3D holograms | Masters of Media

TikTok, it’s Trump O’Clock: Discussing the Motivations Behind Banning Popular Platform

Abstract: Following the banning of TikTok on US-based online mobile app stores, I argue that, rather than privacy, TikTok is being banned because the platform threatens the Trump administration. It poses a threat since the app is not owned...

By on 09/28/20 0

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 0

AI comment moderation: Perspective API – a case study

With the increasing relevance of online social networking practices, forums of discussion have come to play a significant role in shaping the public opinion. Emerging from the panorama of Artificial intelligence employed to moderate online conversations is Perspective API,...

By Sofia Rastelli on 09/28/20 0

“I identify as a unicorn”- queering your augmented reality

Last month, Amsterdam’s new museum for digital art Nxt Museum opened. In one of their first offered activities, you could follow a workshop by Jeremy Bailey in which you were invited to make face filters within the application Lens Studio. ...

By on 09/28/20 0

Designing identities with Memojis – Apple’s animated avatars

Apple's new feature - Memoji - allows its users to design animated versions of their digital characters, which can be later shared with other iOS device owners. What does an introduction of this affordance entail for human practices of...

By Zuzanna Kędzia on 09/28/20 0

Co-star: Personalized astrology as a form of communication

Astrology, the study of cosmic objects, human patterns and seasonal shifts, has been practiced for decades, predominantly in three different cultures, Western, Hindu, and Chinese. For some, it exists as a coping mechanism to cushion uncertainty. However, for others,...

By on 09/28/20 0

How One Browser Extension Raises a Sword Against Fake News

Identifying media biases as a corrosive influence on the consumer, the browser extension TrustedNews aims to fight it at the point of delivery.

By Neelesh Vasistha on 09/27/20 0

No card, No Phone, No problem! Alipay: Pay with your face, A balance between convenience, security and privacy

Can you imagine that you are able to pay without mobile phones, bank cards, and cash? Alipay made it happen in 2017, and it provides the facial recognition payment that lets people make payments by scanning their faces. In...

By on 09/27/20 0

Picturing visual search technology

Visual Search affords searching with images instead of words. How is this computer vision kind of technology used? Applications range from marketing, to car parts and health care. Debate arises on security and privacy issues.

By on 09/27/20 0

Doctor Who? How the automation of healthcare, through smartphone apps and digital biomarkers, is reshaping our understanding of ‘health’.

For almost a century, our desire for automation has shaped the way we communicate, operate, and manage our lives, and now, it is shaping our understanding and relationship with healthcare. ‘Digital biomarkers’ are the new wave of big user-generated...

By Matthew Marshall on 09/27/20 0

OnlyFans: The Digital World is Changing Intimacy

We are all somewhat familiar with online intimacy; couples who met on Tinder, friends who get freaky on Facetime, loved ones who connect on Zoom from across the globe. However, in the age of COVID-19 where social distancing...

By on 09/27/20 0

Spotify Playlists Are The New Genre

When thinking of streaming music, Spotify will probably come to your mind immediately. The platform allows its users to browse for new music as well as it suggests new songs based on their listening behaviour. However, it seems that...

By Loulou de Regt on 09/27/20 0

High Fidelity: 3D audio space as an antidote for Zoom-fatigue and a medium for organic interactions

A virtual 3D audio space opens up a whole host of questions regarding high-level affordances. Can media such as this space afford something resembling natural communication? Has corona crisis changed the way we view new media objects and why...

By Karlygash Nurdilda on 09/27/20 0

Supercell’s Brawl Stars; a step towards an ethical Freemium design in Mobile Gaming?

Supercell released their newest game, Brawl Stars, in December 2018. Its' business model marks a shift towards a more ethical design of Freemium games.

By Victor Loye on 09/27/20 0

Life is not a game or is it? The rise of Fortnite and it’s real life battles

Fortnite is a cooperative, battle royale style, online video game, released in 2017. The game has gained huge popularity and has made Epic Games, its developer, billions of dollars. It has also brought about a new way for people...

By Ilian Velasco on 09/27/20 0

Call to think: Twitter and Facebook urge users to fact-check information

Abstract:Aiming to nudge users in the right direction, Twitter introduced pop-up notifications if users want to (re-)post a news article that they have not opened yet, prompting them to be more aware of the content they are circulating to...

By Lara R. on 09/27/20 0

Social Media Discrimination: TikTok as a platform that was openly hiding disabled people’s content.

What is TikTok? In the 21st century, we have witnessed the birth and rise of a diversity of new social media platforms, which all aim at bringing all people together and let them share themselves, their views, and their...

By on 09/27/20 0

Did a Human Write this Blog Post?

At the end of June 2020, Microsoft laid off 50 contract news producers for its MSN website. Until then, journalists curated headlines and articles paid for by Microsoft from news organizations and decided which content to promote. These contract...

By Christopher Murphy on 09/27/20 0

‘Digital Wellbeing Experiments’ – Confronting Technology and Health’s largest questions in the simplest ways.

In 2019 Google launched the platform “Digital wellbeing Experiments”. In recognition of the negative impacts our digital devices are having on our lives Google is striving for a more innovative approach to help people find a balance with technology....

By on 09/27/20 0

Bilibili: a media platform for young Chinese generation

Sunday, 27 September 2020, 12:34 CEST A Brief Introduction “Bilibili is China’s biggest anime streaming site, as well as one of the country’s biggest video-sharing sites” (Josh), “which derived from a Japanese video-sharing website, Niconico” (Zhou 7). On the...

By on 09/27/20 0

The switch from live to digital during COVID-19

The whole world is changing due to COVID-19. ‘The pandemic emerges a stressful and even traumatic event that requires individuals to make sense of the new situation and choose appropriate coping actions’ (Yanjun, Hong and Xinyi, 2020 p.1). It has...

By Sophie Letschert on 09/27/20 0

A(m)I beautiful? – Questioning AI through a Biometric Mirror

As AI integrates its way into everyday life, it raises more and more questions on whether to see this technology as assisting or oppressive. Facial recognition art installation Biometric Mirror (2018) contributes to this critical approach, challenging the ethics...

By on 09/26/20 0

Instagram Poetry as an Untouched Equilibrium: The Issue of Representation

Since popular writer Rupi Kaur’s rise to prominence in 2015, the concept of ‘Instagram poetry’ has been undeniably omnipresent in the world of digital art (Kovalik and Curwood 2019). Yet, as inherently new as the name concretely mentioning the...

By on 09/26/20 0

VvG: Virtual van Gogh

With the rise of COVID-19, many institutions shut down. This allowed an accelerated advancement of organizations to shift on a digital platform. One such case is the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam which allows users to experience the museum...

By on 09/25/20 0