simonlindgren.com

Introducing Textometrica

Simon — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:27:53 +0000

I built Textometrica with Fredrik Palm at HUMlab. It is a text analysis package tailored to the way I work with co-occurrence analyses.

The things we do for science

Simon — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:42:44 +0000

The Sociology of Media and Information Technologies

Simon — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:54:00 +0000

I wrote this chapter for the book Introduction to Sociology: Scandinavian Sensibilities which is out now on Pearson. It is called “The sociology of media and information technologies” and can be downloaded in a draft version from here.

Interviewed in SR Vetenskap

Simon — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:10:59 +0000

Swedish radio interview here.

Oslo keynote in October

Simon — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:56:11 +0000

I will keynote the International Conference of Popular Culture and Social Transformation in Oslo this October.

The subpolitics of online piracy

Simon — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:07:22 +0000

Convergence just published my article The Subpolitics of Online Piracy: A Swedish Case Study which was co-authored with Jessica Linde. Our presentation of this research at ISA2010 in Gothenburg is available here [slides+audio]. The article will go into an issue of Convergence later this year, but the OnlineFirst edition can be found here. For the copyright-free final draft version go here.

ABSTRACT ‘Pirates’ and ‘anti-pirates’ have become common concepts in the cultural political debate, as the file-sharing phenomenon is a delicate and disputed subject. The fact that people organize in networks to share data with each other has led film and music companies from all over the world to initiate a number of anti-piracy organizations, assigned to protect the property rights to culture and information. In Sweden, the industrial organization The Swedish Bureau of Anti-Piracy on the one side, and the network The Bureau of Piracy together with The Pirate Party, on the other, play important parts in the prevailing conflict. The purpose of this article is to apply a sociological perspective on the collective act of file sharing. By focusing on the distinctly organized part of file sharing activities as well as on the everyday practices of users, the goal is to describe how the collective action and the production of knowledge, taking place in relation to online piracy, can be understood.

Listed!

Simon — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 07:54:40 +0000

During this last week, I have been getting a lot more new followers to my Twitter account than I usually get. This seems to be the consequence of me being listed, first on a list of recommended sociologists to follow and then on Swedish InternetWorld’s list of creative people to look out for in the future. This is of course flattering, and I thank those who put me up there. I will do my best to stay worthy of these recommendations.

Top 50 Sociology Professors on Twitter

InternetWorld.se list of 62 creative people to keep an eye on

Interviewed on Sámi Radio about the #sametinget hashtag

Simon — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:17:38 +0000

Listen here

Where the action is in Twitter activism

Simon — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:27:32 +0000

One of the most interesting insights from my ongoing research on the use of Twitter for activism in the Libyan uprising of #feb17 is that the actual movers and shakers of the rebellion can be identified using the notion of the bow tie structure of web-based directed networks. This figure that I am working on shows how tweeters that feed the #feb17 network with info tend to be activists, while those who simply receive without taking an active part tend to be news organizations and governments. While network analyses based on simple metrics for network flow will indicate that, for example, CNN or the BBC are important “actors” in the discourse, they get their prominent position mainly through the fact that they are tweeted about. These are preliminary results, but still.

TV4 Interview on Video Game Violence

Simon — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:55:38 +0000

I was interviewed by the local TV4 station about the recent debate (here and here, 2nd one roughly translated) in Sweden concerning effects of “violent computer and video games” on children.The clip is in Swedish. My basic point is that screen media are stigmatized by previous debates and moral panics, making it harder for video games than i.e. books to be recognized for their positive sides.