iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 57m

In an Eagle Scouts rabbit hole (not for the first time, sigh). 1st image: text from a 2020 article by the official Scouting America org 2nd image: re-mixed (and extremely wrong) AI slop, posted on LinkedIn by someone with >10k followers

Screenshot of text:

“As an Eagle Scout myself, I remember how many years it takes to acquire the necessary merit badges and then the time and effort to go through your Eagle Scout project and the board of review for approval,” says Kevin Mathes, a Class of 2000 Eagle Scout and dean of admissions at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. “I feel the words ‘Eagle Scout’ indicate to an admissions reader that the student spent considerable time and energy on something that is meaningful to them.”

Jeff Schiffman, director of admission at Tulane University in New Orleans, agrees.

“A lot of applicants will do something once or twice, but to be an Eagle Scout requires years of commitment and dedication, and our admission committee is keenly aware of the time needed to achieve this rank,” he says. “It’s definitely one of those few extracurricular activities that can help an applicant stand out.”

Screenshot of text:

"A major scouting publication contacted 17 colleges and universities with one simple question: "What kind of effect does being an Eagle Scout have on a prospective student's application to your school?"

The responses were remarkable.

Kevin Mathes, Dean of Admissions at Ohio State University (himself an Eagle Scout, Class of 2000), didn't hold back:

"A lot of applicants will do something once or twice, but to be an Eagle Scout requires years of commitment and dedication, and our admission committee is keenly aware of the time needed to achieve this rank. It's definitely one of those few extracurricular activities that can help an applicant stand out."

001

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Super interesting paper by Giebel et al. showing how education policy researchers tend to ignore Asians in their research (even when the data on them should be available)... and when they are included, they are increasingly being positioned as White-adjacent. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

journals.sagepub.com

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

000

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

🚨 Job alert 🚨 The Department of Sociology at Ohio State University is hiring: 1) Asst prof in tech and society 2) Assoc or full prof in social stratification osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/OSUCareers?q... should pull up both openings Happy to answer questions.

11615

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

11615

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

NEW from @pewresearch.org: For the first time, a majority of adults under 30 say they're more concerned than excited about AI. And 73% say AI will lead to fewer jobs in the US, up from 61% who expressed that view two years ago.

pewresearch.org

Young adults in the U.S. are increasingly wary of AI, concerned it will take jobs

About half of Americans say they're more concerned than excited about AI, and young adults' concern is rising.

422179

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I have a footnote about this in my (thisclose to finished) book manuscript!! >> "Fellow academics have asked me if this is why they receive so many emails from high schoolers asking for research assistantships. The answer is yes." (I'm writing about advice from private admissions consultants.)

181

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Anna Meier @annameier.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

If you have so much work to do that you feel you need AI in order to get it all done: you don't. You need a union.

212551805

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 02/08/2026

New: We found 50 cops who misused Flock cameras and other license-plate readers for personal purposes, often to spy on their girlfriends or ex-wives. He "watched every single move I made. ... Who do you turn the chief of police in to?" wapo.st/3S6rTuo

wapo.st

She left her ex. He secretly tracked her through a network of policing cameras.

Flock’s array of license-plate cameras was built to fight crime. But at least 50 law enforcement officers were charged with or accused of misusing it and other systems.

11042401778

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Dan Rosen @danrosen.xyz · 15/07/2026

I think people understandably but magically believe that surveilling your loved ones will protect them from harm because it promises knowledge and control. But when you get more knowledge but little actual control, your anxiety goes through the roof

7420104

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Sophia Chen @sophurky.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

My first time on the Vergecast! Have a listen if you've ever wondered what's the deal with quantum computing, or if you've never wondered at all (which is most of my friends and family).

0153

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Berna Devezer @devezer.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

gotta love when a whole education system makes itself vulnerable by making a large number of institutions dependent on a proprietary lms whose continuity or reliability they have no control over *chef's kiss* now let's do it again, but bigger, with ai

3493128

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Big Data & Society @bigdatasoc.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

New in Big Data & Society 🗞️ Alejandra Regla-Vargas, AJ Alvero, and Hajar Yazdiha analyze anti-Asian hate and counter-hate on social media during COVID-19, showing how hate and resistance enact racial projects through shifting frames. 🔗 doi.org/10.1177/2053...

042

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Can AI please fold my clothes, that’s what I really need

41289

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Christopher Barrie @cbarrie.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

🧵on my new paper "Synthetic personas distort the structure of human belief systems" w Roberto Cerina I'm v excited about... 🚨 Do synthetic samples look like human samples? We compare 28 LLMs to the 2024 General Social Survey (GSS) to find out + develop host of diagnostics...

618282

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Morning read. A good paper about how admissions “consultants” make sense of their work in a deeply, deliberately unequal competition for a limited good. Humans are good at making stories. academic.oup.com/socpro/advan...

academic.oup.com

Inequality and moral meaning-making in the admissions consulting profession

Abstract. Prior research has described how middle-class and affluent families draw on private supplemental educational resources to help their children mai

57112

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Doctora Malka Older @older.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

No document will protect you. All they have to do is take it from you and "lose" it; take it from you and say you never gave it to them; claim it's fake ⬇️; make a new rule that you need ANOTHER document. Citizenship is a made-up status that governments decide the rules for. No one is free until all.

12781382

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

New in @socprobsjournal.bsky.social w/ @estelabdiaz.bsky.social: the rapid growth of the admissions consulting industry has raised questions about inequality, privilege, and merit. We combine two original data sources to ask how consultants make sense of their work. academic.oup.com/socpro/advan...

academic.oup.com

Inequality and moral meaning-making in the admissions consulting profession

Abstract. Prior research has described how middle-class and affluent families draw on private supplemental educational resources to help their children mai

4239

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Two-thirds of Democrats say their own party makes them feel frustrated. By far the most commonly cited reason is that the party is not pushing back hard enough against Trump. www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...

Bar chart showing the most common reasons that Democrats cite for being frustrated with their party. The chart is based on a September 2025 Pew Research Center survey.

24866266

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Dawson Vosburg @dawsonvosburg.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

New from me +friends! When my colleagues and I decided not to grade our course assignments, I was certain it would blow up in my face. But it didn't! We studied how our students responded—and discussed what we found on the Teaching Sociology podcast. sagesociology.libsyn.com/teaching-soc...

sagesociology.libsyn.com

Sage Sociology: Teaching Sociology - Free to Learn: Ungrading in Sociology Courses

Authors Alex M. Kempler, Sam Mitchell, and Dawson P. R. Vosburg discuss the article, "," published in the October 2025 issue of Teaching Sociology.

1156

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 03/10/2025

Turn off location permissions for as many apps as you can. (3/4)

7418175

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 03/10/2025

Turn off your phone’s “advertising ID” to make it harder for location data brokers to track you. (2/4)

8466210

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

I do not want the video. I will never watch the video. I usually won’t even give the video the effort of complaint. I just want to read the news story. Give me the text. This would be my Ted Talk but that would be text too.

461472248

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

On the Media @onthemedia.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

With alt text:

Breaking News Consumer's Handbook

1. In the immediate aftermath, news outlets will get it wrong.
2. Don't trust anonymous sources.
3. Don't trust stories that cite another news outlet as the source of the information.
4. There's almost never a second shooter.
5. Pay attention to the language the media uses.
- "We are getting reports"... could mean anything.
- "We are seeking confirmation"... means they don't haveit.
- "[News outlet] has learned"... means it has a scoop or is going out on a limb.
6. Look for news outlets close to the incident.
7. Compare multiple sources.
8. Big news brings out the fakers. And photoshoppers.
9. Beware reflexive retweeting. Some of this is on you.

1209133

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

You cannot effectively delete what is posted publicly on Bluesky. Data scientists (not affiliated with Bluesky) and commercial companies capture it all live, every comma and em dash. Anything said in the heat of the moment could follow you to a job interview ten years from now. Capisce?

13487189

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

Remember, if you encounter what seems like an implausible survey finding, ask: 1. Were survey respondents selected randomly or was this an opt-in poll? 2. Could the results, especially for young adults, be driven by bogus respondents? Keep this post in mind: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/... 🧪

6258114

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Is this... the party of free speech?

092

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

"Although there has been between $30 and $40 billion in enterprise investment into generative AI, a recent MIT report shows that 95 percent of organizations are seeing zero return." ... whilst I open yet another email missive about incorporating AI into my teaching. thehill.com/policy/techn...

thehill.com

Companies have invested billions into AI, 95 percent getting zero return

Many companies are implementing tools like ChatGPT and Copilot, with over 80% having explored or piloted these technologies.

