Social Media and the Automatic Production of Memory: Classification, Ranking and the Sorting of the Past

Description

Social media platforms hold vast amounts of biographical data about our lives. They repackage our past content as ‘memories’ and deliver them back to us. But how does that change the way we remember? Drawing on original qualitative research as well as industry documents and reports, this book critically explores the process behind this new form of memory making. In asking how social media are beginning to change the way we remember, it will be essential reading for scholars and students who are interested in understanding the algorithmically defined spaces of our lives. Front Cover Social Media and the Automatic Production of Memory: Classification, Ranking and the Sorting of the Past Copyright information Table of contents Acknowledgments 1 Introduction: Unpicking the Automation of Memory Making The mediation of memory Metrics and targeting: the context The self in data Engineering memories through throwback features: the case of Facebook Memories A note on the direction of this book 2 A Taxonomy of Memory Themes: Partitioning the Memorable The power of classification in memory making Pigeon-holing the past Ideals of engagement and the sorting of past content Partitioning and surfacing Distributing and partitioning the sensible Conclusion: the partitioning of the memorable 3 The Computational Surfacing of Memories: Promoting the Memorable Feedback loops and the surfacing of memories The personalization and timing of the past Ontological promotion and the memory as Edge Conclusion 4 The Reception of Targeted Memories in Everyday Life: Classificatory Struggles and the Tensions of Remembering Getting at the tensions of remembering “It directs my memories”: technicity of attention “The algorithm doesn’t really work with me”: reductive algorithms “When the algorithm goes wrong”: algorithmic misconceptions “It leaves me a bit creeped out”: invasive algorithms Conclusion 5 Conclusion: Sorting the Past Notes References Index Back Cover