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Announcement: Social Computing Working Group

Group Members: Kevin Almeroth, Bruce Bimber, Jennifer Earl, Andrew Flanagin, James Frew, Tobias Höllerer, Alan Liu, Miriam Metzger, Ben Y. Zhao.

Research Assistants and Graduate Students: Monica Bulger (lead RA for group), Katrina Kimport (lead RA for group), Ben Adams, Basak Alper, Alex Bostandijiev, Pablo Colapinto, Camilla Fiorese, Darren Hardy, Daniel Havey, Rama Hoetzlein, Jim Kleban, Rebekah Pure, Milena Viljoen.

The Transliteracies Social Computing Group is affiliated with the Center for Information Technology and Society (CITS) and the project on Credibility and Digital Media at UC Santa Barbara. Recognizing the increasing impact of social processes today on the creation, circulation, assessment, and use of online documents (so-called “Web 2.0”), the group works on defining the new field of “social computing.” Particular topics of study include: social computing technologies, analytical and data-mining methods, information credibility (new socio-technological mechanisms of authority, quality, and trust), and collective action.

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“Social Computing in 2020” Contest Winners

The Transliteracies Project and the UCSB Social Computing Group are pleased to announce the winners of the Bluesky Innovation Competition on “Social Computing in 2020.”

The worldwide contest was designed to engage undergraduate and graduate students in the newly emerging, interdisciplinary field of “social computing.” Participants were encouraged to imagine how society and technology will interact 10 to 20 years from now – far enough in the future to stretch our imagination of technology, yet near enough to be plausible.

Contest entries consisted of a description of the envisioned technology as well as an imaginative realization, embodiment, or illustration of the idea. The entries were judged on the basis of creativity, understanding of technology and society, explanatory clarity and organization of the description, and the quality of the imaginative realization, embodiment, or illustration. (See the original contest announcement.)

The Winners:

First Prize ($3,000): “SENSe” by Karen Tanenbaum and Joshua Tanenbaum, graduate students, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University

Excerpts: (more…)

Social Computing in 2020 First Prize Winner: “SENSe” by Karen Tanenbaum and Joshua Tanenbaum

“SENSe” by Karen Tanenbaum and Joshua Tanenbaum, graduate students, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University.

About the Authors:
Karen & Joshua Tanenbaum are both PhD students at Simon Fraser University’s School of Interactive Arts & Technology. Joshua is currently investigating interactive storytelling and games in the SFU SIAT EMIIE Lab under the supervision of Magy Seif El-Nasr and Jim Bizzocchi. His primary research is an investigation of narrative meaning in games and interactive media, however he also writes on embodiment in game interfaces, virtual worlds, and agency and performance in games. Karen is exploring user modeling and ambient intelligence for ubiquitous computing spaces under the supervision of Marek Hatala in the Laboratory for Ontological Research. Her research projects include work on sustainable design, tangible and tabletop computing systems, and expert recommender systems. They are currently collaborating on a research project called TUNE: Tangible Ubiquitous Narrative Environment, a physical storytelling space that responds to the actions and preferences of the reader.

For more information about all of the contest winners, please see the full contest winners announcement.

Participants in the competition warrant that their ideas are their own. Where ideas include component-ideas or materials by others, applicants warrant that any intellectual property owned by others and used in their submissions is approved for use and appropriately attributed.

The copyright or patent for any material submitted for the competition remains with the original owner.

