Studio Visits

Anne-Marie Scott (Feb 12 @6:30pm EDT)

Our second studio visit for 2019 is with Anne-Marie Scott (@ammienoot on twitter. Follow her!), Deputy Director of Learning, Teaching and Web Services at the University of Edinburgh.

She is a longtime Trustee of the Mansfield Traquair Trust (a building preservation charity), a member of the Board of the Apereo Software Foundation (an open source software foundation focused on education) and a member of the Girl Geek Scotland leadership team (seeking to support women in the tech industry).

Like our other guests we have invited Anne-Marie to share her view on the darkness of the internet, how she deals with it, how she stays informed, and also to give us a European perspective on these issues. But there is whatever else you want to ask her- this is a conversational visit.

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

If you want to join the hangout as a participant sign up for a seat so we can send you an invitation (Since we are in class, Kean University students do not have to sign up).

You don’t need to sign up to watch; the stream will be available here (which will also be the archive after the visit). We encourage, hope, appreciate live tweeting as well via the #netnarr hashtag.

About Anne-Marie

Twitter: @ammienoot
Blog: https://ammienoot.com “I reckon at least 25% of it makes some sort of sense.”

I’m interested in aspects of web technologies in all my professional capacities above including using open platforms and licenses to support access to cultural heritage; the use of new media and the open web in teaching and learning; scalable online learning platforms; next generation edtech ecosystems; learning analytics; supporting and promoting the adoption of open infrastructures and practices in education; and ensuring more women are included in the development and direction of technology

How would you characterize the internet in 2019?

I think the web is a mirror of society more generally – with all the same biases, inequalities, politics, and potential. I worry about the way a lot of what we experience online is presented as a technological inevitability, as I think this narrative deliberately seeks to undermine the potential of individual agency and obfuscates that the web is fundamentally a human construct. I am heartened to see some moves within Europe to push back on some of the big platform companies at last…

What kinds of changes have you made last few years to be more in control of your online activities?

I’ve definitely eased back on Facebook, but as some of my overseas family are most easily contacted there, it’s not somewhere I’ve walked away from completely. I tend to go for approaches that are about obfuscation – I use Privacy Badger to block tracking cookies and AdNauseaum to try skew any data footprint I might have for example. Fundamentally I think that the moment something is data online it’s out of your control though. So there’s a lot about my life that never finds it’s way online and never will.

What are you most recommended tools/resources for being informed in 2019?

One of the sites / Twitter follows (@Info_Activism) I find most useful is the Tactical Technology Collective (https://tacticaltech.org/) – they provide a great set of practical resources and informative reports on their site, and tweet out a range of good stories and reports from elsewhere. I’ve also been enjoying Logic magazine (https://logicmag.io/) – a really varied set of writings and perspectives on the web.

The other site that I find a really valuable resource is the Data Justice Lab at Cardiff University (https://datajusticelab.org/), particularly their Data Harm Record (https://datajusticelab.org/data-harm-record/).

What, if anything, represents light in the internet darkness?

On a large scale, the work that the Wikimedia Foundation do. Yes, there are problems with Wikipedia in terms of bias, diversity of editors etc, but I think it’s still the best example we have of the power of collective stewardship of knowledge on the web, and it’s built on open source technologies.

On a very small scale the Twitter feeds of various public libraries and museums here in the UK remind me that the web can still be about fun, sharing and human connection.

Notes from The Hangout and After

“real life” is such a provocation when thinking about online life

In what way is it a provocation?

well many would argue that online life IS real life, but others think of these ideas as two separate spheres and experiences

I see your point now. I personally think real life and cyber life should be kept separate, in some degree.

yes. I am more in your camp too. But others insist these are false and problematic binaries

this is the central tension. we shapes the representations of self, but our behaviors become packaged representations that are for sale

Anne-Marie also suggested Ad Nauseum for obfuscating data tracking in a novel way- sending noise to trackers by clicking all links on pages you visit. See https://adnauseam.io

 

 

 

Featured Image:


flickr photo by ammieNoot shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license

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