This spring, I’ve started teaching a “Special Topics” course in the department of communication at Utah. I call the course “The Culture of Computing.” The goal is to explore the history and culture of computing (largely in the US context) through three streams: historical scholarship (predominantly the excellent history from Paul Ceruzzi), the writings of computer scientists, and science fiction. The basic questions we’re exploring include read more…
STOP SOPA. STOP PIPA.
I will have a new article out next year in Social Text. I am very happy about this, because ST was a very important journal to me as I went through my doctoral program in cultural studies at George Mason. And of course, I eagerly watch my RSS reader for more articles. Moreover, I got to e-collaborate a bit with the editor, Jonathan Beller, who was really good at pushing me to improve the article through the revision process.
The article is titled “Real (software) abstractions: on the rise of Facebook and the fall of MySpace.” (You can see an early version of the article here). Here’s the abstract: read more…
Robert W. Gehl
The tech staff at the Frontiers of New Media did a great job recording the various presentations. You can see the list of videos here. In particular, see Richard White’s talk on railroads – a phenomenal presentation. My friend Fan Yang’s talk is also quite good.
My presentation, “Mass Producing Social Media: Technical Standards, The Interactive Advertising Bureau, and the Rise of Template-Driven Social Media” is also available.
My presentation at #unlikeus in Cyprus
Robert W. Gehl
UPDATE: Here’s a video of my talk:
Unlike Us #1 Real (software) abstractions:on the rise of Facebook and the fall of Myspace – Robert Gehl from network cultures on Vimeo.
On November 23, I will present some of my research at the 1st Unlike Us conference at the Cyprus University of Technology. I’m very excited about this, particularly because many of the proposed presentations look fascinating. For example, I look forward to Vasilis Kostakis’s discussion of proprietary versus commons-based production and Marc Stumpel’s discussion of FB Resistance project. More projects are being posted to the site – something tells me they will be compelling, as well.
My talk will be “Real (software) abstractions: on the rise of Facebook and the fall of MySpace.”[PDF] This paper will appear some time next year in Social Text. Here’s the abstract: read more…
Notehall cannot take the critique?
Robert W. Gehl
As you might have noticed, I’ve been critical of Notehall, the online ‘marketplace’ for university class notes. I basically think that it is part of the larger crass commercialization of higher education. Some people call that ‘disruption’ and ‘edupreneurial activity’; I just think it’s part of the larger erosion of the meaning of higher education. I guess I hold the same position as Marc Bousquet, although he’s far more eloquent about it.
In response, someone from a notehall.com email address posed as a student user of the site and defended it. That was fun. I’ve seen similar comments on other blogs, so I imagine Notehall has some people Google-alerting the name and defending that company’s dubious cyber-honor. That’s ok, if a bit disingenuous. We all have an agenda.
More recently, I’ve been editing the Notehall Wikipedia page. My username there is Octavabasso, in case you want to review my edits. I noticed that the Notehall WP entry didn’t have a section on the criticisms it’s received from academics, particularly in the University of California system. So, I added what I believe is a well-sourced, even-handed section outlining those critiques.
My edits have been reverted. Moreover, looking through the history of the Notehall WP entry, I see that a previous, similar section had been removed before.
So it looks like some Notehall folks are patrolling Wikipedia, too. They aren’t adding anything unless it’s positive. Well, except for the 50% cut they take – that’s remained in the article. But otherwise, truthiness is alive and well in that little corner of the Web. Let’s see how long my edits last.
Frontiers of New Media – My Wrap-up
I am only now starting to recover from a seemingly non-stop weekend of some of the best research on media, communication, and history going on right now. The University of Utah just hosted the third Frontiers of New Media symposium. I was part of the group that planned it. I will admit that I will extremely nervous about everything: whether or not it would go smoothly, how well we organized the presentation panels, and of course because I presented my own research. (For anyone who wants to read my talk, here’s a PDF).
In the end, I couldn’t be happier. read more…
I have a new article out in the open-access journal on the Internet, First Monday. It’s got a somewhat strange title: “Ladders, samurai, and blue collars: Personal branding in Web 2.0.” Anyone who reads it should treat those terms as easter eggs scattered throughout the article. Here’s the abstract: read more…
I am a member of a search committee for the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. We’re currently looking for a new chair of the department. We’re really excited about this; it’s a chance to hire a senior scholar in the field to join us here in Salt Lake City. It’s a good time to be here: we have very strong enrolments, some very talented graduate students, a collegial faculty, and we’re joining the PAC-12 (a conference that includes Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, and Washington). There’s a sense that the U is on the cusp of even higher standards in research and teaching.
Somewhat in the spirit of Jason Mittell’s (Middlebury College) blog posts about his school’s recent faculty search, I figured I would post this job ad here on my blog. But I should note that Mittell was the chair of that particular search committee, and moreover he is the chair of his department. I am neither. Rather, I am junior faculty member. So, in the off chance a candidate sees this and has questions, they might be better directed to the SC chair, Helene Shugart (h.shugart AT utah DOT edu). However, I invite anyone who wants to comment on this job, or on academic searches in general, to feel free to do so here. And, don’t be afraid to share this job ad with people who might be interested. We want a wide range of people to apply.
Here’s the job ad in full:
Calvin gets it. Why don't I?
I think I know what it’s like to have a family again. And I owe it to a writing group I’m a member of!
A couple weeks ago, my parents came to town to visit. I hadn’t seen them in months. Obviously, they’re extremely important to me; I owe so much to them.
And yet, I find that whenever I spend time with people who matter the most to me, a significant portion of my conscious mind cannot let go of work. This is the curse of being an academic. No matter where I am, no matter who I am with, I cannot seem to shake thinking about the latest journal article, chapter of the book, or course preparation. I can have conversations, take trips, or watch a movie with my loved ones and I still am working, working, working, revising.
But when my parents recently came, I found myself being with them 100%. I was shocked about this, but I realized why it happened. Writing group! read more…