The Architect
Harald Meier, Diploma-Geographer
Harald Meier works as an architect of epistemic orientation. His work is concerned with a single problem: how clarity remains possible in situations where complexity cannot be reduced, certainty cannot be achieved, and responsibility cannot be delegated.
He founded Digital Space Lab as a space for applied reflection — bridging strategic practice, analytical work, and public orientation without collapsing one into the other. Over time, this inquiry led to the development of Epistheon, an epistemic architecture that defines boundaries rather than solutions: where explanation remains legitimate, where orientation stabilizes, and where responsibility begins.
Harald’s background spans geography, networked systems, discourse analysis, and strategic research. These fields inform his work, but do not define it. His primary concern is not expertise, but epistemic restraint.
Evidence & Academic Contributions
For almost a decade, Harald has served as Chief Data Scientist at the Social Media Research Foundation and contributed to major international conferences and research events at the intersections of social science, network science, digital methods, and investigative journalism. His lectures and tutorials explore how networks reveal meaning across media, politics, and society — from the architecture of online discourse to the ethics of data interpretation.
Publications
MEIER, Harald (2016) Global Civil Society from Hyperlink Perspective: Exploring the Website Networks of International NGOs. Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia Vol. 15, No. 1: 64-77
Selected Talks & Tutorials (2015 – 2024)
2024 – Graph Drawing & Network Visualization (GD24, Vienna) Tutorial: Introduction to Social Network Analysis with NodeXL
2020 – INSNA Sunbelt (Online) Talk & Workshop: A Framework for Mapping Political Networks
2020 – Digital Methods Initiative Winter School (Amsterdam) Tutorial: Social Network Analysis with NodeXL
2019 – GIJC19 (Global Investigative Journalism Conference, Hamburg) Tutorial: Network Analysis for Investigative Journalists
2019 – SciCAR – Science & Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference (Dortmund) Talk & Tutorial: Mapping the Twitter Network of the German Bundestag
2019 – GOR – General Online Research Conference (Cologne) Talk: Insights from Mapping the Twitter Network of the German Bundestag
2019 – SMART Data Sprint (Lisbon) Tutorial: Extracting & Analysing Social Media Data with NodeXL Pro
2019 – Marketing Analytics Summit (Berlin) Talk: Connect to the Power of Social Network Analysis
2018 – SM Society - Social Media and Society Conference (Copenhagen) Tutorial: Social Network Analysis for Digital Research
2018 – PAWCON – Predictive Analytics World (Berlin) Talk: How to think link with NodeXL
2016 – ASONAM – Advances in Social Network Analysis and Mining (San Francisco) Tutorial: Introduction to Social Media Network Analysis with NodeXL
2015 – DISC Conference – Data, Innovation, Social Network & Convergence (Daegu) Talk: Global Civil Society from a Hyperlink Perspective
Ongoing since 2020:
NodeXL Academy & International Summer / Winter Schools Annual online training series on advanced social network analysis, uniting researchers, data analysts, and journalists around the world.