Ethno-Data: Introduction to My Blog

            Hello, my name is Stephen Paff. I am a data scientist and an ethnographer. The goal of this blog is to explore the integration of data science and ethnography as an exciting and innovative way to understand people, whether consumers, users, fellow employees, or anyone else.

            I want to think publicly. Ideas worth having develop in conversation, and through this blog, I hope to present my integrative vision so that others can potentially use it to develop their own visions and in turn help shape mine.

Please Note: Because my blog straddles two technical areas, I will split my posts based on how in-depth they go into each technical expertise. Many posts I will write for a general audience. I will write some posts, though, for data scientists discussing technical matters within that field, and other posts will focus on technical topics withn ethnography for anthropologists and other ethnographers. At the top of each post, I will provide the following disclaimers:

Data Science Technical Level: None, Moderate, or Advanced
Ethnography Technical Level: None, Moderate, or Advanced

Back in Action

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/6dW3xyQvcYE

Sorry everyone that I have had a delay over the last several months. I had some personal issues come up that had prevented me from being to take the time to work on the blog.

As of now, they seem to be resolved, and I plan to return to blogging. Over the next few weeks, I intend to resume my schedule of posting every other week.

Thank you for your patience during this time.

EPIC Data Scientists + Ethnographers Group

I recently organized a professional group called EPIC Data Scientists + Ethnographers along with a few others who are both data scientists and ethnographers. Our goal is to form a virtual community to discuss ways to incorporate ethnography and data science, just like I strive to do on this website.

If you are interested in working with others on this or simply interested in learning more, feel free to join. Whether you are both a data scientist and ethnographer, only one of them, or neither, we would love to hear your perspective.

Thank you, EPIC, for helping to develop this and giving us a platform.

Photo credit: deepak pal at https://www.flickr.com/photos/158301585@N08/46085930481/

Announcement: Speaking at the Upcoming Response-ability Summit

On Friday May 20th at 10:00 am BST, Astrid Countee and I are presenting at the upcoming Response-ability Summit about strategies to integrate data science and ethnography in the tech world. The conference centers on how to develop socially responsible technology. I think it will be a great opportunity to discuss how to work as an anthropologist or other social scientist in the tech world.

You can find more details here:

Conference Program: https://response-ability.tech/programme/
Information about Other Speakers: https://response-ability.tech/speakers-2021/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/response-ability-summit/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/responsabletech)