Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Digital Methods Initiative

4CAT @4cat.nl · Jul 18

🐈‍⬛ 4CAT 1.50 is here! 🐈‍⬛

This release brings under-the-hood improvements, a faster web interface, new processors, better LLM analyses, improved annotations, and lots of bugfixes.

🔗 Full changelog: github.com/digitalmetho...

🔗 How to upgrade: github.com/digitalmetho...

Releases · digitalmethodsinitiative/4cat

The 4CAT Capture and Analysis Toolkit provides modular data capture & analysis for a variety of social media platforms. - digitalmethodsinitiative/4cat

github.com

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Digital Methods Initiative @digitalmethods.net · Jul 2

Tommaso Venturini and Richard Rogers presenting their new book "Digital Methods: A Short Introduction" during the (warm!) DMI summer school 2025 #dmi25

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4CAT @4cat.nl · Jun 4

🔔New 4CAT version: 1.49🔔

🔎 Explorer revamp: Investigate datasets through an interface that mimics the original data source. Sort your data, make manual field notes, or add processor-made annotations.
🧰 Data source updates
🦜 Zeeschuimer import fixes

Full changelog: github.com/digitalmetho...

github.com

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Digital Methods Initiative @digitalmethods.net · May 15

🗞️ A great deep dive in Dutch newspaper @nrc.nl, in which Elon Musk's tweets over the past few months are analysed after capturing them with our tool Zeeschuimer (tools.digitalmethods.net/zeeschuimer/)!

www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

Dertienduizend tweets in 120 dagen. Wat zegt het extreme twittergedrag van Musk over Amerika’s schaduwpresident?

Musk op X: NRC analyseerde de vele duizenden tweets die de techmiljardair plaatste sinds hij begin dit jaar aantrad als informeel Trump-adviseur. Wat vertelt zijn eigen X-tijdlijn over Elon Musks poli...

www.nrc.nl

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jonathan w. y. gray @jwyg.bsky.social · Mar 20

new database of 200+ social media research tools (via Coalition for Independent Technology Research) airtable.com/apphRmVsFpqb...
#digitalmethods #internetstudies #opensource @digitalmethods.net

Airtable | Everyone's app platform

Airtable is a low-code platform for building collaborative apps. Customize your workflow, collaborate, and achieve ambitious outcomes. Get started for free.

airtable.com

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Digital Methods Initiative @digitalmethods.net · Mar 19

🔍Introducing Zoekplaatje: a Firefox extension that scrapes search engine data 🔍

Currently supported: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Baidu, Marginalia, Najdi & Seznam.

It also collects ✨widget data✨ from Google and Bing, like 'People also ask' and AI summaries!

👉 github.com/digitalmetho...

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Sara Hill @sara-hill.bsky.social · Mar 11

Testing my data collection work flow with tools from @digitalmethods.net and I am blown away.

What incredible gifts to have put into the world - thank you!

#AcademicSky
#PhDlife

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Benjamin Ooghe-Tabanou @boogheta.bsky.social · Mar 6

2 nouveaux logiciels de nos partenaires ajoutés au catalogue d'outils du @medialab-scpo.bsky.social :
- Panoptic par le CERES pour travailler sur de gros corpus d'images
- Zeeschuimer par @digitalmethods.net pour scraper des réseaux sociaux récalcitrants

Essayez-les !
medialab.sciencespo.fr/outils/

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Digital Methods Initiative @digitalmethods.net · Feb 20

🦜 New Zeeschuimer release 🦜

📌📕 New modules for Pinterest and RedNote/Xiaohongshu!

Capture data from these platforms directly with Zeeschuimer—and export them to the newest version of 4CAT (also out now) for further analysis.

github.com/digitalmetho...

Updates automatically if installed already!

Release v1.12.1 Pinterest fixes · digitalmethodsinitiative/zeeschuimer

This public release of Zeeschuimer incorporates the following updates and fixes: Enable capture on Pinterest subdomains (e.g. https://nl.pinterest.com) Full Changelog: v1.12.0...v1.12.1

github.com

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4CAT @4cat.nl · Feb 19

🔔 We just released a new 4CAT version, v1.47!

Some highlights:
📥 Data capture from Bluesky, Pinterest and RedNote/Xiaohongshu
🤖 Prompt-based coding and annotation of data via the OpenAI API
🛠️ New & updated data fields for datasets from TikTok, Instagram, & co

Read more: github.com/digitalmetho...

Releases · digitalmethodsinitiative/4cat

The 4CAT Capture and Analysis Toolkit provides modular data capture & analysis for a variety of social media platforms. - digitalmethodsinitiative/4cat

github.com

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Liliana Bounegru @lboungr.bsky.social · Feb 11

🔍 How can creative coding techniques like soundscaping and video recomposition help us unpack political issues + influencer practices on TikTok? 🎵📹

📖 Insights from explorations w/ @publicdatalab.bsky.social around the 2024 Romanian elections at @digitalmethods.net winter school:

The great Romanian election TikTok replay – Public Data Lab

In December 2024, the European Commission launched an investigation following “serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections using TikTok.” The elections…

buff.ly

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Bernhard Rieder @riederb.bsky.social · Feb 5

Postdoctoral Researcher in OSINT & Information Disorder at Amsterdam University werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

Vacancy — Postdoctoral Researcher in OSINT & Information Disorder

Do you want to join the European Union-funded project Social Media for Democracy (SoMe4Dem) focusing on the role of social media in democracy? Then this position is for you!

werkenbij.uva.nl

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King's Arts & Humanities @kingsartshums.bsky.social · Jan 16

🇧🇷 What is the current state of #digital methods for Internet research in #Brazil?

