Research
I study online voluntary communities. I focus on the political motivators of technology choice, specifically surrounding free and open source software communities. I am particularly interested in resistance to surveillance, and the moticators for disconnecting from groups.
Current Projects
Keeping Watch over the Fediverse
In this project I utilize the BlueLeaks dataset, a massive leak from U.S. Fusion Centers to guage state surveillance opinions of decentralized software
Dont Fear the (Killer) Hype
In this project the Reddit Pushshift dataset is used to understand the life-cycle of Killer Hype Cycles. User sentiment is used as a proxy to understand potential blow-back effects of hype cycles.
Affiliations
I am a student affiliate of the Community Data Science Collective. The CDSC is a collective of researchers from the University of Washington, Northwestern University, Carelton College, UT Austin, and Purdue. We apply insights from big data for fundamental concerns surrounding the creation and sustenence of online communites. Check out more on on the wiki!
Research Assistants
My current research assistants are my cats Nose (left) and Tippy (right). What they lack in methodological training they make up for in moral support, keeping the mood on projects upbeat!