Description of the Idea:

The imagined social technology of SENSe (Socialization, Exploration, Negotiation, and Security) is a natural extension of two current trends in social networking: social presence and privacy concerns. It is evident that the growth in popularity of services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Google Talk and the parallel increase in mobile device usage are symptomatic of larger changes in the nature of social spaces, private spaces, and human interconnectedness. Already, we have seen how social networking supports the emergence of a form of ambient social presence. People now think nothing of signaling their receptiveness to phone calls by toggling a status indicator in Skype, while Twitter and Facebook allow users to periodically broadcast short status updates to their entire social circle. These updates and status indicators foster an “always‐on” sense of one’s social geography: what people are doing right now, minor incidents that occurred throughout their day, how they are feeling and what they are planning. Our new networked world supports the dramatic and the mundane in seamless concert. When disasters occur, these services support efficient real‐time coordination of rescue and relief efforts; when history is made, people around the world receive it in a thousand tiny haiku. If you see that a colleague is having lunch down the block you might join them for a bite to eat; if you see a friend is sad or angry about something you might call to offer comfort. The combination of distributed social broadcasting and pervasive mobile devices is a potent one that has already changed how we communicate in dramatic ways.

However, this is not a trend without consequences. As mobile devices become more pervasive and distributed, the line between what is public information and what is private information becomes much more difficult to negotiate. People are posting more and more information about themselves in public arenas, often without full awareness of the size of the potential audience for viewing this information, or how long it will persist. Small (but significant) indiscretions such as posting photos of last weekend’s party to a social network where they may be accessed by coworkers and supervisors have already resulted in lost jobs. Larger slips, such as accidentally making medical records viewable or failing to secure shared drives with personal documents such as passport or birth certificate information, can result in vulnerability to identity theft and fraud.

Equally troubling is the way new location‐aware technology allows for one’s daily routines to be scrutinized in subtle and often unanticipated ways. When geotagged Flickr photos, Twitter tweets and GPS enabled mobile phones allow easy Google map plotting of your home, workplace, children’s schools, and frequent dining locales, the potential for privacy invasions in the physical as well as digital world increases. As we adopt and embrace this technology we are often not made fully aware of how much of this kind of data is accessible online and how quickly tools can be developed to aggregate and synthesize it into detailed information about our personal lives. Seldom do we even pause to contemplate the potential harmful repercussions of this technology, or to consider how we might mitigate these risks without sacrificing all of the benefits derived from this new connectedness. SENSe provides a technological infrastructure to assist in the ever complexifying process of negotiating these public and private spheres.

In 2020 we expect to see a greater unification of the public and the private. The core affordance of these social technologies is an unprecedented level of access to each‐others’ private worlds, but it comes with an exaggeration of all of the risks spelled out above. As with any shift in the technology of socialization, a parallel shift must occur in how we negotiate and navigate the new social world. When humans first began living in cities, the social norms from an agrarian society were no longer sufficient to govern interpersonal behavior. In 2020, we anticipate a need for a new mechanism for negotiating our identities, our personal information, and our public and private spaces — spaces that will be closer than at any other point in our history. (more…)

Social Computing in 2020 Second Prize Winner: “Experiential Skin Diving” by Daniel Luis Kamakura

“Experiential Skin Diving” by Daniel Luis Kamakura, undergraduate, English major, Duke University

About the Author: Daniel Kamakura is a rising undergraduate senior at Duke University, with aspirations of going to medical school and becoming a published science fiction writer. Having been an amateur writer since 5th grade, the Bluesky “Social Computing in 2020” Competition is his first submission to a mainstream creative competition. He is currently studying for his MCATs in August, working on the manuscript of his first, full-length science fiction novel, as well as searching for an artist to assist in a possible graphic novel tie-in. He hopes to complete both projects–including matriculation to medical school–some time before the year 2020, and eagerly looks forward to his first “Skin Diving” experience.

For more information about all of the contest winners, please see the full contest winners announcement.

Participants in the competition warrant that their ideas are their own. Where ideas include component-ideas or materials by others, applicants warrant that any intellectual property owned by others and used in their submissions is approved for use and appropriately attributed.

The copyright or patent for any material submitted for the competition remains with the original owner.

Description of the Idea:

It is part of human nature to desire to be or do things that are not always easy or even physically possible, to be or do. Very few human beings, for example, will ever experience the sensation of walking on the Moon, or hitting a home run in Wrigley field, or swimming with sharks in the Great Barrier Reef. Very few human beings, for example, will ever be anyone but the person they are at any given moment; this knowledge is ingrained and consciously known as fact, but nevertheless, people still dream of being Neil Armstrong, or Mark McGuire, or Jacques Cousteau, and of doing the things that these men could do.

