James Katz
Feld Professor of Emerging Media; Director, Division of Emerging Media Studies at Boston University
Schools
- Boston University
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Biography
Boston University
James E. Katz, PhD, is the Feld Professor of Emerging Media at Boston University’s College of Communication. In addition, he directs its Division of Emerging Media Studies. The Division addresses the process of how new media technologies are created and introduced to users, the effects they have on users, and how technologies and the content they produce are molded, co-constructed and re-constructed by users.
Dr. Katz joins BU from Rutgers University where he held the title of Board of Governors Professor of Communication, the highest honor the University can bestow on a member of its faculty. During his time at Rutgers, Katz served two terms as chair of the Department of Communication and also directed the Center for Mobile Communication Studies, which he founded in 2004. Earlier in his career, Dr. Katz headed the social science research unit at Bell Communications Research, which also honored him with the title of Distinguished Member of Staff.
Dr. Katz has devoted his career to analyzing the uses and social consequences of emerging communication technologies, especially the Internet and telephone. He explores how they affect social interaction and what their uses reveal about human nature and organizations and was among the first to demonstrate their pro-social uses. He also seeks to understand what the future holds in terms of society and communication technologies and works with others to explore ways in which society can best prepare itself to make the optimal use of new developments.
Katz has published widely. Among his books are Magic in the Air: Mobile Communication and the Transformation of Social Life, Social Consequences of Internet Use: Access, Involvement, Expression (with Ronald E. Rice) and Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies. He is author or co-author of more than 70 peer-reviewed articles. His works have been translated into seven languages.
Dr. Katz has won many awards for his scholarship, including the 2011 Ogburn career achievement award from the American Sociological Association and the 2009 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Twentieth Century Communications History. He received from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano the Medalion per il Lectio Magistralis, a most esteemed honor in the European academic tradition. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement Science (AAAS), one of America’s most important scientific societies, has served as editor of Human Communication Research, a top-ranked journal in the field and has been awarded fellowships at Harvard, Princeton and MIT. In 2012, he completed a term as the chair of the International Communication Association’s Division on Communication and Technology. He holds two US patents, one of which has been patented internationally.
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Cases
Candidates use social media to Link to voters
July 19, 2015
Boston Herald James Katz, College of Communication LinkedIn may not have the youthful shine of Facebook and Twitter, but it could help make presidential hopefuls more accessible and serve as a pathway to the white male voter base, analysts say… Expert quote: “It’s good whenever you can make something easier even just by eliminating an […]
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Google axes the sale of Google Glass, for now
January 16, 2015
Christian Science Monitor James Katz, College of Communication Google announced it would halt sales of its wearable Google Glass headset… View full article quoting expert James Katz
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How the Camera Doomed Google Glass
January 15, 2015
The Atlantic James Katz, College of Communication Since its debut in 2012, Google Glass always faced a strong headwind. Even on celebrities it looked, well, dorky… Expert quote: “I found that it was not very useful for very much, and it tended to disturb people around me that I have this thing.” View full article
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A Social Media President?
December 22, 2014
PBS “The Open Mind” James Katz, College of Communication View video of expert James Katz
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Google Glass To Get New Life With Intel Chip [Report]
December 1, 2014
WebProNews James Katz, College of Communication Last week, the Blogosphere had essentially written the epitaph for Google Glass, but a new report indicates that Google is just getting started with the device… Expert quote: “I found that it was not very useful for very much, and it tended to disturb people around me that I […]
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Google Glass Is Dead; Long Live Smart Glasses
November 26, 2014
Technology Review James Katz, College of Communication Two and a half years after Google cofounder Sergey Brin unveiled Google Glass with a group of skydivers jumping from a zeppelin above San Francisco, the computer you wear on your face is falling to its death… Expert quote: “I found that it was not very useful for very […]
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Do national parks need Wi-Fi to stay relevant?
November 4, 2014
Mashable James Katz, College of Communication If a teenager takes a selfie in a national park and no one sees it, did it really happen? Yellowstone National Park is known for its beautiful natural landscapes and wildlife, but that may not be enough to carry it — and other parks — through the next century… Expert […]
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Yellowstone park considers bumping up bandwidth
November 3, 2014
Associated Press James Katz, College of Communication Can Old Faithful compete with Netflix? The prospect of streaming wireless service deep inside Yellowstone National Park is re-igniting the debate over whether there should be any place off limits to technology… Expert quote: “It was quite fascinating to see a naturally-occurring experiment about what happens when you […]
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Facebook is threat to marriage, study says
July 8, 2014
Houston Chronicle James Katz, College of Communication Love and marriage may go together but so do Facebook and divorce, that’s according to a study based on Texas couples… Expert quote: “The apparent association between the use of Facebook and other social networking sites and divorce and marital unhappiness in the United States raises troubling questions […]
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Is Facebook causing divorces?
July 8, 2014
Wall Street Journal Live (subscription required) James Katz, College of Communication View video of expert James Katz
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