Edward Said wrote in his book Covering Islam that historically the western mass media have exercised the power of representation over the (in this case) Islamic ‘other’ and suppresses the possible multiplicity of 800 000 000 global Islamic citizens into a few reductive stereotypes (1981). Said argues that voices are mediated and distorted through the western mass media who…
Social media has drastically changed the way we go about our daily business – this has been firmly established by now. Media scholars are exploiting (in a good way) all the possibilities and data the exciting platforms provide for research to bring us a clearer picture of our society and the world. But somewhere in that system are also real…
In a previous post called; NEXT!Chatroulette; a shuffle through genital exposure and musicality I went a head and proclaimed Chatroulette to be an ultimate online experience, allowing visitors utter anonymity and random shuffles between users. Yet recently I returned to this internet treat, and realized it was no longer the same . The administrators of the site have now decided…
When packing your bag for school, make sure you have your lunch, books, and favorite Twitter client. The social network is making great strides as an academic tool, as more and more educators realize the benefit of fast, transparent messages that are updated in real time. Twitter allows teachers to announce changes in class schedules, homework, or study tips in…
“Dan was apparent fifty plus, a little paunchy and stubbled. He had raccoon-mask bags under his eyes and he slumped listlessly. As I approached, I pinged his Whuffie and was startled to see that it had dropped to nearly zero. “Jesus,” I said, as I sat down next to him. “You look like hell, Dan.” […] Lil was waiting on…
The enormous growth of the social networking site that is Twitter has many a person wondering. Suddenly every self-respecting website, newspaper, enterprise or person has a Twitter account, which enables Twitter users to follow. Even though the amount of press attention is through the roof and the hype is definitely worth looking at, what strikes me most about Twitter…
Perhaps I’m jaded. Perhaps I’m a nostalgist. Perhaps Facebook isn’t the most sinister CIA operation yet. But somehow, I cannot stop from thinking that the “Web 2.0″ as we know it today is an accident of history, an effect of a US legal decision in 2001 that irrevocably changed the course of the Internet.
When discussing social networking sites and social networking as a phenomenon, why do we only mention websites like Facebook, MySpace, Hyves, etc? The web itself is a social networking tool down to its core. When the internet was created, its purpose was clear: facilitating easy collaboration and sharing of information between computer users. This purpose is clearly social. The internet…
Yahoo! will soon pull the plug on the once-famous GeoCities.com. The passing of this iconic Internet site is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, GeoCities (and its competitors like Tripod and Angelfire) were an important catalyst for the development of a World Wide Web with massive user-generated content. Secondly, Yahoo!’s incompetent handling of the GeoCities franchise gives interesting pointers about how online consumers will vote with their feet and abandon a once popular site when its terms of service are no longer to their liking.
Dana Boyd describes “social networking sites” as “web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature
…