ICA Presentation, San Diego
I gave a presentation 67th International Communication Association Conference on 26 May 2017. The session was called “New Theories and Methods for the Study of Social Media Images Within and Beyond Academia”, and the presentation was called “The Iconography of Social Media Image Analysis: Exploring the Potential of Methodological Transversals in Practice”. Those interested in what I had to say can download the presentation.
Abstract
The field of social media image analysis is still in its infancy. Two approaches currently widely in use are firmly based upon computational methods: image-based, focusing upon image properties such as hue and brightness as the foundation of study; and text-based, focusing in part upon hashtags and keywords, with the accompanying images collated manually. However, there is another side to imagery: the less clear motivation of social media users to share them, coupled with the interpretations they place upon these images. Quantifiable methods are often of less help here. Coupled with clues gleaned from hashtag analysis, Sociology, and the history of imagery, this paper suggests using Iconography, an interpretative method borrowed from Art History. Iconography can provide some insight into why some imagery resonates with social media users. The paper uses the reactions to the death of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian refugee drowned off the coast of Turkey in 2015 as an example of the method in action. It does this within the context of a rapid response report published by the Visual Social Media Lab in December 2015, which emphasized the need for interdisciplinary, risky and innovative approaches to big data image analysis of the refugee crisis, bridging the gap between academia and industry. Images circulate within a global digital public sphere, crucial in shaping public understanding, encouraging civic support and finding political solutions to the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War. The report brought together 15 contributions, drawing on the analysis of nearly 3 million social media posts featuring contributions from the Visual Social Media Lab team, the wider research community, as well as leading practitioners from industry. A fundamental section in this report, comprising of three chapters, drew on Iconographic approaches. This presentation builds on this work by mapping out a research agenda for the further development and incorporation of such approaches within Media and Communication Studies and connected disciplines.
