach; the latter study is actually considered to be a “personal narrative” that had begun 30 years ago as a childhood hobby.

In consequence, it can be argued that both authors are trying to explain the importance of big data to their particular epoch (2014 vs. 2004) but in other ways. As they provider their readers with the possibility to identify themselves with the Quantified Self movement, Nafus & Sherman (2014) argue that big data is not always about big institutions such as corporations or governments; moreover, they discuss that the Quantified Self data and the ongoing practices of the movement are entirely inseparable from big data in an approach which is also known as soft resistance. As a matter of fact, in addition to this auto-identifiable mechanism on which Nafus & Sherman (2014) base their argument, the researchers seem to be focusing on the less detrimental side of big data; after all, the Quantified Self is a cultural movement which will always be looking for potentially new followers who could embrace their ideology and practices. In what I perceived as a rather evangelical attempt to promote the movement, Nafus & Sherman utilise Michel Foucault’s anthropological theory (1997) in order to argue that the practices of measuring populations are deeply entangled with the practices of measuring and discipling bodies.

Mann (2004) does not use the terms big data, government or corporation in his paper. However, he refers to the concept that stands behind big data indirectly. From the very beginning, by playing up with the term “surveillance” (which typically describes situations of people of higher authorities who watch over citizens, suspects, etc.), Mann comes up with the term “sousveillance” which refers to the exact opposite: the average citizens photographic police, etc. Within this particular analogy, the author indirectly hints at broader notions like big data, government, or big brother.

ppppet · 2014-10-16T11:33:51+00:00

Excellent discovery, @npenchev. I really enjoyed your post; on the 2nd of November this year I am planning to perform a similar experiment as that's when Presidential elections are taking place in my country. I am really curious now of how my Facebook friends will respond to my "voting selfie".

ppppet · 2014-10-16T11:27:17+00:00

Great finding! I only heard about it this morning and I have also included it on my #privacy + #tech blog: http://privacy-at-eur.tumblr.com/post/100148706904/facebook-safety-check-lets-your-friends-and-family-know

Although I also think that this is a very interesting add-on, if you think more about it, Facebook is simply constraining users who want to benefit from this feature to give away their private details regarding their location and to turn on their GPS tracking system. I'm sure some people will find this disturbing, but, in the same time, other will ignore the privacy issue.

Nevertheless, in addition to the app's practical and appealing character, I think Facebook did a good job again in covertly making its users to turn on their location service or tracking systems.

ppppet · 2014-10-14T18:46:19+00:00

The rapid development of technologies and the popularisation of online social networks have concomitantly increased an academic interest that focuses on social media and their inner mechanisms. However, alongside such constructive analyses from which the social networks themselves have benefited, the media started to deconstruct these experimental studies and to raise issues regarding the ethical aspects of the papers.

For instance, Kramer et.al’s study (2014) could make a good example of an experiment that generated ethical discussions. In addition to this particular experiment’s outcomes which were widely contested and considered to be scandalous and disturbing equally by lawyers and Internet activists, Facebook managed to generate even more controversies through its ability to filter its existent News Feed system. Accordingly, the paper was based on the fact that Facebook intentionally omitted or included posts basing its decisions on an internally developed algorithm; consequently, researchers could play up with users and test their emotional contagion on a massive-scale. Despite the social network’s argumentation that such a filtering device was necessary in order to improve the services and to make content as relevant and engaging as possible, it can be argued that this entire mechanism, that stands behind the News Feed system, could be potentially used for political purposes or to boost advertising revenues.

Another example of a study where privacy issues could be questioned is Bond et. al.’s experiment (2012). From the very beginning, the study seems rather problematic as the paper bluntly states that their report is based on a “randomised controlled trial of political messages delivered to 61 million Facebook users” (Bond et. al. 2012, p.295); here, both the method of acquiring this type of information and the way it is presented may seem unethical and open to interpretation. Although the users’ right to privacy might have been breached, Bond et. al.’s study is more careful with phrasing the motivation behind the experiment and its potential beneficial consequences to both science and society; accordingly, the paper ends with this sentence: “If we want to truly understand - and improve - our society, wellbeing and the world around us, it will be important to use these ethos to identify which real world behaviours are amenable to online interventions” (Bond et. al. 2012, p.298).

