[Air-L] 10 days left to submit an abstract! Twitter and Microblogging conference, Lancaster University, 10-12 April 2013

[Unger, Johann]

Call for papers:
Twitter and Microblogging: Political, Professional and Personal Practices<http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/events/twitter_and_microblogging/>
Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK, 10 - 12 April 2013
Submission deadline: 10th December 2012!!

Twitter and other micro-blogging platforms, with their short messages, in some cases circulated to millions of followers, were at first viewed with condescension and amusement: famously David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, opined, "Too many tweets make a twat." Other media initially treated Twitter as offering platforms for celebrities, pools of banality, streams of dumbed-down opinions. But people using Twitter quickly found an enormous range of diverse uses, revelling in opportunities for creativity that microblogging and associated applications offered. People involved Twitter in organising revolutions, disseminating scientific findings, promoting brands, communicating with friends and crafting new forms of artistic endeavours and communications. Where Twitter is not allowed, as in China, other microblogging platforms have taken on similar functions.

This conference brings together a range of researchers doing detailed analyses of the discourse, practices, and social interactions of microblogging communities.

Plenary speakers include:
Janet Jones, University of the West of England
Nathan Jurgenson, University of Maryland
Greg Myers, Lancaster University
Ruth Page, University of Leicester
Lee Salter, University of the West of England

Contributions are sought in a variety of formats.  See http://bit.ly/LUtwit

Tweet about #LUTwit: http://bit.ly/T82ViM

Any queries email lutwit13 at lancaster.ac.uk<mailto:lutwit13 at lancaster.ac.uk>