Sign in

Dr Agata Stepnik

@dragatastepnik.bsky.social
108 followers 116 following 13 posts

Post-doc researcher of social media users, algorithms, and the news. Eater of vegan noms. Connoisseur of 🐈 memes. University of Sydney.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Dr Agata Stepnik
John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 25/01/2025
This is what peak masculinity looks like in 2025
Me in my pink "Alpha Male" t shirt, with a cuddly unicorn on it!
1053415601619
Reposted by Dr Agata Stepnik
Justin Miller @justin-k-miller.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
My first ever paper, in Royal Society Open Science shows how large language models can cluster short text more effectively than traditional methods—letting researchers condense massive social media corpora into easy-to-digest groups. Check it out: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Human-interpretable clustering of short text using large language models | Royal Society Open Science
Clustering short text is a difficult problem, owing to the low word co-occurrence between short text documents. This work shows that large language models (LLMs) can overcome the limitations of tradit...
052
Dr Agata Stepnik @dragatastepnik.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
I lined up for over two hours last night to see #putricia. Was she really that stinky? Honestly… not really. Somehow familiar and sweeter than I expected. Kinda Parmesan-y, with a side of fruit that’s been left inside a hot car. Was it worth it? Yes, of course ☺️
020
Dr Agata Stepnik @dragatastepnik.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
The front row at the inauguration... Pretty telling sign of what's to come over the next 4 years. If like me you're trying to get your head around what this means for comms and media scholars, consider joining #ICA25 our pre-conference on Media, Trust & Technology at CU Boulder on June 11th.
110
Reposted by Dr Agata Stepnik
Brendan Keogh @brkeogh.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Yes it's obviously bad Facebook is getting rid of fact checkers, but no amount of Meta-funded fact checkers would address the real problem of the entire digital commons and all forms of public socialising and communication being captured by and dependent on for-profit tech companies.
627839
Reposted by Dr Agata Stepnik
Daniel Angus @antmandan.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Don't get me wrong. A tax on Big Tech to support journalism is a solid idea, but this "negotiate or else" setup is broken. It shouldn’t be a backstop for failed deals; it should be the system! A transparent, fair tax with clear quality benchmarks would serve the public far better than backroom deals
132
Reposted by Dr Agata Stepnik
Diana Bossio @dbossio.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
I was given about 35 seconds to write a quick update for The Conversation on the news media bargaining code and what is essentially the Albanese govt trying to force Meta back to the bargaining table with a a fully offset levy. You can read about it here: theconversation.com/news-bargain...
theconversation.com
News bargaining incentive: the latest move in the government’s ‘four-dimensional chess’ battle with Meta
The government has been playing ‘four-dimensional chess’ to work out how to drag big tech back to the bargaining table with news publishers. So, will this new scheme work?
2147
Dr Agata Stepnik @dragatastepnik.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Realising you haven't posted in 12 months... probably time to **post something** So, here's my article for the AANZCA 2023 special issue of Communication Research and Practice - I probably didn't need to wait for the issue to come out to share, but still! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Four provocations for rich digital ethnographic research situated in social media networks
Scholars engaging in social media research involving direct observation of users draw from a range of research methods, each with their own benefits and challenges. From an ethical perspective, res...
130
Dr Agata Stepnik @dragatastepnik.bsky.social · 13/12/2023
We somehow managed to sneak in a second publication before the end of the year! It was a genuine pleasure working with Terry Flew, Petrie Iosifidis, and @jammh.bsky.social on “Digital platforms and the future of news: regulating publisher-platform relations in Australia and Canada”
doi.org
020
Dr Agata Stepnik @dragatastepnik.bsky.social · 13/12/2023
The last bit of my PhD journey happened Friday 8th Dec 2023. It was an honour to stand up with these awesome humans who helped me get all the way to the end (pic 1 L-R: @dhutchman.bsky.social, me, Mama Stepnik, Assoc Prof Fiona Martin, Dr Olga Boichak). Dr Jo Gray was there in spirit too. 🎓🎉
4 people in academic dress and 1 in the centre without, standing in front of a sandstone wall partially covered in ivy.A PhD graduate receiving their testamur on stage from the Chancellor
230
Dr Agata Stepnik @dragatastepnik.bsky.social · 24/11/2023
@svegaard.bsky.social hey! We have a booking at Beach Babylon for 18:30 - see you there? I realise this is public… but, well, yay?
110
Dr Agata Stepnik @dragatastepnik.bsky.social · 19/11/2023
Heading to Wellington for #ANZCA2023 to present on the ethical considerations for social media research, and on the value of news. First time in NZ too 😊 - will I see anyone here over there? #ANZCA23
000
Dr Agata Stepnik @dragatastepnik.bsky.social · 07/09/2023
Ok so apparently I was conferred 2 days ago…
010
Dr Agata Stepnik @dragatastepnik.bsky.social · 07/09/2023
My thesis was awarded on Monday 4th September, 2023. Yes, that *is* surreal. And while I can't use the title "Dr" until it's officially conferred, I can share my thesis now! So, for anyone curious and wanting a very, very, VERY long and dense read... here it is :)
ses.library.usyd.edu.au
Active Curation: algorithmic awareness for cultural commentary on social media platforms
060