Gabriella Coleman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gabriella Coleman
Gabriella Coleman, New Zealand, 2012
Born	1973 (age 51–52)
Nationality	American
Occupation	Author, anthropologist, professor
Employer	Harvard University
Known for	Anthropological studies of the cultures of hacking and online activism

Enid Gabriella Coleman (born 1973), known as Gabriella Coleman or Biella, is an American anthropologist and author. She studies the cultures of hacking and online activism. Her work looks at different groups of hackers, like those who create free and open-source software, the group Anonymous, and security hackers. She is a professor at Harvard University.

Becoming a Scholar

Gabriella Coleman went to high school in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She then studied religious studies at Columbia University, graduating in 1996. After that, she went to the University of Chicago. There, she earned a master's degree in socio-cultural anthropology in 1999.

Her PhD Research

In 2005, she earned her PhD in socio-cultural anthropology. Her main research was about how freedom is understood in the world of free and open-source software. She looked at how hackers, their ethics, and liberal ideas fit together.

Her Teaching Career

Before joining Harvard, Gabriella Coleman held several important positions. She worked at Rutgers University and the University of Alberta. In 2007, she became an assistant professor at New York University.

From 2010 to 2011, she was a special member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. In 2012, she moved to Montreal, Canada. There, she became a professor at McGill University. That same year, she also gave a speech at Webstock 2012 in New Zealand.

Studying Hackers and Hacking

Gabriella Coleman is well-known for her studies of Anonymous. But she has also written a lot about the ethics and politics of computer hacking. She believes that hackers do not all follow the same rules.

Different Kinds of Hackers

Her work talks about "hacker genres." This means there are many different types of hackers today. Each type comes from a different history and has different ethical lessons. She also looks at what connects all hackers. This includes their dedication to the "craft and craftiness" of hacking.

Coleman says that hackers work to create high-quality projects. This is the "craft ethic." They also like to be "crafty," which means being clever and witty. She explains that hackers value being clever and smart for its own sake, not just for what it can achieve.

Sharing Her Research

Coleman wants her research to be easy for everyone to understand. In 2019, she started Hack_Curio. This is an online museum with short videos about computer hacking. Each video has explanations written by experts. The goal is to challenge common ideas about hackers. It also shows how important hacking is in global culture and politics.

She has appeared in many documentaries about hackers. In 2021, she helped create and host a 10-part podcast series for BBC Radio 4. It was called The Hackers'.

Her First Book on Hacking

Her first book, Coding Freedom: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Hacking, was released with a Creative Commons license. This means people can share and use it freely. The book explores how hackers create free and open-source software. It looks at how they protect their freedom to create.

The book also discusses how hackers have created rules and ways of working. These help them keep their independence. She also examines the humor of hackers and the ways they govern themselves. This helps them develop software together.

Studying Anonymous

Gabriella Coleman's work on Anonymous has made her a frequent commentator in the media. In 2010, she talked about Anonymous's "project" against the Church of Scientology. She often describes Anonymous using the idea of a "trickster archetype." She says a trickster is not always a good character, but can be important for new ideas in society.

The Trickster Idea

Coleman had thought about the link between tricksters and hackers for a few years. She read a book called Trickster Makes This World by Lewis Hyde. She realized that hackers and tricksters share many traits. They push boundaries, use their wits for fun or politics, and sometimes get caught by their own cleverness. They also help remake the world in technical, social, and legal ways.

This idea of Anonymous as a trickster has become popular in the media. It has been mentioned in Wired and The New York Times. Coleman has also pointed out that some media coverage of Anonymous is not complete.

Understanding Anonymous's Actions

In one article, Coleman argued that people need to ask more specific questions about hackers. They should explore why hackers act the way they do. They should also look at what hackers hope to achieve and the results of their actions.

Coleman's first major article on Anonymous was Our Weirdness Is Free. She admitted that she doesn't fully understand Anonymous. She told the BBC that not knowing exactly who is behind the mask gives Anonymous its power.

Her Book on Anonymous

Coleman's long study of Anonymous led to her book, Hacker Hoaxer Whistleblower Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous. This book won an award and was praised by Alan Moore, who co-wrote V for Vendetta. The book tells the story of Anonymous, how it grew, and its impact.

In her book, Coleman explains that tricksters can teach lessons, even if they don't mean to. She says that their actions don't have to be accepted to learn from them. We can see them as giving us new ideas, showing hidden problems, or helping society renew itself.

Coleman compares Anonymous to other online groups. In 2023, she gave a lecture comparing Anonymous with the anonymous far right and QAnon. She showed the important differences between these groups, even though they started on similar online forums.

Hacking Becomes a Profession

In 2019, a research group asked Gabriella Coleman to write about how hackers became professionals. This study was called “Wearing Many Hats: The Rise of the Professional Security Hacker.” It looked at the period from 1990 to 2000. During this time, hackers worked to show that they were serious professionals.

From Anarchists to Advocates

Coleman and her co-author, Matt Goerzen, studied old records and interviewed former hackers. They found out how hackers changed from being seen as dangerous by the government and media. They became people who helped improve computer security.

The study shows that hackers were pioneers in sharing security problems openly. This is called "full-disclosure security research." They shared information about weaknesses in computer systems to make things more transparent. They also worked to improve their public image. They did this through publicity events and working with the media.

The "Imaginary Hats" Idea

A key part of their image change was the idea of "imaginary hats." These were black, white, and gray hats. They stood for different attitudes towards laws and ethics. This idea helped hackers show that they were willing to work within legal rules. It also helped people trust them more.

A shorter version of this study was published in 2022. It was called “From Subversives to CEOs: How Radical Hackers Built Today’s Cybersecurity Industry.”

See also

In Spanish: Gabriella Coleman para niños