Information and the Transformation of Sociology

Interactivity and Social Media Monitoring

Bibliographic Data

ID21187632
AuthorsHugh Mackay (The Open University, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume11
Issue1
Pages117-126
Publication date2012-12-12
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuetripleC Communication Capitalism & Critique Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1726-670X • E-ISSN: 1726-670X
PublisherInformation Society Research (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.31269/triplec.v11i1.343
OpenAlexW1509916597
LanguageEN
References cited16

This paper explores some key ways in which the scale and form of information today challenges sociology’s methods and practice. Information has shaped sociology in two key ways. First, it has become an object of study, largely in the form of accounts of ‘the information society’. This paper argues that interactivity is a key element of such changes, albeit a notion has not been a major focus of information society theorists. The second way in which sociology is being transformed by the growth of information is that, with the growth of huge volumes of commercial transactional information, social information is no longer the preserve of sociologists. Moreover, new tools have emerged to challenge the research methods that lie at the heart of sociology. Linking the growth of interactivity with new forms of data and research tools, this paper discusses the case of the BBC World Service’s use of social media monitoring tools. The paper concludes by arguing that the vast amount of available information affords new possibilities for sociologists as well as for the organisations that collect it

Data science · Epistemology · Information society · Interactivity · Knowledge management · Political science · Social media · Social science · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Law · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Media and Politics

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access