INFO 5302
Spring 2015
Prof. Mor Naaman
Touchdown (3rd floor, Cornell Tech)
Thursdays, noon-2:45pm
#introCM
Connective Media is the study of the artifacts, technologies, processes and ecosystems that are involved in the recent convergence of communication, information, and media. Connective Media is changing the way that we behave as a society: the way we act, the way we get information, the way we diffuse information, the way we shape our views and our culture. To innovate and excel in this landscape, students need skills and knowledge from technology, the social sciences, business, and design.
This course will cover the socio-technical, design and product background that is paramount to operating in the connective media landscape.
This course, the core course in the Connective Media Systems Technologies track, explores different types of connective media systems and technologies. The course provides an overview of core Connective Media systems, with an eye towards understanding the theory, design and product decisions that support those platforms. In addition, the course provides an understanding of key operational aspects of Connective Media environments, such as measurement and monetization. Finally, the course introduces students to key technologies that are used in Connective Media systems. The course core components will address different types of Connective Media systems, from 1-1 communication tools to large-scale media, using multiple disciplinary perspectives to analyze these platforms.
At the completion of the course, students will become familiar with the various factors that are in play in designing and building Connective Media services in various contexts; recognize key factors in conducting academic research on Connective Media services; understand important features of Connective Media, design and prototype new Connective Media applications, analyze Connective Media datasets, and understand the research issues in this field.
This is the week-by-week plan:
| Week/Date | Title | Deep Dive | Special Topic / Tech Dive | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 1/22 |
Intro to Everything (slides) | O-Auth | ||
| 2 1/29 |
1-1 Communication Systems (slides) | Presence; Network Effects | Messaging Protocols |
Skype, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Words with Friends |
| 3 2/5 |
Groupware (slides) | Slack, What'sApp, Hipchat, Trello | ||
| 4 2/12 |
Communities and Forums (slides) | Community Design | Patients Like Me, Facebook Rooms, Mac Rumors forums, Reddit Books | |
| 5 2/19 |
Social Awareness Streams (slides) | Identity and Reputation | Social APIs | Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumblr |
| 6 2/26 |
(Social) News (slides) | Content Strategy Special guests: Michael Young (CTO) and Justin Van Slembrouck (Design Director), Digg |
Reddit, BuzzFeed, Digg, NY Times, Medium, Circa | |
| 7 3/5 |
Anonymous Networks (slides) | Anonymity | Special guest: YikYak co-founder Brooks Buffington, live from Georgia Tech! | Secret, YikYak, 4chan |
| 8 3/12 |
Collaborative Platforms (slides) | Social roles and contributions | Measurement and metrics. Special guest: Glen Kushner | Wikipedia, Github, Stack Exchange, Scratch |
| 9 3/19 |
Crowdsourcing Systems (slides) | Amazon Mechanical Turk | Data Analysis in iPython | TaskRabbit, Amazon Mechanical Turk, oDesk, Zooniverse.org |
| 10 3/26 |
Photo/Video Sharing (slides) | Feedback | IP, Copyright and Content Rights Special guest: Ayman Shamma of Yahoo! Labs and Flickr |
Instagram, Flickr, 500px, YouTube, Vimeo |
| 11 4/9 |
Broadcast and Entertainment (slides) | Recommender Systems | Distribution | Netflix, Hulu, AOL On, Yahoo Screen |
| 12 4/16 |
Online/offline and Neighborhood Tech | NextDoor, Ingress, iNeighbors, Swarm | ||
| 13 4/23 |
Sharing Economy* | Privacy | Special guest: Helen Nissenbaum (NYU) | Lyft, AirBnB, Puddle, NeighborGoods |
| 14 4/30 |
Project Presentations | Monetization |
* subject to change based on class input
The reading materials, mostly papers from the field of social computing, are listed below in the week-to-week schedule. All the readings are required, and you will be asked submit an online response to the reading every week before class. You may be asked, for example, to reason about each reading, provide critique and extensions, and comment about its significance in the context of connective media technology. Grades are assigned per reading. Your lowest two reading reflection grades will not be counted; these two lowest grades may include submissions that you missed (no questions asked). Late submissions will be treated as missing.
Each week (see schedule below) you will be asked to sign up, use, and analyze a small set of services that correspond to the week’s topic. You will be asked to submit an online response every week to a question about these services. Grades are assigned per week. Your lowest two grades will not be counted; these two lowest grades may include submissions that you missed (no questions asked). Late submissions will be treated as missing.
There are three technical assignments (group projects) to be submitted throughout the semester: a social data explorer; connective media design; and data analysis. The details of the assignments are provided separately.
Each student will participate in one group class presentation about a specific set of Connective Media technologies. Each presentation will summarize the key theoretical, design and product differences between the systems and services in a specific group of technologies. Exact instructions and guidelines are below.
You may miss up to one class without notice, but no more than two absences are acceptable, even with excuse. In any case, please do let me know if you happen to miss a class session, either in advance or retroactively.
Class participation is part of the grade, and is function of the quantity and quality of your class discussion. Not being able to discuss the readings in class will cost you participation points.
There are no exams.
Your grade breakdown (G for Group grade): 15% Class presentation (G) 15% Reading and service responses 10% Participation 10% Social Explorer assignment (G) 30% Design assignment (G) 20% Data Analysis assignment (G)
Note: the average grade in this class is likely to be a B or B+. You will need to really stand out to get an A.
M.Eng and MBA students may take the class for a pass-fail grade with prior approval. All the requirements for class would still stand. To get a passing grade, a student would need a C and above grade for each of the class components.
- Design - key elements in CM product design.
- Product/Biz - Key product aspects that drive the CM business.
- Technology - Key technologies that are used in CM systems.
- Theory - Key ideas from social computing that are relevant to CM.
Class presentations will be assigned by the instructor, based on student preferences.
The basic presentations should be 15 minutes long, strictly enforced, but the presenters should lead an additional 10-15 minutes of discussion. The initial presentation should briefly touch on:
- The main design decisions made by the different applications/services
- How these decisions impact the service in different ways, including: types of usage, nature of content, retention, patterns of consumption etc.
The presenters will use examples and screenshots from the services they compare, and for extra credit, identify and discuss additional scholarly articles that are related to the service types. These articles could be a) describing a related theory, or b) studying and providing insights about the services or other related platforms and systems. I will be available to provide some pointers and directions as needed; you will need to approach me by Sunday before your presentation, at the latest, to get help.
The presentation and discussion after may also refer to past/future trends for this category. What's next for these types of services? Bonus points for original ways to lead or encourage discussion and participation!
Your presentation grade will be based on the quality and clarity of your presentation and the discussion.
Instructor, Associate Professor, and Ice Breaker
mor -AT- jacobs.cornell.edu
@informor
Where to find him: anywhere on campus
When to find him: email to schedule time to chat
Teaching Assistant, PhD Student, and Fire Starter
nir -AT- cs.cornell.edu
@grinbergnir
Where to find him: hiding behind Mor
When to find him: email to schedule time to chat