Over seven hundred (736) ‘sub-postmasters’ were charged – many if not most unjustly – with criminal offenses from 2000-2013 because of discrepancies in their accounts, leading to charges of theft, fraud, and false accounting (Meddings 2021). Had they been siphoning money from their accounts? We have learned that many of these discrepancies were due to the … Continue reading Social Media Could Have Prevented the UK’s Post Office Scandal
Social Issues
Social Issues of the Internet
COVID-19 Balancing Acts
COVID-19 Balancing Acts The press has fostered growing recognition of the balance that politicians must strike between public health and the economy. This is important, but more attention needs to be focused on the balancing acts of individuals – the public at large. Each individual needs to juggle multiple pressures in making choices about staying … Continue reading COVID-19 Balancing Acts
Communicate! Reach Out, Inform, and Entertain
Communicate! Reach Out, Inform, and Entertain Way too much talk, research, and handwringing are all about how to stop people from seeing or believing disinformation, such as the latest conspiracy theories. But pushing governments and platforms or anyone to censor information is not only ineffective in the digital age, but also likely to be dysfunctional … Continue reading Communicate! Reach Out, Inform, and Entertain
Self-Preservation of Your Work
Self-Preservation of Your Work For decades I have been concerned over the fragility of information and whether ephemerality or the transitory nature of information and communication is just an inevitable feature of the digital age. I therefore frequently look back at a talk I gave on the Internet to a conference of historians held in … Continue reading Self-Preservation of Your Work
Publication of A Research Agenda for Digital Politics
A Research Agenda for Digital Politics The publication of my most recent edited book, A Research Agenda for Digital Politics, is available in hardback and electronic forms at: https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/a-research-agenda-for-digital-politics-9781789903089.html From this site you can look inside the book to review the preface, list of contributors, the table of contents, and my introduction, which includes an outline of the … Continue reading Publication of A Research Agenda for Digital Politics
How People Look for Information about Politics
The following lists papers and work in progress flowing from our research, which began at MSU, and was funded by Google Inc., on how people get access to information about politics. It was launched when I was director of the Quello Center at Michigan State University, but continues with me and colleagues at Quello and … Continue reading How People Look for Information about Politics
Social Distancing Can Travel Online
Social Distancing Can Travel Online So much has been said about how online chats, email and conferencing are filling the void left by social distancing, I thought it would be worth sending a word of caution. Courtesy Arthur Asa Berger Communication online is not a real substitute for person-to-person face-to-face communication. It is most often … Continue reading Social Distancing Can Travel Online
Zoom-bombing the Future of Education
Zoom-bombing the Future of Education by Bill Dutton and Arnau Erola based on their discussions with Louise Axon, Mary Bispham, Patricia Esteve-Gonzalez, and Marcel Stolz In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, schools and universities across the globe have moved to online education as a substitute rather than a complement for campus-based instruction. While this … Continue reading Zoom-bombing the Future of Education
Society and the Internet
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the Internet and related social media and digital technologies to the forefront of societies across the globe. Whether in supporting social distancing, working at home, or online courses, people are increasingly dependent on online media for everyday life and work. If you are teaching courses on the social aspects of … Continue reading Society and the Internet
Fake News Nation – a new book by Aspray and Cortada is out!
I'd like to recommend to you a new book, entitled Fake News Nation: The Long History of Lies and Misinterpretations in America (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Information about the book is at: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538131107/Fake-News-Nation-The-Long-History-of-Lies-and-Misinterpretations-in-America As I noted in my endorsement of this book: "James W. Cortada and Willam Aspray's brilliantly selected and crafted case studies are … Continue reading Fake News Nation – a new book by Aspray and Cortada is out!