Ethnography of an Interface - Self-Tracking, Quantified Self, and the Work of Digital Connections

Technologists frequently promote self-tracking devices as objective tools. This book argues that such glib and often worrying assertions must be placed in the context of precarious industry dynamics. By ethnographically exploring how tech executives navigate this business environment, the book reveals the practical ambiguity of digital knowledge.

List of contents

Preface; Introduction; 1. QS and the culture of personal data; 2. Seeing double in digital entrepreneurialism; 3. Acting like members, thinking like vendors; 4. Hustling with a passion; 5. The new normal; 6. The promises and failures of digital connections; Conclusion: community at a crossroads; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Yuliya Grinberg holds a PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology from Columbia University, New York, and specializes in digital culture. Her teaching addresses the social impact of technological innovation, automation, big data, and the future of work. Her writing has been published in top academic journals such as 'Anthropological Quarterly' as well as in popular forums including the Committee for the Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Computing (CASTAC) and the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference (EPIC) blogs.

Summary

Technologists frequently promote self-tracking devices as objective tools. This book argues that such glib and often worrying assertions must be placed in the context of precarious industry dynamics. By ethnographically exploring how tech executives navigate this business environment, the book reveals the practical ambiguity of digital knowledge.

Product details

• Authors: Yuliya Grinberg
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.05.2025
• EAN: 9781108965750
• ISBN: 978-1-108-96575-0
• No. of pages: 230
• Subjects: Guides; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > IT, data processing > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Society; Media Studies, Labour / income economics, Communication Studies, Social and cultural anthropology, Ethical & social aspects of IT, Computing and Information Technology, Organizational theory and behaviour, COMPUTERS / Social Aspects, Research methods: general