SDP wrap up post

Thank you, Ismael for blogging so quickly and articulately!

My time at Harvard was fantastic and while at times it felt over my head on the policy and IP fronts, I learned so much about what it means to be an internet scholar, how to cross interdisciplinary boundaries, and when to “go meta.”

I know I am behind on writing up my thoughts on my own presentation from last week, but suffice it to say that I was reminded at how unique a story I have to tell and that the more I celebrate New Orleans and the people there rebuilding the city with their online actions and words, the better. I had not thought such a global and distinguished group of fellow PhD students would be as interested in my qualitative work, but I was wrong. They even recommended some quantitative tools in case I do want to go in that direction.

Most importantly, I was introduced [by Marcus Foth] to the term “action research” and I think it may be the way I want to frame my dissertation. I don’t know if this tactic will require me spending more time in NOLA, interviewing, etc., but I feel that any attempt to write about post-Katrina New Orleans and the self-organizing efforts are happening vis-a-vis the Internet requires me to think about how my work can both contribute to knowledge and successful change.

Dan Gillmor and Steve Schifferes were my “assigned” tutors, and their feedback was invaluable as was the entire 2-week experience.

I promise more posts and photos to come!