{"id":11373,"date":"2020-12-30T23:27:42","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T04:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/?p=11373"},"modified":"2020-12-30T23:27:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T04:27:46","slug":"a-day-in-the-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2020\/12\/30\/a-day-in-the-life\/","title":{"rendered":"A day in the life&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I&#8217;m working on a lengthyish post about conspiracy theory (specifically, QAnon) and the &#8220;post-truth condition,&#8221; but in the meantime I want to post a few tidbits from something I&#8217;ve been enjoying reading related to that topic. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/onguardforthee\/comments\/klvcu3\/hello_my_name_is_marcandr%C3%A9_argentino_im_a_phd\/\">Reddit conversation<\/a> with QAnon researcher Marc-Andr\u00e9 Argentino includes some smart observations about QAnon, but also useful insights into the life of a young, underemployed scholar that are worth sharing (grad students, take note!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Argentino is a Ph.D. candidate whose work has taken a high-profile turn in part because of circumstance (QAnon becoming as big as it is, mediatically speaking) and in part because he&#8217;s a good public communicator who has taken advantage of that circumstance to get his musings out into the public. This is something any academic worth their salt today has to be prepared to do. Success in academe (and Argentino has yet to achieve that, if success is defined materially) requires at least the following three ingredients: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Choosing your topic well (and finding an appropriate methodology for it; note Argentino&#8217;s description of how he carries out his research); <\/li><li>Taking advantage of situations that arise around it to communicate publicly about it, and to do that well; and <\/li><li>Being prepared to manage life&#8217;s complexities and exigencies without much remuneration as you do it all. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Argentino writes: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Well my day is usually split with driving my tiny human to daycare, then I work my non-academic day job (which pays the bills). After work and family time I will either read, analyze social media data that was collected while I was at work, or I log onto my QAnon sockpuppets and see what has happened in the community. For Facebook and Instagram I use Crowdtangle for my collection and analysis, for Twitter I use the python library Twint, for telegram I use a burner phone and sim. To stay protected online I run all my research through burner phones and VMs that run PFsense and VPNs. Mental health wise, I game, went to the gym before COVID and spend time with my family.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>My own day is a little like Argentino&#8217;s, except that my day job (which pays the bills) <em>is<\/em> academic (teaching, advising, editing, committee work, etc.) and since I&#8217;ve been doing it much longer, it pays the bills to a higher and more secure degree than a Ph.D. student&#8217;s or young postdoc&#8217;s life could possibly allow. I also spread myself out more widely (and therefore thinly), since the topics I write on are more diverse and more &#8220;tentacular&#8221; (which is how I&#8217;ll be describing QAnon in my upcoming post). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of the point of that upcoming post is that when QAnons says &#8220;Do your own research,&#8221; they are on to something, even if their idea of doing research is very different from what most scholars mean by that. I&#8217;ll clarify those differences there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being upfront about what research involves is important these days, and Argentino is doing that quite nicely here, which I admire. More importantly, he is taking a lot of time to communicate with a wide audience, an audience that includes amateur researchers whose reach may itself be significant. There&#8217;s clearly some cutting and pasting in what he&#8217;s presenting (from his own published and unpublished writings) and a lot of speculation, but it&#8217;s his interaction &#8212; here and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_MAArgentino\">on Twitter<\/a> &#8212; that&#8217;s very generative and that positions him to be a public expert on the topic. For a Ph.D. student, that&#8217;s quite impressive, though it&#8217;s really that only to those who remain convinced by the academic ranking system. (That&#8217;s the system that says that Ph.D. students aren&#8217;t experts at anything yet, while professors may be, associate professors are more so, and full professors definitely are. Outside of academe, that system is pretty irrelevant.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the other insightful snippets from Argentino&#8217;s conversation is this one, which speculates on the future of QAnon post-Biden inauguration. Argentino describes \u201cfour possible paths for QAnon adherents in 2021&#8243;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Keyboard warriors: A part of QAnon will stay, remain and harden into a strong core of dedicated believers who will think the deep state is in control and they need to double their efforts in the information war creating, therefore creating a continuous pool of propaganda and conspiracy theories;<\/li><li>Ideological Motivated Violent Extremists: small and very unlikely minority may see that the information war is los[t], and QAnon\u2019s efforts were not enough and something ideological will lead them to believe that there is no political solution and violence is the only option;<\/li><li>Recruitment: In this category QAnon believers who are disenfranchised with the movement and the lack of results from \u2018Q\u2019, will create a potential pool to recruit from for more extreme movements and groups;<\/li><li>New Religious Movement: With an existing group of QAnon home congregations at Omega Kingdom Ministries as a possible example, there is a chance that a segment[&#8230;] of QAnon adherents may form\/continue to grow as new religious movements.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>All of these sound reasonable to me, though my definition of &#8220;new religious movement&#8221; may be a little looser than Argentino&#8217;s. More on all these topics soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m working on a lengthyish post about conspiracy theory (specifically, QAnon) and the &#8220;post-truth condition,&#8221; but in the meantime I want to post a few tidbits from something I&#8217;ve been enjoying reading related to that topic. A Reddit conversation with QAnon researcher Marc-Andr\u00e9 Argentino includes some smart observations about QAnon, but also useful insights into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[203,689701],"tags":[659243,659242,628389,579],"class_list":["post-11373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academe","category-media_ecology","tag-do-your-own-research","tag-marc-andre-argentino","tag-qanon","tag-research"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4IC4a-2Xr","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11121,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2020\/10\/18\/the-qanization-of-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":11373,"position":0},"title":"The Qanization of the world","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"October 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"As I\u2019ve been preparing to cover QAnon in my media course (and trying to keep up with it, since it's really been ramping up ahead of the election), I\u2019ve seriously begun to think of it is a work of evil genius. Let me explain why. For starters, it's worth reminding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cultural politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cultural politics","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/cultural_politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/10\/102801077_q.