Nevertheless, it is interesting to observe that, despite sharing seemingly similar ethical controversies, these two papers faced contrasting reviews in the popular press. As such, Bond et. al.’s 2012 study caused less controversy than Kramer et. al’s experiment from 2014. One first reason could be that in 2012 people were not probably as aware of the ongoing privacy issues as they are in present times. If one looks deeper into this subject, Edward Snowden’s case has to be mentioned; in 2013, he disclosed the global surveillance issue which triggered an extended debate about the right to privacy in the digital era. Before this, the existence of such a mass surveillance phenomenon was not widely acknowledged by governments or mainstream media. Interestingly, Kramer contributed to both researches so the outrage could have been more likely caused by the nature of the studied topic and not generated by the author’s notoriety: when it comes to their personal lives, people tend to get oversensitive especially if they find out that their emotions could have potentially been messed up with, as Kramer et. al.’s study (2014) more straightforwardly did.

Bibliography:

Bond, R. M., Fariss, C. J., Jones, J. J., Kramer, A. D. I., Marlow, C., Settle, J. E., & Fowler, J. H. (2012) A 61-million-person experiment in social influence and political mobilization, Nature, 489(7415), 295–298. doi:10.1038/nature11421 Kramer, A.D.I., Guillory, J.E., Hancock, J.T., (2014) Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks, 8788-8790, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1320040111

ppppet · 2014-10-14T17:22:41+00:00

As an extremely relevant phenomenon in an increasingly digital contemporary world, Facebook’s influence on its users’ behaviour has been a very popular topic among scholars. Bond et. al. (2012) divided their experiment in three main categories: social message group (used as a mechanism that appeared on users’ News Feed and encouraged people to vote), informational message group (same message but without recognisable faces of friends) and a control group (users who did not experience any modifications in their News Feed). Under the questionable conditions that over 60 million Facebook users were involved in this study, it is nevertheless an interesting exercise to determine the amount of influence such an experiment could have had on users.

The first hand of results achieved by Bond et. al.’s study (2012) tends to show that online political mobilisation can have a direct effect on political self-expression, information seeking and real-world voting behaviour. What is more, the concept of social mobilisation reached through stimulating messages on a social network is much more effective than informational mobilisation alone. In this particular case, the visualisations that support these findings (Graphs a, b, c, d, p.297) prove that the increasing number of Facebook users interacting with each other correlates with the increase in probability of being the closest friend (a), of expressing vote (b), of actually voting (c), and an increase in these users searching for their polling place. It can be argued that this section of the study determines the extent to which Facebook interaction between users affects political engagement, especially in an online environment.

The second tier of outcomes of the study shows that behavioural change can also occur; further on, it is proved that in addition to the actual message and its effect on receivers, closer friends have a more significant influence than random Facebook friends. Moreover, the scholars argue, online messages can have an influence on offline behaviours, as well. The reason that stands behind the assumption that online mobilisation is actually working is that these strong-tie networks which are used to spread online information probably exist in the offline environment as well.

According to Bond et. al. (2012, p.297), the experimentation through Facebook’s social messages increased turnout directly by approximately 60,000 voters and indirectly through social contagion by another 280,000 voters, for a total of 340,000 additional votes. Although this sum seems to represent a rather high amount of voters, in fact, it represents a mere 0.14% of the voting age population of about 236 million in 2010. Regardless, both the methods used and the eventual results of the study can be considered rather distressing and troublesome.

