fishers, surfers and casters » internet http://teusner.org ... exploring religion and culture in an online world Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:31:20 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Around the interwebs… http://teusner.org/2010/06/26/around-the-interwebs/ http://teusner.org/2010/06/26/around-the-interwebs/#comments Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:28:01 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/?p=858 A few links here from around the place…

  • Jeff Sharlet is one of the authors of Killing the Buddha and Believer, beware, and one of my favourite commentator on religion in American history, politics and journalism. He is about to edit a new book on American religious history, by collecting pieces of literary journalism. I look forward to seeing it out. He talks about it here and seeks help from his blog’s readers.
  • Pew has released its fourth edition of The Future of the Internet, and it appears to be a test of people’s responses to arguments introduced by Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google making us stupid?” (see my short post on it here).
  • Heidi Campbell writes on her reflections on attending a conference called “Theology after Google” and has got some links to interesting thinkers and talkers whom she met.
]]> http://teusner.org/2010/06/26/around-the-interwebs/feed/ 0 Around the web… http://teusner.org/2010/04/04/around-the-web/ http://teusner.org/2010/04/04/around-the-web/#comments Sat, 03 Apr 2010 23:35:15 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/2010/04/04/around-the-web/ Hacking politics: Aleks Krotoski interviews Austin Heap, inventor of Haystack – the tool that introduced Iranians to an open Internet, on his views on democracy, speech and an open Internet. Austin Heap: Revolutionising the internet

Digital nation: One of my favourite authors, Douglas Rushkoff, engages some of the really big names in Internet research (danah boyd, Sherry Turkle. etc) in a roundtable discussion on what it means to be online. Issues include parenting, participating in the economy, you know, all things Internet and social and moral panicky-like. It’s part of PBS’s Digital Nation series and website. Lots of videos to watch.

The new landscape of the religion blogosphere: The Immanent Frame presents a new report on blogging about religion, considering its place within the larger blogosphere and what religious bloggers think about blogging. Another post in the blog introduces some contributors and readers.

]]> http://teusner.org/2010/04/04/around-the-web/feed/ 0 Spam, Ashton Kutcher, and the State of the Internet http://teusner.org/2010/03/04/spam-ashton-kutcher-and-the-state-of-the-internet/ http://teusner.org/2010/03/04/spam-ashton-kutcher-and-the-state-of-the-internet/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:38:47 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/2010/03/04/spam-ashton-kutcher-and-the-state-of-the-internet/ Stumbled across this just now. New data (with some sources cited, but not many), on the Internet in the US and for the rest of us, from the end of 2009:

]]> http://teusner.org/2010/03/04/spam-ashton-kutcher-and-the-state-of-the-internet/feed/ 1 Lecturing in India http://teusner.org/2010/01/13/lecturing-in-india/ http://teusner.org/2010/01/13/lecturing-in-india/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:48:29 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/2010/01/13/lecturing-in-india/ I have been invited to give a series of lectures in Kerala, India. While that may sound ubercool, the reality is that my fellowship had bought tickets for me to go to a conference there, but the conference was cancelled, and the fellowship didn’t want to waste the tickets, so they’re putting me to work. But I am uberexcited about it. I’ve heard many wonderful things about IMPACT, the organisation that is hosting me, and I feel honoured to have this opportunity.

Here are a few of the topics I’ll be talking about:

Human interaction in Cyberspace

The worldwide web (internet) is a virtual world (Cyberspace) alongside our natural world. Internet technology helps humans create social environments that shape their understandings of self, the world, and the other. Particularly, the web 2.0 technology and the networked communities, blogs and podcasts provide virtual space for all forms human interaction.

Religion Online

Ever since the birth of internet, religion is present and active in cyberspace. The increasing popularity of these Internet tools to express a religious identity and seek connections with others has impact on how people participate in religious institutions in the real world. Many fear that religion online will lead to the ultimate demise of organized religions like Christianity. Others think that the democratizing force of online religion affects the authority of the traditional religious offices. What is the future of religion in the digital age?!

Godcasting: exploring religious audiences and podcasting communities

Today, religious programs are the second most popular genre of podcasting. Blogging and podcasting are working to create and enhance online religious communities, and shape relationships between producers and consumers of podcasted religious content. Specifically, it is interesting to explore how bloggers connect online life in a highly technologised society with traditional notions of religious life. This workshop will be an exploration on how the web 2.0 technology and the networked communities, blogs and podcasts provide virtual space to explore new forms of religious expression.

