[Air-L] Call for Papers: American Behavioral Scientist Special Issue on Prosumption and Social Media

[george ritzer]

Call for Papers: American Behavioral Scientist Special Issue on
Prosumption and Social Media
Editor: George Ritzer

This special Issue on "Prosumption and Social Media" will explore
prosumption (the convergence of consumption and production) online and
offline with a specific (though not exclusive) emphasis on social
media. Today we are witnessing,

   * The massive popularity of social networking sites, such as
Facebook or MySpace;
   * The rise of blogs, the Blogosphere, and the micro-blogging tool Twitter;
   * The DIY movement, self-service technologies, branding, and
market research;
   * Wikipedia: The world largest encyclopedia, generated by users;
   * YouTube and Flicker: home of millions of user video and image files;
   * Other examples such as Ebay, Craigslist, Creative Commons,
open-source software (Linux, Mozilla, etc.), Second Life, Amazon.com,
and, likely, others of which most of us are yet unaware.

Articles might specify the structural conditions for the explosion of
user-generated content on the Internet, attempt to explain aspects of
the trend through the application of a particular theory or set of
theories, employ empirical data to achieve new insights into the
processes of prosumption, or explore the economic, political,
cultural, or ethical implications of prosumption. Articles might also
be critical of any such projects.

The issue aims to include both theoretical and empirical submissions
from a number of fields. Relevant book reviews will also be
considered.

The deadline for submission is June 1st, 2010. However, we encourage
early submissions and papers will be reviewed as they are received.
The issue is expected to contain 8-10 articles, but if more articles
of exceptional quality are received, we have the go-ahead to expand to
two volumes. Acceptance will be contingent upon peer-review.

Manuscript submission guidelines:

   * Submitted manuscripts must be in MS Word (.doc) format, include
a title page that includes the title of the paper, a 250 word
abstract, full name and complete addresses of all authors that
includes affiliation(s), telephone number(s), and e-mail address(es).
   * Manuscript, including references, should follow APA style guidelines.
   * Manuscripts should generally contain between 6,000 and 8,000 words.
   * Manuscripts should contain original material and not be
previously published, or currently submitted for consideration,
elsewhere.
   * Manuscripts should be submitted directly to Prosumer Studies
Working Group at absspecialissue at gmail.com. Any questions should also
be directed to this address. Additional information available at:
http://www.bsos.umd.edu/socy/prosumer/abs_cfp.html
   * The refereeing process is blind, so contributors should take
care to remove any obvious indications of authorship.
   * Where appropriate, please recommend to us researchers who might
make a significant contribution to the special issue if solicited for
submission.

We will make every effort to get you a decision within 4-6 weeks of submission.

Keywords: web 2.0, prosumption, digital culture, technology and
society, information and communication technologies (ICTs), sociology
of work, labor studies, mobile communication, networked technologies,
virtual communities, social networking sites, computer mediated
communication, globalization, leisure studies, new media, media
studies, social media.

About the editor: George Ritzer is Distinguished University Professor
at the University of Maryland. He has chaired the American
Sociological Association’s Section on Theoretical Sociology, as well
as the Section on Organizations and Occupations, and is the first
Chair of the section-in-formation on Global and Transnational
Sociology. His books include The McDonaldization of Society (5th ed.,
2008), Enchanting a Disenchanted World (2nd ed. 2005), and The
Globalization of Nothing (2nd ed., 2007). His most recent book is
Globalization: A Basic Text (Blackwell, 2010). He is currently working
on The Outsourcing of Everything (with Craig Lair, Oxford,
forthcoming). He was founding editor of the Journal of Consumer
Culture. His books have been translated into over twenty languages,
with over a dozen translations of The McDonaldization of Society
alone.