In the year 2020, however, the ability to be something or someone else, to do something that may or may not be likely, or even physically possible, will become reality: virtual reality. With new advances in intelligent nanofibers and materials, fiber optics, super- and semi-conducting substances, and data storage, collection, and transfer technologies, reality can be accurately simulated in a virtual setting. And by using unique programs and garments made of specialized materials, virtual sensations can for the first time be experienced safely, realistically, and above all accessibly by the average consumer, allowing a quantum leap in social networking and the next logical progression from life- and experience-sharing softwares and technologies.

In this new age of experiential simulation, social “networkers” wear special ultra-thin “recording suits” that digitally record every sensation that they experience. The “experience” is then downloaded to a computer and uploaded to the Internet, where “skin divers” download and relive the experience by hooking up their own full-body “sensation suits” which mimic the experience in minute detail. (more…)

Social Computing in 2020 Third Prize Winner: “Anatomical Analytics” by Chris Castiglione

“Anatomical Analytics” by Chris Castiglione, graduate student, New Media Programme, University of Amsterdam

About the Author: Chris Castiglione is a New Media student in the graduate program at the University of Amsterdam. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Media Arts and Design from James Madison University. Over the past few years he has lived in Amsterdam, Washington DC, New York City, Osaka and London, studying and working in the field of New Media. Since 2000 he has been involved in various music projects including his latest work, Dance At The Postoffice, and the ‘free music’ blog musicNeutral. Recently, he has been writing and researching issues concerning the influence of non-commercial content and piracy on the creative industries.

For more information about all of the contest winners, please see the full contest winners announcement.

Participants in the competition warrant that their ideas are their own. Where ideas include component-ideas or materials by others, applicants warrant that any intellectual property owned by others and used in their submissions is approved for use and appropriately attributed.

The copyright or patent for any material submitted for the competition remains with the original owner.

Description of the Idea:

Ubiquitous computing is a model of human-computer interaction in which
small, inexpensive chips are embedded into everyday objects {1}. In contrast to
popular futuristic visions of cyberspace where we immerse our bodies inside
a virtual reality system, ubiquitous computing extends technology beyond
the borders of our screen and works like reverse virtual reality. Radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags are commonly used in ubiquitous
computing applications. RFID tags are already all around us: they are woven
into our passports where they store bits of data about our identity, they
connect products on the shelf to a database which instantly aggregates an
inventory status, and they are used in certain libraries to map a book’s exact
location within the library. My idea for a technology in the year 2020 is to
embed RFID chips inside our body in order to monitor health. Connecting
these chips across a global network will allow us to manage health trends
and lead to new developments in what I will refer to as Anatomical Analytics. (more…)

Social Computing in 2020 Honorable Mention: “Virtual Health Centers” by Mariano Mora-McGinity

“Virtual Health Centers” by Mariano Mora-McGinity, graduate student, Media Arts and Technology, UC Santa Barbara.

About the Author:
Mariano Mora McGinity was born in Newcastle‐upon‐Tyne (UK) and raised in the UK and Spain. McGinity holds degrees in Composition (Musikhochschule Düsseldorf), Guitar (Real Conservatorio Superior de Madrid), Philosophy (UNED University Madrid) and Journalism (Universidad Complutense, Madrid). McGinity is currently studying a PhD in the Media Arts and Technology department at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

For more information about all of the contest winners, please see the full contest winners announcement.

Participants in the competition warrant that their ideas are their own. Where ideas include component-ideas or materials by others, applicants warrant that any intellectual property owned by others and used in their submissions is approved for use and appropriately attributed.

The copyright or patent for any material submitted for the competition remains with the original owner.

