nettime Announcement: Society of the Query #2, 7-8 November 2013, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Society of the Query #2 Online Search: about 4.720.000.000 results November 7 ? 8, 2013 Main Building Amsterdam Public Library (OBA) Amsterdam (NL) This fall the Institute of Network Cultures invites you to the second Society of the Query conference on search and search engines, 7 and 8 November in the OBA (public library) in Amsterdam. Together with Ren? K?nig from the ITAS Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, we are working on putting together the program with different sessions and discussions, that will hopefully be complemented with exciting workshops, an art program and a hackathon. We aim to give new energy to the discussion on search and search engines by bringing together researchers from different disciplines, with artists, programmers and designers. In early 2014 this will also result in the publication of the Society of the Query Reader. Preliminary program: November 7 (afternoon): 1. Google domination Even though it is the aim of the Society of the Query to broaden the scope of search beyond Google, it is nonetheless inevitable to pay attention to the dominance of Google in the search engine market - especially from the perspective of the Netherlands, where Google has a market share of around 95%. Despite the growing diversification of Google in terms of revenue, search is still its main source of income, while users still see Google as a free service. Lately the battlefield has shifted to search on mobile phones - could this change or even end Google's domination? What are the implications of the low resistance of the Google monopoly against PRISM? Has the time come for alternative, independent search engines? With Siva Vaidhyanathan (US), Astrid Mager (AT), Dirk Lewandowski (GE) 2. Search across the border It is little known in the west that elsewhere in the world Google is not a major player. Can we speak of cultural differences in the architecture of search technology? And in the way users search in for example the rural parts of India? In China there is a separate search engine domain, leading to a different political economy of online search - geopolitical, linguistically and culturally. How can we oppose this to the libertarian, North-American values of Google? With Payal Arora (NL), Min Jiang (US) 3. Reflections on search Is it possible to analyze the search engine as a cultural artifact? Does it have a philosophical agenda and how can we read it? Search is often overlooked as an important part in the fast changing field of knowledge production. It is only dealt with in a mathematical and statistical fashion or with a focus on its economic significance as a tool of corporate power. But search did not commence in the late 90s - it has been around for centuries. It's important to stress the media-archeological approach, since the history of search, digital or analogue, offers many insights into its cultural meaning. With Antoinette Rouvroy (BE), Anton Tantner (AT), Kylie Jarrett (IRE) November 8 4. Search in context There is a long-term cultural shift in trust happening, away from the library, the book store, even the school towards Google's algorithms. What does that mean? How are search engines used in today's classrooms and do teachers have enough critical understanding of what it means to hand over authority? We think we find more and in a faster way, while we might actually find less or useless information. The way we search is related to the way we see the world - how do we learn to operate in this context? With Simon Knight (UK), Thomas Petzold (GE), Sanne Koevoets (NL) 5. The filter bubble show Since Eli Pariser's influential book The Filter Bubble appeared in 2011, a range of researchers have empirically tried to validate or debunk the proposition of the filter bubble. Is it truly so that the person sitting next to you gets a different search result while using in the same keywords? What do you actually see when you type ?9/11? in the Google autocomplete search bar in Baghdad and in New York? What are the long-term effects of personalization and localization and their tendency to a 'relative truth'? We need to find a way to take our Twitter, Facebook and search engine profiles to burst the bubble and understand society. With Martin Feuz (UK), Noortje Marres (NL), Carolin Gerlitz (NL), Ren? K?nig (GE) and others The Society of the Query project started in 2009 with a conference and research blog, in parallel to the Deep Search series of events, organized by the World-Information Institute in Vienna. While these efforts have contributed to a better understanding of the impact of search engines, many open questions remain. Moreover, dynamics in the field have led to new questions: How does the rise of the social web affect search engines and the practices around them? Which consequences do innovations like personalization, localization or autocomplete have? How can we re-think the established search routines? If you
