The other week I launched TWT on DemConnect. I’m excited about this new stats/data venture and what it means for understanding how people (government officials in this case) are interacting with Twitter. Here’s a short behind-the-scenes look at what I’m doing:
- First, most of this is automated. If you know me at all, and how I like to work, if there’s a way to automate a part of a job, I’ll attempt to do that. In this case, I’ve automated the data collection process. I’ve created software that grabs key data points daily for a selected group of users. Right now it’s grabbing government accounts, but it could in reality grab any public Twitter account. (This will probably feed into a future research project
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I’ve been reflecting recently on some research I did in preparing my thesis (pgs. 10 – 14 cover this area) and wanted to recap some thoughts on the roles users/audience members/etc. play in an online community. There are four generally accepted roles users play in online communities:
- Moderators
- Professionals
- Participants
- Lurkers
Each of these roles has a function within the community; and I’d argue that every community (or website in general) has each of these roles.
Moderators: The moderator(s) is usually the founder of the site and the overall administrator of what’s happening online. The moderator is in charge of enforcing policies and ensuring the community stays true to its purpose. One of the main day-to-day responsibilities of a moderator is managing the spam and conflicts …
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Almost five years ago I conducted my ground-breaking research on Facebook that surveyed four colleges and universities throughout the United States with over 3000 students responding and shedding insights onto how college students use Facebook and the potential benefits/drawbacks it brings to the educational institution. That was five years ago, and a lot has changed with the platform and adoption.
I’m now starting to get together a group of scholars who are interested in conducting a follow-up study next year (spring 2011) to see how the landscape has changed for students. I also plan on diving into a few more detailed issues to see what, if any, implications lie between Facebook and students. For example, I’m interested in diving a little into the impacts Facebook …
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Mashable has a great article with an awesome snapshot graphic about Facebook use in the USA. Thanks to Muhammad Saleem for posting this at Mashable. (click image for full-size)
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I read today over at RWW that FOX News covered a story, “Facebook Users Get Worse Grades in College.” The report follows an Ohio State Study that surveyed ~200 students (just over half grad-students) showing that Facebook usage is correlated to lower GPA.
I’m a bit frustrated for two main reason:
1) This isn’t breaking news. I reported in my research 3 years ago about the relationship between Facebook and GPA. I would not say conclusively that prolonged usage of Facebook results in lower GPAs, just that a relationship exists there (same as the researcher said from Ohio State). As I suggested, more research needs to be done in this field. Now, perhaps that’s what Aryn Karpinski of Ohio State did, but I’m …
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I’ve recently stumbled upon a few stats that I find interested regarding my thesis I wrote in 2006, “Uncovering the social impacts of Facebook on a college campus.” I’m not trying to brag, but just excited to see my research is starting to make an impact on society and is being used beyond what I intended it for. This is very exciting in the area of social network research and the sociological and psychological implications it has. I made a few conclusions at the end of my thesis on the impacts Facebook carries, and look forward to seeing that theory expand as others add to the field.
Cited in Publications
I’ve been cited in 3 published books that I’ve been alerted from Google …
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Well, I’m happy to say this is probably the first time I’ve been cited in a newspaper for my research.
Recently I was interviewed by The McGill Daily of Montreal, Canada. Nikki Bozinoff published an article, “Anti-social site pokes fun at Facebook,” where she explored some of the reasons people don’t sign up for Facebook. I was happy to be put in the great ranks with Danah Boyd.…
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I’ve removed a few posts in order to make this blog more tech focused. I’ve launched a new blog for those interested in my research on social networks and the impact they play on a college campus.
Update: 5.1.2007: I’ve removed a few other links and put them on my new personal blog which will focus on my personal life and random thoughts in the world. matthewvb.com will continue to be focused on technology and web developments.…
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The other week I launched TWT on DemConnect. I’m excited about this new stats/data venture and what it means for understanding how people (government officials in this case) are interacting with Twitter. Here’s a short behind-the-scenes look at what I’m doing: