[Air-L] Help with digital ethnography & early Internet history

Sat Feb 8 04:55:22 PST 2020

Hi Lexi, regarding #2 you say you do both interviews and ethnography. You may want to consider mobile digital ethnographic methods that I among others have developed. They combine interview with observation, and this article gives a good overview:
Walking Through, Going Along and Scrolling Back: ephemeral mobilities in digital ethnography. Good luck!

Kind regards

Kristian Møller
PhD, Postdoc | krimo at itu.dk | +45 2246 8545
IT University of Copenhagen
On Feb 8, 2020, 10:12 +0100, Nadia Tjahja <nadia.tjahja at gmail.com>, wrote:
> Hi Lexi,
>
> I don't do digital ethnography, but I'm glad that you're looking out for
> your safety! I'm very much of the idea of implementing a very strict safety
> approach until you have seen what kinds of reactions come back and then you
> can be more relaxed about how you want to continue, rather safe than sorry.
>
> For a violent extremism and online radicalisation project, I had one
> colleague going "undercover" and I was the public face of the project which
> came out with my personal data, and now I'm researching mental health
> services online and these are some of the precautions we took:
>
> - *Make an introductory appointment with a (university) psychologist and
> afterwards regularly check in with them or a colleague*
> Explain your project and any fears of harassment you may encounter. I
> used to check in with my colleague once every week to ask her how she felt
> about the content she was engaging with and how it made her feel, and also
> if there were any issues or concerns she had about them. If she felt unsafe
> or if she wished that there were certain things she wouldn't encounter. She
> appreciated me reaching out to her and sharing her concerns rather than
> sharing the content. If nothing is wrong, it's great practice on presenting
> your work, but if certain messages or comments make you feel uncomfortable
> in any way, then you can address your feelings about them and check in with
> colleagues how to move further with these concerns.
>
> - *Tell friends and family about your research and the concerns that you
> have*
> There's going to be a lot of explaining about what you do, but letting
> them know makes sure that you've also built your support group in case
> things get more difficult. You want your people to understand what you're
> doing from the get go rather than them being the people that question what
> you do, which can be alienating. If they don't understand your work, widen
> your circle. We found support in places from people we didn't naturally
> expect. My parents for example, don't understand the Internet. Make sure
> they understand the boundaries (that they don't interfere with your study)
> but that you want them to walk the road with you and have your back.
>
> - Mentioned before, *secure your data*!
> In addition to Dr Palma's comments, check any loose accounts that you
> have floating around. If you had a public MySpace or if you ever had an
> online journal, blog ot neopets account, these can provide information
> about yourself that you didn't know could harm you. Check your social media
> accounts in particular what public information is available (people always
> forget that LinkedIn can publish your email and number, so make sure that
> this is hidden). There are also third party accounts that will collect your
> pictures and data such as Rocket Reach, Apollo, you can ask them to remove
> your information. Even mailing lists such as these can be public. If you
> are really concerned, ask also your friends and family to set their
> profiles on private and check that information about you isn't publicly
> available. There are services you can pay that will close down accounts
> that you have open.
>
> - Mentioned before,
> *separate personal from private *Dr Palma also mentions to set up a
> separate Twitter handle, email account etc. and Dr Ferrier asked some very
> good questions to reflect on. My additional comment would be to ensure that
> there is one other tech savvy person who has access to all your accounts
> and can check that you are not dealing with something that nobody saw
> coming. I also use a university computer for my research rather than my
> personal computer.
>
> - *Set time limitations*
> If you do end up with feedback or data which is hurtful, limit your time
> accessing these accounts. Seems obvious, but it's easy to get consumed.
>
>
> Good luck and be safe!
