Data ethnographies (III) : humbling data in a playful world

This third Data Ethnographies position paper explores data through concepts of play and playfulness. Our discussion is situated in the context of what scholars in this field have identified as an emergent ‘ludic turn’ in our media and cultural practices; a mode of playful interaction and engagement that imbues everyday digital materialities. We are particularly concerned with both creating empirical and theoretical entry points for investigating data and play ethnographically, and with the implications of such an approach for how we understand the way data is part of everyday experience and configurations of power.