nettime Call for contributions: Society of the Query reader on search, search engines and alternatives
CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS Society of the Query Reader The INC Reader Series, edited by Geert Lovink, give an overview of the present day research, critique, and artistic practices in a thematic research field at once broad and limited. The set up is multidisciplinary, with academic (humanities, social sciences, software studies etc.), artistic, and activist contributors. Following the success of the previous INC readers we would like to put together an anthology with key texts considering online search and search engines. In parallel with the second Society of the Query conference which will take place in Amsterdam on November 7-8 2013, the Institute of Network Cultures is devoted to produce a reader that brings together actual theory about the foundation and history of search, the economics of search engines, search and education, alternatives, and much more. This publication is edited by Ren?? K??nig and Miriam Rasch, and produced by the Institute of Network Cultures in Amsterdam, to be launched early 2014. It will be open access and available in print and various digital formats (see below for information on the INC reader series). POSSIBLE TOPICS Theory and Foundations of Search // Googlization: Mapping Google???s Dominance // Search Engines and Education // Searching Elsewhere: Non-Western Perspectives // Personalization: Testing the Filter Bubble // Regulation in a Globalizing World // Localization as the New Paradigm // Software Matters: Sociotechnical and Algorithmic Cultures // Showcasing Alternative Search Engines WE INVITE: Internet, visual culture and media scholars, researchers, artists, curators, producers, lawyers, engineers, open-source and open-content advocates, activists, conference participants, and others to submit materials and proposals. FORMATS???: We welcome interviews, dialogues, essays and articles, images (b/w), email exchanges, manifestos, with a maximum of 8,000 words, but preferably shorter at around 5,000 words. For scope and style, take a look at the previous INC Readers and the style guide (pdf). WANT TO JOIN? Send in your proposal (500 words max.) before June 15th, 2013. You may expect a response before July 15th, 2013. DEADLINE FOR CONTRIBUTIONS: September 15th, 2013. EMAIL TO: Miriam Rasch (publications Institute of Network Cultures) at miriam[at]networkcultures[dot]org MORE INFORMATION Society of the Query: http://networkcultures.org/query INC readers: http://networkcultures.org/publications ABOUT THE READER SERIES The INC reader series are derived from conference contributions and produced by the Institute of Network Cultures in Amsterdam. They are available (for free) in print and pdf; check http://networkcultures.org/publications. INC Reader #8: Geert Lovink and Miriam Rasch (eds), Unlike Us Reader: Social Media Monopolies and Their Alternatives, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2013. INC Reader #7: Geert Lovink and Nathaniel Tkacz (eds), Critical Point of View: A Wikipedia Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011. INC Reader #6: Geert Lovink and Rachel Somers Miles (eds), Video Vortex Reader II: moving images beyond YouTube, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011. INC Reader #5: Scott McQuire, Meredith Martin, and Sabine Niederer (eds.), Urban Screens Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2009. INC Reader #4: Geert Lovink and Sabine Niederer (eds.), Video Vortex Reader: Responses to YouTube, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2008.??? INC Reader #3: Geert Lovink and Ned Rossiter (eds.), MyCreativity Reader: A Critique of Creative Industries, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2007. INC Reader #2: Katrien Jacobs, Marije Janssen and Matteo Pasquinelli (eds.), C???Lick Me: A Netporn Studies Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2007.??? INC Reader #1: Geert Lovink and Soenke Zehle (eds.), Incommunicado Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2005.??? CONTACT Miriam Rasch Ren?? K??nig Publications Institute of Network Cultures ITAS, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology miriam[at]networkcultures[dot]org kontakt[at]renekoenig[dot]eu t: +31 (0)20 595 1865 t: +49 (0)721 608 22209 --- Miriam Rasch, MA Institute of Network Cultures Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences | HvA room 04A07 Rhijnspoorplein 1 NL-1091 GC Amsterdam t: +31 20 5951865 mir...@networkcultures.org www.networkcultures.org @INCAmsterdam # distributed via nettime: no commercial use without permission # nettime is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nett...@kein.org
nettime Call for contributions: Unlike Us Reader: Understanding Social Media Monopolies and their Alternatives
