[Air-L] Microsoft Research, Social Media Postdoc Opening

[danah boyd]

Microsoft Research, Social Media Postdoc Opening

The Social Media Collective at Microsoft Research New England (MSRNE) is looking for a social media postdoctoral researcher for next year.  This position is an ideal opportunity for a scholar whose work touches on social media, internet studies, technology policy, and/or science and technology studies.  

Application deadline: December 12, 2011.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/jobs/fulltime/postdoc.aspx

Microsoft Research provides a vibrant multidisciplinary research environment with an open publications policy and with close links to top academic institutions around the world. Postdoc researcher positions provide an opportunity to develop your research career and to interact with some of the top minds in the research community, with the potential to have your research realized in products and services that will be used world-wide. Postdoc researchers are invited to define their own research agenda and demonstrate their ability to drive forward an effective program of research. Successful candidates will have a well-established research track record as demonstrated by journal publications and conference papers, as well as participation on program committees, editorial boards, and advisory panels.

Postdoc researchers receive a competitive salary and benefits package, and are eligible for relocation expenses. Postdoc researchers are hired for a one- or two-year fixed term appointment following the academic calendar, starting in July 2012.  Applicants must have completed the requirements for a PhD, including submission of their dissertation, prior to joining Microsoft Research.  

While each of the six Microsoft Research labs has openings in a variety of different disciplines, the Social Media Collective at Microsoft Research New England (located in Cambridge, MA) is especially interested in identifying social science candidates. Qualifications include a strong academic record in anthropology, communications, information science, jurisprudence, media studies, sociology, or related fields.  The ideal candidate will be working on issues surrounding social media, internet studies, technology policy, and/or science and technology studies. 

The Social Media Collective is comprised of full-time researchers, postdocs, visiting faculty, PhD interns, and research assistants.  Current projects include: 
- How do youth make sense of networked publics? (danah boyd and Alice Marwick)
- How do people with minimal access to the Internet use mobile media to negotiate cultural marginalization and social immobility? (Mary L. Gray)
- How can networked information systems support a public right to hear, not only an individual right to speak? (Mike Ananny)
- How do digital modes of self-presentation function as displays of conspicuous consumption?  (Alice Marwick)
- What is technology's role in human trafficking?  (danah boyd)
- How do we listen to each other in networked environments, and what are the implications for intimacy, privacy and social change? (Kate Crawford)
- How do people living in regions controlled by organized crime engage in collective action using social media? (Andrés Monroy-Hernández) 
- How does social media use affect relationships between artists and audiences in the creative industries?  (Nancy Baym)

To apply for a postdoc position position at MSRNE: 

1. Submit an online application at: https://research.microsoft.com/apps/tools/jobs/fulltime.aspx

2. After you submit your application, send us an email (msrnejob at microsoft.com) alerting us so that we can immediately request letters of reference on your behalf.
- Indicate that you are applying for the social science postdoc opening.
- Include the following in your application: 1) Two journal articles, book chapters, or an equivalent writing sample;  2) An abstract of your dissertation (one page maximum length); 3) A description of how your research agenda relates to social media (one page maximum length)


For more information, see: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/jobs/fulltime/postdoc.aspx

To learn more about the Social Media Collective, check out our blog: http://socialmediacollective.wordpress.com/