Description of the Idea:

One of the greatest tragedies of the technological revolution brought about by computers is that, even to a greater degree than the industrial and oil revolutions, it hasn’t improved the living conditions of a vast majority of the world’s population.

In this paper we propose a simple idea that intends to do just that: contribute to improve the living conditions of people who have no easy access to technology. We introduce the main idea, explain why we think the idea is a good and perhaps a necessary thing, suggest a number of ways which might help to realize the project, and finally discuss what are the social benefits of carrying it out.

I.

The project consists of three main elements:


  • A vehicle equipped with a satellite dish and medical equipment and medicines: for all practical purposes, a mobile consulting room.
  • A medical networking website, where doctors can log in voluntarily and offer their expertise and effectively carry out examinations of patients through the Internet.
  • A database containing the medical histories of all the patients who visit the health care vehicle. These histories would be made accessible, prior consent from the patient, to the doctor who is carrying out the examination, thus enabling her to make a more accurate diagnosis.

(more…)

Social Computing in 2020 Honorable Mention: “Mexican Laser Light Extravaganza” by Justin Andrew Gutierrez

“Mexican Laser Light Extravaganza“ by Justin Andrew Gutierrez, undergraduate, Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts/Music, UC San Diego.

About the Author:Justin Andrew Gutierrez is an undergraduate in the Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts / Music program at UC San Diego. Gutierrez expects to receive his degree in 2009.

For more information about all of the contest winners, please see the full contest winners announcement.

Participants in the competition warrant that their ideas are their own. Where ideas include component-ideas or materials by others, applicants warrant that any intellectual property owned by others and used in their submissions is approved for use and appropriately attributed.

The copyright or patent for any material submitted for the competition remains with the original owner.

Description of the Idea:

A Spherical Revolution

We have all heard the phrase, “the pen is mightier than the sword.” Because of the advancement of technology, the quick spreading of words has inevitably altered the outlook of social communities throughout history: the Gutenburg Bible, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. In the 21st century, the spreading of messages is happening even faster and more conveniently than paper leaflets and books, with the emergence of methods such as text messaging, mass emailing, and small, net-based computers (“netbooks”). In general, two trends are occurring: the messages are traveling faster, and the methods are becoming smaller.

The final form of these messages are also becoming more unfiltered in terms of the events they represent. Because of the recent advancement of net-based technology, such as the growing versatility of cellular phones and more reliable internet streaming, messages are traveling through wire and air to compact devices in other forms besides text: audio and video. The messages in these media are richer than text, because of the included human elements of voice, facial expressions and gestures. What this means is that people are able to receive messages and events in their actuality–straight from the horse’s mouth and eyes. At any particular moment, a person with a contemporary cellular phone can search videos on the Web, and bring them to view into their very palm. This has become quite a revolutionary way to find, or rather experience, information.

Because of the accessibility of video streams, and the non-existent cost of displaying personal video on the Web, individuals and groups have began to project personalities, original documentaries and entertaining material, with a generally indirect goal of projecting themselves onto the world. With social networking sites as a platform for distributing video, some individuals have gained acknowledgement worldwide for video recordings that have added unique qualities to the Internet. Internet video sites, such as youTube, have allowed for individuals or groups to be judged by the global community, which in turn projects what they have to potentially offer to the world.

I believe that a future advancement in social computing is the projection of ideas into physical space from a network of people. (more…)

Social Computing in 2020 Honorable Mention: “Continuous Media Mobilities” by Jordan Kraemer

“Continuous Media Mobilities” by Jordan Kraemer, graduate student, Cultural Anthropology, UC Irvine.

About the Author:
Jordan Kraemer is pursuing a PhD in Cultural Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. Her dissertation project deals with new media and spatial scalemaking in Berlin. Prior to graduate study, Kraemer worked as a graphic designer and web producer.

For more information about all of the contest winners, please see the full contest winners announcement.

Participants in the competition warrant that their ideas are their own. Where ideas include component-ideas or materials by others, applicants warrant that any intellectual property owned by others and used in their submissions is approved for use and appropriately attributed.

