Thread by @jsantley

Alright everyone - I haven’t tweeted much about Theorizing the Web, but it’s keynote time and I always try to provide my own thoughts stemming from the often vibrant discussion. Let’s begin with ‘Fakes and Pains’. #k1 #ttw19

danah boyd defines agnatology - the purposeful cultural way of being ignorant- that helps us understand what sorts of knowledge is prioritized and who sets those priorities in the platforms we use everyday. Goes to the question of what is fake and real on the internet. #k1 #ttw19

Lyta Gold notes those who use the internet to spread falsehoods (like the alt-right), often under the guise of making a joke, whereas those who use the internet to spread the truth, as the case with those who speak out against their abusers, are often treated as fake. #k1 #ttw19

Max Read talking about how Facebook ‘cooks’ its engagement stats, or ‘fake’ metrics, by adding up split-seconds of screen time users accrue as they scroll by Facebook videos/ads on the timeline. Claiming hours of engagement build upon a misleading methodology. #k1 #ttw19

boyd touches on ‘fake metrics’, talking about history of survey/market research based upon average white guy in Indiana. It is the story of data as infrastructure historically, how ‘insights’ build on data often ignore structural fallacies of the collection process. #k1 #ttw19

Gold: we all joke about how we are different people on different social media. We look at instagram influencers, know they are projecting performance, but it still affects us, makes us question our own reality by comparing it to an ‘un-reality’ found on the screen. #k1 #ttw19

I’m now thinking about Vaclav Havel’s essay, ‘Power of the Powerless’, where he argues the only way to fight an encompassing totalitarian society that bends reality to its will was to be ‘Living in Truth’, to become a phenomenological beacon. Is this still applicable? #k1 #ttw19

boyd and Williams talk about the natural sense of those seeking community to look for it on the internet, but they don’t know where to look and fall prey to those seeking to radicalize. Read adds that platforms incentivize this, because they seek attention metrics. #k1 #ttw19

“Every conspiracy begins with a kernel of truth,” suggests boyd, centering the discussion of fake/real on the internet within idea of power and how the structure of platforms creates a normalization of deviance. It goes beyond advertising, it is a full, systemic issue. #k1 #ttw19