Who’s Watching Whom? A Study of Interactive Technology and Surveillance

Who’s Watching Whom? A Study of Interactive Technology and Surveillance is a comprehensive essay written by Lee Humphrys looking into the effects of using social networking sites. Humphreys takes on the task of looking into many different issues over the course of this one year study. Lee Humphreys’ research looks into whether users feel safe and secure while using the site, and what they find to be strengths and weaknesses of the network. He hopes to understand to whom the shared information is going to and if those sharing the information know their true audience. Finally, Lee Humphrys also wishes to see the percentages of who is contributing and who is just surveying or â€Å"stalking† on the network. With this, Mr. Humphreys also looks to see what kinds of contributions and what types of surveillance are being used with Dodgeball. This particular study looks at a previously existing network called Dodgeball. Dodgeball was created in 2000 and utilized in 22 cities around the United States. The social network only lasted nine years before it was shut down. It was a popular concept though and so other networks like it were started; such as FourSquare and Google Latitude. This network is similar to the previously mentioned sites because users can report their whereabouts to friends within their connections circle. Dodgeball is one of the first of its kind in social networking as it worked by using text messaging rather than GPS. During his yearlong study Humphreys utilizes interpersonal interviewing to gather his information. He holds comprehensive interviews with users of Dodgeball to gain insight on his different concerns. He gains his target study group of 21 users from the Dodgeball founder, Dennis Crowley. ... ...allow them to look back on the tangible happenings of their life. All in all I feel this study is very relevant to our world and especially communication and journalism professionals since social networking has become personal and business oriented. Many newspapers release their stories on social networking sites before they can hit paper and communication professionals will use social networks to make public announcements quickly and to a large audience. With this these professionals must not just know how to use the networks but also how and why they work the way they do. It also would help, in addition, to know how consumers feel about their privacy and who is watching them. Work Cited Humphrys, Lee. Who’s Watching Whom? A Study of Interactive Technology and Surveillance http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01570.x/abstract