ABSTRACT
Find a single viral video or article on the internet that has an active comment section.
Track the article for a minimum of three weeks cataloging the data into at least 5 categories. Write a 1-2
page reflection paper on the combined result/outcome of this collected data. Turn in both paper and
your organized research.
“The message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs.”
Marshall McLuhan, 1964
We infuse (external) data with meaning, and pose compelling research questions with that significant
information. In the case of social media, it may be necessary to collect large, temporally extensive
datasets in order to document the interesting phenomena of use and expression. For this project we
will examine the thoughtful, hilarious, hateful, poignant, brilliant and blunt cultural exchanges inside
the comments section of an article in order to gain a greater understanding of digital culture.
OBJECTIVES
PART 1: OBSERVE AND COLLECT
• Feel free to participate or simply watch the discussion develop. Up to you. (Keep your
interactions civil- this is a school project.)
• Capture screen shots of the conversations, and place these images into a folder.
Observe and collect data for all 5 types of references:
1. IDEOLOGICAL REFERENCES
2. CULTURAL REFERENCES
3. CLASS REFERENCES
4. MYTHOLOGICAL REFERENCES
5. “OTHER” REFERENCES (ANYTHING ELSE OF SIGNIFICANCE OR INTEREST THAT
POPS UP.)
PART 2: SYNTHESIZE THESE THEMES
• Put a link to the site you followed/trolled at the very top of the paper.
• Once you collected a minimum of three weeks worth of data, write a 1-2 page response.
PART 3: UPLOAD PAPER AND COMMENTS
• Name the paper using the following naming conventions: troll_lastname.doc
• Place all of your research data and notes into one document, pdf, or folder, and name it using the
following naming convention: research_lastname
• Upload all materials to the Lecture’s D2L Troll dropbox
Digital Art 118 |Troll
Peck School of the Arts
TROLL — EXTRA CREDIT
