Latest News
4.03.2007 - I'm confirmed to co-teach a research methodologies course at the Annenberg Program on Online Communities (APOC) over the summer, and Advanced Graphics Editing in the Journalism department at CSU Long Beach in the fall. Also, I'm helping danah boyd out with research she's performing for the Internet Safety Task Force (love that name) at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. More research (papers, conferences) are on deck, announcements soon.
12.19.2007 - I'm very pleased to announce I'm teaching two university-level courses next semester: a software development course for a new MA program in online communities at USC's Annenberg School for Communication, and an image editing class for the Journalism department at CSU Long Beach.
9.24.2007 - Quarterlife, a project I've worked on a contract basis for, will make its website Beta on October 15. The show itself will premiere on MySpace on November 11. The big question is, can an online video series mesh with a social community and increase the monetization possibilities?
7.23.2007 - Two studies I am involved with have been accepted for the 2007 Convergence and Society Conference at the University of South Carolina. The first stems from my thesis and is titled "MySpace dependency in the convergent environment: Why consumers are using social networking websites." The second is a qualitative study I conducted with Raul Reis at CSU Long Beach, called "Convergence Technology Use: Instrumental, Contextual, and Socially Mediated."
6.8.2007 - ReRelease.net is live. The website re-releases vinyl releases in digital format, making old music available for purchase on iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, and Sony Connect, and the business model supports the majority of profits going to the artists without the need to own right to their music. Four albums are completed with more on the way - interest has been quite high among musicians and bands I've spoken to.
4.13.2007 - I'll be at the Innovation Journalism Conference, which runs May 22-23 at Stanford University.
4.11.2007 - A paper I authored, titled Convergence Education and Implications for the Florida Communication Classroom and written using data collected by UCF professor Christine Hanlon, has been published in the most recent edition of the Florida Communication Journal.
Statement of Purpose
The nature of the Internet is changing, with new modes of online interaction such as social networking, participatory culture, viral marketing becoming commonplace. Right now on the Internet people are taking on new identities in sprawling virtual games, contributing to fan discussion boards, and creating new forms of art distributed entirely online. People help create the content they consume, meaning power on the Internet is no longer exclusively in the hands of the media conglomerates. The popular press has recently noted this shift of focus to the individual: Time’s “person of the year” for 2006 was “you,” referring to the increased role played by individuals online. Call it the year of "power to the people."
Journalism, advertising, and multimedia development must evolve to keep pace in this environment.I seek to address these changes by creating new online environments for consumers in the media market. Research must also be conducted using stringent research practices and an awareness of previous research. To that end, I aim to create custom toolsets for researchers.
My outlook is rooted in academia and heavily influenced by the "media ecology" movement, founded in part by Neil Postman, and theories that examine media as part of a sociological cycle. My research is informed by classic mass communication concepts with a longitudinal outlook, such as cultivation theory, or a user-centric perspective, such as uses & gratifications. The future for these theories lies in adaptation to the new roles of mass media. Other interests include mixed-methods research and how societies develop, adopt, and use technology.
Andrew lives and thrives in Long Beach, CA with his wife Rebecca. He enjoys music, cooking, and blowing up competitors in online games for recreation.
Gallery
Below are selected projects I have worked on and positions I have held. Typically I have taught in a related field, developed methodology/instrumentation for research, or managed websites or software.
Boomspin
Boomspin is a website that believes the best shot bands have at breaking into the big time is by working outside of the current system. The community is based around bands and fans, with the tagline, "music is finally free."
Quarterlife
Quarterlife is the first online video series to use an online community as a central theme. I was brought on as a product manager, outlining central themes of the site and building relationships to maximize revenue streams while minimizing cost. Other duties included building out features, evaluating code, and leading group think sessions.
ReRelease.net
ReRelease.net makes old vinyl releases available again, with artists receiving the majority of profits. The entire concept and website was conceived of and created in-house.
Thesis on MySpace
My thesis examined how and why 401 adult undergraduates were habitual users of the social networking website MySpace. The primary findings were that members were little, if at all, constrained by factors related to use of computers and the Internet. Instead, they were attracted to the websites for similar reasons as real-life relationships. Results indicated members used MySpace to primarily satisfy play and interaction-orientation goals, and used the website for an average of 1.3 hours daily. Members also used social networking websites and "social" technologies significantly more frequently than non-members.The complete results have been edited into two conference papers which are under peer review. An abstract of the thesis is available here (doc) .
Teaching Associate for the Digital Media department
For the span of a year I ran a class on Flash at the University of Central Florida. My approach followed an ABC (Application Before Content) format, with ample time given to group activities, lab assignments, and problem-based learning. Topics covered included object-oriented programming, the Flash development environment, and more advanced techniques such as streaming video and audio.
For more information, please see my academic statement of purpose, above. Course materials are available offline.
UCF Communication Department Website
This project was a complete redesign and addition of new media features such as blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, news, and calendar.
GroundLift Magazine
To fulfill the client's demand for a contemporary, database-driven multimedia website, I created the site in HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, and Flash (for MP3 player).
Virtual Field Trip
The virtual field trip was a 3-d pedagogical learning environment built in Director and Flash. I was the sole developer of all functionality. Dr. Alicia Sanchez succesively used it in her Ph.D. dissertation.
Workforce Central Florida
Here I was contracted by a psychology professor to build an anonymous chat system to assist at-risk individuals on government assistance. It was developed in a PHP and MySQL environment with some Flash and javscript.
MusicTeller
MusicTeller was an ATM for digital music, where you filled up on MP3s using your credit card and iPod. I handled development in Director and Flash. Unfortunately this was before bluetooth & iTunes.... the company folded.