Michael Zimmer

Current

• Assistant Professor at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Past

• Resident Fellow at Yale Information Society Project
• Graduate Assistant at NYU Fales Library
• Product Manager at Universal Payment Processing

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Education

• New York University
• New York University
• University of Notre Dame

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Connections

145 connections

Industry

Higher Education

Websites

• My Blog
• My RSS feed

Michael Zimmer’s Summary

Michael Zimmer is an assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

With a background in new media and Internet studies, the philosophy of technology, and information policy, Zimmer’s research explores the social, political, and ethical dimensions of new media and information technologies, with particular focus on Web search engines, Web 2.0 infrastructures, and how new media and Internet technologies impact global information flows, access to knowledge, and informational privacy. He has published and delivered talks across North America and Europe on the ethical implications of web search engines, Web 2.0, social networking, networked vehicle information systems, and other emerging information technologies.

Zimmer received his PhD in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University under the guidance of Profs. Helen Nissenbaum, Alex Galloway, and Siva Vaidhyanathan, and was the Microsoft Resident Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School for 2007-2008.

Zimmer earned a B.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Notre Dame in 1994 and worked for an electronic payment processing company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for several years before moving to New York City to pursue his graduate education. He earned an M.A. in Media Ecology from NYU in 2002, and his doctoral studies were supported by the Phyllis and Gerald LeBoff Doctoral Fellowship in Media Ecology from the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. His dissertation research was supported by an NSF SES Dissertation Improvement Grant.

Michael Zimmer’s Specialties:

* Ethics and Information Technology
* Information Policy
* Web Search Engines
* Web 2.0 and Library 2.0
* Privacy and Surveillance Theory
* Information and Web Literacy

Michael Zimmer’s Experience

• Assistant Professor

  University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

  (Educational Institution; 1001-5000 employees; Higher Education industry)

  July 2008 — Present (1 year 5 months)

  School of Information Studies

• Resident Fellow

  Yale Information Society Project

  (Higher Education industry)

  July 2007 — June 2008 (1 year )

• Graduate Assistant

  NYU Fales Library

  (Higher Education industry)

  2002 — 2004 (2 years )

• Product Manager

  Universal Payment Processing

  (Financial Services industry)

  August 1994 — August 2001 (7 years 1 month)

Michael Zimmer’s Education

• New York University

  Ph.D. , Culture & Communication , 2001 — 2007

  Dissertation: "The Quest for the Perfect Search Engine: Values, Technical Design, and the Flow of Personal Information in Spheres of Mobility"
  
  Investigation of how the quest for the “perfect search engine” empowers the widespread capture of personal information flows across the Internet, threatening the ability to engage in online social, cultural, and intellectual activities free from answerability and oversight, thereby bearing on the values of privacy, autonomy, and liberty.

• New York University

  M.A. , Media Ecology , 2001 — 2002

• University of Notre Dame

  B.B.A. , Marketing , 1990 — 1994

Additional Information

Michael Zimmer’s Websites:

• My Blog
• My RSS feed

Michael Zimmer’s Interests:

Academic: Social, political, and ethical dimensions of information and communication technologies New media & Internet technologies History of media technologies Media ecology & medium theory Privacy & surveillance theory Science & technology studies Value-conscious design Personal: Running Crosswords Cooking Beer & wine Golf Books

Michael Zimmer’s Groups:

Association of Internet Researchers
International Communication Association
Media Ecology Association
National Communication Association
Society for Philosophy and Technology
Society for the Social Studies of Science, OII SDP, Search Privacy, Yale Information Society Project activities

•    Computers, Freedom, and Privacy: Technology Policy '08
•    Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
•    Association of Internet Researchers
•    Smart Grid Privacy

Michael Zimmer’s Honors:

Co-Principle Investigator, National Science Foundation. Dissertation Improvement Grant: SES-0620772: Privacy on the Roads: Values, Technical Design and the Flow of Personal Information on the Transportation and Information Superhighways. September 2007: $12,000.

Phyllis and Gerald LeBoff Doctoral Fellowship in Media Ecology, Steinhardt School of Education, New York University, 2002-2005

Michael Zimmer’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• consulting offers
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch