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Josh Braun

@joshbraun.bsky.social
2.7K followers 1.5K following 294 posts

Associate Professor at UMass Amherst studying the civic impacts of media distribution. I work in our Journalism Department and also co-edit the Distribution Matters series for The MIT Press. Mastodon: @josh@sciences.social Banner text by F.E.D McDowell

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Josh Braun
Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Pithier point 1: I am not worried about students cheating; rather, I am worried about what students are getting cheated out of.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A predictive timeline of AI in higher education: 2026: Professors move writing assignments to handwritten in-class exercises to avoid dealing with AI plagiarism. 2027: Professors complain they can no longer grade in-class exercises because the art of handwriting is in such decline. 1/2
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Now presenting my poster for #aejmc26. Feel free to stop by or say hello later if it catches your interest!
Center and Periphery — Media Distribution and the Tension Between Local and Centralized Production (Conference poster by Josh Braun)
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Good morning, #commsky! Headed to #aejmc26. Hoping to see many of you there.
Sunrise out the gallery windows of Bradley International Airport in New England. A line of planes appears in the foreground.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
indicator.media
indicator.media
Home | Indicator
Indicator is your essential guide to understanding and investigating digital deception. Sign up for free
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Ed Wynn passed 60 years ago today. His epitaph is a vibe.
Gold placard mounted on Ed Wynn's grave. It displays the dates of his birth (Nov 9 1886) and death (June 19 1966) and is formatted to look like a letter bearing his signature and it reads:

> DEAR GOD:
> THANKS…
> (signed) Ed Wynn

Above and below are the nameplates for other deceased members of his family.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Journal spammers really putting their back into it. (Volume II) #academicSky
Screenshot from a spam email reading:

>Dear Dr. Joshua Braun,
>Greetings from Journal
>
> I hope this message finds you well.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
So, the front page of yesterday's Wall Street Journal…was an ad.
The front page of the Wall Street Journal for May 18, 2026. The paper's traditional masthead appears at the top, but below where the news content would normally be, there is a full-page Cartier ad featuring an image of a panther above a golden watch and the Cartier logo.The same issue of the Wall Street Journal with the top page turned to reveal the newspaper's ordinary front page beneath.
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Reposted by Josh Braun
Ethan Plaut @ethanplaut.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
so preoccupied with whether or not they could
Bags of Cheerios branded granola in honey nut and chocolate flavours
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Reposted by Josh Braun
Alex Goldman @agoldman.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Hi, my name is Alex Goldman and I host the @hyperfixedpod.bsky.social I used to host the Reply All podcast, and I have found that so many people who liked Reply All have no idea Hyperfixed exists. It's super frustrating because I have no idea how to reach those people.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
What hath God wrought? 🤢
Photo of stacked packages of Dr. Pepper flavored marshmallow Peeps.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
I was always excited to see what @agoldman.bsky.social's next big project would be, but never dreamed I'd find out about his new podcast by being interviewed for it. Really impressed with Hyperfixed, glad to have spoken with them, and thankful for their attention to this really pernicious problem.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Watching all four #Artemis II astronauts don their spacesuits simultaneously reminds me of the changing room scene from “The Cameraman.” 😂 youtu.be/4Tv8rG-3oq8
youtu.be
Buster Keaton The cameraman 1928 Trying To Change in Dressing Room
YouTube video by Classics
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Reposted by Josh Braun
Dr. Casey Fiesler @cfiesler.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
I mean I'm glad that I'm helping educate young people on TikTok and all that but also my 72 year old father just told me that he told all of his friends that he meets weekly at Waffle House in south Georgia to watch my Facebook videos about how large language models work.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Nosferandrew, courtesy of @theguardian.com.
Still of the vampire from Nosferatu. Guardian photo of the Andrew looking like the vampire from Nosferatu.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Ever since Google and OpenAI announced the introduction of ads to their AI products, I can't stop thinking about an argument from @andrew-mcstay.bsky.social's 2018 book, "Emotional AI." 1/9
us.sagepub.com
Emotional AI
The Rise of Empathic Media
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Updating my media criticism class for a new academic year and it's astonishing to me the night-and-day contrast between the number of accessible explainers on the finances and workings of US public media available before and after the US defunded it all. 1/2
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Adam Gurri @adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com · 23/01/2026
There is a long list of things the administration has taken down or replaced. Some are like this, in public places. Others are displays within agency office buildings. I would really like someone to write something for us that tallies up as many of these examples as is possible to get info on
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
The newest book from @ajescoffery.blacksky.app, Reparative Media: Cultivating Stories and Platforms to Heal Our Culture, is out! It reimagines how movies, TV, and a broader array of media can be made and distributed in inclusive and non-extractive ways. #openAccess mitpress.mit.edu/978026255326...
The cover of Reparative Media. It features a painting, in red, blue, and black, of a diverse cast of performing artists and filmmakers. They appear to be on a set and are variously operating and performing for filmmaking equipment.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
What's the over/under on failed AI ventures becoming crypto-mining operations? www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
reuters.com
Breakingviews - Shaky data centre tenants could choke off AI boom
Much of the $3 trln splurge on server farms for artificial intelligence is coming from Big Tech firms. But developers are also building facilities for less financially robust middlemen like CoreWeave....
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
What's the over/under on failed AI ventures becoming crypto-mining operations? www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
reuters.com
Breakingviews - Shaky data centre tenants could choke off AI boom
Much of the $3 trln splurge on server farms for artificial intelligence is coming from Big Tech firms. But developers are also building facilities for less financially robust middlemen like CoreWeave....
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
Reading Marshall Rosenberg, then logging into any social media app will give you whiplash. 😅
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
@dianabutlerbass.bsky.social Stumbled across your 2018 podcast interview with Dan Harris yesterday and it was what I needed to hear in that moment. Thank you.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
@chrislhayes.bsky.social I deeply love the argument in "The Siren's Call," but something's been nagging me about how you've deployed it. In the book itself, you make this thoughtful, well-sourced case for why and how we need to restructure our politics to avoid the logic of the siren's call…1/2
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Speaking of which, the latest entry in MIT's Distribution Matters series (which I co-edit with Ramon Lobato) is "Reparative Media" by the ever-amazing @ajescoffery.bsky.social. It now has a gorgeous cover and a pre-order page (hint). So proud to have had the opportunity to work with Aymar. #commsky
mitpress.mit.edu
Reparative Media
Can producing stories and developing platforms to support people who have been harmed by multiple, intersecting systems heal those systems? In Reparative Med...
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Annually, I prepare a list of books undergrads in my Media, Technology & Culture course can select for their final projects. Always fun to assemble and I get kick out of sharing it, too, so here it is! #commsky Pic of Seth Long's book, my favorite new cover. umass-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/person...
The cover image for Seth Long's new book, "The Last Mixtape: Physical Media and Nostalgic Cycles." It is a stylized line art image that makes the front of the book resemble the old classroom tape decks so ubiquitous in the 1970s and 1980s, complete with a loaded audio cassette and physical playback buttons. The color scheme is late 70s/early 80s, too, with the body of the recorder in a blue-green color that belongs to the same color palette as avocado wallpaper and appliances. There are similarly retro red-orange highlights. The whitespace is colored to look like aged paper.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Now, as MSNBC spins off into its own company, distinct from NBC News, it seems like a good time to mention that I wrote a book on MSNBC. 1/2 www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/b...
nytimes.com
Goodbye, MSNBC. Hello, MS NOW.
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Shawna Malvini Redden @drshawna.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
So say we all.
Person standing on a beach looking at a giant wave. Caption reads “Academics on August 1”
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Susie Steinbach @susielaurie.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
non-affiliated friends and colleagues this is good news!
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Journal spammers really putting their back into it. #academicSky
Screenshot of a low-effort spam email with the subject line "Article request notice." The complete body text reads:

"Hello,
Dear Author
Have any manuscripts for publication?"
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Reposted by Josh Braun
Robert Rosenthal @robertrosenthal.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
I taught myself to type on an Olivetti portable manual typewriter in the 70's. People who didn't practice evenly hitting the keys so the z would come out just as dark as the f don't get to tell me how many spaces to put after a period, and need to get off my lawn.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
@chrislhayes.bsky.social Just finished "The Siren's Call" and it's fantastic. In addition to being excellent on its own merits, it hit at the perfect moment for me, as I'm thinking more about attention in my teaching and research, as well as in my own life. Thank you.
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Reposted by Josh Braun
Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 10/04/2025
The fear among academics and lawyers now talking on the record on just about any topic that involves the federal government or the White House is really extraordinary and worrisome, and getting worse, it seems to me, every week. Dissent by an establishment figures becoming verboten in the US
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Nora Benavidez @attorneynora.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
I’ve been inundated w/ Q’s about the boundaries of our constitutional rights. Q’s about whether & how people can protest, considerations & calculus for whether they should exercise their speech rights. Freedom in the age of revenge is a fragile premise. We are all feeling the fear. That’s the point.
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Jordan Meier @doc-jlmeier.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Great news: NIH postbac program is recruiting again! If your grad school plans were affected by program cutbacks or admissions freezes this year I highly encourage you to apply, this could be a perfect opportunity. Please repost. www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
training.nih.gov
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
I greatly appreciate everything that Christopher Eisgruber says in this interview, but, more than that, it's increasingly a relief to hear someone in a position of authority willing to be sane in public. #academicSky #eduSky www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/p...
nytimes.com
The University President Willing to Fight Trump
Christopher L. Eisgruber of Princeton University talks about the administration’s move to freeze billions of dollars in funding to higher education institutions.
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Ben Model @silentfilmmusic.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
The world premiere of the new wind band arrangement of my score for Buster Keaton's COPS received a standing ovation. Concert was held last night in Luxembourg.
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
U.S. media history is pretty straightforward, honestly. #commsky
The text reads "At the behest of corporations and trade groups touting its tremendous potential for education, development, and social uplift, regulators cleared the way for radio, only for it to become another aggressive marketing channel predicated on the sale of useless crap."

The word "radio" is crossed out and replaced by the word "cable," which is crossed out and replaced with the words "online services," and so on with "the commercial internet," and "mobile internet" crossed out as well. Beneath all the text that's been struck through is the latest iteration: "generative AI?"
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Reposted by Josh Braun
Silent Movie GIFs @silentmoviegifs.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Movies that take place at roughly the same time
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Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Posting for no particular reason. global.oup.com/academic/pro... #commsky #VOA
Cover image from "Capturing News, Capturing Democracy: Trump and the Voice of America" by Kate Wright, Martin Scott, and Mel Bunce

