University of Alberta

Presentation at the 2018 Rundle Summit

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8af67c_dd2bb23b679b418db1981b3b5abdd416_mv2A big thank you to the the organizers of the Rundle Summit for inviting me to provide the opening keynote address this weekend. It was a pleasure to present my research findings and share my experiences as a blogger in Edmonton. We had a great discussion following the presentation – really appreciated the questions and feedback.

Below is a description of the session.

Communication technology is a critical tool for hockey fans to acquire information and to stay engaged with the game. The development of web technology, mobile phones and social media applications, in conjunction with the traditional mediums (i.e., television, radio, newspapers) have made information more abundant and travelling at an even faster rate. With the evolution of communication technology, there has been a significant shift in fan behavior and the impact fans have on the information that surrounds the game. By leveraging this technology and becoming creators, developers and distributors of information, fans have  become more than consumers of information and have instead taken on a more active role.

 Mr. Agnihotri will share his motivations for undertaking his research, his own experiences as a hockey blogger and the impact fans are having on the direction of the game. (Source)

For those interested, below are the slides that I presented. These have been published without my speaking notes, so please let me know if any of the content requires clarification.

For a re-cap of the event and the other presentations, you can check out the Rundle Summit’s twitter account (@RundleSummit). Attendees also used the #RundleSummit2018 hashtag on Twitter to compile and discuss the presentations.

https://twitter.com/polysemonica/status/967188962140872705

Related:

Speaking at the Rundle Summit – The SuperFan (2017, December 4)

Getting ready for the Rundle Summit – The SuperFan (2018, February 20)

Getting ready for the Rundle Summit

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icefields-parkway-road-conditions-in-winterJust putting together my presentation for the Rundle Summit, which takes place in Banff, Alberta this coming weekend. Details for the event can be found on the Rundle Summit web site.

Lots to check out at the event co-hosted by the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, with things kicking off on Friday afternoon. I’ll be providing the keynote address on Friday evening with panel sessions scheduled for Saturday. Full program details are here.

It’s been a lot of fun putting my thoughts together as I’ve tried to weave the research I completed in grad school with my experiences from blogging. I’ve had to dig deep to uncover how/why I went down the path I did, uncovering some old stuff along the way.

Couple notable items:

Plenty more to share on Friday, the focus being on hockey fans and how their active participation in the coverage of the game has forced the league and the media to adapt.

Looking forward to the conference. 😉

Related: Speaking at the Rundle Summit – The SuperFan (2017, December 4)

Discussing online hockey fans and research from grad school at the McLuhan House

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https_cdn.evbuc.comimages388470042128964084511original

Happy to announce that I’ll be speaking at Telly Talk, a New Media Seminar hosted by the Arts Habitat in Edmonton.

  • Wednesday January 3rd, 2018
  • 6:00-8:00 PM
  • McLuhan House Centre for Arts and Ideas – 11342-64 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta

Details of the event can be found at the Arts Habitat Edmonton. And you can register for the event at Eventbrite.

I’ll be sharing my experiences as a hockey blogger and the research I did in grad school. Below is the abstract for my presentation:

“SuperFans”

Oiler fans are known for their commitment to the team through the good times and bad. And using the tools available to them, they’ve been able to do more than just sit in the stands and cheer. Today fans are providing endless amounts of opinions and analysis, and play a larger role in the information that surrounds the game.

Sunil Agnihotri will discuss the research he completed in the Master of Arts in Communications and Technology program at the University of Alberta, and his experience as a fan and blogger. This is where my house is fixed by eavestroughinstallers.ca. His research focused on online communities, information management and communication technology. His final project used sociocultural theories and concepts to examine the blogging activity of hockey fans.

Related links:

Speaking at the Rundle Summit

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8af67c_dd2bb23b679b418db1981b3b5abdd416_mv2Happy to announce that I’ll be speaking in Banff at the Rundle Summit in February. It’s a communications conference co-hosted by the University of Alberta’s Communications and Technology Program and the University of Calgary, Communication, Media and Film Program. Full details of the conference can be found here.

I’ll be discussing the research I did as a graduate student at the U of A, which was around online hockey fans and how they use blogs to develop and share new information.

You can access my final research paper here: SuperFan 2.0 : Exploring the produsage qualities of hockey fans

This was done between 2009 and 2012, so there’s a lot that’s happened since then.

Personally, I was able to apply what I learned from the program to my own day job, but also used a lot of the concepts to start my own hockey blog. I’ve been a life-long fan  and like using stats to dig into things, so it’s been fun providing commentary and learning about the different ways to evaluate teams and players. I’ve been very fortunate getting opportunities to write for other web sites, and being on TV and radio. It’s been a fun side-gig, as I’ve been able to do something I really care about and  meet some very good people along the way.

Older post worth reading: Finding the SuperFan – (2014, July 23)

I’ve also got a pretty good perspective on how the media’s role has changed because of the new communication tools available to fans, and will share some of my experiences. The most interesting aspect for me has been the development and growth of hockey analytics and how it’s played out in the public sphere. It’s been largely fan-driven, and it’s impacted how the league and major media networks provide coverage.

I’ll post a few updates as I put my presentation together, and will publish my final work here as well.

 

 

Leaving the University of Alberta Alumni Council

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Source: UAlberta.ca

Source: UAlberta.ca

It’s been a fantastic experience with the Alumni Council. Got to meet a lot of people and worked on some great projects over the two years.