020

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

amy brown 👻 @amybrown.xyz · 22/08/2025

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

Why should I write better when a machine can do it for me?
Because actually no one can do it for you, because your voice is unique among all the people on earth. Siri never petted a horse's neck. Alexa has never been ghosted by the captain of the football team. But you have lived, your heart is beating, you have suffered, and you have something important to say. It's a human's job, to use words, and whatever job you give to a machine, that part of your brain goes dark. Maybe it's worth it when it comes to remembering phone numbers and directions, but when that part of your brain that uses words goes dark, that's a vast area that's very close to your soul. Don't let some internet platform convince you that what you have to say and create isn't worthwhile. Words are the echo of your soul. Honing that echo matters.

36191698724

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

John Gallagher @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

When the dust settles, and if universities have meaningfully survived, it will be worth asking how institutions usually so resistant to thoroughgoing change chose to leap with both feet into an untested technology they didn't understand and didn't know how to use.

181093298

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

I wrote about this a bit in my last book but it really shakes me that a defining feature of this catastrophic era is that we just keep going to work. We work through pandemics, we work through natural disasters, we work through economic calamity, we work through coups, we work, we work, we work.

363115812746

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

"The New York Times has referred to a quarter of a billion dollars spent since 2016... That’s $27 million a year at a university with a $14.3 billion dollar budget" - i.e., 0.19%. I remember being enraged about that article for this very reason. You can't just use big "gotcha" numbers w/o context!!

173

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

In 2008 I took Intro to Econ and the prof made the sub-prime mortgage crisis a significant part of class. It is the only reason my 19-yo self actually understood what was happening. I've been thinking about that a lot as I figure out when/how to talk about current events in class.

642871

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

If you think companies will give us a 2 day work week instead of forcing us to more than double our output over 5 days, or pay us a lot less, then you don’t understand capitalism.

1202684592

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Sophia Chen @sophurky.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

"Supporting students of color does not require the illegal use of race. Saying 'Black Lives Matter' requires only the willingness to acknowledge Black people’s humanity." -@tiffjhuang.bsky.social on OSU flipflopping on systemic racism in less than five years www.dispatch.com/story/opinio...

dispatch.com

Ohio State cutting DEI programs shows a breathtaking fear of the truth | Opinion

Pretending racism does not exist will not stop Donald Trump's attack on higher education.

02410

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Greer Mellon @greermellon.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

An important and courageous op-ed from @tiffjhuang.bsky.social on the critical need to uphold commitments in the fight against racial inequality in education: www.dispatch.com/story/opinio...

dispatch.com

Ohio State cutting DEI programs shows a breathtaking fear of the truth | Opinion

Pretending racism does not exist will not stop Donald Trump's attack on higher education.

011

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Sarah Bruhn @sarahbruhn.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Great piece by @tiffjhuang.bsky.social, reminding us that we must name racism for what it is, even in the face of threat.

011

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

AJ Alvero @ajalvero.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Sharing a thought provoking piece by @tiffjhuang.bsky.social about Ohio's anti-DEI. Reminds me of the problems I escaped from in Florida! www.dispatch.com/story/opinio...

dispatch.com

022

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Dr. D @blackacademic.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

"No longer will they publicly acknowledge racism or its effects. No longer will they stand up for their students of color, much less their faculty or staff of color" What we all know but want to pretend isn't true. #highereducation #blackademics

033

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

I get that we're messaging to whatever moveable conservatives are left out there and trying to outrun the targets on all of our backs. I really do. But I refuse to forget why this work matters. And I refuse to throw students of color under the bus. My op-ed in @dispatch.com:

dispatch.com

Ohio State cutting DEI programs shows a breathtaking fear of the truth | Opinion

Pretending racism does not exist will not stop Donald Trump's attack on higher education.

03111

Tiffany J. Huang @tiffjhuang.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

"Some argue that this will only place a target on places that declare sanctuary. But staying quiet won’t deter the juggernaut of anti-immigrant federal action coming our way."

120

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Crystal Fleming is on sabbatical @alwaystheself.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

I'm also grappling with the fact that there are highly educated people who are not, in fact, technofascists who just do not want to hear or talk about the realities of technofascism at all. I don't know if it's cognitive dissonance, a lack of capacity or interest, an inability to take it seriously..

1339

Reposted by Tiffany J. Huang

Dr. Lorgia García Peña @laprofelgp.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Supported the boycott today? Wonderful. Can you take the time to think about shopping choices from tomorrow on? Let’s all buy less. Buy local. Avoid the giants. #resist

24011