The International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM) is a forum for researchers from multiple disciplines to come together to share knowledge, discuss ideas, exchange information, and learn about cutting-edge research in diverse fields with the common theme of online social media. This overall theme includes research in new perspectives in social theories, as well as computational algorithms for analyzing social media. ICWSM is a singularly fitting venue for research that blends social science and computational approaches to answer important and challenging questions about human social behavior through social media while advancing computational tools for vast and unstructured data.


ICWSM, now in its seventeenth year, has become one of the premier venues for computational social science, and previous years of ICWSM have featured papers, posters, and demos that draw upon network science, machine learning, computational linguistics, sociology, communication, and political science. The uniqueness of the venue and the quality of submissions have contributed to a rapidly growing conference, and a competitive acceptance rate of approximately 20% for full-length research papers published in the proceedings by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI).


ICWSM-2023 will be held from June 5th – 8th at the St. Raphael Resort and Marina in Limassol, Cyprus.



Disciplines

Computational approaches to social media research including:
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Text / Data Mining
  • Machine Learning
  • Image / Multimedia Processing
  • Graphics and Visualization
  • Distributed Computing
  • Graph Theory and Network Science
  • Human-computer Interaction
Social science approaches to social media research including:
  • Psychology
  • Sociology and social network analysis
  • Communication
  • Political Science
  • Economics
  • Anthropology
  • Media Studies and Journalism
  • Digital Humanities
  • Interdisciplinary approaches to social media research combining computational algorithms and social science methodologies

Topics Include (But Are Not Limited To)

  • Studies of digital humanities (culture, history, arts) using social media
  • Psychological, personality-based and ethnographic studies of social media
  • Analysis of the relationship between social media and mainstream media
  • Qualitative and quantitative studies of social media
  • Centrality/influence of social media publications and authors
  • Ranking/relevance of social media content and users
  • Credibility of online content
  • Social network analysis; communities identification; expertise and authority discovery
  • Trust; reputation; recommendation systems
  • Human computer interaction; social media tools; navigation and visualization
  • Subjectivity in textual data; sentiment analysis; polarity/opinion identification and extraction, linguistic analyses of social media behavior
  • Text categorization; topic recognition; demographic/gender/age identification
  • Trend identification and tracking; time series forecasting
  • Measuring predictability of real world phenomena based on social media, e.g., spanning politics, finance, and health
  • New social media applications; interfaces; interaction techniques
  • Engagement, motivations, incentives, and gamification.
  • Social innovation and effecting change through social media
  • Social media usage on mobile devices; location, human mobility, and behavior
  • Organizational and group behavior mediated by social media; interpersonal communication mediated by social media

Example Data Sources (Web and Social Media)

  • Social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn)
  • Microblogs (e.g., Twitter, Tumblr)
  • Wiki-based knowledge sharing sites (e.g., Wikipedia)
  • Social news sites and websites of news media (e.g., Huffington Post)
  • Forums, mailing lists, newsgroups
  • Community media sites (e.g., YouTube, Flickr, Instagram)
  • Social Q&A sites (e.g., Quora, Yahoo Answers)
  • User reviews (e.g., Yelp, Amazon.com)
  • Social curation sites (e.g., Reddit, Pinterest)
  • Location-based social networks (e.g., Foursquare)

ICWSM-2023 Keynotes new

...
The Shortcut - Why Intelligent Machines do not Think Like Us
by Nello Cristianini

Abstract: The key to address our social anxieties in the face of Intelligent Machines is understanding how they “think”, what we can expect of them, and what can be the consequences of the specific type of intelligence that they exhibit, and the specific position we have chosen for them in our global data infrastructure, particularly web and social media. In order to do that, we will examine the fundamental steps that took us to the present form of AI, in particular the idea of the Shortcut. This will allow us to consider what we can expect from modern AI, and how we can manage our relation with it. (This talk will be based on the book “The Shortcut” by Nello Cristianini).

Bio: Nello Cristianini is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bath, and a researcher in many areas of Artificial Intelligence, including machine learning theory, natural language processing, social implications of AI, philosophical foundations of AI, computational social science. He is the author of “The Shortcut” published by CRC Press (2023).

