Blog as a process tool

Finally – here we go! This is my project blog for my PhD-project at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO). I’ll use this blog to communicate what I’m learning, but mostly to document my own process. Working like this demands some self-discipline, and a blog helps me to keep track of what I’ve done, helps me reflect during the process, and it is also a tool to push myself forward and to get things done. If there's anything you'd like to know more about, or something I should hear about, please tell me.

Youth, society & social media

My PhD is part of the delTA-project (meaning “deltagelse”; taking part), a research project funded by the VERDIKT-program and the Norwegian Research Council. Key words are youth, society/social engagement, and social media. My work is divided in two;

1) Design ideas and concepts

The first one is not so different from a design consultant job. I'm working on researching, designing and developing new social media services, where young people are engaged to take part in their society. Today there exist many entertaining social media services, but few good services that promote social engagement amongst youth. I really do believe that it’s possible to create just as cool and intriguing services that benefits our society, as those created for pure entertainment cause. Why shouldn’t that be possible…? The delTA-project is a corporation between AHO, SINTEF, Opinion and the following organizations/partners, who I'll be working on ideas and concepts for: NRK P3 (The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's youth radio channel), Edda Media (media), Plan Norge (humanitarian), Kongsvinger Kommune (local government)

PICTURE: Process picture from my MA project at Bergen National Academy of the Arts, a project on school, kids and motivation for learning.

2) My PhD-dissertation

The second part of my PhD, is my own PhD-dissertation – which might end up as a book of articles and texts about themes related to youth, society and social media. The aim is that I’ll use the knowledge from the design projects with NRK P3, Kongsvinger Kommune, Edda Media and Plan Norge to reflect, discuss and create new knowledge in my PhD-dissertation.