WEB 2.

0: THEORIES, RESEARCH, USES & EFFECTS

RTVF 4450.001/5660.001 - Topics in Industry Studies Fall 2013 Tuesdays/Thursday 2:00-3:20, RTFP 180F The University of North Texas, Dept. of Radio-TV-Film Professor Dr. Jacqueline Vickery, Ph.D. Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:30-5:30 and by appointment Location: RTFP 237 Email: jacqueline.vickery@unt.edu Course Description This course examines Web 2.0 from a social and cultural perspective and focuses on how media technologies (re)configure practices of everyday life. We will approach Web 2.0 from a broad definition to encompass social networking sites, mobile technologies and applications, online communities, games, and virtual worlds. The course incorporates the perspectives of various stakeholders including citizens, consumers, industries, policymakers, and governments. This class primarily takes an American perspective but welcomes intercultural and international perspectives as well. In addition to studying and analyzing social and digital media, we will also be actively communicating through and participating in the platforms and networks we study. Students will have the opportunity to simultaneously conduct analytical research as well as create and participate in social media practices. The objectives of this course are to: Offer students the conceptual and analytical tools necessary to examine the real and potential influences of social media Provide students with a working knowledge of the development, organization, and operation of different digital media technologies and industries Highlight the social choices students face as citizens, consumers, producers, and media professionals in their own encounters with Web 2.0 technologies and applications Provide students with opportunities to critically engage with social and digital media for the purposes of learning, collaborating, and research

By the end of this course students will be able to: Describe how social media enables the formation of community Analyze how identity is performed, complicated, complimented, and challenged in/with/through digital media, as well as critically examine how social media affect constructions of youth, gender, race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality Assess the commercial uses of Web 2.0 technologies Critique debates about ownership, labor, privacy, intellectual property, regulation, civic engagement, and ethics in a digital age

Required Texts 1. The Social Media Reader by Michael Mandiberg (Ed.) (paperback edition); Publisher: NYU Press; ISBN-10: 0814764061 2. Other readings will be made available online or on Blackboard throughout the semester. Course Assignments & Evaluation Blog Posts (80 points) As a group (8-10 members) you will maintain a blog for the entirety of the semester. You will be responsible for posting 4 times throughout the semester (350-500 words; 10 points each = 40 total points) and commenting on at least 8 posts (150-250 words; 5 points each = 40 total points). The blog will be one of the primary ways you engage with course readings throughout the semester. One entry will be selected as the Blog Post of the Week (BPOTW); if your post is selected it will be featured on the class blog and you will receive 5 bonus points towards your overall blog grade. Blog posts are due by 5:00 p.m. on Mondays and comments are due by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. Lead Class Discussion (40 points) As a team, you will prepare to lead class discussion for one class period. Your team will be responsible for covering at least one of the readings from the week, incorporating outside examples, and posing 3-4 discussion questions for the class. Presentations will be 30 minutes. All materials must be submitted to Dr. Vickery by 12:00pm the day before your presentation in order to offer feedback and suggestions. Midterm Paper (45 points) You will write a 5-7 page paper responding to one of three prompts I will provide. Participation (35 points) This course is largely discussion and activity based, therefore participation is expected. All students start with a D for participation and must earn points towards their desired grade. We will hold an ongoing conversation about our observations of social media in contemporary culture in the form of a class Twitter feed, which counts towards your overall participation grade. You may either use your current Twitter username or create one specifically for this course. Tweets should be personal thoughts, insights, questions, responses to readings or lectures, and/or links to relevant material on the web, and should include the course hashtag #RTVFWEB. To earn full credit you must be Tweeting regularly throughout the semester. Points are earned by a) contributing during class discussions, b) contributing to in-class group work, c) completing in-class assignments, and d) regularly participating on Twitter. Alternatively, points will be deducted for arriving late/leaving early, sleeping or not paying attention in class, or other disruptive behavior. Final Exam (50 points) There will be 1 exam in this class; it will be open note essays completed in class on Thursday, December 6 @ 1:30 p.m.

