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

E = Media Combinations2: The survival of the fittest

Every old medium was once new. And when something gets old we’ve got to search for a way to give it its old glance back. The printed book was once a new medium. It was revolutionary, groundbreaking. But today...

By Chris Hoogeveen on 10/13/10 3

MIN(D)ING Your Data

Last week, ‘surveillance and control’ was the theme the Masters of Media-students were debating about. Theorists as Michel Foucault, Deleuze, Galloway and Thacker and Chun passed the revue. With the articles of the last three theorist there was some...

By Xander Stolwijk on 09/27/10 Comments Off

Hyves, THE information source for companies

How would I do research in web 2.0 and Social Network Sites? First I have to make clear for myself what web 2.0 exactly is. According to Tim O’Reilly, one of the founders of web 2.0, web 2.0 existed...

By Floor Broer van Dijk on 09/26/10 Comments Off

Cyberspace is haunted: friending dead people

The dead are among us in ever growing numbers. They have inhabited a space without time and place where they exist and don’t exist at the same time. You can tag and poke them but be careful because they...

By Cendy Calis on 09/26/10 1

Ning’s Privacy Issues

My background is not only media studies/theories but I’m also enrolled in the Bachelor program of Law at the University of Amsterdam. This post is about my critique on the interaction between privacy and user on Ning.com. For class...

By Tim van Essen on 10/03/09 4

Social Networking Sites: Safety First

The rise of social networking sites makes people put a lot of personal information on the internet. The idea behind this is simple. How more complete and updated your profile is, the more easier you are to find on...

By Charlotte van Brakel on 09/28/09 Comments Off

Children and Hyves

The most popular social networking website in the Netherlands is Hyves. It’s similar to Facebook or MySpace, but far more used in Holland: since it’s founding in 2004, the number of users has grown explosively and today Hyves has...

By Desiree de Jong on 09/10/09 Comments Off

Possibilities and threats for popstars in Web 2.0

Popstars have an economic function, like filmstars. They promise a performance. They are the profit makers of the entertainment industries. From an ideological point of view, popstars maintain a myth of meritocracy. The industries and the stars themselves want...

By Arno de Natris on 09/02/09 1

The digital Grim Reaper

Isn’t it remarkable that a profile on a social network site is almost always linked to a person that exists in real life? Most profiles are related to someone, some group or something that is palpable. Of course, some...

By Arno de Natris on 12/18/08 3

How Can We Study The Data of Social Networking Sites?

How can we make use of all the data stored in Social Networking Sites? And how can we study those data? In 2005 Jeffrey Heer and danah boyd developed a system called Vizster. It is an information visualization system...

By Bram Nijhof on 10/06/08 Comments Off

Digital Handshakes in Networked Publics: a Case Study

In her essay ‘Digital Handshakes in Networked Publics: Why Politicians Must Interact, Not Broadcast' Danah Boyd explains how politicians in the United...

By Heleen Kerkman on 10/06/08 Comments Off

Social Networking Sites and the Missing Half

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)...

By Ben White on 10/04/08 2

Hyves: Social Network Site?

Social networksite Hyves is declared ‘website of the year’ by internet users in The Netherlands. About fifty percent of the Dutch own a profile on this fast growing social network site. But what is Hyves and how to study...

By Arno de Natris on 10/02/08 131

Vriendjespolitiek.net: research into post-demographics

Since 1998, and on paper since 1989 (Stemwijzer 2008), general elections in the Netherlands have spawned a variety of so called voting recommendation machines. These systems typically ask the user to answer some questions after which they offer the...

By Erik Borra on 06/11/08 1

Visualizing the network

As a result of the course information visualization, a public screening was organized where all project teams involved got a chance to present their work at the Waag Society venue. Within a tight 6 minutes, concept explanation and implementation...

By Tjerk Timan on 05/22/08 9

Updated Hyves Pulls Plug on Student Projects After Waag Society Event

((Looks like a possible false alarm, please see update below)) Online social network hyves.nl">Hyves has blocked access to the profiles pages for unregistered users. Now one has to be registered and logged in to view a Hyver's full profile,...

By Michael Stevenson on 05/22/08 3

Self Promotion

Brand equals Interface? According to the Information Architects Japan design agency, brands are not mere reflections of their graphical attributes (Logo’s, color schemes, etcetera). A corporate identity or product is just as much defined by its interface. This means...

By Raoul Siepers on 09/23/07 Comments Off

Twitter, Tumblr and microblogging

The newest hype nowadays seems to be Twitter which allows you to share what you are doing with your friends every single second. Are you going to the mall? Is your cat sneezing? Update your Twitter page on the...

By Anne Helmond on 03/29/07 6