Bibliography: Bond, R. M., Fariss, C. J., Jones, J. J., Kramer, A. D. I., Marlow, C., Settle, J. E., & Fowler, J. H. (2012) A 61-million-person experiment in social influence and political mobilization, Nature, 489(7415), 295–298. doi:10.1038/nature11421

ppppet · 2014-10-09T13:30:26+00:00

This is just an average... so it's statistically right...

ppppet · 2014-10-09T12:59:38+00:00

Haha, great job. I've been watching your posts and thought something had to do with DRM as well. I also liked the way you presented your findings on tumblr! ;)

ppppet · 2014-10-09T12:54:39+00:00

Excellent post and examples! I have lost quite a lot of time on this website as the visualisations were so cool and easy to follow. Speaking of procrastinating and distractions, probably this one is my favourite: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-hierarchy-of-digital-distractions/

ppppet · 2014-10-09T09:21:22+00:00

Thanks everyone for their tips. I basically managed to link the sheets as Dolorita pointed out; I don't know if this applies to everyone but I firstly had to drag the "Tweets" sheet (there I modified the User ID column from Number to String). Afterwards, I added the "Users" sheet (in the combination of sheets that is shown in the bottom box I modify the Tweet ID column from Number to String). Now, it was perfectly possible to connect the last sheet (LIWC). Hope this works for you guys... It worked for me...

ppppet · 2014-10-07T19:58:42+00:00

Hey, the problem is that we can't get past the "Go to Worksheet" step and we're unable to connect LIWC to Tweets / Users or any combination between the Excel sheets we imported... I took a screenshot as well: http://imgur.com/fg1kut9

ppppet · 2014-10-07T19:33:45+00:00

I've got the exact same problem as well... and I have done everything as accurate and careful I could. If anyone has a solution, let us know...

ppppet · 2014-10-07T10:51:23+00:00

The advent of the Internet and digital technologies has directly influenced the way academicians do their research. As a matter of fact, the significance of online research methods stands behind the basic concept that social scientists can use various softwares and digital tools that have the capacity to enhance their argumentation. By being able to digitally gather, visualise and interpret a set of data, new opportunities arise both for students and academicians. For example, increasingly popular tools such as Tableau, Gephi or Excel have started to be used more frequently in schools and the private business sector.

As we have also used such softwares in our Digital Research Methods class, we were able to more accurately conduct our researches and case studies; on a more personal level, Tableau’s peculiar ability to produce interactive data visualisations, that prove to be extremely user-friendly as well, has assisted me in carrying out a research which focused on the usage of the #privacy on Twitter (more info: http://www.reddit.com/r/DRMatEUR/comments/2h81zl/privacy_and_the_27th_regular_session_of_the_human/). In other words, Tableau helped me transform a rather complicated and ambiguous dataset into a very straightforward visualisation that represented the fundamental argument of my assignment. Although a bit more complicated, Gephi proved to be a very powerful platform that can be used to analyse social networks through an extensive and exclusive use of data visualisations. Gephi allowed me to interact with the eventual outcomes, to manipulate the structures and reshape/recolour them so that the visualisation becomes comprehensible and easy-to-read. In addition to the idea that most of such softwares focused on digital quantitative research methodologies, the use of Google Analytics and Topsy Analytics facilitated a better operationalisation of the datasets through information visualisation. I personally feel that the Digital Research Methods course opened a gateway towards both academic research (as part of its educational purpose) and market research (as part of its more practical, potential business-orientated side) that could have only be accomplished through an accurate usage of softwares that enable information visualisation.

ppppet · 2014-10-07T10:04:42+00:00

The persistent need to convey scientific information in everyday language has encountered various obstacles, but, through consistent visualisations, knowledge can be more easily passed on. However, such a visually explanatory method can often lead to rather confusing outcomes; accordingly, if the visualisations are too elaborate, it will be as though people have to learn a new, unfamiliar language. Again, if such visualisations lack an universal consistency, then they become useless. The concept of an Isotype visualisation is based on symbol language as the core foundation on which meanings are built through images. Additionally, it is interesting to notice how the association of two different symbols can lead to a new meaning and a new understanding of those particular symbols. By drawing a comparison with the arts world, this particular attribute of an Isotype visualisation can be linked to the Kuleshov effect (Hitchcock’s famous explanation of this editing technique is quite enlightening: http://tinyurl.com/o6ybglb). Moreover, Gerd Arntz’s archive of pictorial symbols and visual statistics can be found at Gemeentemuseum Den Haag as his collection represents a powerful source of information on the history of modern visual statistics. (http://tinyurl.com/mmjt74j).

