A digital dérive

[mozfest-bot]

[ UUID ] 4860df33-c2be-4453-b95b-a52a3d333961

[ Submitter's Name ] Timothy Cowlishaw [ Submitter's Affiliated Organisation ] BBC Research and Development [ Submitter's Github ] @timcowlishaw

[ Additional facilitators ] TBC

What will happen in your session?

The dérive is a revolutionary strategy proposed by Guy Debord and the Situationist International, "a mode of experimental behavior linked to the conditions of urban society: a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances". It is a critical tool for understanding power, control and influence in the urban environment by exploring the possibilities afforded by unplanned exploration of the urban environment, as well as being a revolutionary antidote to malaise and boredom!

We will take our participants on a dérive through hypertext - an open-ended exploration of digital space, as well as providing a short introductory talk on urbanism, psychogeography and critical social theory, and how they can be used to understand the politics of online space.

What is the goal or outcome of your session?

We aim to better understand how the architecture and politics of the modern web affect our experience of it, as well as developing everyday strategies for combating the concentrations of power which manifest themselves there, through a practical exploration of the digital public space.

If your session requires additional materials or electronic equipment, please outline your needs.

post-its, pens, projector. Participants will need to bring their own internet-connected device (one between 3-5 minimum)

Time needed

60 mins

[timcowlishaw]

I should probably also point out that although i've put an affiliation above, I'm submitting this as an individual rather than as an official representative of my department / organisation.

[jontutcher]

This strikes me as a great opportunity to visualise or otherwise show how a group of people stumbling through the web might be influenced. How do you see the post-its/pens/projectors being used in your session, and is it the kind of thing that we could do sometime near the beginning of MozFest and keep artifacts up on the wall for the rest of the weekend?

Seems like it'd be easy to find parts of the web with 'gravity' - i.e. how long before someone gets into Wikipedia and never escapes? 'Scuse me if I've got the wrong end of the stick...

[kaodro]

Hi @timcowlishaw , my name is Kasia and I work on Mozilla’s Internet Health Report. At Mozfest we will be present with an “Internet Research Hub” #618 (last comment) - an easy-going, cozy space for discussions and networking both with us about Internet Health and among researchers themselves.

We also invite anyone who does work in an Internet research field to sign up and present their work at a couple of open display tables we will have in the hub. If you would like to present something in the Hub in addition to your official session, let me know! We will promote these sessions throughout the festival. You can sign up spontaneously with pen and paper on site or if you would like to save a spot beforehand, drop me an email at kasia@mozillafoundation.org with a short description of the session.

In any case, I would like to invite you to pass by the hub and say hi. We will start with an informal "Research and coffee grinder” get-together at the beginning of the festival where people can get to know each other. Space and exact schedule for the Hub are still being decided and I will update you once we know the details. Hope to see you there!

[timcowlishaw]

Hey there @kaodro! Aha, that sounds really interesting! Will have a think about what to present. In any case, will be sure to stop by and say hello - The Internet Health report looks very relevant to something I'm working on in my day job, so would be great to compare notes.

[timcowlishaw]

Oh, also, do you have an email address I can contact you on @kaodro? My friend David would be a great person to do a session - he's an STS researcher at the University of Linkoping with an interest in digital tools for qualitative research among other things. If this is of interest I'll put you in touch - he's not on github though so can't tag him!

[kaodro]

@timcowlishaw sure, he can shoot me an email at kasia@mozillafoundation.org. Looking forward to chat in the Hub, it looks like we might have many overlaps!