The Online Media Caucus was ratified at the ISA in New Orleans.  The question is: now what?

First, we now have a variety of online media outlets to publicize:

• ISA’s homepage for us: https://www.isanet.org/ISA/Caucuses/OMC
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/OnlineMediaISA or @OnlineMediaISA
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ISAOMC
• Blog to be announced later.
• Pinterest, Vine, Instragram, and other online media outlets will be developed by volunteers.

Second, I have been asked by the 2016 ISA Program Chairs to put together a panel for the Presidential Theme of Peace.  So, if you are working on research related to whether/how various forms of online media are related to the onset, duration, spread, cessation of violence and/or whether the internet in its various forms can cause peace, email me at steve_saideman@carleton.ca

Third, we have two panels allotted to the OMC to organize for next year’s ISA:

Our new caucus seeks to promote the use of online media in our teaching, research, policy engagement and service. We have a broad imagination both about what we mean by online media and what kinds of papers/panels would be of interest. Online media include social media such as twitter, blogging, facebook, tumblr, and the like, but also the use of the internet for surveys, simulations, data repositories, virtual meetings, and more. We are in interested in papers/panels that are research-oriented (using the internet in one’s research), pedagogical (internet in the classroom, online simulations, the value of MOOC’s, etc.) and/or analytical (what impact has twitter made on dissent?).

Given our small allotment of panels (2), we suggest that those aspiring to be on the ISA program submit not just to us but to relevant sections such as, but not exclusive to, Active Learning in International Affairs; Comparative Interdisciplinary Studies; International Communication; International Education; and Science, Technology and Art in IR.

Fourth, if you signed the original petition, the ISA will be asking you to join the OMC, which means a modest dues commitment of $5 for faculty, $3 for graduate students.  If you did not sign the petition and want to join and are a member of the ISA, you can add the OMC to your sections/caucuses when you renew your ISA membership.  Please consider doing so–the more members we have, the more energy we will have to promote online media within and beyond the ISA.

Fifth, the OMC is taking over the Duckies.  So, check out the Duckies page as we figure out how the Awards for Online Achievement in International Studies develop down the road.  Your ideas are most welcome.