>
>
> *Nadia Tjahja*
> Sunium
> CEO & Co-Founder
> www.sunium.eu
>
>
> On Sat, 8 Feb 2020 at 08:17, Crystal Abidin <crystalabidin at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi Lexi and the AoIR crew,
> > Here are some reflections from a group of digital ethnographers that might
> > be useful: https://anthrodendum.org/tag/private-messages-from-the-field/
> > Our
> > special issue, based on these provocations, on dilemmas from practising
> > digital ethnography will be out in a few weeks.
> > /C
> > –––––––––––––––
> > Dr Crystal Abidin, PhD
> > wishcrys.com
> > Senior Research Fellow & ARC DECRA Fellow, Internet Studies, Curtin
> > University
> > Affiliate Researcher, MMTC, Jönköping University
> > Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia / Pacific Standard Magazine 30 Top Thinkers Under
> > 30
> >
> > Books:
> > Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures (2020)
> > <https://wishcrys.com/instagram-polity/>
> > Microcelebrity Around the Globe: Approaches to Cultures of Internet Fame
> > (2018) <https://wishcrys.com/microcelebrity-around-the-globe-emerald/>
> > Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online (2018)
> > <https://wishcrys.com/internet-celebrity-emerald/>
> >
> > Recent publications:
> > "Si Geena" (Brat): Un-Social Digital Juveniles' Episodic Resistance in
> > Singapore (2019)
> > <
> > https://brill.com/view/journals/dias/aop/article-10.1163-22142312-12340118/article-10.1163-22142312-12340118.xml?rskey=3AvAEw&result=5
> > >
> > Minahs and Minority Celebrity: Parody YouTube Influencers and Minority
> > Politics in Singapore (2019)
> > <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19392397.2019.1698816>
> > Navigating Interdisciplinarity as a Precarious Early Career Researcher
> > (2019)
> > <
> > https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/csrj/article/view/6880?fbclid=IwAR3qSTzf7HbuZG_dFgn5JaPFnZNL7hiBqOVEMuRU_xmTcYn2Ce1Pz9EeHyo
> > >
> > Tacit Labours of Digital Social Research as an Early Career Researcher
> > (2019) <https://jdsr.se/ojs/index.php/jdsr/article/view/10>
> >
> >
> > <
> > http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1274581&dswid=1725
> > >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, 8 Feb 2020 at 14:25, Catherine Summerhayes <
> > catherine.summerhayes at anu.edu.au> wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Lexi
> > > a student of mine did a phd thesis using youtube, setting up a youtube
> > > channel himself. It should be in the ANU Library, his name is Jie Gu,
> > > best
> > > Catherine
> > >
> > > Dr Catherine Summerhayes
> > > Film and New Media Studies
> > > School of Literature Languages and Linguistics
> > > College of Arts and Social Sciences
> > > Australian National University
> > > Ph. +61 2 612 52704
> > > https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/summerhayes-cf
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: Air-L <air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org> on behalf of Ferrier,
> > > Michelle P. <michelle.ferrier at famu.edu>
> > > Sent: Saturday, February 8, 2020 6:26 AM
> > > To: Sonja Solomun <sonja.solomun at mail.mcgill.ca>;
> > > Alexis.DeConing at colorado.edu <Alexis.DeConing at colorado.edu>
> > > Cc: air-l at listserv.aoir.org <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
> > > Subject: Re: [Air-L] Help with digital ethnography & early Internet
> > history
> > >
> > > Hi Alexis,
> > >
> > > I'm a researcher on digital ethnography and I also am the founder of
> > > TrollBusters, online protection for journalists. I think you are right to
> > > have concerns about your own identity as well as the effects of data
> > > compromise of the cloud platforms that might put your respondents at
> > risk.
> > >
> > > Have you thought about data storage and end-to-end encryption of the data
> > > to shore up vulnerabilities? Have you created redundant data collection
> > > receptacles to minimize tampering? Have you baked in GDPR restrictions
> > and
> > > limited access to those who you may not be able to serve under GDPR
> > > guidelines?
> > >
> > > Just some questions to ask as you move forward.
> > >
> > > Sincerely,
> > > Michelle Ferrier
> > >
> > > “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need
> > > inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” ― J.K.
