DEBORAH LUPTON, FACULTY OF ARTS & DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA

Sociological sensibility and the politics of digital engagement

Digital media & tools I have used

Personal blog (‘This Sociological Life’) Twitter (@DALupton) Pinterest University e-repository LinkedIn, Academia.edu, ResearchGate Scoop.it, Bundlr, Delicious, Pearltrees Facebook Google Scholar (personal profile) Wikipedia Storify YouTube & podcasts SlideShare Prismatic Mendeley

My online survey: what social media do academics use for professional purposes?

90% Twitter60 % LinkedIn49% Academia.edu42% Facebook33% ResearchGate32% personal blog25% YouTube

My survey: what do academics find most useful?

83% Twitter23% Academia.edu16% personal blog14% Facebook14% LinkedIn11% online referencing tools10% YouTube

My survey: benefits of social media use

Connecting/networking:- serendipitous connections- wide & global scale of networks- horizontal networks

Sharing resourcesEnhancing teachingCommunicating with research participantsKeeping up-to-date with new publications, eventsProfessional support for ECRs & postgradsSelf-promotion

My survey: drawbacks to using social media

Possibility of exposure/ threats to reputationNeed to be careful what you say to keep/get an

academic jobLoss of privacyBlurring of personal/professional boundariesTime constraintsBecoming a targetIdeas stolenToo much self-promotion by othersOther academics’ negative attitudes to SM use

Implications for academics

The digital configuration of academic identities

Practices of professional self-formationChanges to work practices – research &

teaching

Implications for academics

Metric assemblages (Burrows)Audit culture (Holmwood)Neoliberalism & commercialisation of higher

edHidden injuries of time pressures (Gill)Gaming academic performance: winners &

losers

Implications for academics

The open source academic (Carrigan) – thinking aloud in public

Performative scholarship (Hall)The academic gift economy – participatory

democracy (Hall)Digital public engagement as activism

Where to from here?

More research!Specifically …. ethnographies of practiceInterviews & observations of both academic

users and non-users