Hello! I'm a grad student at Cornell University working on a research project that focuses on the Daily Kos. I'm studying similarities and differences in how online communities and traditional news media decide what ideas and events are newsworthy.
You folks are part of a vibrant discussion and you obviously have a good sense of your own community. So I'd like to involve you in my analysis - to give you a chance to react to and comment on my findings as I do my research, if you feel so inclined. I'm doing a close reading of two weeks' worth of posts and comments to the Kos main page - specifically the week leading up to and the one following Super Tuesday. It'd be impossible to write about every post and comment that was made, of course - there were over 116,000 of them. But I'll do my best to pick out what's interesting during that time period.
More on my research question, and a bit about me, after the jump...
Here's what I'd like to know: What makes a story "Kosworthy," as opposed to newsworthy? Obviously the big news of the day is important in determining what gets talked about here - the folks in my field call that "agenda setting." But when you're not just re-posting headlines or election results, and you're left to your own devices to write about whatever you choose, what do you decide to talk about? What makes something of interest to this community in particular? Or of interest to online discussions as opposed to mass media news?
I'm looking into this question on my own as I sift through a couple weeks of your dialogue. As I said, I'll post my thoughts and analysis here - not all of it, though, as there has to be something left to publish when I'm done. I don't want to misrepresent you in my writings. Insofar as I'm bound to be an outsider who doesn't "get it," I'm hoping you'll help to fill me in. I'll take your reactions to my research into account and in the end, I hope that the project I present to my thesis committee at Cornell will be filled with your quotes and informed by your knowledge of this place.
In my next post, I'll offer some initial data. For now, I'll leave you with a bit about myself, since I look forward to getting to know all of you...
I'm a 27 year old guy from California, living in the frigid Northeast. I grew up in Bakersfield, went to school in Santa Barbara, and worked in Hollywood for awhile before heading back to school.
I'm currently a second year masters student in the Comm department at Cornell University, working toward a Ph.D. I also moonlight as a freelance journalist, and en route to Ithaca I worked as a junior editor for Seed Magazine, a freelance producer for WNYC's Radio Lab, and as a newsroom intern at the Ted Koppel-era Nightline. I currently blog here and there for Scientific American's new web project, 60 Second Science, and continue to write reviews and short pieces from time to time for Seed.
I picked up a masters in medical ethics from UPenn on my way to Cornell, and while I seem to be firmly ensconced in academia at this point, 'til recently I made a career out of keeping my options open.
I keep my own website and online community at wideaperture.net, and I've been working with some talented developers on a web research project that allows visitors on the net to collaborate to design their ideal presidential candidate. It's called WikiCandidate, appropriately enough.
I was a science and technology graduate policy fellow at the National Academies last summer. I'm ultimately interested in health and science communication, though I've detoured into politics here, because - like you all - I find it too interesting to leave alone.
On a personal note, I'm getting married this summer to a wonderful woman from New England. And lastly, by way of full disclosure, I am a Democrat. I have no overarching preference for either Democratic candidate this season, though. Just happy to see the ticket diversified.