“It’s Data, Not Reality”: On Situated Data with Jill Walker Rettberg
A professor of digital culture discusses the myth of objectivity in data visualization and much more
On June 25, 2020, I chatted with Jill Walker Rettberg, professor of digital culture at the University of Bergen in Norway and a leading thinker on digital cultures. Professor Rettberg specializes in storytelling and self-representation in social media and is the author of Seeing Ourselves Through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs, and Wearable Devices to See and Shape Ourselves (Palgrave, 2014). Her current work explores the intertwining of algorithmic systems with narrative. I’ve been a fan of her work for years, and after recently reading her latest article, “Situated Data Analysis: A New Method for Analysing Encoded Power Relationships in Social Media Platforms and Apps,” I asked Professor Rettberg to share her insights with Nightingale readers.
I found the concept that you have developed, “situated data,” very compelling. Could you explain the concept for our readers?
