John Paolillo

John Paolillo

Associate Professor, SLIS and Informatics

I am an associate professor with a joint position in the School of Library and Information Science and the School of Informatics (where I am a member of the Complex Systems research group), here at Indiana University. I also am an adjunct associate professor of Linguistics. My disciplinary background is in sociolinguistics. Much of my research focuses on computer-mediated communication (CMC), its social context, and its relation to language. I am most interested in socially meaningful generalizations that may be obtained through observation of exchanges and uses of information in large-scale ecologies. Hence, much of my research employs quantitative methods. For more detailed information on my various research projects, please see my Research pages.

Research Interests

I have rather broad research interests, and have conducted research in several fields using a range of methodologies. Nonetheless, there is a general coherence in my resarch around certain general themes. Most of my research focuses on social aspects of the use of the Internet as a site of contact among people of varying backgrounds, with the intent of understanding how the technical systems of the Internet are coupled with contemporary social dynamics. This research has several manifestations, described below, and on various linked pages on this site.

  • Social Network Analysis of Computer-Mediated Communication
  • Internet Multilingualism and Language Diversity
  • Emergent Semantics
  • Social Dynamics of New Media
  • Probabilistic, Formal and Quantitative Models of Language

For a complete listing of my publications and teaching, view my website here.