Making sense of our connected world

Wrapping-up #AoIR2016
Early October 2016 was a blast for internet research in Berlin. We present you the highlights! Together with our partners at Hans-Bredow-Institute for Media Research we hosted #AoIR2016 – the prestigous annual conference of the Association for Internet Researchers (AoIR). 2016 was the first time this gathering of the best in internet research was taking place in Germany – and immediatedly it became the biggest conference of its sort: Almost 600 participants from 30 countries, more than 100 sessions. Berlin was buzzing.
and now: #aoir2016 ???✨ pic.twitter.com/fTNe5eirGJ
— Frederike (@F_Kaltheuner) October 5, 2016
Pre-Conferences
Already on Wednesday, the pre-conference workshops brought together more than 250 people in 7 workshops and colloquiums – and a squeaking chair.
“The internet is no more a communication network, it is a control network,” @LauraDeNardis #AoIR2016
— InternetPolicyReview (@PolicyR) 5. Oktober 2016
Re @snurb_dot_info's dead fairies reference: Each time you say "quant" vs"qual" in digital methods, a fairy dies #aoir2016 #savethefairies
— Jean Burgess (@jeanburgess) October 5, 2016
Thanks @hiig_berlin for an amazing #legalhackathon AT #AoIR2016 ! #privacybydesign rules! pic.twitter.com/KNUMK5kclk
— Claus Schaale (@cschaale) October 5, 2016
Layers of mediation in Twitter research. Researchers need to work with cascades of inscription #AoIR2016 pic.twitter.com/cEryRPnBcp
— Carolin Gerlitz (@cgrltz) October 5, 2016
Squeak! #AoIR2016
— AoIR Chair (@AoIRChair) October 8, 2016
Keynote
On Wednesday night, more than 500 internet researchers gathered at Humboldt University’s Audimax for the kick-off of the conference, featuring a keynote by Jose van Dijck on ‘platform society’.
Just a few minutes in and – cats! well done! #aoir2016 pic.twitter.com/u66TK4yJvT
— Steve Jones (@s_t_e_v_e_jones) October 5, 2016
This is why I love #aoir2016 #ir17 and #rebelhashtags pic.twitter.com/asxkyJmKxy
— Jenny Stromer-Galley (@profjsg) 5. Oktober 2016
Great #AoIR2016 keynote by @jvdijck. Liveblog here: https://t.co/P0VGHCPSb0
— Axel Bruns (@snurb_dot_info) 5. Oktober 2016
"Platforms emphasize public values while obscuring private gains." Yes indeed @jvdijck #AoIR2016
— Nora Madison (@theoryofnora) October 5, 2016
https://twitter.com/nancybaym/status/783733394417090560
Panel
On Thursday night it was time for the public panel. Playing along the conference theme, Kate Crawford, Fieke Jansen, Carolin Gerlitz discussed ‘Who rules the internet?”. The Big 5, algorithms and artificial intelligence, agency and politics were key ingredients of a lively debate. And some of us even met robots on our way back home.
Missed out on the great "Who rules the Internet?" panel at #AoIR2016 ? Here's your chance to rewatch: https://t.co/J2iib82voZ
— Julia Kloiber (@j_kloiber) October 8, 2016
(Video starts at 1:06:00)
*Provocative* plenary panel discussion: Who rules the Internet? #AoIR2016 with amazing ladies @katecrawford @cgrltz @FiekeJ #conference pic.twitter.com/IlhNrSahMM
— Fiona Suwana (@fionasuwana) October 6, 2016
An online company saying 'we respect your privacy' is like an oil company saying 'we respect the environment' #AoIR2016 is epic
— David Garcia (@dgarcia_eu) October 6, 2016
Yes…..this is why I come to #AoIR2016. @katecrawford is acknowledging AI as social AND NOT autonomous. So important.
— Andrea L. Guzman (@TeachGuz) October 6, 2016
This. Just happened by #AoIR2016 – and there’s robots! pic.twitter.com/YqcpIDOrhy
— Zizi Papacharissi (@zizip) 6. Oktober 2016
Sessions
From Thursday through Saturday the conference featured not less than 100 sessions on all things of internet research.
To sum up the two #aoir2016 sessions on Internet Research Ethics this morning: pic.twitter.com/XtWjuLcl6x
— Nele Heise (@neleheise) October 6, 2016
.@betty_ferrari has all the jokes in the Fakes session #aoir2016 pic.twitter.com/2A1Q3bWKkE
— Katrin Tiidenberg (@kkatot) October 6, 2016
Right!Platforms also places of liminality; where we wait, transit..as this visual by @jeanburgess +@nancybaym cleverly reminds us #AoIR2016 pic.twitter.com/7jO8BQXNAc
— Zizi Papacharissi (@zizip) October 6, 2016
Of you wanna see a packed room, come to ALGORITHMS in R1.405. (Actually, NO, DON'T COME!) #AoIR2016 pic.twitter.com/A0vWD1kJzm
— Christian Katzenbach (@ckatzenbach) October 6, 2016
Of all the conferences I attend, #AoIR2016 has the highest ratio of "I wish I'd written that" to "I wish I had a drink right about now."
