home cooked theory

A requiem for academic blogging

I’m about to post an update in preparation for next week’s SOI conference, but it seemed fitting to mention separately that an article I wrote some time ago about labour politics and academic blogging has just been published in Convergence. Well, fitting in the sense that last week I was in NYC at a conference [...]

Privacy and work

Today’s class was about intimacy and privacy, and it drew on the work of Michael Warner and Michel Foucault to talk about publics, discourse, power and confession. We read Emily Nussbaum’s article, “Kids, the Internet and the end of Privacy” which argues that the generation gap between those who up with the internet and those [...]

Addendum: obsolescence

Is it possible to describe the “Cultural studies and obsolescence” thread as heartening and heartbreaking? Well, I just wanted to thank those of you who shared your experiences for breaking the silence and politesse that surrounds these issues (and Michael, that’s why no one talks about the quality of conferences. It goes against good [...]

Some binaries I still believe in

Now I’m in Leeds where there are slightly more clouds in the sky but fewer people in the streets and that’s probably a combination I prefer. Yesterday I tested out my new HK running shoes and added another introduction to the book chapter I’m working on, precipitated by a range of conversations I’ve been having [...]

Rural broadband

At the end of last week I spent two days at the University of Wollongong listening to a range of stakeholders and researchers talk about broadband. The workshop was organised around the ideas of self, place and “making do” and was an effort to talk about the cultural reality of communications infrastructure in non-metro areas [...]

Pownced, part II

There is a bit more to say about the Pownce closure. Reading the full story here, the acquisition of Values of n means it’s also the end for I Want Sandy, a productivity app I have previously mentioned with some derision. For me, the retro gender typing of this latter platform typified the mindset of [...]

Blowing bubbles?

Pownce
to melgregg Dec 2
We are sad to announce that Pownce is shutting down on December 15, 2008. As of today, Pownce will no longer be accepting new users or new pro accounts.
To help with your transition, we have built an export tool so you can save your content. You can find the export tool [...]

Grizzling about Facebook notes

These are my notes from Meaghan Morris’s talk earlier this month. They are very impressionistic, so please don’t take them to be accurate, i.e. quotable. If you were there please do amend and develop if you can and continue the conversation. I’ve left out a whole set of contextual references to William Gibson, Miranda Devine, [...]

Grizzling about Facebook

Setting up my new office, I’m reminded that my first task at Sydney is to introduce and chair this seminar on Friday. All are welcome.
Professor Meaghan Morris
‘Grizzling About Facebook’
Friday, 7th Nov, 2pm
The Refectory, Main Quadrangle, University of Sydney
Followed by drinks at Manning Bar
Abstract:
In journalistic usage, “new media” talk often suggests that one set of innovations [...]

Twitter whores and Facebook flakes

I wish I’d seen this before my “Always On” talk. Would have helped in question time.

Part Two is also pretty funny. I got this from a comment on Mark Deuze’s Facebook page – it was offered by one of his friends as an initiation present.
Mark’s blogpost this week makes me realise I’m not [...]

keep looking »