Association of Internet Researchers

The Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) is an international learned society and member-based scholarly network devoted to the development of Internet studies. It brings together researchers whose work examines online communication, digital cultures, networked publics, platforms, technology, society, and related forms of digitally mediated life. Rather than belonging to a single established academic discipline, AoIR provides an interdisciplinary setting in which scholars from fields such as communication, media studies, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, information science, political science, education, and related areas can exchange research and develop a shared intellectual community. AoIR was formally established on May 30, 1999, at a meeting attended by nearly sixty scholars at the San Francisco Hilton and Towers. The organization grew out of discussions associated with a 1998 conference at Drake University, titled “The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Theory: Metaphor, Magic & Power.” Its rapid early development reflected the emergence of Internet studies as a recognizable area of scholarly inquiry. The first AoIR conference was held in 2000 at the University of Kansas and attracted approximately 300 scholars, giving the new association a substantial international platform from its outset. The association’s principal activity is its annual peer-reviewed conference. The event accepts work from multiple disciplines and combines conventional research presentations with keynote talks, discussion formats, and community-building activities. AoIR also organizes a one-day doctoral colloquium for Ph.D. students and an event for early-career researchers, extending its role beyond conference presentation into mentoring and professional development. Conference themes have addressed the changing social, cultural, political, and material conditions of networked technologies, including issues of trust, decolonization, regulation, publics, sustainability, participation, and digital imaginaries. AoIR supports scholarly communication throughout the year. Its AIR-L mailing list has served as a long-running forum for announcements, debate, collaboration, and professional exchange, with several thousand subscribers. The association also supports working groups and has produced guidance on ethical online research, an area in which conventional research ethics procedures often need to be adapted to public, semi-public, platform-mediated, and rapidly changing environments. Additional publication activities have included the Internet Research Annual, the open-access Selected Papers of Internet Research collection, and collaboration with the journal Information, Communication & Society on an annual issue featuring selected conference papers. The organization has also expanded its digital community infrastructure. In addition to its mailing list and website, it hosts an AoIR.social Mastodon instance and maintains recorded keynote and other conference material through its online video presence. These activities make AoIR both a scholarly association and a continuing support network for researchers working across national and disciplinary boundaries. Publicly available material describes a membership of roughly 1,000 scholars and an AIR-L audience exceeding 5,000 subscribers, although such figures may change over time. AoIR’s positioning is distinctive because it treats Internet research as a transdisciplinary field rather than as a narrow technical specialty. Its programs combine empirical, critical, interpretive, historical, and theoretical approaches, while its ethics work addresses the responsibilities involved in researching people, communities, data, and platforms online. The association remains active through its annual conference, publications, professional-development activities, online forums, and community platforms.

The Association of Internet Researchers emerged during the late 1990s, when the social and cultural consequences of the World Wide Web were becoming an increasingly important subject across the humanities and social sciences. Researchers were studying online communities, digital identity, computer-mediated communication, virtual cultures, networked publics, and the political implications of new communication infrastructures. Much of this work crossed the boundaries of existing departments, creating a need for a dedicated scholarly network. A significant precursor was a 1998 conference at Drake University titled “The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Theory: Metaphor, Magic & Power.” Discussions associated with that event helped create momentum for an organization that could support Internet research across disciplines. On May 30, 1999, nearly sixty scholars met at the San Francisco Hilton and Towers and formally established the Association of Internet Researchers. The association was designed as an international, member-based support network rather than as a conventional disciplinary society. AoIR’s first annual conference took place in 2000 at the University of Kansas. Organized by Nancy Baym, Jeremy Hunsinger, and Steve Jones, the event attracted around 300 scholars and was titled “The State of the Interdiscipline.” Its scale demonstrated that Internet studies had already developed a substantial scholarly constituency. The early expansion of the association was subsequently recognized as evidence that Internet studies was becoming a mature and visible area of academic inquiry. The annual conference became the organization’s central recurring institution. It provided a peer-reviewed venue for researchers from different national and disciplinary backgrounds and allowed the association to track changes in the field through its themes. Later conferences addressed subjects including Internet convergence, participation, sustainability, digital imaginaries, networked publics, materiality, trust, decolonization, revolution, and industry. The event format also developed to include a doctoral colloquium and programming for early-career researchers, reinforcing AoIR’s role in training and professional support. Alongside the conference, AoIR established continuing channels for scholarly exchange. The AIR-L mailing list became a major forum for announcements, discussion, collaboration, and circulation of opportunities. The association also developed publications and research resources, including editions of the Internet Research Annual, the Selected Papers of Internet Research open-access collection, and selected-paper collaboration with Information, Communication & Society. Working groups produced reports and practical resources, most notably guidance concerning ethical decision-making in online research. These materials addressed the distinctive challenges of studying publicly accessible yet personally sensitive digital content, online communities, platforms, and data traces. AoIR’s activities expanded further into digital community infrastructure. It maintains an online presence through its website, supports recorded keynote and other conference material through video channels, and hosts AoIR.social on the Mastodon network. During 2020 and 2021, the annual conference was conducted online, with the themes “Life” and “Independence,” respectively. In-person international programming resumed in subsequent listed conference locations, including Dublin, Philadelphia, Sheffield, and planned or announced events in Brazil and Mexico. The association is described as having approximately 1,000 members and an AIR-L subscriber base of more than 5,000, though these figures are not permanent operating statistics. Its continuing significance lies in its ability to connect scholars around a field that remains inherently interdisciplinary. AoIR combines research dissemination, community formation, professional development, ethical reflection, and digital collaboration, while retaining a critical orientation toward the technologies and institutions it studies.

