Media of Digital Sovereignty: Social Graphs & Graph Names
Graphs are data structures that can be used to map information about people or objects and their associated properties and connections. One of the most significant graphs is the mapping of individuals, their relationships and interests in the Facebook Cloud, called the “social graph” by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. In addition to this social graph, the internet economy is dominated by a number of other graphs such as the “search graph” (Google), the “consumption graph” (Amazon) or the “interest graph” (Twitter, Pinterest/Tumblr). Players such as Uber and Lyft are also currently trying to develop mobility graphs. Internationally, competition has emerged for the use of such graphs. This is shown by the development of their own search engines and social networks in China, Russia and other countries. Based on documents from leaks (by Snowden, among others), it can be shown that social graphs play a crucial role in the “War on Terror” and are apparently also considered a strategic tool by nation states. The research project develops a media-historical as well as media-theoretical investigation of the origins, changes and media-technical preconditions of social graphs.
Research focus
- Digital Sovereignty
- Social Graphs
- War on Terror
- Media theory
- Media History
Curriculum Vitae
- since 2013 research associate at the DFG Research Group Media Cultures of Computer Simulation (MECS) Leuphana University Lüneburg
- From 2010 to 2013 research associate at the InternationalCentre for Cultural Technology Research and Media Philosophy (IKKM) at the Bauhaus University Weimar
- several research stays at the Center for Internet and Society Stanford Lawschool and Lecturer at the Science, Technology and Society Programme of the University of Texas at Austin 2007 and 2009
- Participant of the Oxford Internet Institute Summer School 2005
- Diploma in Psychology at the University of Bremen, followed by a doctoral fellowship at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS)
Publications within the framework of the funded project
- Engemann, C. & Sudmann, A. (2017). Machine Learning. Media, infrastructures and technologies of artificial intelligence. Bielefeld: transcript.
- Hornung, G. & Engemann, C. (eds.). (2016). The digital citizen and his identity. Baden-Baden: (Der elektronische Rechtsverkehr 36).
- Sprenger, F. & Engemann, C. (eds.). (2015). Internet of Things: On smart objects, smart environments and the technical penetration of the world. Bielefeld: transcript.