Shiryn Anissa Noor Affendi
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Li Cornfeld
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Digital Studies Institute / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 2 – 11am – 11:50am
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Li Cornfeld, Shiryn Anissa Noor Affendi
Presenter: 77
Abstract
Despite the research conducted on the technology industry, there is often a lack of a humanities perspective, given the normative aspect of technology taking center stage. Therefore, researching how companies choose to get people’s attention, their methods of self-presentation, and the role of CEOs within the tech industry leads us to view the industry from a different perspective. The image that rises from analyzing through a humanities standpoint highlights the cultural authority that develops when technology companies form affective relationships with people that double as their targeted audience through digital media. This research project takes a critical cultural approach of understanding the technology industry and the development of digital media as a performative tool through an analysis of Fireside Chats and TechCrunch, alongside other academic publishings that substantiate this subject. An analysis of Fireside Chats allows space for questions like the connotations behind the intimate setting of the interview and the shared sense of belonging it might cultivate. Through video annotations of TechCrunch pitches, this study views the competitive aspect of the technology industry as companies present themselves in a formulaic standard to compete for a $10,000 prize. Analyzing these presentation methods signals the understanding of power and prestige within the tech industry that spans beyond technology’s economic and scientific impact. The orchestrated culture of having bonds between technology companies and human society creates an intimacy between the digital and social, and this project aims to understand how these relationships form. Specifically, the performative role these technology companies take and their impacts.
Engineering, Arts and Humanities, Interdisciplinary, Social Sciences
