New Media M.A. Research Blog | Media Studies, University of Amsterdam

Virtual Reality and the future of Big Data

Abstract As we sift through endless amounts of big data from social media, a new form of media is creeping up on us: virtual reality (VR). One of the biggest players in the industry is Oculus, who is owned...

By on 10/03/21 Comments Off

It’s a Small World – Oculus’ Quest 2 Redefine Distance

Oculus Quest 2, Facebook’s latest wireless Virtual Reality (VR) headset, was released in September 2020. Similar to its predecessor Oculus Quest, the gadget has been largely used for gaming, however this is not where the possibilities end. According to...

By on 09/28/20 Comments Off

VR as a Tool to Prevent Sexual Offenses

According to an article by Refinery29, 81 percent of women and 43 percent of men report having experienced some form of sexual assault or harassment in their lifetimes (Ohikuare). With 2017 being the year of trailblazing campaigns such as...

By Mahmoud Badry on 10/24/18 Comments Off

ArtPassport: A Digitalized and Democratized Experience of Art

As media technologies and practices continue to advance, the art world is simultaneously facing a metamorphosis that presents new challenges to not only what constitutes art—but how art should be experienced. ArtPassport is one such example of an app...

By Anya Doshi on 09/23/18 Comments Off

ArtPassport: How Virtual Reality Technology is Shaping Our Cultural Experiences

One of the most influential figures of our time, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” On the contrary, writer Evgeny Morozov believes that “Celebrating innovation for its own sake is...

By Prateeksha Bhatt on 09/25/17 Comments Off

Big tech goes to war over Augmented reality (AR) dominance

In the year between June 2016 and June 2017, AR went from being a fun optional technology in a handful apps - like Pokémon GO – to becoming a vital part of the future strategy for every technology company...

By Ståle Grut on 09/24/17 Comments Off

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 Comments Off

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 Comments Off

Pokémon Go: A Blueprint for Augmented Reality?

July 2016, a cultural zeitgeist dating back to the 90s was unleashed upon the world with renewed and unprecedented vigour. Pokémon Go fever swept the world – at its peak in mid-July, it was estimated that over 45 million (Griffiths)...

By Rhubini Kunasegaran on 09/19/16 Comments Off

Virtual Storytelling in Journalism

Innovative virtual technologies are infiltrating the world of journalism. New York Times is one of the leading actors in creating this new way of storytelling, by introducing a Virtual Reality application to convey news stories through virtual technology. As NY...

By Anna-Karólína Gestsdóttir on 09/19/16 Comments Off

A true astronaut of inner space: how your phone is making Virtual Reality a reality

“Looking like a cross between a T’ai Chi master, a navy frogman, and the Terminator, a man harnessed to electronic leads and fitted with a strange piece of headgear slowly turns and gestures. The pointing hand and the ballet...

By Nick van der Meulen on 09/16/15 Comments Off

Mobile Apps as a New Level of Reality

“New Media”. This collocation is used so often nowadays (and not just by researchers or practitioners, but by journalists, self-proclaimed experts and general populace) that it takes a conscious effort to take a step back and ask “What’s new...

By Leonid Goryachev on 09/15/15 Comments Off

Virtual Reality is here (to stay?)

Hello, and welcome to this training event. How can your shop become the best choice for customers? We would ask you to take a look around this supermarket and then tell us how you would maximize the father’s day...

By Denise van Kollenburg on 09/15/15 1

Oculus Rift: the next big leap towards virtual reality

In August 2012, the company Oculus VR set up a Kickstarter project to encourage the development of a revolutionary technological device, capable of plunging users into an immersive virtual reality. The Kickstarter rose to see $2.4M invested by 9’500...

By Alexander Guian-Illanes on 09/15/15 Comments Off

Virtual reality rebooted: Can duct tape fix (virtual) reality?

‘Imagine a wraparound television with three-dimensional programs, including three-dimensional sound, and solid objects that you can pick up and manipulate, even feel with your fingers and hands. Imagine immersing yourself in an artificial world and actively exploring it, rather...

By Natta Frank on 09/11/13 Comments Off

The Internet as a Culture of Equality and Opportunity

The digital revolution not only introduced new means of economics and power, but also introduced radical changes in the social aspects of life, acting as a catalyst for the emerging virtual world. We no longer can imagine our lives...

By Katja Viarshynina on 09/10/13 Comments Off

Getting real

“We have lived through more than half a century of being constantly told that the future of food was artificial, the future of books, newspapers, medicine and school was virtual. And that we would soon deal entirely with computerized teachers...

By Patrycja Szumacher on 09/08/12 Comments Off

Gaming can save the world – A gamer’s perspective (interview)

Could it? I may have exaggerated Jane McGonigal’s thoughts on gaming’s potential possibilities, but her optimism and enthusiasm may well agree with the title. McGonigal talks of gaming’s collaborative potential, that if harnessed correctly, could lead to better and...

By Christopher Mead on 10/31/11 Comments Off

The virtuality debate

Media mention the term frequently: virtual. Think of virtual worlds (Second Life), gaming environments (World of Warcraft) or simply social network sites (Facebook). Those are places that don’t exist in a physical, touchable form, except from the hosting servers....

By Erik van Mastrigt on 09/15/11 1