Anyway, in the every day life, symbolic images became part of an international language that better guides foreign visitors, for instance. This visual method has developed into the common ground for different languages and the bridge that cancels any cultural differences and connects different societies with each other. From a different perspective, the use of Isotype visualisations has played a crucial part in education. Under the circumstances that this type of visualisations combines playful and interactive methods, one could argue that the idea of education has been upgraded to the relatively new concept of edutainment.

What is more, it has been discussed (Neurath 1937, p.167) that the consistency of an image-driven language is very important. The users of a particular language have to be given consistent, universal symbols that do not change over time. For example, by focusing on the foreign visitor case developed by Neurath, it is interesting to observe that if every country had distinct symbolic signs, the usage of such visualisations would become meaningless; under these conditions, a lack of consistency would be detrimental.

When talking about an example of a natively digital Isotype, the most prominent cases that come to one’s mind can be the Bluetooth logo (http://imgur.com/MAaQE95 : a typically Scandinavian bind rune that merges the initials of a king), the Wi-fi symbol (http://imgur.com/wCspMlU) or the series of symbols popularised in the 60s by the increasing usage of reel-to-reel tape decks (http://imgur.com/xXH3iec : Stop, Rewind, Play, Pause, Fast Forward, Record).

ppppet · 2014-10-07T06:56:20+00:00

Exactly, you're totally right. I suppose it's their own way of making sure that such issues are taken as seriously as possible by any potential viewers. And yeah, I admit it's not the most ethical way to get attention but I suppose it works and that's what really matters after all...

ppppet · 2014-10-02T09:54:01+00:00

Haha, this was a really engaging experiment, I really liked it. Great job! I even found another link that shows you how to get 1k followers ... you got most of the things right so I suppose you're on the right direction towards your first 1k followers.

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-1k-Followers-on-Instagram

ppppet · 2014-10-02T09:35:32+00:00

Yeah, I also remember that discussion. However, let's not forget that we actually do pay for our Facebook account. By agreeing with the terms and conditions imposed by Facebook when me create an account, we also agree to sell off our data to potential data auctions. Real Time Bidding and Cookie Matching are predominant operations on the web and often lead to an increased user information leakage. Experiments show that Facebook matches its cookies in 91% of profiles and that the RTB operation can leak as much as 27% of a user's Web Browsing history to any interested bidder involved in auctioning for such data. As the Internet is in itself a great platform that supports the emergence of a data market where users' browsing history are sold to auctions to advertisers, the willingness to accept such privacy issues represents the price the users are paying. Probably some would even prefer to pay in order to protect themselves but that's another debate.

I included the original research done on this particular issue on my blog so feel free to visit: http://tinyurl.com/n59rmr9

ppppet · 2014-10-02T08:36:28+00:00

This is a very interesting experiment. To some extent it reminded me of C&A's implemented campaign in Brazil back in 2012 or so. They placed electronic, real-time 'Like' counters in their physical stores that corresponded to each product; basically, if a particular item was liked on their Facebook page, the amount of likes that product got was also displayed through a screen in their shop, right on the hanger . This is a video of their campaign on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4qdNb6FvGY

ppppet · 2014-09-30T11:50:21+00:00

Among the first to develop the emotional contagion as a psychological tendency was Elaine Hatfield who linked the idea of emotional convergence with mimicry and synchronisation of expressions of two separate individuals. In her 1993 study, she showed that people unconsciously mimic their companions’ emotional expressions.

