Hi, I'm happy you're here! I am
Gianna
Williams.
I am a PhD candidate in Computer Science at Northeastern University, advised by Professor Alexandra To .
My research interests are in Algorithmic Folk Theorization, Black Online Communities, Identity Formation and the Internet and Computational Social Science.
My work involves mixed methods research, as well as Critical Technocultural Discourse analysis. I have been interested in study Black Online Communities' relationship with the internet as well as creating for Black User experiences.
Selected Publications
See the full list of publications here
What do you mean by “Hood” Prom? : Joyful Narratives Shown Through The Eyes of Black Teens on TikTok
ACM Transactions on Social Computing Journal
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"I can take what I want and adapt as needed": BIPOC Identity
Making and Resistance Through Internet Aesthetics on TikTok
Accepted to CHI 2026 ●
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Why Can't Black Women Just Be?: Black Femme Content Creators Navigating Algorithmic Monoliths
CHI 2025 ●
HONORABLE MENTION ●
PDF
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Constructing a Community of Play: Black Sims Players and Game Modding
Black Content Creators' Responses and Resistance Strategies on TikTok
Mapping the Crowdsourcing Workforce in Latin America and the Caribbean
CHI PLAY 2025 ●
HONORABLE MENTION
Preprint ARXIV ●
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Avances en Interacción Humano-Computadora (MexIHC 2024) ●
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Current Projects
Black Digital Ethnography Study
BIPOC Games Ludogrpahy and Interview Study