For avoidance of doubt, CfPs I post in the ‘interested’ category of my blog are ones other people have organised which I’m archiving for my own use and sharing in case people are interested. If I’m organising an event or project, it’s in the ‘organising’ category of the blog.
*Going Live: Exploring Live Digital Technologies and Live Streaming
Practices*
Organizers: Dr. Mia Consalvo & Dr. Stefanie Duguay, Concordia University
Website: https://goingliveconf.wixsite.com/goinglive
As a pre-conference event affiliated with the Association of Internet
Researchers (AoIR) annual conference, this full-day workshop will bring
together game studies scholars and social media researchers to discuss the
increasing popularity of live digital technologies. These technologies
include features on social media sites such as Facebook Live, standalone
smartphone apps (e.g., Periscope), and websites dedicated to live
streaming, such as the gaming platform Twitch.tv
Although live streaming has been possible for many years (e.g. Senft,
2008), the evolution of recording devices, data transfer speeds, mobile
apps, and other digital technologies has contributed to a recent
proliferation of live media. Live platforms encourage spontaneous sharing
but controversial incidents raise questions about what should be shared in
a live context. Live streaming game platforms showcase modes of
self-presentation and self-promotion (Consalvo & Altizer, 2017), which
social media influencers also adopt when broadcasting content to adoring
fans (Abidin, 2016). Gamers and influencers alike benefit from the
commercialization of these practices, generating revenue from brand
promotion and boosting attention to advertisements. Clearly, live streaming
and live digital technologies have social, political, economic, and
cultural impacts. However, research into these areas is still developing
and there have been few opportunities for interdisciplinary dialogue among
scholars researching live streaming.
We invite you to tackle these topics with us at this pre-conference
workshop, taking place at Concordia University’s cutting-edge Milieux
Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology. We encourage participation from
a range of scholars, from graduate students to early career researchers and
established academics. If you are an AoIR member, you must register through
the AoIR conference website to reserve your place. If you are not an AoIR
member or if you are not attending the AoIR conference, please register
through our website <https://goingliveconf.wixsite.com/goinglive>. The day
will feature a keynote presentation by Dr. T.L. Taylor, Professor of
Comparative Media Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr.
Taylor is an internationally recognized scholar in game studies, having
written field-defining books about online games, the rise of competitive
esports, and the business of live streaming. Watch our website for
additional speaker announcements as we finalize our schedule.
The day will also include paper sessions for presenting and receiving
feedback about works-in-progress. We invite abstracts from scholars
researching live streaming and live digital technologies across a range of
topics, including but not limited to:
– Gaming and esports
– Platform infrastructures, algorithms, and automation
– Communities, practices, and audiences
– Microcelebrity and self-branding
– Political economies and labour
– Ephemeral and everyday media
– Data, policy, privacy, and governance
– Transnational liveness
Selected presenters will have the chance to submit their work-in-progress
papers prior to the workshop for circulation to attendees. If you are
interested in presenting, please submit an abstract of 250 words along with
your name, title, affiliation and a brief bio (50 words) to
goingliveconf@gmail.com by *June 29, 2018*.
Mark Carrigan 