Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Association of Internet Researchers


I have been trying to refine a simple idea into a research project and admit to having some difficulty. Though I have been an active member of the internet and world wide web community since 1993, writing on several topics and building up a business out of some of the opportunities provided by emerging technologies, that does not make me a researcher. In fact I need help.

I am a believer in leveraging what the web community has to offer, and I may have stumbled across a helpful organization.

While poking around for some solid information on basic surveying methodologies and trying to find others who may be asking the same questions that I am, I came across a web site for "The Association of Internet Researchers". It almost struck me as too obvious. "This can't be for real, because it appears to be just what I'm looking for", (I said to myself in that stilted cadence of written dialog).

They are self described as:
an academic association dedicated to the advancement of the cross-disciplinary field of Internet studies. It is a member-based support network promoting critical and scholarly Internet research independent from traditional disciplines and existing across academic borders.

So I am going to give it a go. The membership dues are not that high, though it looks like I would have to renew again in Sept. I just missed out on the conference held in Vancouver, Canada and Copenhagen is a little too distant to just attend, but perhaps I will have put something together for 2009.

2 comments:

Alex Halavais said...

I encourage you to bring your questions to AIR-L, the list for the association, being as specific as possible, of course. It's a very friendly group, and the list has provided a lot of support for people getting their feet wet over the years.

Droid116 said...

Thanks, I signed up for it this afternoon.

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