Join @digitalculturekcl.bsky.social roundtable on 31 Jan to hear from @jannajoceliomena.bsky.social, Alan Angeluci, Elias Bitencourt, Giulia Tucci, Richard Rogers and Thais Lobo 🔽

www.kcl.ac.uk/events/digit...

Digital Methods in Brazil – Fostering Dialogue and Connection

This roundtable fosters dialogue about the current state of digital methods for Internet research in Brazil.

www.kcl.ac.uk

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jonathan w. y. gray @jwyg.bsky.social · Jan 15

✨call for papers✨ @aoir.bsky.social symposium "From Platform Governance to Generative AI: Concepts, Methods, and Data for Studying Tech Governance" with @pgmt.bsky.social @zemki.bsky.social @ckatzenbach.bsky.social Daria Dergacheva @redeker.bsky.social: platform-governance.org/aoir-flashpo...

AoIR Flashpoint Symposium 2025 – Lab Platform Governance, Media and Technology (PGMT)

platform-governance.org

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ECHOlab @echodtu.bsky.social · Jan 10

This week part of the team ventured out to participate in the #dmi25 winter school with the title "Chatbots and LLMs for Internet Research?"

Building on our #datavisualisation and #exhibitiondesign for grounding-ai.github.io, we hosted the project "Who's my host?" exploring personas across LLMs.

Poster submission for the data sprint project "who's my host"

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Alexis Perrier @alexisperrier.bsky.social · Jan 9

Big day today
In roughly 24h, we submit our poster for the sociology benchwork with LLMs workshop

#DMI25 #Amsterdam #LLMs #Sociology

Room full of people working on laptops in a beautiful medieval room

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Daniël de Zeeuw @ddzeeuw.bsky.social · Jan 7

#dmi starting 2025 with Digital methods winter school! Doing a project on Femcel culture on Pinterest with Idil Galip

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jonathan w. y. gray @jwyg.bsky.social · Jan 6

"Chatbots and LLMs for Internet Research?" - opening of
@digitalmethods.net #dmi25 at University of Amsterdam ✨🧵https://www.digitalmethods.net/

Richard Rogers opening Digital Methods Winter School 2025 - with image of "shrimp Jesus".

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Public Data Lab @publicdatalab.bsky.social · Dec 5

The @digitalmethods.net Winter School in Amsterdam will take place on 6-10th January 2025 with the theme “Chatbots and LLMs for Internet Research?”. Apply by 9th December. 📝✨ publicdatalab.org/2024/11/29/d... #digitalmethods

Chatbots and LLMs for Internet Research? Digital Methods Winter School and Data Sprint 2025 – Public Data Lab

The annual Digital Methods Winter School in Amsterdam will take place on 6-10th January 2025 with the theme “Chatbots and LLMs for Internet Research?”. The deadline for applications is 9 December 2024...

publicdatalab.org

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Centre for Digital Culture @digitalculturekcl.bsky.social · Dec 3

welcome to kingscat 🐱 a new @4cat.nl instance to support collaborative social media research at King's 🎊✨
www.kcl.ac.uk/news/gather-...
created by @digitalmethods.net @oilab.bsky.social
hosted by @kingsdh.bsky.social @digitalculturekcl.bsky.social
@kingsartshums.bsky.social
#opensource #socialmedia

'Gather, explore, collaborate' – new toolkit to enrich digital culture…

KingsCAT is a cross-faculty initiative coordinated by the Digital Future Institute’s Centre for Digital Culture and the Department of Digital Humanities in collaboration with e-Research and…

www.kcl.ac.uk

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Digital Methods Initiative @digitalmethods.net · Nov 29

🦜 New Zeeschuimer release: v1.11.1 Douyin maintenance 🦜

The Douyin module now properly collects data from Search, modal dialogs, and video pages.

Zeeschuimer should update automatically.

github.com/digitalmetho...

Release v1.11.1 Douyin maintenance · digitalmethodsinitiative/zeeschuimer

This public release of Zeeschuimer incorporates the following updates and fixes: Update Douyin module to properly collect data from Search, modal dialogs, and video pages. Full Changelog: v1.11.1...

github.com

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Digital Methods Initiative @digitalmethods.net · Nov 29

This extensive website on computational social science by Michael Achmann-Denkler provides 4CAT and Zeeschuimer tutorials alongside other great tips & tricks.

Check it out 👇
social-media-lab.net

Notes on Computational Social Media Research – Social Media Lab

Notes on computational social media analysis

social-media-lab.net

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Bernhard Rieder @riederb.bsky.social · Nov 28

the "Spotify artist network" tool is no longer working, since Spotify has restricted access to the "related artists" API endpoint (without warning, lots of unhappy devs); I am trying to get access again, but I'm not very optimistic

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Esther Weltevrede @esthrr.bsky.social · Nov 25

New platform, new paper! Talking about ideal first posts :) The platformization of the follower factory with my co-author Johan Lindquist: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

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nessakeddo.bsky.social @nessakeddo.bsky.social · Nov 21

Fascinating workshop with @4cat.nl walking us through their social media capture and analysis tool, talking through capabilities and possibilities!

@kingsdh.bsky.social

Screenshot from the workshop titled “how does TikTok organise its data”, with the subheadings “for you page”, “user”, “hashtag”, “keyword search” and “sound”

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