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

Amsterdesk – making studying enjoyable

Studying means a lot of work. And being locked up with your books at home easily leads to distraction and loneliness. Hence, studying at a cozy café with good coffee and some nice company would be way more enjoyable...

By Isabel Theissen on 10/23/12 Comments Off

Be Careful whom You Friend. A Life of a Fake Facebook Profile.

Eva Janssen was born on the 15th October 2012. Being already 24 years old, she attends the University of Amsterdam. She is quite a usual girl. She listens to The Beatles and Moby, she watches Friends while eating Nutella...

By Sonia Kolasinska on 10/23/12 Comments Off

Coffee: Just an Energy Boost or a Social Atmosphere?

Coffee has been at the centre of our lives in one form or another since the 15th century. When you think about coffee, many things probably come to mind. We use it to wake us up, to give us...

By Ferdy Looijen on 10/19/12 3

Tweeting politics – preaching to the choir?

In May 2012, the French chose Francois Hollande, the Socialist Party candidate, to replace Nicolas Sarkozy as president. François Mitterand lost power in 1995, and since then the government majority had been right wing. After his defeat, Nicolas Sarkozy...

By Jules Mataly on 10/19/12 1

Social media in Iraq: in search of the truth

Like elsewhere in the Middle East, in Iraq social media is a fast growing way of communication. Contrary to the situation ten years ago, the use of mobile phone is nowadays nearly universal. Internet cafes are booming and the...

By Wieneke Vucht van on 10/18/12 Comments Off

Sleek – What does the website’s structure reveal?

Sleek is an internationally distributed fashion and art magazine, introducing contemporary art and fashion issues in a thematically manner. Since 2005, the paper edition is published quarterly in Berlin, but because of its worldwide audience Sleek is only available...

By Isabel Theissen on 10/18/12 Comments Off

The Lomography phenomenon

Lomography is the modern term for the type of film photographs taken with analog, simple cameras, initially produced by Lomo PLC in Sankt Petersburg in the ‘80s. In 1991, two students from Austria discovered a compact enigmatic camera which allowed...

By Vicentiu Dinga on 10/17/12 Comments Off

Photoshop facilitates a new generation of image-makers and why it matters

There within most personal computers are applications that resolve the divide between creative thought and creative application. Today, there are hundreds of such applications but few have embedded themselves so deep in the digital era of creative production such...

By Geoff Kim on 10/17/12 Comments Off

Electives 2012: Google Trends as a Modern Poll System

I guess the Dutch population was quite surprised by the results of the 2012 elective campaigns. Although Emile Roemer from the socialist party (SP) and Mark Rutte from the liberal party (VVD) were the major players at the beginning of...

By Basri Hoogstrate on 10/17/12 Comments Off

Readers as users – an analysis of the guardians website

Considering that we have been publishing in print for more than 500 years, online publishing that has a history not much longer than a decade can only be seen as being in it´s very early stages. Newspapers that has...

By Lisa Bergenfelz on 10/17/12 Comments Off

“Worst Nobel Prize ever”? Comparing English and Dutch responses to the Nobel Peace Prize for the European Union on Twitter and Google News

Last week’s announcement that the European Union has been awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize has spurred a host of comments in both traditional and online media. Many critics decried the timing of the award committee, which they considered...

By Lucas Reehorst on 10/16/12 1

A comparison on online branding and popularity between KLM and United Airlines

Since the rise of web 2.0 and social media, companies and brands have altered their strategies and jumped into the opportunities that grew with this new digital era. New ways of advertisement and campaigning have found their way...

By Charlotte on 10/16/12 Comments Off

[POSTSCAPES] THE STORY BEHIND YOUR TRASH

Do you know the story behind your paper coffeecup? Are you aware of its original source and what happens to it once you dump it into the paper-bin? In a convincing video regarding the Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard provides...

By Massiel Sánchez on 10/16/12 Comments Off

Mendo the shop built out of books

Who or what is Mendo!? On an ordinary Thursday I’m walking in the well-known Amsterdam neighbourhood ‘de negen straatjes’ for an appointment with Joost Albronda, who is one of the owners of the design agency and bookshop Mendo....

By Sasha Wood on 10/15/12 Comments Off

Usability: Customer service of NS site under the microscope.

Every year there is a Usability Award for the most user-friendly website. On www.frankwatching.nl (the web guide with tips, trends and events) they place weeks in advance of this award all kinds of interviews with randomly placed nominees. I...

By Jaimy Quadekker on 10/15/12 1

The End of the Golden Rule

Capitalism in Cyberspace In February 1996 the American political activist John Perry Barlow published his political web manifest ‘A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace’. This declaration of independence was directed at all the governments of the industrial world and...

By Lauressa Ford on 10/15/12 Comments Off

Pinning Down Female Roles

Pinterest provides many fascinating points for discussion and research. By being active on Pinterest we engage in a process of shortcut identity formation through pre-existing images. It is not merely about collecting images that relate to our perfect life and aspirations,...

By Sonia Kolasinska on 10/15/12 1

Guerrilla TV – The ground-breaking documentaries of Vice.com

Reports from the Unknown – The ground-breaking documentaries of Vice.com The documentary format has undergone vast changes since the dawn of the digital age. What was once the domain of only national television companies with huge budgets is now...

By Kieran Lewis on 10/14/12 Comments Off

The remediation of classic boardgames on smartphones

When you are using public transportation and you take a good look around you, you are bound to notice that most people around you are busy using their smartphone. The rise of the smartphone provides many ways of mobile...

By Alex Maat on 10/06/12 1

Giglocker – Diary your Events.

To be where the party is does not longer mean you might not like the music. The times of the silent disco are over! We can all again listen to music together in real life with people who appreciate...

By Isabel Theissen on 10/03/12 Comments Off

POWER OF THE PEDAL: Pirates bring the interactive screening experience to the public

On Saturday 29th of September, Pirate Cinema attended Polderweg Damoclash festival, (located in Amsterdam-Oost), with their five-wheeled bicycle installation. Pirate Cinema’s essence lies in the synthesis of the mobile media and in its inclusion of the socially engaged message of...

By Massiel Sánchez on 10/03/12 Comments Off