The rise of networked individuals: A talk by Lee Rainie April 22, 2010

Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, will discuss the latest research findings of his project on people’s use of social media (social networking sites, blogs, Twitter, YouTube, and, yes, even email) and how technology has affected some of the ways people learn, make decisions, and seek and offer social support to others. He and sociologist Barry Wellman describe this as a “new social operating system” and Lee will highlight the ways in which those who use participatory media are changing how communities of all kinds form and perform.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project is a non-profit, non–partisan "fact tank" that studies the social impact of the internet. The Project has issued more than 200 reports based on its surveys that examine people's online activities and the internet's role in their lives. Lee is a co-author of Up for Grabs, Hopes and Fears, and Ubiquity, Mobility, Security, a series of books about the future of the internet published by Cambria Press and based on Project surveys. He is also co-authoring a book for MIT Press about the social impact of technology with sociologist Barry Wellman that will be published in late 2010. The working title is Networked: The New Social Network Operating System.

Prior to launching the Pew Internet Project, Lee was managing editor of U.S. News & World Report. He is a graduate of Harvard University and has a master's degree in political science from Long Island University.

Organized by the Social Networks Research Collaborative.

Official Website: http://www.ias.umn.edu/thursdayscals10.php