Lecture 3 from Tufts University EXP-50-CS "Social Media: Participatory Culture and Content Creation in Society." View more at www.exp50.com or contact @j_littlewood on Twitter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ You may use, remix, tweak and build upon this work non-commercially, as long as you provide credit (Jesse Littlewood, www.jesselittlewood.com) and license your new work under identical terms.

1. EXP-50-CS
CLASS #3-4, 2/12/14
SOCIAL NETWORKS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
COMMUNITIES
ECONOMICS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
TUFTS UNIVERSITY
JESSE LITTLEWOOD
A B O U T. M E / J E S S E . L I T T L E W O O D
@J_LITTLEWOOD

2. AGENDA
• Twitter
• Recap previous week: Digital
Identity
• Economics of Social Media
presentation by Ben
• Communities
• Q+A
• Core media theory mini-
• Lightning Talks
module: medium/message,
affordances, social norms
!
• Next week

3. TWITTER

4. MAKING SENSE OF
NEW MEDIA
• Places social media in the context
of history of personal
communication technology
• Societal responses
•
P
A
C
Perspectives E consider
to
Rthis class
throughout
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K
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5. R
C
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P
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F
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O
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K
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6. DANAH BOYD
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C
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P
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F
M
O
Credit: James Duncan Davidson/O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/x180/49880384/in/set-1076331/
K
E
T lifestyle
• Always-on
S
A
L
• “Online is always just around the
corner”
• Ecosystem
• Virtual reality is tired, augmented
reality is wired

7. • Context
• Increase in solitary living
K
E
• Decrease in confidants
R
C
E
P
A
R
F
M
O
L
E
W
• Bowling Alone
T
S consumption” vs.
A“Passive
•
“composed communication”
• The more digitally connected we
become, the more distant and
superficial our offline
relationships are.
• A lot of online conversation is
“meaningless babble.”

8. SOCIAL NETWORK SITES:
DEFINITION, HISTORY,
AND SCHOLARSHIP
• Consistent technology features,
different cultures
• Draw some boundaries around
“social media” and “social
networking sites”
P
A
R
F
M
O
A
L
• (1) Public or semi-public profile
R
C
E
• (2) List other users & connect
• (3) Traverse the list of
connections
Source: http://www.danah.org/papers/JCMCIntro.pdf
T
S
E
W
K
E

9. LORI KENDALL: COMMUNITY AND THE
INTERNET
• “Community” is used ad
nauseum in marketing speak
• Actual community, or
“networked individualism?”
• No clear definition
• Does Facebook have
community?
• Does Reddit have community?
Contance Porter
Wikipedia
1. Purpose
1. Group Of People 2. Place
2. Who Interact Via 3. Platform
Communication
4. Interaction
Media
Structure
5. Profit Model
Mynatt Et All
1. Persistence
2. Periodicity
3. Boundaries
4. Engagement
5. Authoring
Feenberg And Bakardjieva
1. Identification With
Symbols/Ritual Practices
2. Acceptance Of Common
Rules
3. Mutual Aid
4. Mutual Respect
5. Authentic
Communication

10. MARSHALL
MCLUHAN — MEDIA
THEORY
• The “McLuhan Equation” — “The
medium is the message.”
• Message = “the change of scale or
pace or pattern”
• Content of a message is another
medium — always building.
• Unanticipated consequences

11. MARSHALL MCLUHAN — MEDIA THEORY
• Always pre-existing conditions in society and culture.
• Non-obvious “ground” (context)
• New messages result in more than just understanding, they create
change
• Media itself should be the study, not just the content.
• Most people miss the “message” and focus on content.

