This book began with a student’s curiosity, became viable through a generous act from a senior scholar, and materialized with the help of an incredible support team made up of colleagues, friends, and family—many who occupy more than one of these categories.
In 2015, I walked into a classroom at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, prepared to lecture about technological affordances for a small undergraduate course. I did not expect to start a book. However, a young man named Ben asked just the right question (“Don’t rope and wood fences afford differently?”), which led to writing on the classroom whiteboard, a series of blog posts,1 a journal article in Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society,2 and now, a full monograph. Ben’s thoughtfulness was, literally, inspirational. In 2017, in a new appointment at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, I booked a meeting with Professor Genevieve Bell, a recent transplant from Silicon Valley and founder ANU’s Autonomy, Agency, and Assurance Institute (3Ai).3 Within a day of that meeting, I had an introduction email to Doug Sery, acquisitions editor for the MIT Press. It was a small act for Professor Bell but monumental for me. Doug was interested in the project and ushered it through from start to finish, with tireless help from Noah J. Springer, whose dissertation, it turns out, addressed affordances (the topic of this book).4
I am forever grateful to D’Lane Compton, who shared her wisdom, time, and materials when I presented my full naivety in the form of a one-line Twitter message that read “how does one write a book?” I was further aided in both process and content through extensive conversations with and feedback from David A. Banks, Nathan Jurgenson, and PJ Patella-Rey. Their careful balance between encouragement and challenge kept my spirits up and my framing sharp. I am also grateful to all past and present contributors to the Cyborgology blog5 and Theorizing the Web conference,6 who have cultivated a community of thinkers, writers, and activists doing the kind of theory I want to see in the world. Equally influential and generous have been my closest collaborators on other projects. Tony Love, Carla Goar, and Bianca Manago have picked up my slack while I worked on the book, and each has made me a better thinker through years of intellectual discussion, debate, and endless Track Changes. The book was also helped along by three emerging scholars who gave me the privilege of supervising their honors theses. Siobhan Dodds, Hannah Gregory, and Will Orr asked about the book each week during our meetings, motivating me to write. They also kept me on my intellectual toes, the benefits of which cannot be overstated. Finally, thank goodness for James Chouinard. My coauthor, editor, and partner. Not once did you hesitate when I asked, “Is it okay if I read something out loud?” You have cheered me through this book while making sure that the ideas are sound. With you, I have full support and get away with nothing. Truly, thank you.