Computer Vision Networks. Developing digital visual methods for social and medium research.
The potentialities of computer vision for digital networks and online images studies are valuable assets for digital research but still unknown or little explored. Against this background, this project interrogates vision APIs for social and medium research, while developing forms of technical-methodological creation with digital methods. To that end, methods recipes and research software will be created to facilitate the study of online images through networks. Based on situated case studies, the project proposes ways of building and reading networks of images and correspondent descriptions or sites of circulation across the Web. Crucial here, I argue, is a technical understanding on Vision APIs infrastructure combined with the practice of digital methods and visual network exploration. The project attempts to minimise the difficulties found in the use of computer vision for research purposes. The expected results include replicable research models for using this approach to different objects of study.
- Omena, J. J. (forthcoming). Digital Methods and technicity-of-the-mediums. From regimes of functioning to digital research. Doctoral dissertation, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.
- Rieder, B. (2020). Engines of Order: A Mechanology of Algorithmic Techniques. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv12sdvf1
- Silva, T., Mintz, A., Omena, J.J., Gobbo, B., Oliveira, T., Takamitsu, H., Pilipets, E., & Azhar, H. (2020). APIs de Visão Computacional: investigando mediações algorítmicas a partir de estudo de bancos de imagens. Logos, 27(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.12957/logos.2020.51523
Main Research Topics
- Digital Methods
- Software studies
- Visual network analysis
- Social media research techniques
- Visual methodologies
Curriculum Vitae
- Since 2016: Founder member of iNOVA Media Lab and coordinator of the SMART Data Sprint / Digital Media Winter Institute, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
- 2021: Invited teaching assistant in digital methods at King’s College London
- 2020: Invited professor in social media analytics at NOVA Information Management School, Portugal
- 2019: Visiting fellow at CAIS, Bochum, Germany
Lectures and Publications
- Omena, J.J.; Rabello, E & Mintz, A. (2020). Digital Methods for Hashtag Engagement Research. Social Media & Society. DOI: 10.1177/2056305120940697
- Omena, J. J., & Granado, A. (2020). Call into the platform! Merging Platform Grammatization and Practical knowledge to study digital networks. Journal ICONO14, 18(1), 89-122. https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v18i1.1436
- Omena, J.J. (2020, June 15). How to read computer vision-based networks? Repurposing machine learning web services for social media research. Digital Society Network (DSN)/STEMiS online research seminar, The University of Sheffield. [slides]
- Omena, J.J. (2019, November 22). Unpacking Digital Methods. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. [slides] [video short talk, Lisboa 2020]
- Omena, J.J. (ed.) (2019). Métodos Digitais: Teoria-Prática-Crítica. Lisboa: Livros ICNOVA. Available at https://www.icnova.fcsh.unl.pt/en/icnova-metodos-digitais/
- Warren Pearce, Suay M. Özkula, Amanda Greene, Lauren Teeling, Jennifer Bansard, Janna Joceli Omena, Elaine Rabello (2018). Visual cross-platform analysis: digital methods to research social media images. Information, communication and Society, DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2018.1486871
- Rosa, J. M., Omena, J. J., e Cardoso, D. (2018). Watchdogs in the Social Network: A Polarized Perception? Observatório (OBS*) 12 (5), Special issue “As Formas Contemporâneas dos Conflitos e das Apostas Digitais, DOI: 10.15847/obsOBS12520181367
- Colombo, G. (2018). The design of composite images: Displaying digital visual content for social research. Doctoral dissertation. Politecnico di Milano.
Forthcoming presentations:
- Omena, J.J. and Granado, A. The visual history of Portuguese Universities on Facebook. [To be presented in Visual Cultures section at the 8º ECREA Conference 2021, Braga, Portugal]
- Pilipets, E. and Omena, J.J. Stick and Flow: A critical framework for investigating bot engagement on social media. [To be presented in Digital Culture and Communication section at the 8º ECREA Conference 2021]