Christopher J. Vargo is an Associate Professor at the Leeds School of Business , University of Colorado Boulder, with appointments in Organizational Leadership and Information Analytics . He bridges computational methods with communication theory to analyze social media, advertising, and news data. His work spans disciplines like machine learning , political communication , and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) , reflecting his expertise in computational social science . His research focuses on leveraging machine learning and large language models (LLMs) for computational content analysis , particularly in new media landscapes. He has published extensively in journals such as the Journal of Communication , New Media & Society , and Journal of Interactive Advertising , with a book on machine learning applications in content analysis available via open access from CU Boulder’s Library. As an educator, Vargo teaches advertising analytics at undergraduate and graduate levels, alongside quantitative research methods for doctoral students. He also directs the CMCI/Leeds Marketing and Business Analytics partnership , aiming to enhance industry-aligned data skills among CU graduates. Vargo’s professional background includes real-world experience at Sony BMG Music, Porter Novelli, and Fox/DreamWorks, complemented by IT industry work . He applies this expertise through his company, socialcontext.ai , and as a technical consultant in legal cases involving digital advertising , platform analytics , and forensic data analysis .