12. MCLUHAN: THE
LIGHT BULB
• A medium without a message?
• No “content” per se
• … but resulted in significant
change.
• What is the McLuhanian
message?
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/caveman_92223/3346906435/

13. MCLUHAN: CUBIST
PA I N T I N G S
• Example: Cubist paintings. (Nude
Descending a Staircase, No. 2 by
Macel Duchamp)
• Painting vs. a melody — “what is it
about?”
• Representation was the content
• Cubism dispenses with
representation via perspective
• Cubism is “about” the medium,
more or less.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/duchamp/28643060/

14. MCLUHN AS
P E R TA I N S T O
SOCIAL MEDIA
• Media technologies shape society
• Media technologies “extend” us —
print is the extension of the eye. Is the
internet the extension of the brain?
• Examining content -> understand the
impact of this medium
• Just don’t assume this content is in
a vaccum.
• Social media: content includes
users.

15. D E S I G N O F E V E R Y D AY T H I N G S - D O N A L D
NORMAN
• “Psychology of everyday things”
• Many people are “designers”
• Design is communication
• User-centered design

16. DONALD NORMAN — AFFORDANCES
• “Affordance” — what is/isn’t possible
with the state of the world
• Norman applied the term
to a perceived dimension
• A plate or button affords pushing
• A bar or handle affords pulling
• What are some examples of
digital affordances?

17. D O NA L D N O R M A N —PA R A D OX O F
TECHNOLOGY
• Technology yields benefits that make like easier and more
enjoyable.
• Technology increases complexity, which increases frustration.
• Good design can overcome the paradox of technology.

18. HAROLD GARFINKLE — SOCIAL
AFFORDANCES??
• “Making commonplace scenes visible.”
• Proposed that the social world was filled with hidden rules for behavior that were so
taken for granted it could be very difficult to notice them even if you tried to.
• Spend an hour in your home imagining that you are a boarder — paying for the
room as a stranger.
• Act in a circumspect and polite fashion.
• Avoid getting personal
• Use formal address
• Speak only when spoken to.

19. HAROLD GARFINKLE — “SOCIAL
BREACHING”
• Family members reacted “with accounts of astonishment,
bewilderment, shock, anxiety, embarrassment, and anger, and with
charges by various family members that the student was mean,
inconsiderate, selfish, nasty, or impolite.”
• Example of a social norm breaching experiment: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpRO39X1rTk

20. SMALL GROUP ASSIGNMENT
• Generate a list of social norms on Facebook.
• Pick three most common norms.
• What are five most important factors that create these norms?
• Technological affordances
• Medium
• Context

21. SOCIAL MEDIA NORM BREACHING
ASSIGNMENT
• Social Media Norms Breaching Assignment
• Choose one of the following “breaching experiments” and proceed with the experiment as described.
• Engage with the readings from Marshall McLuhan and Donald Norman. How do the technological
affordances of the social media platforms create community norms? What did you learn about new
or existing norms through the process of “breaching?” What surprised you about this experience?
What confirmed your assumptions?
• Your response essay is due by the start of class: Wednesday 2/17/13 at 6:30pm. Please upload a Word
Document or PDF to Trunk, or email me if you are having technical difficulties with the Trunk
assignments upload.
• Please email me with any questions at jesse.littlewood@gmail.com
• Your essay needs to stay within 500 words.
• See reverse for experiment parameter options.
Inspired by Christian Sandvig; source: http://socialmediacollective.org/2011/07/29/the-oversharer-and-other-social-media-experiments/