The copyright or patent for any material submitted for the competition remains with the original owner.

Description of the Idea:

Continuous Media Mobilities and Global Cities

In the next decade, trends will continue in digital media and social computing that offer opportunities for collaboration and creativity. These include increasing interactivity, improved wireless networks, ubiquitous computing in everyday objects, and sensor-equipped devices. As the history of technology suggests, however, the development of new media remains subject to power imbalances, and will be directed according to the interests of dominant groups, reinforcing their value systems. While challenging to imagine the logics that will govern technology in the near future, the language of mobility and youthfulness shape technology practices today, emphasizing global interconnectivity. Undoubtably, new kinds of digital media will support collaborative work in learning, research, business, and entertainment, offering novel sites for the articulation of different kinds of community. We must attend, however, to the structural inequalities overlooked by the language of technological progress, from questions of access to competences like language ability. While dominant visions of new media will influence design and implementation, there remains the possibility for users to appropriate technology in creative and unanticipated ways, altering our conceptions of new media.

I envision two separate, interrelated trends that will shape future media practices, with consequences for social organization and forms of sociality. (more…)

“Social Computing in 2020” Bluesky Innovation Competition

The University of California Transliteracies Project and UC Santa Barbara Social Computing Group announce the “Social Computing in 2020” Bluesky Innovation Competition. What will social computing technologies and practices be like in the year 2020?


  • Eligible: Undergraduate or graduate students anywhere in the world.

  • Awards: 1st prize, $3000 USD; 2nd prize, $1000, 3rd prize, $500.

  • Submission Format: Description of an idea + Imaginative realization, embodiment, or illustration of the idea in a variety of possible formats (e.g., an essay, story, script, application sketch, fictional business plan, etc.).

  • Deadline: January 30, 2009.

  • Full Competition Announcement: Guidelines & Submission Details


Students from any discipline—humanities, arts, social sciences, computer science, engineering, etc.—are encouraged to apply. The competition emphasizes visionary, thoughtful, or critical concepts rather than technical knowledge as such.

For more information, see the full competition announcement. Inquiries may be directed by email to socialcomputing@lsmail.ucsb.edu

Social Computing Group Workshop

Workshop logo

The UCSB Social Computing Group held a workshop on Friday May 30th on the present and future of social computing with guests Joan DiMicco (IBM Collaborative User Experience Group), Tad Hirsch (MIT Media Lab), Peter Kollock (Sociology Dept., UCLA), Larry Sanger (a founder of Wikipedia, Editor-in-Chief of the Citizendium), and Nancy van House (School of Information, UC Berkeley). The workshop is a small-scale, by-invitation-only event designed to facilitate brainstorming.

Workshop Schedule:

  • 8:00—Breakfast

  • 8:30 – 9:15—Introductions (led by: Alan Liu)

  • 9:30 – 10:45—Conversation Roundtable 1 (co-leads: Joan DiMicco, Alan Liu)

  • 11:00 – 12:00—Bluesky Group Presentation & Discussion (co-leads: Pablo Colapinto, Darren Hardy, Rama Hoetzlein)

  • 12:00 – 1:00—Lunch

  • 1:00 – 2:15—Conversation Roundtable 2 (co-leads: Peter Kollock, Tad
    Hirsch)

  • 2:30 – 3:45—Conversation Roundtable 3 (co-leads: Nancy Van House, Larry Sanger)

  • 4:00 – 5:00—Critique Session (led by Kevin Almeroth)

For more information, visit the UCSB Social Computing Workshop Wiki.

About the UCSB Social Computing Group:
The UCSB Social Computing Group includes faculty and graduate students from several UCSB centers, programs, and initiatives—including the Center for Information Technology & Society, the Transliteracies Project, the Credibility & Digital Media@UCSB Project, the Bren School, Computer Science, Media Arts & Technology, Education, and Sociology.