Hello!

My name is Joseph (Joey) Schafer, welcome to my website! I'm a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in the University of Washington Human-Centered Design and Engineering Department and conduct research at the Center for an Informed Public, advised by Dr. Kate Starbird. My other committee members include Dr. Mark Zachry, Dr. Rachel E. Moran, and Dr. Lauren S. Berliner.

I'm broadly interested in studying social media systems, online influencers, and information integrity, as well as researching what methods can be used to study these topics ethically, justly, and effectively. More specifically, I am interested in how platform affordances, cultures, and influencer dynamics impact the spread of these kinds of content, and how influencer- and virality-driven information systems impact our information ecosystems. When considering the spread of information, I am interested in exploring the mutual shaping between influencers and their audiences, rather than a solely top-down or bottom-up approach. Information spread is participatory and collaborative, while simultaneously shaped and structured by the sociotechnical, material architectures of online communities.

If working together sounds interesting to you, please reach out!