Participation in a Networked and Datafied Society
DI, 13. Oktober 2015, 12.00 Uhr Interface Culture Lecture Room, Kollegiumgasse 2, 3.OG
Vortrag von Mirko Tobias Schäfer im Rahmen der Interface Cultures Lectures Series.
Social media, such as Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, were initially developed to capitalize on targeted advertising and user data analysis.
Deeply intertwined with traditional media and the so-called blogosphere, social media constitute a new arena for political debate. Deprived of traditional editorial control, they inherently blur the private and the public, emotional gut reaction and informed debate. The public sphere now effectively extends through networked media: new layers of social interaction and novel forms of civic participation, political campaign and debate, new distribution channels and new means of communication.
The emerging data practices covered by the pervasive label of big data affect public administration and public debate.
This lecture explores how the process of datafication transforms the public sphere and how it affects our understanding of democracy.
Sketching the technological transformation and the related media practices, it will discuss the promises and the limits of civic participation.
Mirko Tobias Schäfer
is Assistant Professor for New Media & Digital Culture at the University of Utrecht and director of the Utrecht Data School.
Mirko studied theater, film and media studies and communication studies at Vienna University (A) and digital culture at Utrecht University (NL).
He obtained a magister (master) in theater, film and media studies from the University of Vienna in 2002, and a PhD from Utrecht University in 2008. Currently he is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Humanities at Utrecht University.
Mirko's research interest revolves around the socio- political impact of media technology. He is co-editor and co-author of the volume Digital Material. Tracing New Media in Everyday Life and Technology (Amsterdam University Press, 2009). He is author of Bastard Culture! How User participation Transforms Cultural Production (Amsterdam University Press 2011). In 2012 and 2013 he was appointed research fellow at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, where he is affiliated with the Artistic Technology Research Lab.http://www.mtschaefer.net/