• 2022

  Decolonising the Internet

  [1]Association of Internet Researchersen.wikipedia.org

  The annual conference in Dublin focused on decolonial approaches to Internet research.

• 2021

  Online conference: Independence

  [1]Association of Internet Researchersen.wikipedia.org

  The association continued its online conference format with “Independence.”

• 2020

  Online conference: Life

  [1]Association of Internet Researchersen.wikipedia.org

  AoIR’s annual conference was held online under the theme “Life.”

• 2000

  First annual conference

  [1]Association of Internet Researchersen.wikipedia.org

  The inaugural conference was held at the University of Kansas and attracted approximately 300 scholars.

• 1999

  Formal founding of AoIR

  [1]Association of Internet Researchersen.wikipedia.org

  Nearly sixty scholars formally established the Association of Internet Researchers in San Francisco on May 30.

• 1998

  Precursor conference at Drake University

  [1]Association of Internet Researchersen.wikipedia.org

  A conference on the World Wide Web and contemporary cultural theory helped generate discussions that led to the creation of AoIR.

An international, interdisciplinary learned society for critical and scholarly Internet research, combining an annual peer-reviewed conference with publications, ethics guidance, professional development, and year-round online community infrastructure.

• Academic conference · 2000

  Annual AoIR Conference

  AoIR’s flagship peer-reviewed international conference accepts research presentations from across disciplines. Its themes reflect major debates in Internet studies, while the event provides a venue for scholarly exchange, networking, keynote lectures, and discussion of emerging methods and objects of study.

• Scholarly mailing list

  AIR-L

  AIR-L is AoIR’s long-running mailing-list community. It supports announcements, calls for papers, professional opportunities, discussion, collaboration, and the circulation of information relevant to Internet researchers. Public descriptions have reported several thousand subscribers.

• Researcher development program

  Doctoral Colloquium

  The annual doctoral colloquium gives Ph.D. students a dedicated interdisciplinary setting for presenting work, receiving feedback, and developing connections with established researchers and peers in Internet studies.

• Open-access publication

  Selected Papers of Internet Research

  Selected Papers of Internet Research, commonly known as SPIR, is an open-access collection featuring papers presented at AoIR conferences. It extends the reach of conference scholarship beyond the event itself and provides an accessible record of research in the field.

• Research guidance

  AoIR Guide on Ethical Online Research

  AoIR-supported ethics work provides recommendations for making responsible decisions when researching online spaces, communities, data, and activities. The guidance addresses the limitations of treating all publicly visible online material as ethically uncomplicated research data.

• Online community platform

  AoIR.social

  AoIR.social is a Mastodon instance hosted by the association. It provides a community-oriented social platform connected to AoIR’s broader mission of supporting communication and collaboration among Internet researchers.

• 2020

  Move the annual conference onlineStrategy

  Background

  The annual AoIR conference was listed as an online event during a period when academic organizations were shifting away from in-person gatherings.

  Action taken

  AoIR held the 2020 conference online under the theme “Life.”

  Aftermath

  The association also held its 2021 conference online, before later listed conferences returned to physical international venues.

  Source

1. 1Association of Internet Researchersen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Association of Internet Researchers official websiteaoir.org