...
Digital Inequality During COVID-19 Lockdowns
by Eszter Hargittai

Abstract: Rarely is access to information as important as during a global health crisis. During the initial COVID-19 lockdowns, at a time when information could mean the difference between life and death, information inequalities were of paramount significance. Drawing on national survey data collected in the early days of the pandemic in three countries (US, Italy, Switzerland), this talk shares how people’s digital privilege related to their knowledge and misconceptions about the virus with consequences for whether they stayed safe during lockdowns.

Bio: Eszter Hargittai is Professor and holds the Chair of Internet Use and Society at the Institute of Communication and Media Research of the University of Zurich. She is Fellow of the International Communication Association and an External Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Hargittai's research looks at how people may benefit from or be left behind as a result of their varied digital media skills and uses. Her work has received awards from several professional associations. Her latest book is Connected in Isolation: Digital Privilege in Unsettled Times published by The MIT Press in 2022.

...
Research on Wikipedia Reading and Writing: a Random Walk Adamic-Glance Plenary Talk
by Robert West

Bio: Robert West is a tenure-track assistant professor of computer science at EPFL (the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne), where he heads the Data Science Lab (dlab). His research aims to make sense of large amounts of data by developing and applying algorithms and techniques in natural language processing, machine learning, and computational social science. Typically, the data he works with is generated by humans (e.g., natural language or behavioral traces), and frequently it is collected on the Web (e.g., using wikis, online news, social media, server logs, online games). Bob received his PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University (2016), his MSc from McGill University (2010), and his undergraduate degree from Technische Universität München (2007). He is a Wikimedia Foundation Research Fellow, an Associate Editor of ICWSM and EPJ Data Science, and a co-founder of the Wiki Workshop and the Applied Machine Learning Days. His work has won several awards, including best/outstanding paper awards at ICWSM’21, ICWSM’19, and WWW’13, a Google Faculty Research Award, a Facebook Research Award, and the ICWSM’22 Adamic–Glance Distinguished Young Researcher Award.

...
Stay tuned

More coming soon...

Attending ICWSM-2023 new


The 17th International Conference on Web & Social Media will be hosted at the St. Raphael Resort and Marina in Limassol, Cyprus, from June 5th to June 8th, 2023. Please reserve before May 6, 2023.


St. Raphael Resort & Marina
Amathus Avenue 502
4534 Pyrgos, Limassol, CYPRUS


Click on the link below to book your reservation at the conference special rate:
https://book.straphael.com/?checkin=2023-06-01&rooms=1&nights=3&adults=2&bkcode=ICWSM


Please note that all guestrooms are non-smoking and the group rate is on a bed and breakfast basis. For any other requests or inquiries, please enter this information within the appropriate request boxes during the reservation process or call or email the hotel directly at +357 25 834 200 - reservations@straphael.com


For those attendees driving to the hotel, free parking is available.


For more information about the venue, transportation, and conference logistics, click here.


ICWSM Code of Conduct


All persons, organizations and entities that attend AAAI conferences and events are subject to the standards of conduct set forth on the AAAI Code of Conduct for Events and Conferences. AAAI expects all community members to formally endorse this code of conduct, and to actively prevent and discourage any undesired behaviors. Everyone should feel empowered to politely engage when they or others are disrespected, and to raise awareness and understanding of this code of conduct. AAAI event participants asked to stop their unacceptable behavior are expected to comply immediately. Sponsors are also subject to this code of conduct in their participation in AAAI events.


Additionally, participants are encouraged to be courteous when sharing screen captures and photographs of conference events. Seek permission when possible and respect requests to take down images if those featured ask. Concerns around code of conduct or inclusion may be sent to icwsm23@aaai.org. If you have any concerns or items to report, please reach out to the General Chair, Jahna Otterbacher.

Registration new


ICWSM-23 Registration


We are excited to welcome everyone back to a fully in-person ICWSM this year! It is extremely important to the health and sustainability of our community that we “get back to normal” and resume our annual face-to-face meeting, strengthening our ICWSM community both scientifically and socially. For this reason, all accepted papers to the technical program must be presented by one of its authors in person at the conference.

Workshops and Tutorials held in-person will also be streamed virtually. Workshops and Tutorials that are virtual-only will not be available in-person and must be attended virtually. Please contact the respective organizers for any further information.

