As Social Software Residents, students become part of the lab’s intellectual and creative community. Residents are invited to events, talks, critiques, workshops, research conversations, and other opportunities. 

UCLA graduate students can become Social Software Residents by developing and publishing one contribution to SO SOFT DOCS, Social Software’s online publishing platform. Participation is open to all current UCLA graduate students. Residency begins when the DOC is published and continues through the remainder of the student’s graduate program, with no additional participation requirements. After graduation, Residents are listed as Alumni.

Residency itself is not a paid position, but Residents may also have opportunities to work with Social Software as paid researchers, collaborators, or project assistants.

About SO SOFT DOCS

SO SOFT DOCS is a space for developing and sharing ideas around social software. Together, the DOCS create an ongoing conversation across individual practices and research, connecting work happening within Social Software to conversations beyond the lab. They also create a record of the research, perspectives, and people that shape Social Software over time.

Through DOCS, we are interested in exploring a model for artistic research that is collective: individual contributions remain distinct, while building on, responding to, and creating context for one another.

Developing Your DOC

SO SOFT DOCS can take the form of an essay, conversation, review, field note, or experimental text. Topics should connect to the interests and questions of Social Software.

Start with something specific that you are genuinely curious about and want to investigate through writing. A DOC might grow from your own creative practice, an observation or problem, a technology or platform, a cultural phenomenon, or an area of research you want to explore. You do not need to have a fully formed argument before beginning.

DOCS are not intended as project write-ups or documentation. They might instead precede a project, open up a new line of inquiry, or focus on a particular question or theme within an ongoing project or body of research.

DOCS can move beyond the conventions of academic or thesis writing, taking a more personal, speculative, experimental, or practice-based approach while remaining accessible to a broader audience. Ideas should be situated within relevant contexts and conversations. Where applicable, DOCS should engage with related writing, research, artworks, or other sources and include references or a bibliography.

DOCS are typically 1,000–3,000 words, although the length and format can vary depending on the piece. Images, diagrams, links, code, and other media can be incorporated where relevant.

Process

1. Express interest. Complete the Social Software interest form. You’ll be added to the Social Software Substack mailing list for events and opportunities. There is no formal commitment at this stage.

2. Develop a SO SOFT DOC proposal. Once you have narrowed down a topic or pitch, schedule a meeting with Lauren or Casey. Together you’ll confirm the direction of the text, discuss its scope and format, and establish a proposed timeline.

3. Submit a draft. Send a complete draft to your Social Software supervisor (Lauren or Casey), who will provide editorial feedback and suggested revisions.

4. Publish and become a Resident. Once the final piece has been accepted, it will be published in SO SOFT DOCS and you will be added to the Social Software website as a Resident. 

Ownership & Publishing

Residents retain copyright in their SO SOFT DOCS contributions and ownership of any associated original creative work and research. Residents grant Social Software a non-exclusive, perpetual right to publish, archive, share, and republish their DOC, including in future Social Software publications or collections, whether distributed for free or for sale.

For all other uses, published DOCS are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, allowing others to share the work for noncommercial purposes with attribution.