IMPACT is is a Portal for Communication Research, Training and Formation. It is a Christian response to the challenge of the emerging communication culture. IMPACT program aims at forming leaders conversant with the predominant and emerging communication culture.

]]> http://teusner.org/2010/01/13/lecturing-in-india/feed/ 0 How is the Internet changing the way you think? http://teusner.org/2010/01/13/how-is-the-internet-changing-the-way-you-think/ http://teusner.org/2010/01/13/how-is-the-internet-changing-the-way-you-think/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:27:05 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/2010/01/13/how-is-the-internet-changing-the-way-you-think/ This is The Edge’s world question for 2010. This site draws on recently published literature to highlight what we know, hope and fear about how being online changes how we think. The project has also gathered some 150 people to put together a reader.

]]> http://teusner.org/2010/01/13/how-is-the-internet-changing-the-way-you-think/feed/ 0 New Media, Religion and Digital Culture http://teusner.org/2009/10/17/new-media-religion-and-digital-culture/ http://teusner.org/2009/10/17/new-media-religion-and-digital-culture/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:41:05 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/2009/10/17/new-media-religion-and-digital-culture/ My awesome friend Heidi Campbell has scored a pocket of money from Texas A&M University to seed a Virtual Centre for Research into New Media, Religion and Digital Culture. She’s looking around for people who may have any ideas, opinions or resources to share. If you’re one of those people, check out the Facebook page and contact her there.

]]> http://teusner.org/2009/10/17/new-media-religion-and-digital-culture/feed/ 0 The Internet and governance http://teusner.org/2009/09/27/the-internet-and-governance/ http://teusner.org/2009/09/27/the-internet-and-governance/#comments Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:11:46 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/2009/09/27/the-internet-and-governance/ ‘Athens’ on the net is an interesting read on the rhetoric of Internet use, social connections and democracy, against what we know of the Internet and social change. It’s set against a reading of the documentary, “Us Now”, which is also available online.

Us Now from Banyak Films on Vimeo.

]]> http://teusner.org/2009/09/27/the-internet-and-governance/feed/ 0 News from Pew http://teusner.org/2009/09/26/news-from-pew/ http://teusner.org/2009/09/26/news-from-pew/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:40:32 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/2009/09/26/news-from-pew/ The Pew Research Project has a couple of good research publications online at the moment.

  • The Internet and Civil Engagement report makes the claim that while the Internet is not changing the relationship between socio-economic status and civic participation, there are signs that blogs and social networking sites are helping youth become more politically vocal.
  • The Teens and Mobile Phones report talks about the rise in ownership and use of mobile technology by youth. The rise is apparently faster than that of older people, to show that the gap between young and old is closing.
]]> http://teusner.org/2009/09/26/news-from-pew/feed/ 0 Is Google making us stupid, really? http://teusner.org/2009/08/04/is-google-making-us-stupid-really/ http://teusner.org/2009/08/04/is-google-making-us-stupid-really/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:36:08 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/2009/08/04/is-google-making-us-stupid-really/ In this article, Nicholas Carr questions the impact of Internet use on how we think. It’s a well-informed piece if you’re interested in histories of media technology and human interaction with text. But it’s sooooooo hyped – he talks about his flailing ability to read long tracks of words, and is quicker to blame the Internet than the fact he may well just be getting a little older. And he links inability to concentrate with stupidity. So wrong.

]]> http://teusner.org/2009/08/04/is-google-making-us-stupid-really/feed/ 3 The Long Tail of Online Religious Extremism http://teusner.org/2009/03/19/the-long-tail-of-online-religious-extremism/ http://teusner.org/2009/03/19/the-long-tail-of-online-religious-extremism/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:01:30 +0000 paul http://teusner.org/?p=720 Axel Bruns, co-editor of the great book, Uses of Blogs has been blogging on his experiences at the Web Sci ’09 conference, and has written an interesting reflection on a presentation by Kieran O’Hara, who has done some study on the comparison between perceptions of religious extremism on the Internet and the reality.

Now I wish I had gone to it. Sounds like a great gathering.

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