In addition, we will be offering a limited virtual experience via Zoom exclusively for participants from developing countries (please see the list of eligible countries here). Participants will be able to follow the ICWSM Technical Program, with the ability to interact via the Zoom chat. Please complete our application form should you wish to apply for complementary virtual participation.


ICWSM-23 Registration Fees

Early Registration Deadline: May 5 passed

Standard Registration - Technical Program
  • $625 now $725 AAAI Member
  • $360 now $410 AAAI Student Member
  • $735 now $835 Non-member
  • $420 now $500 Non-member Student

Silver Registration - Technical Program
Includes discounted conference registration, plus a one-year online new or renewed membership in AAAI.
  • $724 now $824 Silver Regular
  • $409 now $459 Silver Student


Workshop / Tutorials

ICWSM-23 workshops and tutorials will be held on Monday, June 5th, just prior to the technical conference. Please also note that some sessions may only be offered virtually. Technical registrants may sign up for any combination of workshops and/or tutorials on June 5th as part of their technical registration. For those wishing to attend only the Workshop/Tutorial Day, a Workshop/Tutorial Day Only registration is offered. PARTICIPANTS SHOULD NOT SIGN UP FOR CONCURRENT EVENTS, so please consult the schedule carefully before making your selections.

In-Person and Virtual Workshop/Tutorial Day Only:
  • $75 Regular
  • $50 Student

Registration / Proof of Student Status

Students will be required to submit proof of student status during the registration process.

Refund Requests

The deadline for refund requests is May 17, 2023. All refund requests must be made in writing to AAAI at icwsm23@aaai.org. A $100 processing fee will be assessed for all refunds.


Visa Information

During the registration process, you will be able to request a visa letter. The letter will be automatically generated and available to you along with the registration confirmation.

Workshops Schedule

Tutorials Schedule


Prevalence Estimation in Social Media Using Black Box Classifiers


Abstract: Many problems in computational social science require estimating the proportion of items with a particular property. This counting task is called prevalence estimation or quantification. Frequently, researchers have a pre-trained classifier available to them. However, it is usually not safe to simply apply the classifier to all items and count the predictions of each class, because the test dataset may differ in important ways from the dataset on which the classifier was trained, a phenomenon called distribution shift. In addition, a second type of distribution shift may occur when one wishes to compare the prevalence between multiple datasets, such as tracking changes over time. To cope with that, some assumptions need to be made about the nature of possible distribution shifts across datasets, a process that we call extrapolation.


This tutorial will introduce an end-to-end framework for prevalence estimation using black box (pre-trained) classifiers, with a focus on social media datasets. The framework consists of a calibration phase and an extrapolation phase, aiming to address the two types of distribution shifts described above. We will provide hands-on exercises that walk the participants through solving a real world problem of quantifying positive tweets in datasets from two separate time periods. All datasets, pre-trained models, and example codes will be provided in a Jupyter notebook. After attending this tutorial, participants will be able to understand the basics of the prevalence estimation problem in social media, and construct a data analysis pipeline to conduct prevalence estimation for their projects.


Organizers: Siqi Wu, and Paul Resnick


Computational Approaches to Studying Anti-Social Behaviour in Social Media


Abstract: In less than a generation, social media has moved into the center of modern life. It has altered many aspects of our daily lives, from how we form and maintain social relationships to how we discover, access and share information online. However, the same platforms have also given way to troublesome anti-social behaviours such as online trolling, cyberbullying, and expressions of hate speech. In some online communities, what is commonly referred to as ‘anti-social’ may be a communal norm and a way to socialize. However, that is not the case in most online communities where such behaviour may negatively affect the overall group cohesion and may have psychological and emotional consequences for individual social media users.


This tutorial will demonstrate how to use automated content analysis to detect and study anti-social behaviours in social media. The session will introduce and discuss advantages and disadvantages of two common approaches often used to detect instances of ‘anti-social’ behaviour in online discourse: lexicon-based and machine learning approaches. As part of the hands-on part, the tutorial will introduce Communalytic, a new online research tool for studying online communities. The participants will then use Communalytic to analyze a sample dataset using a toxicity analysis.


