Chris Peterson

Publications

• 2017: Peterson, Oltmann, & Knox, “The Inconsistent Work of Web Filters: Mapping Information Access in Alabama Public Schools & Libraries,“ International Journal of Communication. 
• 2017: Oltmann, Peterson, & Knox, “Analyzing Challenges to Library Materials: An Incomplete Picture,” Public Library Quarterly. 
• 2016: Peterson, “‘Bury Until They Change Their Ways’: The Digg Patriots And/As User–Generated Censorship,” in Civic Media: Technology, Design, Practice, ed. Gordon et al.
• 2015: Oltmann, Knox, Peterson, & Musgrave, “Using open records laws for research purposes,” Library & Information Science Research, Vol. 37, Iss. 4, pp. 323-328.
• 2015: Peterson, “I Like My Bots Like I Like My People: Weird, Mixed, Always Acting,” in Production Studies, The Sequel!: Cultural Studies of Global Media Industries, ed. Mayer et al, pp. 3–10.
• 2015: Peterson, “Can a Facebook poster be punished if a friend finds it threatening?” in Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Legal Issues, ed. Katsh (McGraw–Hill, 2015), pp. 183–196.
• 2013: Peterson, “User-Generated Censorship: Manipulating the Maps of Social Media,” my master’s thesis at CMS
• 2010: Losing Face: An Environmental Analysis of Privacy on Facebook, an unpublished working paper adapted from my undergraduate thesis.

Press

• Opening the Black Box: Analytics and Admissions. An essay for the Chronicle of Higher Education about how web analytics complicate college admissions.
• MOOCs: A (Mostly Harmless) Hustle. An articule in The EvoLLLution talking about the peril and promise of MOOCs.
• The First Step is to Understand Your Audience. An article in The EvoLLLtution explaining social media marketing in higher education.
• Defending the Banned Books Map. A rebuttal of Mitchell Muncy’s attack on the Banned Books Map. Originally published on Thursday, October 1, in the Wall Street Journal.
• In Re: Only Mr God Knows Why. A letter to the editor about Eurovision and Epic Sax Guy. Originally published in the Letters to the Editor section of The New Yorker, June 2010.

Posts

•  “Mapping The Concepts of Content Warnings: Three Themes, Two Causes, & A Possible Path Forward,” MIT Center for Civic Media Blog.
• Sorry, Nerds, But Obama Was Right About The Jedi Meld (And Metaphysics). A playful essay about Obama’s sci-fi sequester remarks. Later tweeted by Sulu, as well as being featured on CNN, BoingBoing, and the Harvard Political Review.
• Student’s ‘Meltdown’ Blog Post Leads to Deeper Look at Student Stress at MIT in the PBS MediaShift Idea Lab.
• The Conservatism of Google. An essay on how Google’s use of law has surprisingly conservative effects.
• A Modest Proposal: Sandy, Tontines, And Disaster Markets. A satire of civic crowdfunding / private equity proposals for disaster relief.
• The Minerva Delusion. A critique of a venture-backed education startup.
• WePay: The First Bank of OWS, and Why It Changes Everything. Some thoughts on the role of financial intermediaries in supporting disaggregated political movements.
• Facebook, J30Strike, and the Discontents of Algorithmic Dispute Resolution. A comment, from the dispute resolution angle, on the civic censorship controversy originally posted here and here, as well as picked up by MotherJones. Originally appeared on the NCTDRwebsite.
• Gladwell’s “Small Change” Misses The Mark. Some thoughts on Malcolm Gladwell’s rejection of social media as being politically meaningful.
• Mapping Banned Books. Announcing the launch of the Mapping Banned Books Project. Originally posted to the Unabashedly Bookish weblog, archived locally here.
• In Praise Of [Some] DDoSs? An exploration of how we calibrate punishment based on the political or moral character of an action, and whether we should do the same for acts of hacktivism.
• Saving With Shoeboxes: An Open Letter To My Bank. A reflection on some behavioral economics research into the creation of meaningful mental taxonomies of assets and its implications for online banking.
• Update: see also In Search of Shoeboxes: Goodbye BoA, Hello ING!

• What’s In A (User) Name? Facebook’s Contribution to Online Dispute Creation. Coauthored with Professor Ethan Katsh of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution, this short piece briefly describes some of the potential benefits and drawbacks of the new Facebook Username system from an online dispute resolution perspective.