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

Beme: Will Authenticity Form New Aesthetics?

Everyday I get on Casey Neistat’s YouTube channel to watch his daily vlogs. Last week he announced that Beme codes are no longer necessarily to use the app. Before that Beme was only available on invite only basis. It...

By Ka-Tjun Hau on 09/15/15 Comments Off

The Pencil is a Problem.

In a special launch event last Wednesday Apple unveiled with great fanfare a host of new products, a highlight of which was the Apple Pencil. Meant as an accessory to the hulking new iPad Pro, its introductory video is...

By Srushti Jadhav on 09/15/15 Comments Off

The Involuntary Preservation of Media Heritage Through Irony and Nostalgia

As a 90s child, I often find myself fondly remembering the sound of the iMac G3 booting up or how emphatic the local video rental clerk was about rewinding video tapes before returning them. Recently, while keeping an eye...

By Anissa Jousset on 09/15/15 1

UHD Format is Coming

The Seven Kingdoms Seven of the biggest IT companies are collaborating to createa new format for Ultra High Definition (UHD) video.This collaboration is called Alliance for Open Media and includes companies such as Google, Netflix and Microsoft. There’s also...

By Pepijn Bierhuizen on 09/14/15 Comments Off

Live Photo: the new “modern magic” of Apple’s iPhone 6

During a special media event organized on September 9th, in San Francisco, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, officially introduced to the public the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus. Alongside with user friendly updates...

By Daniela Demarchi on 09/14/15 Comments Off

Virtual Presence

A new application, ‘The companion’ has been launched for smart phones. Independent wrote about the new app. Student editor Aftab Ali states that five students from the University of Michigan decided to launch this new app after receiving many crime alert emails...

By Celine van Asbeck on 09/14/15 Comments Off

Poem Viewer: Towards a new “view” on poetry

“Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Nth power. Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words”. Paul Engle The word poem, derived from the Greek word...

By Maria Charitou 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

On Grindr: is our pocket the new closet?

First written in January, 2014. Grindr, the rising star of the Apple Store; so much ink has been spilled over this app. When fans aren’t writing books, praising its various merits or licking the balls of its founder,...

By Matthieu Foucher on 12/01/14 Comments Off

Ebola is all around us! Right?

The way we interact with the world is becoming increasingly connect to location based services. Ebolanear.me uses this connection and attempts to turn mass hysteria into awareness Location based services are everywhere Location based services are becoming progressively commonplace;...

By Giel Veenstra on 11/07/14 Comments Off

Impossible: new possibilities

Impossible is a social network website launched in 2014. Impossible is trying to make the impossible possible by acting as a social networking hub for good deeds. In order to achieve this, Impossible provides a platform that connects people with...

By Gina on 11/07/14 Comments Off

MUBI: Watch movies of cult, classic and indie movies

It happened to me more than once that I got myself into the situation when I had no idea what to watch on Netflix. Even if it is amazing that we can reach everything there, sometimes it is easier...

By Blanka Szamos on 09/18/14 Comments Off

From Anytime, Anywhere towards All the Time, Everywhere

Some of us might have noticed social changes through the intensive use of smartphones. The anytime and anywhere connection seems to make us overly ambitious when it comes to satisfying our social needs. Phone in the pocket, out the...

By Dominique Verschragen on 09/18/14 Comments Off

Introducing Nearables: Real-world context for your apps

“Create new, contextually rich mobile experiences.” That is what Estimote promises with their products. They’ve recently introduced their new Estimote Stickers, which should “represent the future of what sensor technology and contextual computing will be.” They call these stickers...

By Michael ten Pas on 09/17/14 Comments Off

New ROBOTICS: The Genesis of Artificial Creativity?

1942. Isaac Asimov writes “Runaround”, in which he promulgates the Three Laws of Robotics: 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the...

By Nikos Roumeliotis on 09/17/14 1

Frogs and Bones: The Developments in E-Learning

As technology progresses in it developments so does society. We adapt new technology into our daily lives for various purposes and various aspects of our lives. That is why it is no surprise that it affects our learning experience,...

By Sirak Tegegn on 09/17/14 Comments Off

Humans as cameras

Touchy is an artwork designed by Eric Siu in 2012. It has won several awards such as the Best Picture at the Robot Film Festival, New York, in 2012, First Prize at the 15th International Media Art Biennale, Poland, in...

By Gina on 09/16/14 Comments Off

US Open Sessions: algorithms in culture

A little over a week ago on September 6th Kei Nishikori very surprisingly beat Novac Djokovic in four sets at the US Open semi-finals. Meanwhile an algorithm developed by IBM turned this match into music (Titlow). In order to...

By Auke Akkerman on 09/16/14 Comments Off

Balloons on the Rise in Korean Diplomacy

#157289583 / gettyimages.com This Saturday, the North Korean news agency KCNA rejected a recent South Korean proposal for official high-level talks as a result of anti-DPRK leaflet scattering known as the “balloon operation.” South Korean activists have employed...

By Max Kortlander on 09/16/14 Comments Off

Selfies and Zombies – sharing photos in videogames

In the past decades, videogame developers have been adding realism and immersion (as well as blood spattered details) to their games. With the advent of powerful graphical processors and high-definition screens, the images have become sharper and the line...

By Jan-Jaap Heine on 09/16/14 Comments Off

Making Messaging more Meaningful

Amidst these times of social media revolution with new apps being developed constantly, there has been a clear counter movement. A drive towards local (local brews vs imports), towards meeting people (LinkedIn vs Seats2Meet) and a longing for experiences....

By Evelien Christiaanse on 09/15/14 Comments Off

Smartwatches: a step closer towards the Cyborg?

Introduction On the 9th of September, 2014, Apple organised their iPhone Event, in which they not only introduced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus, but also the Apple Watch. This is Apple’s version of the latest trend...

By David de Bie on 09/15/14 Comments Off

PREDICTABLES: the end of the experimental human

In the scope of the ancient desire of human to predict the future, DOR TAL designed ‘Predictables’ as a refreshing interpretation of this mankind’s historic quest. The app searches for “patterns, frameworks and links in the torrent of information that...

By Anne van Egmond on 09/15/14 Comments Off

The more you play, the more aggressive you become! Is this true?

Bomb Gaza Is a game for Android that was uploaded to the Google Play store on 29 July, 2014 and has already been downloaded between 500 and 1000 times. allowing players attack Gaza while it’s still being bombarded in...

By Benaz Batrawi on 09/15/14 Comments Off