WebSci 2012 - 4th ACM Web Science Conference

Web Science embraces the study of the Web as a vast information network of people and communities. It also includes the study of people and communities using the digital records of user activity mediated by the Web. An understanding of human behavior and social interaction can contribute to our understanding of the Web, and data obtained from the Web can contribute to our understanding of human behavior and social interaction. Accordingly, Web Science involves analysis and design of Web architecture and applications, as well as studies of the people, organizations, and policies that shape and are shaped by the Web.

To address these diverse goals, the Web Science conference is inherently interdisciplinary, integrating computer and information sciences, communication, linguistics, sociology, psychology, economics, law, political science, and other disciplines. This conference is unique in the manner in which it brings these disciplines together in creative and critical dialogue, and we invite papers from all the above disciplines, as well as those that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Following the success of WebSci'09 in Athens, WebSci'10 in Raleigh, and WebSci'11 in Koblenz, we are seeking papers and research notes that describe original research, analysis, and practice in the field of Web Science, as well as extended abstracts that discuss novel and thought-provoking ideas and works-in-progress. Possible topics for submissions include, but are not limited to, the following:

Analysis of human behavior and social interaction using data from social media, online networks and communitie
Methodological challenges of analyzing Web-based large-scale human interaction and behavior
Network analysis of the Web
Microlevel processes and interactions on the Web
Collective intelligence, collaborative production, and social computing
Structure and organization on the Web
Web communities and online lifestyles
Web, society, and innovation
Intellectual property and the commons
Governance, trust, and privacy
Web access, literacy, and democracy
Knowledge, education, and scholarship on and through the Web
People-driven Web technologies, including social search, open data, and new interface
Using the digital records of user activity mediated by the We
New research questions and thought-provoking ideas, emphasizing the intersection of design and social interaction