> > > Rowling Michelle P Ferrier, Ph.D.
> > > Dean and Professor, School of Journalism & Graphic Communication
> > > Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University
> > > T: 850-599-3379
> > > Michelle.ferrier at famu.edu
> > > Twitter: @mediaghosts
> > > Founder, Troll-Busters.com <http://www.troll-busters.com/>
> > > Principal Investigator, The Media Deserts Project (<http://>
> > > www.mediadeserts.com <http://www.mediadeserts.com>)
> > > Project Director: The Media Seeds Project (ZipIt.News <
> > > http://www.zipit.news/>)
> > > 2018 Innovative Journalism Educator (MediaShift <
> > >
> > http://mediashift.org/2018/01/edshift20-honoring-innovative-journalism-educators-2017/
> > > > )
> > >
> > >
> > > On 2/7/20, 11:01 AM, "Air-L on behalf of Sonja Solomun" <
> > > air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org on behalf of
> > sonja.solomun at mail.mcgill.ca>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > This email originated outside of Florida A&M University. If you think
> > > this is a phishing (scam) email, please forward to phishbowl at famu.edu or
> > > call 412-HELP.
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi Alexis,
> > >
> > > Fascinating project — re: #1 anything and everything by Mar Hicks <
> > >
> > https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarhicks.com%2Fwriting.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cfc0766188a6d4aa6678808d7abe6fbbe%7C2526db3cd5034dfea0e60c41a20b52d2%7C0%7C1%7C637166880876061689&sdata=k0ukWwnng2XCGN1g%2FygN377EUa5vbdq88cNvuIxAgdk%3D&reserved=0
> > > >
> > >
> > > Good luck!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Sonja Solomun
> > > PhD Communication Studies
> > > McGill University
> > > Research Fellow
> > > Max Bell School of Public Policy
> > > McGill University
> > > sonja.solomun at mcgill.ca<mailto:sonja.solomun at mcgill.ca>
> > > 514-291-2711
> > > @sonja_solomun
> > >
> > > On Feb 7, 2020, at 10:40 AM, Alexis De Coning <
> > > Alexis.DeConing at colorado.edu<mailto:Alexis.DeConing at colorado.edu>>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi AIR folks,
> > >
> > > Long-time follower, first-time emailer! I'm a PhD candidate in Media
> > > Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. I study the men's
> > rights
> > > movement, using interviews, ethnography, archival research, and
> > textual
> > > analysis. I'm currently looking at both pre-digital and digital
> > > materials,
> > > and trying to unpack how the movement "came online" around the 1990s.
> > > I'm
> > > reaching out to elicit some advice, recommendations, and help with a
> > > few
> > > challenges I'm encountering:
> > >
> > > 1. Can anyone recommend good sources on early Internet history,
> > > particularly with regards to gender? I'm especially interested in how
> > > and
> > > when "regular" people started to adopt Internet technologies. I've
> > > found
> > > some interesting evidence in print materials from the early 1990s
> > that
> > > show
> > > men's rights activists transitioning to online spaces, but I'd like
> > to
> > > historicize and contextualize what I'm seeing.
> > >
> > > 2. I'd like to start doing some "digital ethnography" via Twitter. My
> > > university's IRB liaison suggested I build a simple webpage where I
> > can
> > > explain my research, have my consent form, etc. and link to it in my
> > > Twitter profile/tweets to meet IRB's standards for consent with human
> > > subjects. However, given the population I study, I'm concerned about
> > > personal safety, doxxing, harassment, etc. I don't want to be
> > > paranoid, but
> > > I also don't want to be naive about putting my personal information
> > > into
> > > the digital sphere via an easily-hackable webpage. Any advice or
> > > recommendations on digital security or how to go about digital
> > > ethnography
> > > with "difficult" populations be most appreciated.
> > >
> > > Thanks and best regards,
> > > Lexi de Coning
> > > _______________________________________________
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