|
UCC Press Release
HARTFORD (03/21/2007) -- danah boyd, considered one of the world's leading authorities on online social networks, will participate in the United Church of Christ's all-day "Synod in the City," June 23 in Hartford.
As part of the UCC's 50th anniversary General Synod, June 22-26, "Synod in the City" will include dozens of performers, speakers, theologians, musicians, and multimedia events at venues throughout downtown Hartford. The day-long celebration will culminate with the UCC's churchwide birthday party at the Hartford Civic Center.
boyd, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Information (SIMS) at the University of California-Berkeley, studies the ways people develop online identities and use networked social media for social interaction - who uses the online social networks, what they do there and why. She has been called the "high priestess" of online social networks by the Financial Times.
"We are just beginning to see the real impact of online communities on youth ministry. Young people are returning to youth events because they feel a sense of community: a community that they have sustained through online chats," says the Rev. DaVita Carter McCallister, the UCC's youth and young adult executive. "The development of online communities has allowed young people to meet at regional youth events and stay connected with each other through 'myspace' and 'facebook.'"
danah has advised a wide range of companies on social media, including Yahoo!, Google, Tribe.net, and Intel. She earned a masters degree at MIT, studying how Internet users represent themselves to each other. She was part of the Sociable Media Group at the MIT MediaLab.
