Please see our CFP here for a special collection in the new journal Creator & Influencer Studies focused on low visibility places. I'm thrilled to be teaming up with @jeehyunjennylee.bsky.social and @pranavm.bsky.social as guest editors for what we hope will be an insightful and timely collection!

“Most of the headlines I see about higher ed these days focus on the AI problem. For me, the much bigger issue is the authoritarianism problem.” @davekarpf.bsky.social davekarpf.substack.com/p/what-its-l...

The rapid decline of American science has few precedents in history, argues @rossandersen.bsky.social. We are witnessing an unparalleled act of self-sabotage:

Hello I've decided to use Blue Sky now. In unrelated news, my book 'Influencer Creep' will be published with University of California press in October 2025. It's about the ways influencer culture has transformed creative work. Preorder here: www.ucpress.edu/books/influe...

new essay with @brookeerinduffy.bsky.social out in @newsweek.com this morning! we examine the influencer industry's oft-overlooked gender politics and what this oversight means for the future of digital work. www.newsweek.com/when-social-...

Columbia Journalism Review tested eight generative AI search tools and found their answers were wrong 60% of the time, and the paid ones actually fared worse than the free ones. Meanwhile, millions of people trust the way they present total bullshit with confident language.

It will *initially* target the most vulnerable...but it doesn't end there.

this season of white lotus is doing a lot for north carolina representation

99% of the time I’m genuinely *begging* to be left off of a reply-all thread

NEW: Google used to warn you when you were seeing low-quality search results. Then, in the weeks leading up to the 2024 election, the company quietly turned that warning off www.platformer.news/google-data-...

the rise of the fascist nerds was anticipated by Ellen Ullman's 1995 essay "Out of Time: Reflections on the Programming Life."

Calling bullshit on their lies isn't censorship. Failed insurrectionists aren't heroes. Fighting racism and helping underserved communities isn't discrimination. Showing empathy isn't evil. Supporting trans kids isn't abuse. Don't accept their twisted frames as reality.

It should go without saying that the president's response to a once-in-a-generation aerial tragedy is deeply fucking depraved.

I have no idea where my network is at this point, but here goes: how are (comm) folks paying for open access fees on journal pubs? I would love to publish OA but simply do not have the budget to justify. SM+S waives fees for students (which I benefited from), but advice for early career faculty?

*looks directly into the camera on behalf of the entire field of study that closely examines how people get their news*

Hey friends studying influencers, creators, livestreamers and the like... Be sure to check out our ICA Pre-conference on "Debating Creator Culture," which is slated for June 11, 2025. Submissions are open through January 31. More details here: www.ccsn.site/ica

my latest with @jessmaddox.bsky.social is out this morning in @femmediastudies.bsky.social! We propose influencer snark as a feminist media practice to address concerns of credibility, authenticity, and representation in the influencer industry. please share!!! www.tandfonline.com/eprint/XZSZD...

A new @pewresearch.org report comprehensively explores the composition of the news influencer economy and its audience in the US, analyzing a sample of 500 news creators, a review of 28k+ social media accounts, and a survey of their audiences. pewrsr.ch/4emDUB2

hope to see some of you there!

We are seeking advanced PhD students for a well-paid and nurturing research internship on topics that we can meaningfully mentor. Apps due Dec 6 socialmediacollective.org/2024/11/01/2...

A year and a half ago, I wrote an op-ed asking why there were no legal protections to the children of influencers and family vloggers. Today, The Conversation US runs my follow-up, in which I detail what's changed and what still desperately needs to. theconversation.com/us-states-ar...