Title: Mapping Platform-Mediated Authorship
Kirsten Bray
Ph.D. Student in Human-centered Computing
School of Interactive Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology
Date: 1/23/25
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: TSRB 226, https://gatech.zoom.us/j/8654779964
Committee:
Dr. Rebecca Grinter (Advisor) - Professor, School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Neha Kumar - School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Munmun DeChoudhury - School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Andrea Parker - School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Christina Harrington - HCI Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Danyell Jones - Meta Research
Abstract: Research on platform-based creative work has established the significance of digital platforms for social media, marketplace, and publication in enabling creative workers to facilitate aspects of work previously distributed across various roles. The newfound independence and autonomy afforded by online platforms for content publication and networking offer new capacities to support creative work. Conversely, these same resources present challenges, and the accounts of workers in these industries platforms illustrate considerable unforeseen impacts on creative industries, some echoing systemic inequalities seen in offline spaces, others posing barriers unique to platform infrastructures. I intend to map the collaborative networks of two communities of independent writers to understand how they distribute labor and consider how understanding ties and platform-usage within these networks might render invisible labor and systems visible.
While for some workers, online platforms may function as one of many tools used to produce, publish, or promote their work, for others, they may also serve as the primary or sole intermediary for creative work. These differences in platform reliance may significantly impact experiences of autonomy and the role precarity of platform-based work, as well as the connections formed in work supported by or reliant on online platforms for the creation, publication, and marketing of their work. This work will contribute to existing research on role-specific experiences of platform-mediated labor, particularly across levels of platform mediation. It will also examine how community sense-making of platforms and algorithms for content promotion and moderation might help bridge knowledge gaps and support codesign.
Thanks,