The cover is red-orange and features an illustration in near-silhouette. A man in a suit is running frantically out of frame as a giant arm reaches out to drop a bird cage over him.
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Silent Movie GIFs @silentmoviegifs.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Buster Keaton's Seven Chances was released 100 years ago today, on March 15, 1925
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Dr Emma L Briant 🇬🇧 in 🇺🇸 w/ 🐕 @emma-briant.co.uk · 08/03/2025
I'm excited to share the new forum I've co-edited with @marcowenjones.bsky.social for CSMC, here is our introduction: 'A century of propaganda studies: from pen and sword to surveillant smartphone' -check out the fascinating open access essays by our contributors! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
A century of propaganda studies: from pen and sword to surveillant smartphone
Published in Critical Studies in Media Communication (Ahead of Print, 2025)
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Jennifer Clark @jclarkcrp.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Check out this new research in @regionalstudies.bsky.social! "Unseen costs: the inequities of the geography of innovation"
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Open Markets Institute @openmarkets.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
We are so pleased to welcome Sally Hubbard back to Open Markets as a fellow, made possible through a generous grant from the @knightfoundation.org Federal Alumni Fellowship Fund at The Miami Foundation. www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
openmarketsinstitute.org
Antimonopoly Pioneer Sally Hubbard Rejoins Open Markets as Fellow from DOJ  — Open Markets Institute
The Open Markets Institute announces the return of Sally Hubbard as a Fellow, made possible through a generous grant from the Knight Foundation Federal Alumni Fellowship Fund at The Miami Foundation.
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Tanya Lewis @tanyalewis.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
And here's our brand new newsletter/engagement internship: springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring...
springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
Newsletter and Engagement Intern, Scientific American
Job Title: Newsletter and Engagement Intern, Scientific American Location: New York (Hybrid Working Model) Application Deadline: March 21, 2025 About Springer Nature Group Springer Nature opens the doors to discovery for researchers, educators, clinicians and other professionals. Every day, around the globe, our imprints, books, journals, platforms and technology solutions reach millions of people. For over 180 years our brands and imprints have been a trusted source of knowledge to these communities and today, more than ever, we see it as our responsibility to ensure that fundamental knowledge can be found, verified, understood and used by our communities – enabling them to improve outcomes, make progress, and benefit the generations that follow. Visit group.springernature.com and follow @SpringerNature / @SpringerNatureGroup About the Brand Scientific American, the oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S., reaches millions of people each month through its print magazine, app, social media and on ScientificAmerican.com. We publish expert-written opinions and feature stories; news and feature articles by leading journalists; and award-winning graphics, art and multimedia. Visit scientificamerican.com and follow @ScientificAmerican / @Sciam About the Role Scientific American seeks an Editorial Intern for the newsletter and engagement teams who has an interest in science, health and environmental journalism. The intern will be fully integrated into our editorial team and contribute to our award-winning coverage of science discoveries, science policy, public health, social science, technology, and insights and innovations that matter. Scientific American’s Newsletter and Engagement Intern will spend about half their time working closely with the Chief Newsletter Editor to write several original and summative blurbs per week for our daily newsletter, Today in Science, in addition to producing newsletters and experimenting with new newsletter content formats. The intern will liaise with partner publications on newsletter growth projects and sharpen their news curation skills. The remaining time will be spent with the engagement team working on social media promotions as well as audience projects centered around social listening and celebrating the magazine’s 180th anniversary. The intern may also contribute to or assist with a variety of other editorial projects including, but not limited to: online and print news stories, videos and podcasts, Q&As, infographics and other forms of visual storytelling, games, explainers and event coverage. This position pays $20 per hour and is full-time—up to 35 hours per week—for 5-6 months, starting mid-June, during Summer and Fall 2025. The position is located in our New York office on a hybrid working model. Qualifications: Experience with content management systems and social media platforms is a plus, but not required. Must have command of basic reporting and writing and a strong interest in science, health, environment and/or technology topics. An undergraduate degree in a science discipline is preferred but not required. How to apply: By March 21, please upload a single document including your cover letter, resume, and three clips. We weigh the cover letter heavily. US Hourly Pay is $20.00 per hour. Springer Nature is an Equal Opportunity Employer that complies with the laws and regulations set forth in the following poster: https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf At Springer Nature, we value the diversity of our teams and work to build an inclusive culture, where people are treated fairly and can bring their differences to work and thrive. We empower our colleagues and value their diverse perspectives as we strive to attract, nurture and develop the very best talent. Springer Nature was awarded Diversity Team of the Year at the 2022 British Diversity Awards. Find out more about our DEI work HERE. If you have any access needs related to disability, neurodivergence or a chronic condition, please contact us so we can make all necessary accommodation. For more information about career opportunities in Springer Nature please visit our career page HERE. #LI-EG1 Job Posting End Date: 22-03-2025 We are an ambitious and dynamic organisation, and home to some of the best-known names in research, educational and professional publishing. Working at the heart of a changing industry, we are always looking for great people who care about delivering quality to our customers and the communities we work alongside. In return, you will find that we open the doors to discovery for all our employees – offering opportunities to learn from some of the best in the business, with a culture that encourages curiosity and empowers people to find solutions and act on their instincts. Whether you are at the beginning of your career or are an experienced professional, we invite you to find out more about the roles we offer and explore our current vacancies. We are a global and progressive business, founded on a heritage of trusted and respected brands – including Springer, founded in 1842, Macmillan, founded in 1843 and Nature, first published in 1869. Nearly two centuries of progress and advancement in science and education have helped shape the business we are today. Research and learning continues to be the cornerstone of progress, and we will continue to open doors to discovery through trusted brands and innovative products and services. Springer Nature Group was created in May 2015 through the combination of Nature Publishing Group, Macmillan Education and Springer Science+Business Media.
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Tanya Lewis @tanyalewis.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Here's the graphics internship: springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring...
springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
Graphics Intern, Scientific American
Job Title: Graphics Intern, Scientific American Location: New York (Hybrid Working Model) Application Deadline: March 21, 2025 About Springer Nature Group Springer Nature opens the doors to discovery ...
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Tanya Lewis @tanyalewis.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Want to work for Scientific American? We're accepting applications for our summer/fall internships. Links to follow. Here's the news internship: springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring...
springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
News Intern, Scientific American
Job Title: News Intern, Scientific American Location: New York (Hybrid Working Model) Application Deadline: March 21, 2025 About Springer Nature Group Springer Nature opens the doors to discovery for ...
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UMassLinguistics @umasslinguistics.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Decentralised social media offers an alternative to big tech platforms like X and Meta. How does it work? #Podcast theconversation.com/...
theconversation.com
Decentralised social media offers an alternative to big tech platforms like X and Meta. How does it work? Podcast
The Conversation Weekly podcast speaks to Robert Gehl, an expert on alternative social media platforms, about decentralised social media.
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joanne mcneil @jomc.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Five years ago, LURKING: How a Person Became a User was published. I'm grateful I had the opportunity, and proud the work remains relevant. bookshop.org/p/books/lurk...
cover of the paperback of Lurking (which was technically published in 2021) but the book as in book debuted five years ago. cover depicts multicolored squares in gradients and distortion that appears somewhat like a pixelated face.
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