The Algorithmic Imaginary: Exploring the ordinary affects of Facebook algorithms
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The Algorithmic Imaginary : Exploring the ordinary affects of Facebook algorithms. / Bucher, Taina.
I: Information, Communication & Society, Bind 20, Nr. 1, 15, 2017, s. 30-44.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Algorithmic Imaginary
T2 - Exploring the ordinary affects of Facebook algorithms
AU - Bucher, Taina
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - This article reflects the kinds of situations and spaces where people and algorithms meet. In what situations do people become aware of algorithms? How do they experience and make sense of these algorithms, given their often hidden and invisible nature? To what extent does an awareness of algorithms affect people's use of these platforms, if at all? To help answer these questions, this article examines people's personal stories about the Facebook algorithm through tweets and interviews with 25 ordinary users. To understand the spaces where people and algorithms meet, this article develops the notion of the algorithmic imaginary. It is argued that the algorithmic imaginary – ways of thinking about what algorithms are, what they should be and how they function – is not just productive of different moods and sensations but plays a generative role in moulding the Facebook algorithm itself. Examining how algorithms make people feel, then, seems crucial if we want to understand their social power.
AB - This article reflects the kinds of situations and spaces where people and algorithms meet. In what situations do people become aware of algorithms? How do they experience and make sense of these algorithms, given their often hidden and invisible nature? To what extent does an awareness of algorithms affect people's use of these platforms, if at all? To help answer these questions, this article examines people's personal stories about the Facebook algorithm through tweets and interviews with 25 ordinary users. To understand the spaces where people and algorithms meet, this article develops the notion of the algorithmic imaginary. It is argued that the algorithmic imaginary – ways of thinking about what algorithms are, what they should be and how they function – is not just productive of different moods and sensations but plays a generative role in moulding the Facebook algorithm itself. Examining how algorithms make people feel, then, seems crucial if we want to understand their social power.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - Algorithm
KW - affect
KW - algorithmic imaginary
KW - experience
KW - social power
U2 - 10.1080/1369118X.2016.1154086
DO - 10.1080/1369118X.2016.1154086
M3 - Journal article
VL - 20
SP - 30
EP - 44
JO - Information, Communication & Society
JF - Information, Communication & Society
SN - 1369-118X
IS - 1
M1 - 15
ER -
ID: 154688589