Digitally medieval

I’ve spent the last two days at the 5th annual Discover Academic Research, Training, and Support (DARTS) conference in Devon, England, where I was invited to speak about my PhD research into online reputation. The conference, with a focus on engendering a (digital) research culture, was held at Dartington Hall, a medieval manor house that was built between 1388-1400.

So yeah, I’ve spent the last two days at a conference about digital research, talking about social media and online social networking site use. And I’ve spent those days in and around buildings that were built long before electric lights or telephones, let alone the Internet and mobile technology!

I sat in my timbered-and-stone-walled bedroom where I reviewed my PowerPoint slides on my laptop whilst looking out over the medieval courtyard.

I gave a presentation in the old gatehouse where modern-day lights hung from ancient wooden beams, and conference delegates tweeted about the event thanks to WiFi.

I explored the historic gardens and grounds whilst following my mobile phone’s GPS signal in search of geocaches hidden around the 800-acre estate.

Yes, it was an amazing blend of digital and medieval all at once. And it was truly smile-inducing!

If you want to know more about my talk and the conference, pop over to my PhD blog. But if you just want the photos from Dartington Hall, take a peek below!

And I’ll be staying in the nearby town of Totnes for the next two nights, so you can expect more photos in a couple of days, too. (Update: Here are those photos!)