Linking Online Attention to Measurable Actions (Grant)
Linking Online Attention to Measurable Actions and Pandemic Response
Lexing Xie, Yu-Ru Lin
AOARD (Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development, International Office of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Basic Research Technology Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)).
Attention is a scarce resource in this information-rich world. Measuring and predicting the quantity of attention is a problem area relevant to online content hosting, commerce, news media, and political movements. Less is known, however, about the quality of this attention. Popularity, or quantity of attention, is prone to manipulation, and can be an incomplete surrogate for attention quality. In this project, we aim to link attention metrics and communication strategies to real world actions. In particular, we start by contrasting popularity and engagement of online social movements. We then link the measurements to real-world metrics of these activities, as measured by participant turnout, election outcome, legislative success, and others. Answers to these questions will empower content producers, consumers, and hosting platforms to channel attention in mutually beneficial, and socially responsible ways. This project will create new datasets and produce new measurements that quantify attention distribution across dierent socio-political movements, connect such measurements to real-world outcomes, and suggest mechanisms to control information propagation in domains such as social mobilization.
AUD112,000 awarded for September 2019-August 2020
AUD112,000 awarded for September 2020-August 2021