Eszter Hargittai

Eszter Hargittai is associate professor of communication studies and research associate of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, where she heads the Web Use Project. She is also Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Princeton University, where she was a Wilson Scholar. Her B.A. is in sociology from Smith College, where she was a wannabe art major and spent much of her time in the Computer Science Department. Her academic work, among other things, looks at how differences in people’s Web-use skills relate to different types of Internet uses and online engagement. She is editor of Research Confidential, which presents a rare behind-the-scenes look at doing empirical social science research. Her hobbies include geocaching, photography (some of which she is proud to have had published), ballroom dancing, long walks, travel and sampling of good chocolate and pastries. She started Eszter’s Blog in 2002 and has also been contributing to the Crooked Timber group blog since 2003. After a relatively slow start with Twitter in 2006, she now adds comments daily.