This course explores the intersection of social behavior and computational systems. The growth of online environments like Facebook, Wikipedia, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, online support groups, open-source development projects, and crowdsourcing platforms shows that web technology is not just about delivering information, but also connecting people. Social Computing is the study of social processes and the technology that supports and augments it. Students will examine a range of organizational, technical, and business challenges related to social computing, and learn how to use tools to analyze, design, and prototype social computing experiences. Social computing draws from fields as diverse as cognitive science, software engineering, artificial intelligence, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and organizational behavior. Course work will include lectures, class discussion, homework, class presentations, and a group research or design project.
Instructor: Prof. Steven Dow
TAs: Jude Rayan and Jeongeon Park
PLAs: Erin Law and Supicha Songpetchmongkol
Lectures: on T/Th 12:30-1:50pm in Franklin Antonio Hall 1450 (**First lecture on Sept 24!)
Sections: on Fridays at various hours in York 4050B (starts on Oct 2)
Students will gain an overview of social computing applications and research topics. Students will read, discuss, and present key papers in the field. Each week, students will report on a social experience with a different type of technology.
Designing technologies for social interaction. Students will learn basic design skills for brainstorming, prototyping, and evaluating social technology. As part of a team project, students will prototype new social computing experiences during in-class studio time.
Measuring impact using online analytics. Students will learn about what impacts the spread of social artifacts and how to measure reach.
This course includes readings, peer discussions, lectures and quizzes that cover the material for each week. In addition, students will actively participate in a group project to innovate and prototype novel social computing experiences. Course activities include:
Presentations: Present one paper per week within your section
Participation: Be active during open discussions in your discussion section and during lecture, and participate in activities
Quizzes: Demonstrate your understand of each week's material
Final project (teams of 4-5): Design, build, and test your own social computing experience
Online identity
Anonymity, ephemerality, privacy
Identity work and digital footprints
Audience and context collapse
Social network structure
Information diffusion, virality, influencers, and social ties
Online communities and forms of participation
Newcomers, recruitment, and retention
Crowd work, coordination, incentives, invisible labor
Human–AI collaboration and collective intelligence
Designing social systems, value-sensitive design, social simulation
Governance and moderation
This course draws on reading lists and syllabi from many institutions. Initial inspiration comes from the Social Web course taught at CMU by Jeffrey Bigham, Robert Kraut, Jason Hong, and Niki Kittur. It also combines aspects of Social Computing by Eric Gilbert, Online Communities and Amy Bruckman, Social Spaces on the Internet by Karrie Karahalios, Social Computing by Leysia Palen, Social Computing by Juho Kim, Social and Collaborative Computing by Amy Zhang, and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work by Gary Olson, Katie Pine, and many others. Feel free to explore these course syllabi for additional material and papers.
Steven Dow (spdow@ucsd.edu) is a Professor of Cognitive Science at UC San Diego and Director of the Protolab where he researches Human-Computer Interaction, Social Computing, Collective Intelligence and Creativity. Steven received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2015 for research on "advancing collective innovation" and received other National Science Foundation grants, a Google Faculty Grant, Stanford's Postdoctoral Research Award, and the Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research Grant. He holds an MS and PhD in Human-Centered Computing from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a BS in Industrial Engineering from University of Iowa.
Jude Rayan is a 5th year Cognitive Science PhD student in the Design Lab and Protolab. His research interests span across Human-AI Interaction, Creativity Support Tools and Collective Intelligence. He uses mixed-methods approaches to examine interaction patterns in group work to help design and build systems that augment real-time collaboration and the asynchronous work that happens around it. Outside of research, Jude enjoys producing music, running, and exploring the city. He is a returning TA and is excited to dive into discussions with students and to see the cool projects they build.
Jeongeon Park is a 3rd year Cognitive Science PhD student, working in the Design Lab and ProtoLab. Her research interest is in Human-Computer Interaction, Human-AI Interaction, and Social Computing. She enjoys playing instruments, driving to random locations, and exploring nature. She is excited to meet everyone and help develop their wonderful ideas.
Erin Law is a second year Cognitive Science Design and Interaction major from the Bay Area. In her free time, she likes to breakdance, play guitar, and go to the beach.
Supicha Songpetchmongkol