— Aram Sinnreich ❤️✊?? (@aram) October 6, 2016
Foot wAoIR #AoIR2016 #IR17 #aoir16 @nancybaym @katy_jordan @natpoor @CUNYFashion @jvelkova @brookeerinduffy @frauricker/ yay! My first AoIR! pic.twitter.com/LwSI2Xjyeh
— Elizabeth Wissinger (@betsywiss) October 8, 2016
"If Instagram goes away, what will your studies mean?" That is why we need to tie our work to social theory. #AoIR2016
— Jeff Hemsley (@JeffHemsley) October 7, 2016
#AoIR2016 academic labour visibilities: @wishcrys snapping @jilltxt snapping @Dr_Ku pic.twitter.com/HhOwWPGKtX
— wishcrys (@wishcrys) October 8, 2016
When you realize one of the authors of the paper you are challenging is sitting in the audience. #gulp #AoIR2016
— katie warfield (@katie_warfield) October 8, 2016
"data" is already cooked – we need to detail the recipe beyond the obligatory brief methods paragraph @MelMillette @thefourchettes #AoIR2016
— Tamara Shepherd (@tshepski) October 8, 2016
#AoIR2016 what a great panel! Final paper by @sonjaviv and workshops on #beyondgender feat. the genderbread person! pic.twitter.com/qgDMjzcKZC
— Maria Schreiber (@perceptionalize) October 8, 2016
Reception
And there’s a party. As the AoIR prez emphasised in three of the 99 conference planning sessions: “AoIR people want to dance!” Berlin knows for sure now: They do!
#AoIR2016 OMG pic.twitter.com/PxSc64yrBQ
— wishcrys (@wishcrys) October 7, 2016
This reception is why I love AoIR. #AoIR2016
— Andrea L. Guzman (@TeachGuz) October 7, 2016
I believe that a decent time was had by many at this year's banquet. See y'all tomorrow, bright & early ? #AoIR2016 #wineisthevegoption pic.twitter.com/KCM5h1WSC2
— Cornelius Puschmann (@cbpuschmann) October 7, 2016
Impressions (Our Top 25 Pictures)
Find more pictures on our facebook page.
Aftermath
#AoIR2016 aftermath (3): You weren't as hungry as we thought. If you're still in Berlin: Come over, have a coffee, a cookie and 5 apples pic.twitter.com/Bm1YmDpdoc
— Christian Katzenbach (@ckatzenbach) October 11, 2016
Wow. #AoIR2016 is _literally_ front-page news. In Berlin ! #wow #buythepaper pic.twitter.com/8Wr3fbFFWv
— Axel Bruns (@snurb_dot_info) October 5, 2016
Excellent article about Who Rules the Internet? Clearly #aoir2016 has thoughtful contributions on this! https://t.co/Rjj8GvPV6U
— Jenny Stromer-Galley (@profjsg) October 8, 2016
Interview by @cbpuschmann on Internet rules in the Berliner Zeitung #AoIR2016 https://t.co/N7Ib1qBSWO
— Carolin Gerlitz (@cgrltz) October 7, 2016
Berlin newspaper @tagesspiegel is reporting on #AoIR2016 @hiig_berlin & public debate #whoRulesInternet big time! #5YearsHIIG pic.twitter.com/X6aUWkOA08
— HIIG (@hiig_berlin) October 8, 2016
Nachlese zur #AoIR2016 Unsere Jeanette Hofmann (@achdujeh) bei @breitband zu Big Nudging. https://t.co/VwrNCSfszV
— POLI (@internet_policy) 11. Oktober 2016
https://twitter.com/inbarmd/status/784496487283695616
The main career advice I give emerging scholars is "find your people". #aoir2016 is pretty much what I mean by that. Safe travels everyone.
— Jean Burgess (@jeanburgess) October 9, 2016
Hey can we go on to Estonia right away ? I don’t want #AoIR2016 to end.
— Axel Bruns (@snurb_dot_info) October 8, 2016
Bye #AoIR2016 it has been fun! pic.twitter.com/6W3HZ3vScI
— Ericka (@erickaakcire) October 8, 2016
Last image from the #AoIR2016 conference location from this afternoon pic.twitter.com/nsnFUnssvQ
— Anne Helmond (@silvertje) October 8, 2016
We wondered about who rules the Internet at #AoIR2016. But the real rulers have arrived late. Today. pic.twitter.com/zxAwg9aBfC
— Christian Katzenbach (@ckatzenbach) October 10, 2016
S'long #AoIR2016, it's been great as always. pic.twitter.com/AXGDwQm0pE
— Aram Sinnreich ❤️✊?? (@aram) October 9, 2016
☁️ ❤?❤ #AoIR2016 ❤?❤ ?
?❤?❤?❤?❤?
— AoIR trains (@AoIR_trains) October 9, 2016
Press Coverage
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Tagesspiegel
Guardian
Deutschlandradio Kultur
Berliner Zeitung
This post represents the view of the author and does not necessarily represent the view of the institute itself. For more information about the topics of these articles and associated research projects, please contact info@hiig.de.
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