Nancy Baym
Encyclopedia
Nancy Baym, Ph.D. is an American academic, currently a Professor of Communication Studies
at the University of Kansas
. She was a member of the founding board and former president of the Association of Internet Researchers
, and serves on the board of several academic journals covering new media and communication. She has published research and provided media commentary on the topics of social communication, new media
, and fandom
.
account. She has great enthusiasm about unique music, such as Scandanavian and other alternative bands. She shares her most memorable music moments on a comic strip
Baym also expresses herself through her own blog called “Online Fandom: New Perspectives on Fan Communication and Online Social Life”. In this blog she comments on new and upcoming social issues that the internet has created within our society. Baym also uses other types of Internet social networking. She has accounts with Tumblr
, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter
. She uses these for social and other reasons. Some of her tweets are about the subjects of her research, upcoming events, and she even asks the public for advice on picking course materials.
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Her book Tune In, Log On: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community (2000), Baym argues that soap opera
fans form "a dynamic community of people with unique voices, distinctive traditions, and enjoyable relationships." In addition, the book “Is an ethnographic study of internet soap opera fan group. Bridging the fields of computer mediated communication and audience studies, the book shows how verbal and nonverbal communicative practices create collaborative interpretations and criticism, group humor, interpersonal relationships, group norms, and individual identity.” This book made her one of the first major researchers to study and report on the characteristics of online communities.
Nancy's book, Personal Connections in the Digital Age, published in 2010, is about thinking critically about the roles of digital media
in personal relationships, it offers data-grounded information on how to makes sense of these changes in relational life. The books explores how we used mediated language and nonverbal behavior to develop and maintain communicates, social networks, new relationships, and to maintain everyday relationships. It provides a firmer understanding of digital media and everyday life. In her book, she defines seven concepts "that can be used to differentiate digital media and which influence how people use them and with what effects." These concepts are interactivity, temporal structure, social cues, storage, replicability, reach and mobility. Ultimately, "the author states at the end that the book was written for those who see communication technologies as new and different, those who take them for granted and those who will be thinking through technologies not yet invented," claimed Stuart James Fitz-Gerald in his review of the book.
In addition, she is in the process of writing a second book called Beautiful and Strange: The Relationship Between Artists and Audience that studies the communication and relationship between the artists and their fans. There is not yet a date set for its release.
She also maintains a weblog dedicated to coverage of "news and perspectives on fan communication" and often contributes to an online social media research blog.
In addition, Nancy has received awards from the University of Kansas
where she is a professor of communications.
Communication studies
Communication Studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time. Hence, communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass...
at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
. She was a member of the founding board and former president of the Association of Internet Researchers
Association of Internet Researchers
Founded in 1999, the Association of Internet Researchers is an learned society dedicated to the advancement of the transdisciplinary field of Internet studies...
, and serves on the board of several academic journals covering new media and communication. She has published research and provided media commentary on the topics of social communication, new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
, and fandom
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
.
Personal Life
Nancy Baym is a passionate individual when it comes to her hobbies and interests.Nancy is avid photographer who posts some of her work on her flickrFlickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
account. She has great enthusiasm about unique music, such as Scandanavian and other alternative bands. She shares her most memorable music moments on a comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Baym also expresses herself through her own blog called “Online Fandom: New Perspectives on Fan Communication and Online Social Life”. In this blog she comments on new and upcoming social issues that the internet has created within our society. Baym also uses other types of Internet social networking. She has accounts with Tumblr
Tumblr
Tumblr is a website and microblogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users can follow other users, or choose to make their tumblelog private. The service emphasizes ease of use. The site ranks as the 10th...
, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. She uses these for social and other reasons. Some of her tweets are about the subjects of her research, upcoming events, and she even asks the public for advice on picking course materials.
Education
- 1994, Ph.D., Speech Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- 1988, A.M., Speech Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- 1986, B.A., Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
- 2002-present, Professor, Department of Communication Studies, University of Kansas.
- 1999-2002, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, University of Kansas.
- 1994-1999, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Wayne State University.
- 1992-1994,Visiting Teaching Associate in Speech Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- 1986-1992, Teaching Assistant in Speech Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.
Publications
Baym has been a contributor in 28 articles since 1993, and 3 books and has another in the works. The first of which was published in 2000, called “Tune in, log on: Soaps, Fandom, and the online Community”,”. The next book Baym released was “The interpersonal Internet”, which was published in 2003. Her most recent book is “Personal Connections in the Digital Age”, which was published in 2010. She has also contributed to many articles appearing in magazines such as New York University Press, International Journal of Cultural Studies, Electronic Journal of Communication, Internet Research Annual, and the Journal of Computer-Mediated communication.Her book Tune In, Log On: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community (2000), Baym argues that soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
fans form "a dynamic community of people with unique voices, distinctive traditions, and enjoyable relationships." In addition, the book “Is an ethnographic study of internet soap opera fan group. Bridging the fields of computer mediated communication and audience studies, the book shows how verbal and nonverbal communicative practices create collaborative interpretations and criticism, group humor, interpersonal relationships, group norms, and individual identity.” This book made her one of the first major researchers to study and report on the characteristics of online communities.
Nancy's book, Personal Connections in the Digital Age, published in 2010, is about thinking critically about the roles of digital media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
in personal relationships, it offers data-grounded information on how to makes sense of these changes in relational life. The books explores how we used mediated language and nonverbal behavior to develop and maintain communicates, social networks, new relationships, and to maintain everyday relationships. It provides a firmer understanding of digital media and everyday life. In her book, she defines seven concepts "that can be used to differentiate digital media and which influence how people use them and with what effects." These concepts are interactivity, temporal structure, social cues, storage, replicability, reach and mobility. Ultimately, "the author states at the end that the book was written for those who see communication technologies as new and different, those who take them for granted and those who will be thinking through technologies not yet invented," claimed Stuart James Fitz-Gerald in his review of the book.
In addition, she is in the process of writing a second book called Beautiful and Strange: The Relationship Between Artists and Audience that studies the communication and relationship between the artists and their fans. There is not yet a date set for its release.
She also maintains a weblog dedicated to coverage of "news and perspectives on fan communication" and often contributes to an online social media research blog.
Awards
Nancy Baym has received multiple awards since her college days in the early 1990’s. During her years at The University of Illinois, she received three prestigious awards.- Marie Hochmuth Nichols Award 1991
- “The Nichols Award recognizes the department’s most outstanding veteran teaching assistant. The award is given on the basis of the total record of a student’s teaching in the department.”
- Karl R. Wallace Award 1993
- “The Wallace Award recognizes distinguished scholarship by a graduate student.”
- Ruth S. and Charles H. Bowman Award 1994
- “The Bowman Award is conferred upon the department’s most outstanding graduate student, based on the student’s total record of scholarship, teaching, and service.”
In addition, Nancy has received awards from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
where she is a professor of communications.
- Center for Teaching Excellence Award (2004)
- $5,000 Kemper Awards for excellent teaching (2005)