Final Paper or Project (50 points) Choose one: a) Complete an individual paper (2000 words in length) about a theme or digital tool/community of your choice. The paper must include original research and analysis. b) Work with a group of 3-5 students to create a digital media project on one of the courses themes. The project can be, but is not limited to, a piece of digital film (animation, machinima, mash-up, etc.), a digital game, a wiki, or an app. I am open to other ideas, but you MUST get approval from me. Paper and project topics must be related to Web 2.0/digital media/social media and must incorporate theories, concepts, and ideas from the course. You must submit a proposal (approx. 250 words) of your paper or project by October 3. An extended abstract or outline of your paper or project is due November 14. This is for your benefit, to make sure you are on track and to help you identify areas where you may need help. Final papers and projects are due on December 6. Evaluation: 270-300 points = A 240-269 points = B 210-239 points = C 180-209 points = D 179 or fewer = F

Attendance Policy: I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. Everyone is granted two free absences during the semester, no questions asked. Each additional absence will result in a loss of 5 points from your participation grade. Additionally, you will lose points for arriving late or leaving early. If you experience extenuating circumstances during the semester (e.g. extended illness, death of a close family member, etc.) talk to Dr. Vickery ASAP. Late Assignments: You will lose a full letter grade on the assignment for every day your assignment is late. Assignments more than 3 days late will NOT be accepted; this means you will receive an automatic 0 for the assignment. Assignments are considered late if they are not turned in by the dates and times provided on the syllabus. Extra Credit: You can earn 5 bonus points if your blog post is selected as the BPOTW. No extra credit opportunities will be offered on an individual basis, so do not ask. If you are struggling with the course materials then talk to the instructor for additional guidance and resources. Do not wait until the end of the semester to try to salvage your grade. For Graduate Students Only: Graduate students have different requirements concerning the grade. The Professor will share these requirements and options for the course. ODA Notification: The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information

see the Office of Disability Accommodation website at http://www.unt.edu/oda. You may also contact them by phone at 940.565.4323. Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is defined in the UNT Policy on Student Standards for Academic Integrity. Any suspected case of Academic Dishonestly will be handled in accordance with the University Policy and procedures. Possible academic penalties range from a verbal or written admonition to a grade of F in the course. Further sanctions may apply to incidents involving major violations. Categories of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, forgery, fabrication, facilitating dishonesty, sabotage, turning in the same assignment for more than one class without permission, and any act designed to give a student an unfair advantage on an assignment or in the course. You will find the policy and procedures at: http://vpaa.unt.edu/academic-integrity.htm. Religious holy days sometimes conflict with class and examination schedules. If you will miss a work assignment or other project due to the observance of a religious holy day you will be given an opportunity to complete the work missed within a reasonable time after the absence. If you are going to miss an assignment, please let me know at the beginning of the semester.

Course Schedule & Readings Week 1: Introduction August 29 - No readings - Meet with groups, set up Twitter, set up blogs Week 2: What is New Media? September 3 - Cameron Chapman, The History of the Internet in a Nutshell (http://bit.ly/3R5kW8) - Nancy Baym, Making New Media Make Sense (available on Blackboard) September 5 - danah boyd & Nicole Ellison, Social Network Sites: Definition, History, & Scholarship (http://bit.ly/e5MlA) - Mark Hopkins, Just what is social media, exactly? (Mashable: http://on.mash.to/96KI) - Shea Bennett, A History of Social Media (Infographic)( http://bit.ly/ViYiua) Recommended: 50 definitions of social media (bit.ly/jPHHuL) and 50 (mostly) free social media tools you cant live without in 2012 ( tnw.co/ybRPSl) Week 3: Collaboration & Participatory Culture September 10 - Nancy Baym, Communities and Networks (available on Blackboard) - Adam Hyde et al., What is Collaboration Anyway? (p. 53 in Social Media Reader) September 12 - Henry Jenkins, Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Media (pp. 2-11, bit.ly/2bnWVo) - Drake Bennett, Assessing Wikipedia, Wiki-Style, on its 10th Anniversary (Business Week, buswk.co/RQ7qBW)

Week 4: Remix & Convergence Culture September 17 - Henry Jenkins, Quentin Tarantinos Star Wars? (p. 203 Social Media Reader) September 19 - Patrick Davison, The Language of Internet Memes (p. 120 in Social Media Reader)