In my first year, I was the faculty representative for Extension. In my second year, I was part of the executive team and appointed to the Senate. Got to learn about many different facets of the U of A community and the impact this campus has on the community.

If you’ve ever considered re-connecting with the U of A, I highly recommend getting involved with the Alumni Association. It’s a well run group that has many projects and initiatives underway. I can’t say enough about the volunteers and the supporting staff. The Council has grown over the past year, with a lot of new members coming in. Look forward to seeing what they do they can accomplish in the coming year.

There are also many, many ways to volunteer on campus. There’s a lot of programs and services across campus that are worth checking out and connecting with. Two groups that are doing outstanding work are University Wellness Services and the Office of Sustainability. Highly recommend learning more about what they do.

I’ve categorized all my posts pertaining to the Alumni Council here. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about it.

David Turpin named University of Alberta’s next president

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img003Some big news out of the University of Alberta as David Turpin has been named the next president. David will be replacing Indira Samarasekera, who held the post since 2005.

Links:

Worth noting are some of the remarks Indira made at our Alumni Council meeting back in March in regards to the state of the University and the future president:

  • Indira stressed that it doesn’t matter how great your natural resources, like oil, are. The most important thing is talent and brainpower.
  • She spoke about academic transformation, which included improving the graduate student experience and developing a stronger recruitment strategy.
  • Indira suggested that the President should be involved in the tenure and promotion process.
  • She also suggested that Faculty Dean’s should have strategic visions aligned with the University to ensure accountability.
  • The U of A needs to develop a sustainable funding model and rely less on Government, who rely to heavily on oil) according to Indira.
  • Indira continues to stress the importance of aspiring to be a top global university.
  • The next President must be a “connoisseur of excellence” and have the ability to select talent, drive change and manage performance.

All the best to David. Look forward to working with him.

Alumni Council Meeting – New members, Visit from Carl Amrhein and a Recap of Alumni Weekend

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High Level Bridge in Edmonton

High Level Bridge in Edmonton

Had our first council meeting for the 2014-2015 school year last week. Lots to look forward to as the Alumni Association has plenty of events coming up, including its centenary.

Dr. Carl G. Amrhein, Provost and VP (Academic) came by and gave his take on the state of the University and the importance of education in Alberta. Karl talked about the growing global presence of the U of A as well as initiatives to reach different parts of the province.

Related: How Our Universities Can Compete in the World: A conversation with the Conference Board’s new executive-in-residence Carl Amrhein – University Affairs (2013, May 8)

We also received a recap of the Alumni Weekend held in September. Just an amazing amount of work by the coordinators and volunteers.

And of course, a big welcome to the newest members of the Council! Look forward to working with you all. Full bios for all members should be updated soon.

Finding the SuperFan

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An Oiler fans trek through blogs, hockey analytics and academia.

Back in 2008, I decided it was time to head back to school to finish a graduate degree. Something I can do part-time, something related to my day-job, and something that would interest me enough to stay motivated. I came across the Communications and Technology program at the University of Alberta while surfing the web and decided to take the plunge.

My background was in sociology and my interests were always research methodology and group dynamics (how do groups get together to accomplish stuff). I figured a lot of the technology starting to take off was changing the way groups interact and to how much they could accomplish as a group. My main interests have always been information and knowledge management. How do we know what we know, and how do we work collectively to build new knowledge and information. That group dynamic is always intriguing since it’s been occurring for centuries, but has really accelerated because of the advancement of communication technology. The web is an obvious example, but what is it about the web and what sort of rules apply that allows it to be so critical for information development and knowledge sharing. It was pretty high level thinking at the time since I honestly had no idea where my graduate career was going to go.

The Program

Before starting the MACT program, all applicants had to submit a research idea for their final project. I had no clue what I wanted to do, so I decided to something work-related and chose electronic health records. It was a hot button topic in healthcare, so I thought some sort of research on it would be interesting. I received my acceptance letter and was to start the program in the spring of 2009.

All students were also asked to maintain a “digital portfolio” (i.e., a blog) as a way to centralize assignments and reflect on key topics. Not many students actually did one, but I figured this might be a useful way to find a supervisor for my final research paper.

Within a couple months of starting the program, getting deep into communication theory, I realized there wasn’t anything interesting about electronic health records. There had already been a ton of research on it, including the type of technology used, its adoption in various countries and the benefits of it. That realization and the fact that others in my cohort had some killer ideas, I knew right away that I needed to find another topic.

Reset

By the end of the spring session, which included a three week residency-type set up on campus to complete a two courses, I was absolutely spent. We covered a ton of material and new concepts and spent hours completing assignments and presentations. I really tried to apply my research topic of health records to everything we covered, but it just wasn’t interesting. My attitude about the program reflected it. And my grades showed it as well.  Continue reading →

Questions following the Public Lecture on Hockey Analytics

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Source: Edmonton Oilers

Source: Edmonton Oilers

In case you missed it, the Communications and Technology program at the University of Alberta recently hosted a public lecture on hockey analytics. I really enjoyed speaking at the event as I got to connect my research as a student of the program with some of the real-life work bloggers are doing online.

I can’t say enough about Michael Parkatti, who put together a solid presentation on the fundamentals of hockey analytics. If you haven’t seen the presentation, you can access it on Livestream.

What was remarkable was how big of a response the session received. The session drew a full house at the downtown campus and has since drawn over 1,600 views online. I was especially blown away by its distribution on Twitter and the positive feedback we received.

Following the session, I received a few questions from attendees and others who caught the session online. I thought I’d share some of these and my responses.

Continue reading →