Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Social scientific research on Big Data situates people’s data generation and usage practices within the new science of search but is bounded by conventional conceptual and theoretical canons. However, it has been argued that this if search is the new science then Big Data is the beginning of the end of history, narrative and theory. In an ever increasing data-rich environment, the retrieval of what people are doing in their social media communications with one another will likely yield a multitude of search parameters. Perhaps no one story will be there to be told, or even could be told, but instead a limitless number of computations that combine data sources. Although this would at first sight appear to usher in the much debated abandonment of grand narratives in favour of little stories it is worth remembering that, at least at present, Big Data analytics works through aggregation and the subjugation of people’s practices to second-order theorising. However, there is another approach waiting in the wings that draws upon Wittgenstein’s later philosophy as a way of considering social media usage as embedded within the language games and practices of everyday life. This paper considers this alternative approach and draws upon recent ontological and epistemological work on social media analytics to offer a counterpoint to second-order social scientific concerns. In particular, it is argued that instead of applying social scientific insights, it is best to begin where there concerns seem to end; within the practices of the people themselves.