Corners of the Internet is a podcast project of my Fall 2022 graduate Communication class, COM 862: Publics & Participatory Cultures in the Digital Era.

“Everyone is online, but where do they go? What’s your corner of the internet, you little weirdo?”

In this show, our intrepid student podcasters give you a tour of some of the corners of the internet that fascinate them the most. In the process of making this podcast, as well as zines, they blurred the boundaries between creator, audience, and critic. This was a crucial complement to our semester-long exploration of different academic frameworks for studying mediated participation and social change (e.g. public sphere, counterpublics, fandoms, participatory cultures, etc.).
The students were required to include an “advertisement” in their episode, but do take care as some of them are for fictional products.

Special thanks to Jeff Loomis for his wonderful tutorials with recorders and audio editing, general technical support, and his fabulous Tech Resources for Students page.

Our thumbnail was designed by Sawyer Gilding.

 

Episode 1: Going Places, the virtual way

by Lubanga Nathaniel

Download MP3: Going Places the virtual way

In this episode of Corners of the Internet, join me as I share my story about a corner where I go to be transported to places I want to visit and explore but cannot. It is about how I ended up in this virtual tourism corner, the experience, and potential future adventures with the help Google Maps.

Lubanga Nathaniel is a Marquette University Communication and Political Science PhD student. He studies the relationships between foreign NGOs and local communities of the Global South and how to design better and evaluate public policies using communication theories.

Comments or questions? Email nlubanga[at]uwm[dot]edu.

 

Episode 2: Cornering the Creeps – Reddit + Twitter responses to Online Misogyny

by Megan Montgomery

Download MP3: Cornering the Creeps

Women get a lot of creepy messages from men, and we’re going to talk about it! In episode 2 of our series “Corners of the Internet,” host Megan Montgomery discusses the digital harassment and misogyny that many women experience online. She discusses the perils of the modern dating world and the funny, creepy, cringey, and disturbing messages sent by men online. Reddit page r/NiceGuys and Twitter account @SheRatesDogs are discussed as online spaces for counter-publics to expose and combat dominant dating discourses. These spaces offer more than just comedic relief; they are forums for community building and catharsis that raise awareness of the online abuse many women experience daily.

Megan Montgomery is a PhD student in the Communication Department at UW-Milwaukee studying mass media framing of political and health messages. She is a real wacky goober and a lover of mild cheeses.

Comments or questions? Email montgo84[at]uwm[dot]edu.

 

Episode 3: Three Corners (feat. Ty, Kyle, and Kat)

by Sawyer Gilding

Download MP3: Three Corners

In today’s episode, I embark on exclusive interviews with users of Tumblr, Reddit, and Twitter. Who knows what we’ll find, if anything at all, but here on the corners of the internet, the journey is the real destination.

Thanks to our sponsor DUDE WATR™ (this product is not FDA approved)

Sawyer Gilding is social media expert and virtual spelunker.

Comments or questions? Email sgilding[at]uwm[dot]edu.

 

The crew hard at work making their zines.