Dear all, Let me first introduce myself: my name is Miriam Rasch and I just started working at the Institute of Network Cultures. One of my first projects will involve the Unlike Us Reader. Below you'll find the call for contributions. Deadline is set August 20, 2012. Contact me if you need more information. Sincerely, Miriam http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/weblog/2012/06/01/call-for-contributions-unlike-us-reader/ CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS: Unlike Us Reader: Understanding Social Media Monopolies and their Alternatives INTRODUCTION Following the success of the previous INC readers we would like to propose to put together a reader with key texts (see under below for possible topics). Anthology (print, pdf, epub) produced by the Institute of Network Cultures in collaboration with the Unlike Us research network. Following the second Unlike Us conference in Amsterdam, the Institute of Network Cultures is devoted to produce a reader that bundles actual theories about the economic and cultural aspects of dominant social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, and the development of alternative, decentralized social media software. POSSIBLE TOPICS Critical Twitter Studies // Artistic Responses to Social Media // Genealogies of Social Networking Sites // Biopolitics // Exploitation of Immaterial Labour // Social Media Activism and the Critique of Liberation Technology // Social What? Defining the Social // Software Matters: Sociotechnical and Algorithmic Cultures // The Private in the Public // Showcasing Alternatives in Social Media // Pitfalls of Building Alternatives WE INVITE Internet, visual culture and media scholars, researchers, artists, curators, producers, lawyers, engineers, open-source and open-content advocates, activists, Unlike Us conference participants, and others to submit materials and proposals. FORMATS We welcome interviews, dialogues, essays and articles, images (b/w), email exchanges, manifestos, with a max of 8,000 words. For scope and style, take a look at the previous INC readers and the style guide. This publication is produced by the Institute of Network Cultures in Amsterdam and will be launched late 2012, ready in time for a possible Unlike Us #3 (no details known yet about the date and place). DEADLINE: August 20, 2012 SEND CONTRITBUTIONS: miriam[at]networkcultures[dot]org (Miriam Rasch) MORE INFORMATION Unlike Us: www.networkcultures.org/unlikeus INC readers: http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/portal/publications/inc-readers/ Or email: miriam[at]networkcultures[dot]org (from 1st of June on you can expect a response) ABOUT THE READER SERIES The INC reader series are derived from conference contributions and produced by the Institute of Network Cultures in Amsterdam. They are available (for free) in print and pdf form onwww.networkcultures.org/publications/readers. Previously published in this series: INC Reader #7: Geert Lovink and Nathaniel Tkacz (eds), Critical Point of View: A Wikpedia Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011. For millions of internet users around the globe, the search for new knowledge begins with Wikipedia. The encyclopedia’s rapid rise, novel organization, and freely offered content have been marveled at and denounced by a host of commentators. Critical Point of View moves beyond unflagging praise, well-worn facts, and questions about its reliability and accuracy, to unveil the complex, messy, and controversial realities of a distributed knowledge platform. INC Reader #6: Geert Lovink and Rachel Somers Miles (eds), Video Vortex Reader II: moving images beyond YouTube, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011. Video Vortex Reader II is the second collection of texts that critically explore the rapidly changing landscape of online video and its use. With the success of YouTube and the rise of other online video sharing platforms, the moving image has become expansively more popular on the Web, significantly contributing to the culture and ecology of the internet and our everyday lives. In response, the Video Vortex project continues to examine critical issues of online video content. INC Reader #5: Scott McQuire, Meredith Martin, and Sabine Niederer (eds.), Urban Screens Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2009. The Urban Screens Reader is the first book to focus entirely on the topic of urban screens. A collection of texts from leading theorists, and a series of case studies that deal with artists’ projects, and screen operators’ and curators’ experiences, offering a rich resource at the intersections between digital media, cultural practices and urban space. INC Reader #4: Geert Lovink and Sabine Niederer (eds.), Video Vortex Reader: Responses to YouTube, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2008. The Video Vortex Reader is the first collection of critical texts to deal with the rapidly emerging world of online video – from its explosive
