Tag Archives: academia

Facebook Issues

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The issue in the recent “Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks“is not A-B testing.

If our role as digital stewards is to bring people into a cosmopolitan view of the world, to break out of homophile (birds of a feather), we will need to do A-B testing to see what works.

The issue is that the digital should make systemic biases more explicit, not bury them further. To me, the upset about the Facebook study is about those motives and methods being obfuscated, not that those motives and methods exist.

Academic Itch

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This weekend was my housewarming party, to which many lovely people came – thanks to everyone for making it awesome and, well, warming. Helped Nathan load some stuff into Libby’s apartment (she arrives Wednesday, hooray!), cleaned, caught up with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile (Coral and Kristen specifically), ran lights for The White Show, played human statue, went on a picnic, listened to Gregorian Chant, and read a fair amount. I am finally getting up to the level of involvement that I enjoy, which has brought up an interesting set for me to work on this week.

1. I want a second job, for only 2 or 3 nights a week, in order to supplement income and occupy time and
2. I want to start researching an academic paper.

Yes, apparently the Crazy of the undergraduate thesis has faded enough to entertain this notion. But I miss researching. I miss having a point to my studies, the enforced motivation. So I’m going to start doing it on my own. I know I want to write on sexuality or technology, most likely on both. Possibly constructing and presenting sexuality online in relation to IRL identity. We’ll see how the literature review goes first, and how taking on the Washington Review Board of Human Subjects Committee goes (guh).

I am having a blast and I love this city more and more with every step I take in it.