As part of our NSF SAI EAGER project, our team is leading a workshop at ALDHA 2023, this year’s edition of the annual Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association gathering, held in Abingdon VA in October 2023.

Understanding Digital Trail Data [Room 149]

Social media and other trail sharing sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Trail Journals provide opportunities to capture and share experiences. This workshop will present ways that this information can be captured and shared, and it will provide opportunities to explore the opportunities and dangers of digital data.

Our workshop will be highly interactive. We will begin with an overview of social media and its use on the Appalachian Trail. There will be discussions and breakout groups that focus on things that can be gleaned from social media data, including emotions on the trail, sites where trail magic occurs, and frequency of posts.

Visit this page often–we will provide links to workshop materials and outcomes.

For more information contact Scott McCrickard (mccricks@cs.vt.edu)