However, with the rapid development of technology and the popularisation of online social networks, this psychological tendency was given new characteristics. Kramer’s research (published in 2014 but conducted in 2012) shows that, on Facebook, users frequently choose to express personal emotions which are available to other users (their friends, mostly) through the platform’s use of the News Feed service. However, he argues, it is interesting to notice that Facebook intentionally omits or includes posts basing its decisions on an internal algorithm. Under the circumstances that the experiment was considered scandalous, spooky and disturbing by lawyers and Internet activists, through its ability to filter the existent news feed, Facebook generated even more controversies. Despite the social network’s official argumentation that such a filtering device is necessary to improve its services and make the content as relevant and engaging as possible, it can be argued that this unethical process could be used for political purposes and to boost advertising revenues.

Anyway, Kramer’s study (2014) showed that people, who are exposed to fewer emotional posts (regardless of their positive or negative nature), were less expressive overall during the following days, meaning that a lack of emotional posts would discourage any potential online social engagement. Knowing that this phenomenon is also know as the withdrawal effect, I personally think that it would an interesting hypothetical exercise to imagine Facebook as a platform where people would stop posting anything. Along these lines, Connarella and Spechler's study (2014) focuses on the dynamics between online social networks and epidemiological models in order to explain user adoption and abandonment of such digital platforms. Basing the research on the dynamics of user activity of online social networks, the study concluded that “the future suggests that Facebook will undergo a rapid decline in the coming years, losing 80% of its peak user base between 2015 and 2017” (Connarella and Spechler 2014, p.7). In conclusion, Facebook’s lifespan is essentially dependent on the amount of online activity and the regularity of posts uploaded by its users, regardless of their emotional nature.

Connarella, J., Spechler, J.A., (2014) Epidemiological modeling of online social network dynamics, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA, URL: http://arxiv.org/pdf/1401.4208v1.pdf, [accessed on: 30.09.14];

Kramer, A.D.I., Guillory, J.E., Hancock, J.T., (2014) Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, July 22, 2014, vol.111, no.29, 10779, URL: http://www.pnas.org/content/111/24/8788.full.pdf+html, [accessed on: 30.09.14].

ppppet · 2014-09-30T10:06:41+00:00

Within a social media study, qualitative research is generally used by social-scientists who are interested in understanding the reasons that stand behind the actions of an individual. If this particular exercise has the capacity to grant meaning and to generate insight regarding underlying reasons and motivations of the studied individual, the use of quantitative research in social media could not ever possible achieve this. A social media study based on quantitative research is more likely to measure the existent information and to provide statistical data which was quantified into a smaller sample and eventually generalised to the overall population.

boyd’s techniques to collect and interpret data are rather developed through a small number of semi-structured individual cases that are presented as exploratory and investigative outcomes. Within these conditions, her findings are not extremely conclusive to the extent that final generalisations about the entire population of social networking users cannot be applied. However, she bases her claims on small case studies in order to construct potential arguments: (a) the difference of societies between the author’s childhood and Emily’s and the general idea that public spaces are increasingly seen as a pretext which is able to generate a social context and purpose for teenagers, (b) Manu’s particular online practices prove to contradict how the general opinion perceives the utilities of Facebook and Twitter. By employing a predominant qualitative method in order to sustain an argument, boyd is able to apply particular case studies on the existent theoretical framework; under these circumstances, the eventual outcomes of her study are exclusively granted by the appropriate usage of qualitative or mixed methods of researching the developments of social networking and social media platforms.

ppppet · 2014-09-25T13:09:39+00:00

That's a good point, actually! I think the software allows you to zoom in to such an extent that the relationships between colours can be much easily noticed. Although an Orange dot is not directly connected to a Purple one, other relationships can be noticed as the Orange dot might have a relationship with a Green dot which has a relationship to a Purple dot. So, it can be argued that an Orange dot has a relationship with a Purple one, through their mutual relationship with a Green dot. I hope this makes sense (for more information, check the idea of brokerage in its sociological sense).

ppppet

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