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Thinking the value of social data

I have been thinking a lot lately about the underlying dynamics of big data, and how most discussions around online privacy and surveillance are functions of absent or simplistic taxonomies for social data. This is a lecture I gave last week to a 100-level convergent media class, where I tried to synthesize these ideas in a more or less coherent package illustrating the dynamics. I start with a list of Pompeii graffiti, which look surprisingly similar to tweets, illustrating two features of social data: we generate a lot of it on the go, and it tends to outlast the context for which it was generated. I then move through artifacts such as Raytheon’s RIOT software, the numbers on big data and and the way they bring forward the notion of flow management, the FinFisher spy software, and the Camover anti-surveillance game. I end with Bruce Schneier’s proposal for a working social data taxonomy.

2 Comments

  1. Bryce Bryce

    Hi, just a heads up; it seems your WordPress has been exploited and is inserting links in your feed template for “payday loans”.

    Keep up the gud poastings!

  2. ted ted

    Thanks for pointing it out, it was a php injection through a plugin I installed [I think]. Should be ok now.

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