Organizers: Anatoliy Gruzd, and Philip Mai


Collecting and Sharing Twitter Data for Academic Research: A hands-on tutorial using twarc2 and the Social Media Archive at ICPSR (SOMAR)


Abstract: This hands-on tutorial will walk participants through the data lifecycle of a social media data research project. Participants will learn how to collect data from Twitter using the twarc2 command line tool, how to share Twitter data using the Social Media Archive at ICPSR, and how to “hydrate” Twitter data shared by other researchers. After completing this tutorial, participants will be able to collect or reuse social media data in their own projects and share that data with others to verify, reproduce, and extend their work.


Organizers: Anmol Panda, Marley Kalt, and Libby Hemphill


A hitchhiker’s guide to user-centric browsing data Cancelled


Abstract: Digital traces come in two rather different forms, depending on whether they are venue-centric or user-centric. Venue-centric data consists of everything users did on a given site or platform in a given context (e.g. all ‘stop the steal’ tweets published on Twitter over a certain period). User-centric data consists of everything a certain population of users did in a given context (e.g. monitoring data from wearable devices for a set of people who agreed to share their data for a specific research). Venue-centric data typically is massive, anonymous and full of blind spots, when user-centric data typically is more scarce but richer in external knowledge about people involved (social demographics but also possibly complementary survey data) and more thorough (because they are not limited to what people did on a specific platform). The aim of the present tutorial is to introduce researchers to opportunities and challenges associated with using user-centric data for research on web behavior, showing focusing on a specific kind of such data, namely browsing trace data collected via passive metering devices installed on personal mobile and laptops supplemented with extra survey data. We aim at presenting both methods (starting from data cleaning and preprocessing to data analysis and statistical modeling) and potential research questions (in terms of broad social science interests) that are specially relevant to user-centric browsing data.


Organizers: Denis Bonnay, and Juhi Kulshrestha


Data Challenge


ICWSM-2023 is hosting the fourth ICWSM data challenge with the goal of bringing together researchers to analyze and understand emerging societal issues. The data challenge is a space where researchers can exchange ideas, discuss ongoing work, and foster collaboration, grounded on open data. This year’s data challenge theme is Dynamics of social data: Temporal characteristic of social tasks.


Visit the ICWSM-2023 Data Challenge Website for more details.


Important Dates

  • Data Challenge opens: Feb 15th, 2023
  • Paper Submission Deadline: April 1, 2023 (AoE)
  • Data Challenge notification: May 1, 2023
  • ICWSM Data Challenge Full-day Workshop: June 5, 2023

Abeer Aldayel, Debora Nozza, and Steve Wilson
(ICWSM-2023 Data Challenge Chairs | data.challenge@icwsm.org )


Scholarships & Grants new


ICWSM Scholarships

We are pleased to announce the availability of a number of scholarships to help support student attendance at ICWSM-23. These scholarships are made possible through the engagement with, and kind contribution of, AAAI and our company sponsors.


Student Travel Grant

The student travel grant assists student participants both with travel to Limassol, Cyprus, as well as with conference expenses (such as housing, local transportation to/from the airport, conference registration, etc.). Please note that it intends to subsidize student participation in ICWSM-23, but does not intend to cover all travel and conference expenses. The final amount will vary depending on the cost of the travel, the available funds, and the number and type of applicants. The eligibility of this travel grant includes both active student program enrollment and physical presence at ICWSM-23 or any of the associated workshops.


ICWSM 2023 Student Travel Grant application form (Deadline: March 31): https://aaaiforms.wufoo.com/forms/z1bx9chk0gyonyf/


Virtual Grant for Underrepresented Groups

The virtual grant provides complimentary conference registration for virtual participants who are from underrepresented groups and/or regions. Please find the AAAI list of developing countries here: https://aaai.org/membership/developing-country-list/

Note that this virtual grant is not limited to students, it is open to anyone from underrepresented groups (e.g., women, persons with disabilities, etc.) and/or regions (e.g., African countries). There are no conditions for accepting this grant. We only ask that you attend the event and enjoy the sessions. We would, of course, also be happy if you decide to join our ICWSM and Computational Social Science community.


