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

Breaking the illusion of Control: “Home -1.0”

Introduction: Idea and Aim of the Project A recent innovation towards ultimate control is Apple’s “Home” app, which can command all smart devices in a house, from lamps to locks. But who gains power with this app? Is it...

By Michel Blonk on 10/21/16 Comments Off

Home Sweet Smart Home: Discussing the feasibility of smart objects at home

A fridge that automatically re-orders groceries when they are running out, a smart diaper that sends a tweet when your baby gets wet and a voice controlled Barbie’s Smart Home that takes playing with Barbie’s to a whole new...

By Rianne Riemens on 10/20/16 Comments Off

Fitness tracking with TomTom: an attempt to regain market control

TomTom used to be one of the most important players in the field of navigational systems. With the arrival of google maps and other “free” navigators, TomTom was no longer the number one navigational device. TomTom was founded in...

By Lisanne Blomberg on 10/18/16 Comments Off

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 Comments Off

Smart City needs smart privacy

As European Capital of Innovation, Amsterdam is experimenting with a range of technologies which turn the city into a so-called “smart city”. With the beacon gadgets installed all over the city, more interaction with the public is made possible....

By Charlotte Leclercq on 09/20/16 1

Gboard: The Ultimate iPhone Keyboard?

Google recently released a new app for iOS called Gboard which expands the keyboard with a built in search engine. With Gboard Google makes it possible to search without a browser. Instead of leaving the app you’re currently using...

By Maud Looij on 09/19/16 Comments Off

Want to join ISIS? Google it!

So, let’s say that you are interested in becoming an ISIS terrorist. What are you going to do? Probably Google it, like you would in any other situation. The Redirect Method Over the last year Jigsaw, an Alphabet...

By Manon vanHoek on 09/19/16 Comments Off

Search No Further: How Changes to the Search Feature Give Facebook More Power Than Ever

Announcing Big Changes: This past week, Facebook launched an update to its search feature that may give Twitter a run for its money – or at very least, some cause for concern. An announcement by Tom Stocky, VP of...

By Brittany Mcgillivray on 10/30/15 1

Butter as the Legal Version of Popcorn Time?

by Hans Kok The most popular video streaming service Popcorn Time stopped working on October 23. Although it’s not the first time the service is down, it might be down forever now since the threats of possible legal actions...

By Hans Kok on 10/29/15 Comments Off

Safety Net – Play With Privacy or It Will Play You

Have you ever used a website that uses cookies? “Liked” a photo on Facebook? Geo-tagged your location in a post or used Google Maps? Of course you have. But were you aware of how the information you...

By Deniz Gulsoken on 10/16/15 Comments Off

Spy me, please!

A project, brought to you by Afra Suci Ramadhon, Alina Niemann, Kimberly Leerkes, Kyra Teklu and Radina Teodosieva The exhibitionist beginning Several weeks ago we were presented with an assignment - to create a new media project, intervening an...

By Radina Teodosieva on 10/16/15 Comments Off

They tried to make me go to Talkspace I said, “no,no,no”.

Introducing Talkspace, the budding therapy app that claims to accommodate the ‘on demand’, ‘on the go’, ‘in the know’ culture. Therapy in the modern world. Ironically the need to be mindful has become an inevitable trend, digital...

By Kyra Teklu on 09/17/15 Comments Off

Do Not Track: together let’s track Big Brother

After four years of negotiations, an agreement was reached on September the 8th over data protection on the internet between the United States and the European Union. Many privacy violations scandals later (i.e.: Edward Snowden’s revelations on the NSA’s...

By Mathilde Grenod on 09/15/15 Comments Off

Facebook’s new virtual assistant ‘M’: mastermind or menace?

Facebook recently introduced the world to ‘M’, its brand new virtual assistant that will reside in Facebook’s messaging app. Will, because for now, the new application is still in its test phase. Nonetheless, this rather unexpected move of Facebook...

By Lianne Kersten on 09/15/15 Comments Off

The Survival of the Shopping-Malls

Imagine a project developer, Mrs. Smith, who is developing a shopping-mall with her team. Mrs. Smith wants to attract future customers (and storeowners) by offering them a personalized and comfortable shopping experience. First of all she wants to achieve...

By Willemijn van der Holst on 09/15/15 Comments Off

The Companion: App which walks you home

Walking home at night can be a pretty terrifying experience. If you ever had to walk home through eerie suburban streets at 2 am., you know how it feels. That is why five college students in the US created an application...

By Radvile Dauksyte on 09/14/15 Comments Off

Give us your data and you will never walk alone

Last week, five students from the University of Michigan launched (Mashable, Tech Times, Business Insider) a smartphone application called Companion. This application enables users to be accompanied by their contacts to virtually walk them home at night. The so-called...

By Atossa Atabaki on 09/14/15 Comments Off

Social Robot Jibo: a promising personal assistant or Siri’s disappointing cousin?

“Jibo isn’t an appliance, it’s a companion, one that can interact and react with its human owners in ways that delight” (Mashable, 2014) For over 20 years Dr. Cynthia Braezael has been working on creating the ultimate social robot....

By Britt Boss on 09/14/15 Comments Off

Hey Siri, do you spy on me?

Hey Siri, a feature which comes along with the new Iphone 6S has caused quite a stir when it became known that Siri (Apples Artificial Intelligence integration) could be activated on command by just calling “Hey Siri” to your device. This functionality...

By Rosa Boon on 09/14/15 Comments Off