Week 5: Copyright & Intellectual Property September 24 - Lawrence Lessig, REMIX: How Creativity is Being Strangled by the Law (p. 155 in Social Media Reader) September 26 - Gasser and Ernst, From Shakespeare to DJ Danger Mouse: A Quick Look at Copyright and User Creativity in the Digital Age (available on Blackboard) Recommended: UNT Copyright Compliance Checklist: http://bit.ly/UXhFWQ Center for Social Media Guide to Fair Use: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/fair-use Week 6: Privacy in a Networked World October 1 - Suasan B. Barnes, A Privacy Paradox: Social Networking in the United States (First Monday, http://bit.ly/6E4YJC) *October 3 **FINAL PAPER/PROJECT TOPIC DUE** - Mary Madden, Privacy Management on Social Media Sites (Pew Research, bit.ly/Ae9k6Z) - Naomi Troni, Social Media Privacy: A Contradiction in Terms? (Forbes: onforb.es/JDjBzt) - Marshall Kirkpatrick, Why Facebook is Wrong: Privacy Is Still Important (Read Write, http://bit.ly/XleJCZ) Recommended: Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Social Networking Privacy: How to be Safe, Secure, and Social (https://www.privacyrights.org/social-networking-privacy/) Week 7: Performing Identities October 8 - Jamie Beckland, Why Mainstream Social Networks Complicate Our Identities (Mashable, on.mash.to/q9yKSF) - Craig Watkins, Digital Gates: How Race and Class Distinctions Are Shaping the Digital World (available on Blackboard) October 10 - Tanja Carstensen, Gender Trouble in Web 2.0: Gender Relations in Social Network Sites, Wikis, and Weblogs (International Journal of Gender, Science, and Technology, http://bit.ly/b3zNuZ) Week 8: Communities & Fandom October 15 - Megan M. Wood & Linda Baughman, Glee Fandom and Twitter: Something New, or More of the Same Old Thing? (available on Blackboard)

October 17 - Belinda Goldsmith, Social Media Will Kill Off Armchair Sports Fans (Yahoo!, yhoo.it/PRliYH) - Jon Accarrino, How Social Media Revolutionized Fandom Forever (Definition 6, bit.ly/lfGBM0) Week 9: Surveillance, Data, and Transparency October 22 [IR14] - boyd and Crawford, Six Provocations for Big Data (on Blackbord) *October 24 **Midterm Papers Due** - No class; Dr. Vickery is at a conference Week 10: The Networked Self & Digital Reputation Management October 29 - Mary Madden & Aaron Smith, Reputation Management and Social Media (Pew Research, bit.ly/aS3v2J) - danah boyd, Real Name Policies Are an Abuse of Power (zephoria, http://bit.ly/ogSf8v) October 31 - Alice Marwick and danah boyd, I Tweet Honestly, I Tweet Passionately: Twitter Users, Context Collapse, and the Imagined Audience (available on Blackboard)

Week 11: Regulating the Internet November 5 - John Palfrey, Four Phases of Internet Regulation (available on Blackboard) November 7 **PAPER ABSTRACT OR PROJECT OUTLINES DUE** - David Glance, The Slippery Slope of Facebook Regulation (Technology Spectator, bit.ly/R6rEd0) - Simon Waldman, Harmful Content on the Internet: Self-Regulation Is the Best Way Forward (The Guardian, bit.ly/Ofrx7r) - Nate Anderson, Regulating Googles Results? Law Prof Calls Search Neutrality Incoherent (Wired, bit.ly/SowQDZ) Week 12: Civic Engagement, Activism, & Journalism November 12 - Mary Grace Antony & Ryan J. Thomas, This Is Citizen Journalism at its Finest: YouTube and the Public Sphere in the Oscar Grant Shooting Incident (available on Blackboard) *November 14 - Claire Suddath, Five Reasons the Kony Video Went Viral (Business Week, buswk.co/FO3pc6) - YPP, Does the Internet Make for More Engaged Citizens? ( DML Central, bit.ly/Pp77v4)

Week 13: The Social Web beyond America November 19 - Markus Sabadello, The Role of New Media for the Democratization Processes in the Arab World (available on Blackboard) November 21 - Tolu Ogunlesi and Stephanie Busari, Seven Ways Mobile Phones Have Changed Lives in Africa (CNN, http://bit.ly/OXWnZ8) - Jon Swartz, Social Networking Sites Going Global (USA Today, usat.ly/wdwpf) - Spend some time exploring Alexas top internet sites by country, worldwide, category : http://www.alexa.com/topsites

Week 14: Industry & Advertising November 26 - Felix Stalder, Between Democracy and Spectacle: The Front-End and Back-End of the Social Web (p. 242 in Social Media Reader) - John Biggs, A Dispute Over Who Owns a Twitter Account Goes To Court (NYT, nyti.ms/utJIWx- Ryan - Singel, How Does Google Make the Big Bucks? An Infographic Answer (Wired, bit.ly/NGm2R8) November 28 - Happy Thanksgiving! No readings

Week 15: Presentations December 3 In-class presentations December 5 In-class presentations *December 6 @ Noon - FINAL PAPER/PROJECT DUE*

Week 16: Finals Week Final Exam Thursday, December 12 1:30-3:30 p.m.