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

Swipe you left out of my life!

How the features of tinder encourage both connectedness and social indifference As the world is becoming more digitally connected and people are becoming more reliant on the Internet and digital technologies for various aspects of their lives, it comes...

By Camille Godineau on 10/24/18 Comments Off

Smart Home Technologies and the Transformation Of Domestic Space

Since Gordon Moore’s prophetic law in 1965, in which he claimed that microchips would develop so that the speed would double while size would decrease every year, has allowed for the evolution of ubiquitous computing and its introduction into...

By Erika Grimes on 10/24/18 Comments Off

Join the HIVE: The AR future of social networks

The Age of AR Augmented Reality (AR) is set to be the next big step in computing, and experts are predicting a big growth of the AR sector, estimating it at around 140 billion Euros worth by 2024. Many of...

By Max Rogall on 10/23/18 Comments Off

Online to Offline, Customers Have Nowhere to Hide —A New Targeting Technology via Wifi on Mobile Devices

Have you ever received the promotion advertisements from some brands? The answer for most of us probably is: yes. Based on customers’ preferences, retailers offer the information of their upcoming products by the eye-catching advertisements. However, have you ever...

By Jing Shi on 09/24/18 Comments Off

Are we compromising our privacy and safety for comfort and ease?

We are becoming more and more used to the idea of new technology being embedded, into our everyday lives and activities. Marshall McLuhan believes that we treat “technologies as extended bodily organs.” (Durham Peters) We are continuously experimenting...

By Cecilie Overgaard on 09/24/18 Comments Off

Facebook’s Rosetta: How Are Algorithms Using Our Data?

Digital networking companies have started to build artificial intelligence software that can filter through unwanted content that may be offensive to their users. Facebook recently announced the latest addition to this trend with a machine learning program called Rosetta; software...

By Dana Lamb on 09/24/18 Comments Off

I’m a good person…seriously…just check my Kinditude!

My phone noisily vibrates on the empty train seat beside me, snapping me out of my daydream. A notification on my locked screen says “Remind to be kind!”. The grammar needs work, but the message is clear: I need...

By Rae Alexander on 09/23/18 Comments Off

Talkspace: how reliable and responsible is mobile psychotherapy app?

Just two days ago, Apple started its sale for the company’s latest smartwatch Apple Watch Series 4. Boasting the new ECG sensor and much improved health functions including fall detection and emergency SOS, Apple claims its newest device to...

By Jason Park on 09/23/18 Comments Off

“Be the Exception” for New Balance: Brand Surveillance and the Corporatization of Individuality

New Balance’s New York Fashion Week installation, “Real Time Exception Spotting,” combines surveillance and algorithmic technologies to celebrate and reward personal expression through style. But what does it mean for an algorithm to quantify individuality? And can surveillance technologies,...

By Hailey Beaman on 09/23/18 Comments Off

Reading News From Knowhere in the Post-Truth World

Misinformation is one of the global risks outlined by the World Economic Forum in their Global Risks 2013 report. The world is grappling with the viral spread of unvetted information in a hyperconnected world. News media are implicated in...

By Darsana Vijay on 09/23/18 Comments Off

Facebook AI protects life from Live Streaming

In an era when everyone lives online, Facebook, the biggest social platform, adds constantly new tools for the user. One attractive feature is live streaming. Despite chatting and concerts that we are used to see, live video shows us...

By Anna Vallianatou on 09/23/18 Comments Off

Make-Up Metrics: The Downfall of the Beauty Community on Youtube?

Since its inception in 2005, YouTube has been host to an ever-expanding community of people looking to showcase their artistic and creative ideas on the platform. With over a billion hours of videos watched every day and with tools available...

By Erika Grimes on 09/23/18 Comments Off

IGTV: Instagram’s TV or Influencer’s TV?

On June 20, 2018, two major announcements were published on the Instagram Info Center. The first being that Instagram reached one billion users. The second was the launch of a new stand-alone application affiliated with Instagram: IGTV. IGTV:...

By Ouejdane Sabbah on 09/23/18 Comments Off

Goodbye Cashiers. Goodbye Checkouts. Goodbye Privacy?

Imagine going to University in the morning. You haven’t had breakfast, but you missed your train, so there’s no time for that queue at Albert Heijn. Now, imagine how convenient it would be to just run into a grocery...

By Ashley Snoei on 09/23/18 Comments Off

WhatsApp Killings: Affordances Of The Platform

In the past year, there have been multiple mob killings in India (Vindu Goel, Suhasini Raj and Priyadarshini Ravichandran). At least 30 people have been murdered by these mobs (Michael Safi). Why are these killings happening? The answer is...

By Carmen Ferri on 09/23/18 Comments Off

Is IGTV set to tilt our perception of online videos from horizontal to vertical?

IGTV is a new feature within the main Instagram app, as well as a new standalone app of its own, dedicated to the sharing of long-form vertical videos. What does this mean for online video-sharing platforms, like YouTube? Are...

By Lucas Prado Amaral on 09/23/18 Comments Off

Can we “unplug online”? The Paradox of Meditation Apps and Mindfulness

In our digitized world, people long more and more for taking a step back from social media and the overload of information to focus on their ‘inner self’ and guess what – there’s an app for that! Using...

By Annika Heinemeyer on 09/23/18 Comments Off

Plastic never goes away – Can apps contribute to avoid plastic pollution?

Video: Plastic Pollution Coalition – OPEN YOUR EYES The Plastic Age There is more plastic in the sea, than stars in the galaxy. Each year, 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans, and by 2050,...

By Clara Bläser on 09/23/18 Comments Off

ArtPassport: A Digitalized and Democratized Experience of Art

As media technologies and practices continue to advance, the art world is simultaneously facing a metamorphosis that presents new challenges to not only what constitutes art—but how art should be experienced. ArtPassport is one such example of an app...

By Anya Doshi on 09/23/18 Comments Off

SleepScore Max: Are Big Data the New Digital Doctors?

In the present media landscape, big data has revolutionized the way in which we regulate, analyse and influence data across several industries — one of which is healthcare. With the ability to monitor patients based on sensors embedded in...

By Anika Doshi on 09/23/18 Comments Off

Power according to Foucault

Introduction This article gives a short overview about several concepts related to ‘power’ from 20th century French social theorist Michel Foucault. He was highly influenced by Jean Hyppolite and Louis Althusser. Foucault is both associated as a structuralist and...

By Vera Seegers on 05/09/18 Comments Off