Homelessness, wirelessness, and (in)visibility: Critical reflections on the Homeless Hotspots Project and the ensuing online discourse

Authors

  • Jes A. Koepfler University of Maryland, College Park
  • Christopher Mascaro Drexel University
  • Paul T. Jaeger University of Maryland, College Park

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v19i3.4846

Keywords:

ethics, values, ICTs, Homeless Hotspots, homelessness, wirelessness

Abstract

This paper provides a critical reflection on the Homeless Hotspots Project which was unveiled during the 2012 South by Southwest Festival held annually in Austin, Texas in the U.S. The corpus comprised 28 news articles and 1,896 tweets about Homeless Hotspots posted from the launch of the project on 6 March through the height of the debate which diminished by 31 March 2012. Using critical discourse analysis, this paper considers four perspectives that emerged from the data: the social innovator perspective, the technical digerati perspective, the social service organization perspective, and the participant perspective. The paper applies the critical lens of (in)visibility to these perspectives to examine the utopian and dystopian views of the dichotomous infrastructures of homelessness and wirelessness that were brought together and brought to public attention by the Homeless Hotspots Project.

Author Biographies

Jes A. Koepfler, University of Maryland, College Park

Jes A. Koepfler is a PhD candidate in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland. Her research interests include values and design; sociotechnical ecosystems; human-centered information interaction; user experience research; applied research and evaluation; homelessness; cultural heritage; and non-profits. E-mail: koepfler [at] umd [dot] edu

Christopher Mascaro, Drexel University

Christopher Mascaro is a PhD candidate in the iSchool at Drexel University. His research interests include small group formation and information exchange using technology as applied to a variety of contexts including business, politics, and purely social interaction. E-mail: cmm478 [at] Drexel [dot] edu

Paul T. Jaeger, University of Maryland, College Park

Dr. Paul T. Jaeger is an Associate Professor in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland and Co-director of the Information Policy and Access Center. His research interests include information law and policy, access for underserved populations, disability and accessibility, information and human rights, e-government, and social theory of information. E-mail: pjaeger [at] umd [dot] edu

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Published

2014-02-25

How to Cite

Koepfler, J. A., Mascaro, C., & Jaeger, P. T. (2014). Homelessness, wirelessness, and (in)visibility: Critical reflections on the Homeless Hotspots Project and the ensuing online discourse. First Monday, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v19i3.4846