User:Mihail Bakalov/Trimester 4/GraduateResearchSeminar/ThesisOutline

THESIS OUTLINE

INTRO

My thesis will be practice based and will overlap with my graduation project. It will concentrate on the construction of on-line identity by external factors inside social media platforms. My research will assess and explore the theme of my grad project - what kind a of a personalized world does the online social platform create. Also I want to explore what kind of hidden elements are functioning behind the the social media's interface. What kind of a projection of the real world are these platform generating/presenting. It will feature some of my previous projects related to these topics.

We
 are
 in
 the 
high 
tide 
of 
participation 
on 
networks: 
Facebook,
 MySpace
 and
 other 
 social 
 networks 
 which are 
 based 
 on 
 profiling, 
 commercializing 
 and
 monitoring 
dynamics 
of 
information, I would take these platform as a field of my research.


CHAPTER METHOD

The following chapter will elaborate on my methodology and its development before and throughout the course and support it with case studies of previous projects, with a focus on my graduation research and project.

My approach towards the networked project for the past two years has being analyzing, collecting and reusing the collected material trough a personal way of processing/deforming it. Focusing on what a person can trigger in an environment with his doings, making observations of the changing structure of the field. As the building process of my current project will have the same methodology. I will also give examples of this process with a few previous projects which coincide with the same methodology of working.

This chapter will follow with my relating previous works

CHAPTER IDENTITY

I am interested in Facebook because it has the most various profiles of users that fit into different categories such as – commercial, leisure and self-promotion oriented. When I look at my profile it shifts from being an artist to entrepreneur and image editor, but probably there are even more tag categories which can be applied to it. I
 experienced 
 in 
 every 
 school 
 and 
 employee 
 position 
 that 
 most 
 people 
 are 
 trying 
 to
 force 
 you 
 into 
 a 
 role. 
 This 
 identity 
 or 
 profile 
 can 
 be used 
 as 
a
 communication 
tool
 to 
fit 
expectations. 
Identity
 is 
not 
a 
fact, 
it 
is 
a
 dynamic 
image 
caught 
in 
the 
moment, 
frozen 
in 
time. For me it is interesting to look at what kind of identity I have established in front of the algorithms on Facebook. What kind of an aspect of me they have chosen as my main characters.

CHAPTER DESIGN OF THE PLATFORM /behind the interface/

In this chapter I will delve into the writings of Geert Lovink and Eli Pariser. Will focus mainly on the idea of personalization of the internet. Researching how the personification where users have to cope with a web history they are doomed to repeat. As Facebook is becoming a giant source of information for big quantity of people, I would like to explore the Edgerank algorithm which determines the newsfeed for users. By examining it I will go deeper into the paradox at the core of the race for relevancy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Geert Lovink – Networks without a cause

The Filter Bubble - Eli Pariser - What the Internet Is Hiding from You (2011)

Connected - Nicholas Christakis & James Fowler

Netdrama - Jennifer Hall (1991)

Oulipo - Raymond Queneau & Jean Lescure

Infinite respoducability – Jos Demul