#SMARTDataSprint 2020 Digital Methods: theory-practice-critique

It’s becoming a tradition to write this type of post here. I´m more than happy to announce the forth edition of SMART Data Sprint. In 2020 we will receive Tommaso Venturini with a keynote talk on visual network analysis and practical labs and, for the third consecutive year, we are luck to have Bernhard Rieder addressing a keynote on mapping value(s) in artificial intelligence and practical labs on YouTube research & Ranking culture.

Under the theme Digital Methods: theory-practice-critique, this edition aims to question the logic of following the medium for practising Internet research. Furthermore, we want to keep alive the interrogation about reimagining the affordances and limitations of data-intensive web to better understand the ambiguous entanglements of platform society. The challenge of drawing together theory, practice and critique is inherent to the doing digital methods, but to bring these three topics to the stage, and at the same time, is not often a common practice. That’s why I´m looking forward to it!

The practical labs promise to be very interesting as usual; from those not familiarised with digital methods to those with more expertise and advanced skills. Beyond the keynotes and SMART team, the practical labs will count on the expertise of Marc Smith, Hamdan Azhar, Fábio Castro Gouveia, among others. I could not forget to mention the organising team, constituted by the amazing Ana Marta Flores and the new fantastic member of SMART / iNOVA Media Lab, Elena Pilipets (and myself!). Four projects will be pitched:

1.From “tumblr purge” to “female nipples”:  Telling a story of platform censorship critique through memes and digital methods by Elena Pilipets.

2. Anti-Feminist and Anti-LGBT Discourse in Brazil by Horácio Sívori, Elaine Rabello and Bruno Zilli.

3. Method maps: accounting for and situating the work with digital tools by Daniela van Geenen

4. Cross-Platform Digital Networks: Exploring the narrative affordances  of force-directed layouts and data relational nature by Inês Amaral and myself.

Find detailed info and the application form here: https://smart.inovamedialab.org/2020-digital-methods/

I´m also very pleased to share that the theme of #SMARTdatasprint will be the tittle of an e-book in Portuguese (which was edited by myself): “Métodos Digitais: Teoria-Prática-Crítica” (to be honest, the e-book has actually influenced the data sprint theme). This book is part of a series of e-books organised and supported by the Communication Institute of NOVA University – ICNOVA. “Métodos Digitais: Teoria-Prática-Crítica” is now in pagination and revision, and it is expected to be publish in December 2019. Check out, at first hand, the summary:

On behalf of ICNOVA iNOVA Media Lab, the research centre and lab I am member of, I would like to register my gratitude and say how THANKFUL we are to have the permission of such incredible scholars to the translation of their work, in particular Bernhard Rieder, Tommaso Venturini, Anne Helmond and Richard Rogers. THANK YOU also to the authors who collaborated with original chapters for this book (Inês Amaral, Elaine Teixeira Rabello, Fábio Castro Gouveia, Michele Mauri, Beatrice Gobbo, Ana Marta Flores, André Mintz e Carlos D’Andréa) and the translators (Ana Marta Flores, Filipa Filipe, Tiago Salgado e Rosanna Carretta). I´m so looking forward to the release of this book.

That is all for now, this post was ALL about good news and great expectations 🙂