Week 9: Social networking and online immersion

LECTURE ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29

Lada A. Adamic, "The social hyperlink," in Joseph Turow et al., eds., The Hyperlinked Society: Questioning Connections in the Digital Age (2008).
S. Craig Watkins, "'May I have your attention?' The consequences of anytime, anywhere technology," in The Young and the Digital (2009).

If it's your turn to write a 500-word article critique, you must post this to your section blog before your section meets.
If it's your week to give a speech, prepare and practice! Otherwise, prepare for a possible extemporaneous speech response.
Complete your peer reviews of your fellow students' paper #2 drafts on their pages of the discussion section wiki.

First five minutes: Pop quiz? Maybe!
Two student presentations (#13 and #14)on the readings (and two student extemporaneous responses).
Discuss this week's lecture and required readings.
Discuss paper #2 revision strategies.

This week's challenge will be especially difficult. Get ready.

Attempt to survive without using any personal digital social networking tools for the whole weekend, Friday 5pm to Sunday 5pm. Do not consult or post to Facebook or MySpace or Google+. Do not Tweet. Do not text. Do not instant-message. Do not Skype. Do not iChat. Do not answer personal emails (or even read them, if you can avoid it). And, yes, do not use your cell phone at all (although you may use a land-line phone or a pay phone). The only thing you are allowed to do is the minimum necessary online participation for other classes you are taking.
Once the weekend is over (or once you've thrown in the towel if you don't make it to Sunday at 5pm), write about the experience on your discussion section blog. How do you end up communicating with people? How do you coordinate meetings with your friends? How do you survive without taking a Quiz On Your Favorite Star Wars Mini-Figure every hour?
Comment on at least one other student's write-up.
Be thankful you weren't a college student before the early 1990s, like I was, when THERE WAS NO WORLD WIDE WEB! (Gasp!)
You must finish this online activity before next week's lecture.

Atsushi Akera, "Communities and specialized information businesses," in William Aspray and Paul E. Ceruzzi, eds., The Internet and American business (2008).
Andrew Chadwick, "The political economy of internet media," inInternet politics (2006).
Caroline Haythornthwaite and Barry Wellman, "The internet in everyday life: An introduction" (2002).
Lawrence Lessig, "Cyberspaces," in Code and other laws of cyberspace (1999).
Ari Melber, "About Facebook," The Nation (07 January 2008).
James Sturm, "Life without the Web," Slate (various postings 2010).
S. Craig Watkins, "The very well connected: Friending, bonding, and community in the digital age," The young and the digital (2009).
Duncan Watts, "Small worlds," in Six Degrees: The science of a connected age (2003).
Langdon Winner, "Who will we be in cyberspace?" The Information Society (1996).
Growing up online (60 min). You may reach this film on the PBS web site