Academics

#126: The Cultural Sociology of Political Performance, Icons, and Social Media, with Prof. Jeffrey Alexander

May 16, 2021 Academics

Jeffrey Alexander, Professor of Sociology at Yale University, discusses his cultural sociology approach to political performance and cultural icons. We start out with the concept of fusion, and how political actors work to achieve it through the elements of political performance. Then, we turn to a discussion of objects, affordances, and the power of political icons.

 

Here’s some extra reading on the topics we cover in the episode:

 

Cultural Pragmatics: Social Performance Between Ritual and Strategy (2004)

The Performativity of Objects (2020)

#125: Digital Media Infrastructures and Tech Platforms, with Dr. Jean-Christophe Plantin

May 2, 2021 Academics

Dr. Jean-Christophe Plantin, Associate Professor in Media and Communications at the London School of Economics, explains the concept of media infrastructures.


We discuss Dr. Plantin’s research on digital platforms, infrastructures, and how tech giants like Facebook and Google increasingly blend those two concepts. We also discuss the infrastructure of WeChat, and get into Dr. Plantin’s ongoing work into the concept of programmable infrastructures – which explores how the hardware of the tech industry is becoming increasingly disagreggated and modular.


Check out Dr. Plantin’s recent talk at Sciences Po for more details on programmable infrastructures.


And the articles we discuss in the episode:


Digital Media Infrastructures: Pipes, Platforms, and Politics (2018)

Infrastructure Studies Meet Platform Studies in the Age of Google and Facebook (2018)

WeChat as Infrastructure: The Techno-Nationalist Shaping of Chinese Digital Platforms (2019)

#122: Digital Politics in Canada: Parties, Memes, and the Courts, with Dr. Tamara Small

February 21, 2021 Academics

Dr. Tamara A. Small, Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Guelph, discusses her research on social media and politics in Canada. We start out with her latest edited volume Digital Politics in Canada: Promises and Realities (2020, University of Toronto Press).


We then dive into Dr. Small’s research on Canadian party leaders’  use of Twitter, citizens’ sharing of memes about Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, and how Canadian courts use social media. We also cover how journalists live-tweet about court cases, and the Canadian courts’ struggle to adapt during Covid-19.


Here’s the full list of studies discussed in the episode:


Digital Politics in Canada: Promises and Realities (2020)

What the Hashtag? A Content Analysis of Canadian Politics on Twitter (2011)

Online Negativity in Canada: Do Canadian Party Leaders Attack on Twitter? (2018)

Trolling Stephen Harper: Internet Memes as Online Activism (2019)

“Justin Trudeau – I Don’t Know Her”: An Analysis of Leadership Memes of Justin Trudeau (2020)

Tweet Justice: The Canadian Court’s Use of Social Media (2020)

Play-by-Play Justice: Tweeting Criminal Trials in the Digital Age (2020)

Trial by Zoom? The Response to COVID-19 by Canada’s Courts (2020)

#121: Information Theory, Algorithms, and Political Polarization, with Prof. Martin Hilbert

February 7, 2021 Academics

Martin Hilbert, Professor of Communication at UC-Davis, discusses his research on algorithms and polarization. Prof. Hilbert introduces information theory and how it can be applied to studying the transfer of emotions via algorithms. We break down some of Prof. Hilbert’s recent studies, as well as his current thinking around detaching from social algorithms.


The studies discussed in the episode:


Behavioral Experiments With Social Algorithms: An Information Theoretic Approach to Input-Output Conversions

Do Search Algorithms Endanger Democracy? An Experimental Investigation of Algorithm Effects on Political Polarization

Communicating with Algorithms: A Transfer Entropy Analysis of Emotions-based Escapes from Online Echo Chambers


Prof. Hilbert’s seven part Medium series on Social Media Distancing. 

#119: 2020 Year in Review! Social Media and Politics, with Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten

December 20, 2020 Academics

Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten joins for the 5th Annual Social Media and Politics Year in Review! We answer listener questions and present six gifts, each representing big events that shaped social media and politics this year.


25:18 – Platform Year in Review Reports
53:08 – Platforms and Activism (Belarus and Thailand)
1:16:26 – Political Ad Effectiveness
1:38:00 – Platform Regulation (Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act)
2:02:31 – Tweets from the Dead
2:17:00 – Platform Fragmentation


Here’s a list of each platform’s year in review reports:

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, Reddit, Reddit UK, Reddit Moderators, Pornhub Debate Night


Other supplementary material:

Acronym’s ‘Haha Ratio’

Priorities USA’s “Wreck” Ad

Digital Services Act

Margarethe Vestager on the Digital Services Act

Study Modelling Dead Social Media Accounts

Tufts Research on Youth and Political Engagement

Pew Research on Social Media and Persuasion

#117: Incivility, Intolerance, and Misinformation Sharing on Social Media and News Websites, with Dr. Patricía Rossini

November 15, 2020 Academics

Dr. Patricía Rossini, Derby Fellow in the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Liverpool, discusses her latest research on informal political talk online. We break down differences between incivility and intolerance in online discussions, as well as misinformation sharing across Facebook and WhatsApp. 

The two studies we discuss in the episode are: 

  1. Beyond Incivility: Understanding Patterns of Uncivil and Intolerant Discourse in Online Political Talk
  2. Dysfunctional Information Sharing on WhatsApp and Facebook: The Role of Political Talk, Cross-Cutting Exposure and Social Corrections

#116: Instagram for Political Campaigning, Agenda Setting, and the 2020 US Election, with Prof. Terri Towner

October 25, 2020 Academics

Dr. Terri Towner, Professor of Political Science at Oakland University, discusses her research on political campaigning and information on Instagram. We also give first impressions from the last presidential debate between Trump and Biden, and break down some poll results about citizens’ social media use during the coronavirus pandemic. 

 

Here are the two studies we discuss in the episode: 

 

The Image is the Message: Instagram Marketing and the 2016 Presidential Primary Season

Instagramming Issues: Agenda Setting During the 2016 Presidential Campaign

#115: Bad News, Social Media, and Digital Campaigning in Britain, with Dr. Mark Pack

October 4, 2020 Academics

Dr. Mark Pack, President of the Liberal Democrats, guests to discuss his new book: “Bad News: What the Headlines Don’t Tell Us.“

 

We talk about some of the flaws of election campaign coverage and how to be better consumers of news using social media. Dr. Pack also shares his insights on digital campaigning in Britain, where he ran digital operations for the LibDems in the 2001 and 2005 general elections. 

#114: The Hype Machine: Political Implications of the Social Media Industrial Complex, with Prof. Sinan Aral

September 19, 2020 Academics

Sinan Aral, David Austin Professor of Management at MIT and Director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, discusses his new book “The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health—and How We Must Adapt.”


Prof. Aral breaks down key theoretical concepts from the book, which outlines some of the fundamental mechanisms for how social media platforms operate. We also discuss the science behind these concepts and they implications they have for elections, politics, and society. 

#113: Data-Driven Political Campaigning in Germany, with Dr. André Haller and Simon Kruschinski

September 5, 2020 Academics

Dr. André Haller (University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tyrol) and Simon Kruschinski (University of Mainz) share their research into data-driven political campaigning in Germany. We discuss the key political, legal, and cultural factors that influence German politicians digital campaigning, differences in organic posts versus paid advertisements, and how social media platforms have been used by fringe political actors.

 

Here’s the research paper we discuss in the episode: Restrictions on Data-Driven Political Micro-targeting in Germany.