Hello world! #introduction
I study #decentralized online social groups: organizational structure, how technology shapes human collaboration, the effects of content #moderation, the emergence of #AltTech, all that juicy stuff. I'm a #ComplexSystems #scientist (#PhDstudent), so I use a combination of #ComputerScience, #CSCW, mathematical #modeling, #NLP, and statistics to study social phenomenon.
Outside academia, I apply that work at #DDoSecrets, a publishing collective that distributes leaked documents to journalists and researchers, and when appropriate, the public. Most of my contributions are behind the scenes (infrastructure, some #infosec, academic coordination and collaboration), so I rarely speak publicly for the collective.
Sometimes I post about side projects, like turning a toaster into a server, my conspiracy shrine made out of dumpster-salvaged electronics that reads and synthesizes conspiracies from the web, or adventures with obscure tech like virtual reality gopherholes. I write about my academic, DDoSecrets, and other pursuits at my blog: https://backdrifting.net/