Research 2011: What I’m Up To
Hello! I am at the Research 2011 conference in London tomorrow and Wednesday - just finished my rehearsals. If you’re there, here’s what I’m involved in:
Online Communities (Tuesday 11am): I have a very easy gig on this panel, moderated by Rachel Lawes - I’m just there to nod sagely and provide comment as a wise old digital head (or some such!). The heavy lifting is being done by the three papers - a case study of a British Gas idea generation community, a paper from TGI giving that industry currency’s insight on how representative social media users are, and my pick of the three, a paper from Firefish looking at the use of community materials for direct, rather than indirect communications impact.
Nerdtopia! Geek Culture For Researchers (Wednesday 10.50am): This is my main event, a workshop co-run with Nick Gadsby about “nerd culture” - specifically focusing on fandoms, memes and gaming, and their research relevance. We have squeezed an awful lot of ideas, activities, cheap jokes and easter eggs into our hour’s running time, and there’s even room for a couple of useful insights too. It’s a labour of love, and of beer, so please please if you get the opportunity go to this.
