Algorithmic governmentality and the end(s) of critique–Antoinette Rouvroy

By philip, November 13, 2013

Antoinette Rouvroy, in her presentation titled ‘Algorithmic Governmentalities and the End(s) of Critique’, discussed issues surrounding search engines current focus on relationships between sites rather than content. She began by explaining how modern academic knowledge goes through a series of critiques and peer reviews, while algorithmic knowledge is focused on more predictive aspects, never challenging [...]

Pascal Jürgens – Measuring Personalization: An Experimental Framework for Testing Technological Black Boxes

By philip, November 12, 2013

Short interview with Pascal Jürgens from network cultures on Vimeo. Pascal Jürgens, in his presentation titled Measuring Personalization — An Experimental Framework for Testing Technological Black Boxes, discussed issues surrounding control and responsibility in regard to search engine results. As search engines increasingly provide easier and easier access to content, they also hold immense power [...]

Min Jiang – Search Without Borders

By serenawestra, November 11, 2013

The popular depiction of the search engine as a borderless, global medium is an illusion, says Min Jiang. Search engines have become increasingly re-territorialized driven by several geo-graphical, political-legal, technological and economical factors that supersede our cosmopolitan impulses. As a native Chinese who has been doing research in the States, Dr. Min Jiang is the [...]

Sanne Koevoets – Library Dwelling: Quest and Query Tropes in Narratives on Libraries and the Internet

By stefania, November 11, 2013

Short interview with Sanne Koevoets from network cultures on Vimeo. Dr. Sanne Koevoets currently teaches philosophy and new media studies at Leiden University College in The Hague. In her research she focuses on the gendered dynamics of the library in the network society, with which she has engaged through the figure of the female librarian [...]

Payal Arora – The making of art knowledge via Google Images in rural India

By INC Team, November 11, 2013

Payal Arora is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Communication – Faculty of History, Culture and Communication at Rotterdam Erasmus University. With a research interest in digital learning, she contributed to the conference with a very interesting (albeit also worrying) study on the search results Google provides to Indian pupils in rural [...]

Erik Borra and René König Show Google Search Perspectives on 9/11

By Catalina Iorga, November 11, 2013

Short interview with René König from network cultures on Vimeo. Erik Borra and René König were the second to last speakers of Society of the Query #2’s sixth and final session, The Filter Bubble Show, with a talk on why search engines are biased. As a case study, Borra and König chose the controversial topic of 9/11 and [...]

Thomas Petzold: Search Industry’s Five-Percent Gamble

By Catalina Iorga, November 11, 2013

Thomas Petzold started the second session of Society of the Query #2, ‘Search Across the Border‘, on a more positive tone as he gave kudos to the search engine. He commended it for still being a great tool, one that has had a huge impact on not only the collective memory of our species, but also on [...]

Geert Lovink talks to Maarten Sprenger

By Catalina Iorga, November 11, 2013

Short interview with Maarten Sprenger from network cultures on Vimeo. The fifth session of Society of the Query #2, ‘Search in Context‘ ended with a conversation between Geert Lovink and Maarten Sprenger, the author of a recently published book for children and adults about searching for valuable information online, who also has extensive experience in [...]

Rebecca Lieberman on the Poetics of Search

By Maya Livio, November 11, 2013

Short interview with Rebecca Lieberman from network cultures on Vimeo. “Demented Panda and Koki wandered through the small plot of land. Except it was no longer only a small plot of land, but also an enormous food court. Except it wasn’t just a food court, but also an outdoor rehearsal space lent to artists by [...]

Anja Groten – The Aesthetics of Power

By martaburugorri, November 11, 2013

In this third session Anja Groten presents “The aesthetics of power”. Unfortunately Anja Groten was not present at the conference, instead, she replaced her physical presence with an audiovisual presentation. Anja Groten is a designer and researcher based in Amsterdam who presents for Society of the Query her project called “Machina recordatio“. Machina Recordatio gives [...]