Masters of Media

Henry (or How VR will Undermine the Cinematic Experience)

On September 8th, Henry, a short film about a hedgehog who loves to cuddle, won an Emmy for “Outstanding Original Interactive Program,” making it the first original virtual reality film to win a major award. Video 1: Henry’s Premiere...

By Georgina Ustik on 09/22/16 0

Live streaming; the next big thing?

Recently, I discovered the live stream button on my Facebook page. I have heard about the applications Periscope and Meerkat with which you can live stream your own content: “Periscope and Meerkat are services that enable users to broadcast...

By Zoe Versteegen on 09/22/16 0

The promise of total Tinderization

Tinderization of Feeling Yup, like a lot of my contemporaries, I’m spending alarmingly big heaps of time on dating apps. Leaving aside all that bodyshaming, occasional racism and the paralysing insecurities that they promote, they can be a lot...

By Matthias Nothnagel on 09/22/16 0

Artificial Intelligence Defeats People’s Privacy

Last week a Tweet by The Guardians’s writer David Shariatmadari showed how Google Maps tried to take a bullock’s privacy serious by blurring its face. The bullock was thereby treated the same as humans when it comes to their...

By Elsemieke Vermijs on 09/22/16 0

Technology is weaving its way into our lives

A new generation jacket by Levi’s and Google This spring, fashion brand Levi’s will launch a new jacket called the LEVI’s Commuter x Jacquard by Google. At first glance it might not look like anything more than a normal...

By Stefanie Voortman on 09/22/16 0

Gab.ai: Freedom of (conservative) speech?

A few weeks ago a Norwegian journalist posted the Pullitzer Prize-winning ‘napalm girl’ photograph on Facebook. But instead of founding the intended discussion, he found his account suspended and the picture removed. The picture contained nudity, which may not...

By Joep Voorn on 09/22/16 0

LoveBot chatting on behalf of human: Are we surrendering our social life to technology?

At the 2016 TechCrunch Disrupt SF Hackathon, Guru Ranganathan presented the concept of an app called LoveBot, that “tells your wife you love her so you don’t have to”. The app uses Telegram App SDK and automatically sends messages...

By Jingshui Zhang on 09/22/16 0

The Rise of the Emoji’s. Final goal: World Domination.

It seems almost impossible, a life without these creative, colourful and sometimes confusing characters. There is no easier way of texting – even for those who aren’t used to modern smartphones – and it seems like...

By Mintsje deWitte on 09/22/16 0

Terahertz Femtophotography: Bringing you the ancient world’s latest news

Earlier this week, reports started trickling through the web about a camera developed by the Camera Culture Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sure, a camera coming out of a MIT lab sounds interesting, but how can it...

By Harry Sullivan on 09/22/16 0

Artificial Intelligence: an objective method for measuring beauty?

Last August, a team of biogerontologists and data scientists, organised the First International Beauty Contest Judged by Artificial Intelligence ever: Beauty.AI (Beauty.AI). With the support of major (tech)companies, like EY, NVidia and Microsoft, a team of scientist developed various...

By Pieter Vliegenthart on 09/22/16 0

When cats are also bots.

Meet Mica. Cat content works. It’s one of the unofficial laws under which the internet operates. Cat content is funny and lifts you up. And now cat content informs you. How? Let me tell you about “Mica the Hipster...

By Marlene Scherf on 09/22/16 0

Super Apps – The Western World is Already Behind

In the Western part of the world we usually believe we are ahead of the times and that we have a “one up” on the rest of the world when it comes to the best new technologies and apps....

By Stefanie Skomorucha on 09/22/16 0

Chatbots: We’re Only Just Getting Started

It has been nearly six months since Facebook launched the Messenger Platform at F8 conference, but its main feature, namely chatbots, still continues to remain a hot topic in the tech industry. What Is All That Hype About? Truth...

By Olga Resetnaka on 09/21/16 0

Share a Dream: A new way to connect people ?

Today more than ever, we are constantly connected and reachable. It has never been so easy to communicate with people around the globe. We can also observe new kinds of social relationships due to technology. In fact, connections between...

By Arnaud Muller on 09/21/16 1

Squarespace and Interfacification: How Much Does Knowing How to Code Matter Anymore?

In an age of intuitive design and slick interfaces, users nowadays are rarely challenged to question or understand the mechanics underlying digital media. In the early days of computing, one would need basic technical computing skills in order to...

By Sal Hagen on 09/21/16 0

Internet Moon Gallery: Art Moves into a Virtual Platform

How would you feel about visiting an art exhibition on the Moon? Internet Moon Gallery is a 3D virtual place created by Manuel Minch that aims to exhibit art using the wifi on the Moon. On May 2016, The...

By Zeynep Yavuz on 09/21/16 0

Decapitation? Here’s a wise old lady who knows better

Changing the minds of IS-fighters-to-be while they are searching for IS-related material on YouTube sounds like a contradiction, but Google found a subtle way to do so. This month, Google’s think-tank Jigsaw is launching an unconventional project called the...

By Odiel vandeNobelen on 09/21/16 0

Discovery in a Snap

Imagine if I took a polaroid of myself, let you see it, and then after (maximum) ten seconds took it away from you. You might find that strange, annoying even. Then, imagine if I, or your favourite brand (Adidas)...

By Kat Milligan on 09/21/16 0

The New Digital Mall: How Social Media is Changing the Way We Shop

E-Commerce and Web 2.0 Before the Internet – if you wanted to buy something, you had to physically enter a store to purchase it: ‘going shopping’ was a social experience by nature because of the...

By Caroline Nisenson on 09/21/16 0

Share your Life in Film: Letterboxd Lists

When talking about social media platforms, names such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are often those that come to mind first. Besides these large and well known platforms however, people can connect with like-minded souls through niche platforms such...

By Eline Meissen on 09/21/16 0

Racial Profiling and Police Brutality: Can Safety Apps Keep Justice within Reach?

Racial Profiling and Police Brutality: Can Safety Apps Keep Justice within Reach? In this digital society, it is almost unthinkable to leave the house without a mobile phone. Apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are perfect for everyday...

By Alfrida Martis on 09/21/16 0

Blockchain: Revolution or Risk?

The money transfer protocol Bitcoin was first introduced in 2008 by the still anonymous pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. In their white paper they proclaimed “A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from...

By Catherine Mills on 09/21/16 0

Picturing a community: Imgur’s evolution from photo to family

Not so long ago, sitting in a café with a long-time friend, our conversation turned to our favourite teenage movies. With this came a brief mention of Michael Cera, the typecast Hollywood ‘nice guy’. In passing, I happened to...

By WIlliam Nash on 09/21/16 0

The VR Cinema is the latest attraction to claim a space in Amsterdam’s entertainment landscape. It is the first of its kind in the world, and offers an experience reminiscent of the first movie houses. Unfortunately, that means offering...

By Phillip Morris on 09/21/16 0