Posted by Jay Livingston
The Sociology Bloggers get-together. Considering that it was not listed on the official program, it
was well attended and probably one of the most interactive sessions at the ASA meetings as you can see in the photo. (Why is it that Dan Myers gets better photos with his Treo than I get with my Canon Power Shot?) Here’s another with Chris Uggen and Fabio.
I’ll probably learn more at the ASA session on blogging tomorrow, but a quick-and-dirty demographic survey suggests that Northamerican sociology bloggers are predominantly male. (Who are the other women besides Ezster? Should we count Danah Boyd as a sociologist?) Jeremy Freese (who in person doesn’t look a whole lot like that caricature on his blog) tells of trying unsuccessfully to get the chair at Wisconsin to blog. This reluctance is curious, especially considering the sex ratio for Myspace and Facebook, which, according to the Pew research, tilts heavily towards females.
Less curious is the age factor. Blogging, like other Internet participation, is apparently for the young. At the gathering Saturday, the age distribution topped out at 41 (not counting one graying outlier sliding inexorably into geezerdom). Is this just a matter of computer literacy? Yes, the under-forties may see computers as naturally incorporated into the self if not the body, thumbing their Blackberries and cellphones like worry beads. But blogging requires little computer competence. I wonder whether the age difference signals a generational change in notions of private and public even among academics – the kind of change evidenced by the Myspacebook generation.
7 comments:
I suppose I don't really count, because I rarely post sociological posts. It is my intention to start, though. I have several thoughts stemming from my experiences at the conference. Anyway it was nice meeting you!
Kristina,
Absolutely -- post your thoughts on the conference. I'm always curious about students' reactions.
Jay, the pictures you took are great-very very clear!
Some of the great pics over @ Althouses blog were taken with the Canon Power Shot as well.
I'm not surprised that the soc/blog get-together was a highlight given all the great sociol bloggers out here and their connection with each other.
Thank you for filling us in..sounds like you're collecting some neat data to post! Looking forward to it.
Jay, Very nice to meet you, although I'm afraid that our only interaction was exchanging directions to the bar. Maybe next time.
I have some thoughts on gender and blogging that I'll try to put together soon. Right now, I'm just trying to get my brain to gel enough to submit receipts and answer email!
Tina, I knew I was undercounting female bloggers. I'm adding you and Total Drek to the links. And next time, let's pick a bar with more interaction-friendly seating.
I was curious about the gender distribution of the blogging sociologists I read, and 7/17 of them are authored by women. Of course, that doesn't count the distribution within the group blogs.
By the way, I am another female blogger who was at the gathering...we just didn't get a chance to meet. Opposite ends of the very long table.
Anomie, Obviously my census of blogging sociologists was biased, and not in a random way. I left out several students, females especially, and I'm trying to correct the list. Your blog should be listed there now.
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