Virtual Participation application form (Deadline: March 31): https://aaaiforms.wufoo.com/forms/z8zi0t912hoc62/


ICWSM Awards


ICWSM Adamic-Glance Distinguished Young Researcher Award

This annual award is presented to a young researcher who has distinguished themself through innovative research in the area of social computing/computational social science in the early stage of their independent research career. The award is named after Lada Adamic and Natalie Glance, two outstanding researchers who have made significant contributions to the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM) in particular and social computing/computational social science in general. The ICWSM research community at large has greatly impacted this field, through identifying the connections between online digital behaviors and critical societal questions and issues. From misinformation and fake news to how we can use social media and social networks to gain insight into political polarization, mental health, and social movements, the range of topics addressed by the community is continuously expanding. We want to recognize and celebrate the young researchers who are making these contributions today.


The award was established in 2021, at the 15th anniversary mark of the AAAI ICWSM conference. Prior winners of the award are Dr. Tanu Mitra (2021) and Dr. Robert West (2022).


Nomination Process and Eligibility

Self-nominations, nominations, and letters of support are elicited. ICWSM strongly encourages individuals from underrepresented groups in research (based on gender identity, race, ethnicity, geographical location, etc.) to self-nominate, and urges the wide community to nominate young researchers who have distinguished themselves for their creativity and rigor in identifying and addressing important research topics of societal impact. Nominations are open from February 1st to March 1st 2023. Use this Google Form for submission.


Eligibility Criteria

The award is open to individuals who:


  1. Have received their PhD within the past 7 years. Career interruptions and other special circumstances will be considered and should be mentioned in the nomination justification document.
  2. Perform research that is recognizably within the broad field of social computing/computational social science in terms of their thematic and methodological approaches.
  3. Have published their research in the top venues for social computing or computational social science, including active participation in ICWSM.

As long as a candidate is eligible based on the three criteria above, they will be considered even if they were nominated or self-nominated in prior years.


Selection Process

The selection committee consists of three to five members and is appointed by the AAAI ICWSM Steering Committee Chair. The committee solicits self-nominations, nominations, and letters of support from the social computing/computational social science community. The selection is based on the impact of the candidate's work in the field: in identifying significant new problems, creating promising new ideas, paradigms, and tools related to data-driven understanding of human behavior, which may be quantitative or qualitative in nature. Depth and impact are valued over breadth of contribution for this award. A strong regard for considering the ethical aspects of the data/methods used in social computing/computational social science is expected of the research record of the nominees.


The nomination form asks the following questions:


  1. Nominator’s information (name, affiliation, email, a link to their webpage).
  2. Nominee’s information (name, affiliation, email, year of PhD, a link to their webpage that contains additional information, for example their CV/resume).
  3. A one-page statement explaining why the nominee deserves the award in question, especially highlighting the novelty and strength of their contributions in the area of computational social science / social computing, and providing evidence of their academic and societal impact. A second page can be included to contain information about career interruption or any special considerations.
  4. Citations for up to three representative publications and/or links to other artefacts documenting the contribution or impact.

Note for letters of support: The form makes it easy to submit letters of support from people other than the nominators or self-nominators. Such individuals will not need to complete the details of the nomination, they will simply upload their letter.


Form accessibility: The nomination form requires Google authentication. If for any reason this is a problem for the nominator, please send the nomination materials via email to: adamic-glance-award@icwsm.org.


Conflict of interest: The awards committee takes conflict of interest seriously. If an nominated individual is a former or current collaborator of one or more of the committee members, such member(s) recuse themselves from evaluating and voting on these nominations.


2023 Awards Committee

  • Brooke Foucault Welles (Northeastern University)
  • Bernie Hogan (University of Oxford)
  • Eni Mustafaraj (Wellesley College)
  • Jason R.C. Nurse (University of Kent)
  • Tanu Mitra (University of Washington)

Award recipients will be joining the award selection committee within two years of their award win, to replace members who rotate off the committee.

Contact the committee: adamic-glance-award@icwsm.org


Award Ceremony

The award will be presented annually during the AAAI ICWSM conference. The awardee will be given the opportunity to give a plenary talk at the next year conference and announce the new recipient. Each recipient will be listed with a citation for their award on the ICWSM Adamic-Glance Distinguished Young Researcher Award web page. Financial support for attending the conference will be provided.