22. SOCIAL MEDIA NORM BREACHING
ASSIGNMENT
•
Pick one of the following social media breaching exercises.
•
FACEBOOK PICTURE CREEPER. On Facebook, go through an acquaintance’s photo
albums and comment on at least 15-20 photos older than six months over a period of 3
days. Write only positive comments (e.g. “cute photo!”). Check back and see if anyone
else has commented on the photos after you have. Describe the responses and how you
feel about doing this.
•
•
•
THE OVERSHARER. Pick either an acquaintance you don’t know that well or a parent. In
a 24 hour period dramatically increase the amount of information you send this person
using a text-based mobile communication technology that you know they can receive
(like IM on your phone, text/SMS, or e-mail on your phone/PDA). For example, you
could communicate with them every time you do anything (“hi I am getting on the bus”,
“arrived in class,” “class is boring,” “having lunch,” “talking with friend.”) Describe the
reactions.
CHATTY FLICKR MARKUP: Sign up for an account and find users on Flickr (http://
www.flickr.com/) that you do not know. Try to start a conversation with them using the
“add note” tool and the “add your comment” box to mark an image that they have
uploaded. Try varying the kind of image you comment on from those that are very
personal (wedding, kids birthdays, etc.) to those that are very impersonal (buildings,
landscapes) and see how the reactions vary. Note that you may have to post a lot of
notes and comments to get any reaction. You may have to try different and creative
strategies to get people to respond to you. Describe the reactions.
GCHAT STRANGER. If you have a gmail account already, use gchat to begin chat
conversations with people that you don’t know (or don’t know very well). Vary the kinds
of things you say to see if you can get them to start a chat conversation with you.
Describe what kind of chat message will successfully get a stranger to chat with you on
gchat. Remember to be polite and respectful at all times. Note: You may have to try to
gchat A LOT before you get someone to respond to you. Do not keep trying the same
people if they do not respond.
!
•
WAY OFF TOPIC. On Facebook or a similar site that has threaded conversation (e.g.,
status updates with replies), over a period of three days leave a large number of
comments that are all completely and obviously off-topic and not relevant to the thread.
For this to work, there can be no relation between the reply and the topic at all; just start
talking about something else. If you like, address some of them to the wrong person as
well. Describe the results.
•
FACEBOOK WALL INQUISITOR. On Facebook, friend five strangers — people you don’t
know (maybe friends of friends). Once they accept your friend request, post a public
comment to their wall introducing yourself and asking them about themselves. In your
posts, do not refer to any friends that you have in common; just talk about yourself and
ask them about themselves. Try to get information from them about themselves. (You
must start this assignment before Monday for it to work!). Describe the responses.
•
ONLY ONE MEDIUM. Choose one popular communication technology. Only use that
technology for 3 days. (e.g. Use Facebook direct messages for ALL communication even
when it is obviously inappropriate or impractical.) Describe the reactions.
•
ALWAYS MIX MEDIA. For 3 days, always “mix” media–always respond to a
communication using a different medium of communication than the one that was
used to contact you. (example: if you get a phone call, let it go to voicemail then SMS
them. If you get an email, send a picture to their phone, etc. Respond to your twitter @’s
in person.) Describe the reactions.
Inspired by Christian Sandvig; source: http://socialmediacollective.org/2011/07/29/the-oversharer-and-other-social-media-experiments/

23. CLASS ADMIN
• Lightning talks
• Next week’s class
• CMS sign-up sheet
• Etc

24. L I G H T N I N G TA L K S
• A brief, seven minute presentation on a specific example of social
media that describes it, analyzes it, and critiques it.
• Live demo, slides or still images (4-5 recommended)
• Based on the topic we are discussing that week
• Starts week after next!

25. NEXT WEEK:
P R I VA C Y A N D
SECURITY
• Privacy paradox
• The more you share, the more
valuable you are
• Digital “native” users & digital
“immigrants”

26. N E X T W E E K : P R I VA C Y A N D S E C U R I T Y
• Reading:
• Palfrey, John and Gasser, Urs. Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives.
Chapter 3, Privacy. pp. 62-82
• boyd, danah. 2006. Facebook's “Privacy Trainwreck”: Exposure, Invasion, and Drama. Apophenia
Blog. September 8. http://www.danah.org/papers/FacebookAndPrivacy.html
• boyd, d., & Hargittai, E. (2010). Facebook privacy settings: Who cares?. First Monday, 15(8). http://
firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/3086/2589
• Raine, Lee, et. all. Anonymity, Privacy, and Security Online. Pew Research Center’s Internet & American
Life Project http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_AnonymityOnline_090513.pdf
• Console, Richard. A Little Privacy, Please! Your Rights and Social Media Policies. Console & Hollawell
Blog. April 8, 2003 http://www.consoleandhollawell.com/law-blog/a-little-privacy-please-your-rightsand-social-media-policies/
• Assignment: Social breaching experiment papers due by 2/17 at 6:30pm on Trunk