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/10\/102801077_q.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/10\/102801077_q.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/10\/102801077_q.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11253,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2021\/01\/05\/do-your-own-research-conspiracy-practice-as-media-virus\/","url_meta":{"origin":11373,"position":1},"title":"&#8216;Do your own research&#8217;: Conspiracy practice as media virus","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"January 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Conspiracy movements like QAnon are a kind of cultural virus that spreads rapidly and widely in the new global media environment. Like invasive species, they spread into diverse cultural ecosystems, colonizing them even as they take on new forms that mimic each environment\u2019s original inhabitants. To understand how they do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cultural politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cultural politics","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/cultural_politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/the-kraken-legend-or-beast.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/the-kraken-legend-or-beast.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/the-kraken-legend-or-beast.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/the-kraken-legend-or-beast.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/the-kraken-legend-or-beast.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11222,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2020\/11\/09\/truth-media-trust-and-the-election\/","url_meta":{"origin":11373,"position":2},"title":"Truth, media trust, and the election","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"November 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This article is cross-posted from the media ecologies blog e2mc. While last week\u2019s election has resulted in the announcement of a new president and vice-president, with leaders of many countries around the world recognizing those results (and with global markets rallying their apparent support), the current Trump administration has not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Media ecology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Media ecology","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/media_ecology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-12.33.49-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-12.33.49-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-12.33.49-PM.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-12.33.49-PM.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-12.33.49-PM.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-12.33.49-PM.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10707,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2020\/06\/02\/more-conspiratology-the-internet-as-monochord-storm-machine\/","url_meta":{"origin":11373,"position":3},"title":"More conspiratology: the internet as monochord &amp; storm machine","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"June 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"At a time when the U.S. itself appears on the brink of collapse -- with riots in the streets, a pandemic crippling the country\u2019s heath care system and wreaking havoc on its economy, a president tweeting out nods of recognition to his QAnon fan base and hinting at \u201cthe Storm\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Media ecology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Media ecology","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/media_ecology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/06\/Web-by-Ryan-Dickey.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/06\/Web-by-Ryan-Dickey.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/06\/Web-by-Ryan-Dickey.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10961,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2020\/07\/30\/the-new-media-regime\/","url_meta":{"origin":11373,"position":4},"title":"The new media regime","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Here\u2019s a back-of-the-envelope hypothesis on the \"new media regime\" and some open questions that follow from it. Two groups are faring best these days under the current (new) media regime.* The first is surveillance capitalists, who have developed ways to monetize and harvest new data technologies directly for the accumulation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Media ecology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Media ecology","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/media_ecology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/07\/matrix-code.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/07\/matrix-code.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2020\/07\/matrix-code.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11445,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2021\/01\/07\/no-surprises\/","url_meta":{"origin":11373,"position":5},"title":"No surprises","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"January 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I am an academic who researches, writes, and teaches about the human relationship with the ecological environment within which we live and on which we depend. I recognize that that relationship is deeply troubled, and I want to be working on untroubling it. Politics -- the shaping and implementation of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog stuff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog stuff","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/blog_stuff\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/im-281819.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/im-281819.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/im-281819.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/im-281819.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2021\/01\/im-281819.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11373"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11381,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11373\/revisions\/11381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}