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“Do fans also like…”? — in what ways do big artists profit from Spotify’s recommendation system

“Do fans also like…”? — in what ways do big artists profit from Spotify’s recommendation system

WG1 – 7 In recent years streaming services have exponentially grown in their popularity. Streaming services like Netflix and Spotify have amassed large numbers of users, making them some of the most well-known platforms to date. Especially for music,...
By on 10/29/21 Comments Off on “Do fans also like…”? — in what ways do big artists profit from Spotify’s recommendation system
The Paradox of Digital Infrastructures: Polarization vs Unification on Unjected

The Paradox of Digital Infrastructures: Polarization vs Unification on Unjected

This research paper considered the app Unjected from the perspective of both margins as methods and infrastructure studies. It showcases how the affordances of the app allow for the strengthening of the unvaccinated community while at the same...
By on 10/29/21 Comments Off on The Paradox of Digital Infrastructures: Polarization vs Unification on Unjected
Alternative for Who? Investigating Public Opinion on Alternative Platforms

Alternative for Who? Investigating Public Opinion on Alternative Platforms

By Tristan Bannerman, Amie Galbraith, and Natalie Kerby While monopoly power is growing in tech, so is the public consciousness of the inner workings of large platforms. A growing movement of alternative platforms could hold the potential answer to...
By Natalie Kerby on 10/29/21 Comments Off on Alternative for Who? Investigating Public Opinion on Alternative Platforms
Sex Work Re-loaded: How Digital Platforms are re-defining Sex Work

Sex Work Re-loaded: How Digital Platforms are re-defining Sex Work

“Maybe I should start an OnlyFans” has become a well-known phrase across different platforms. This blog post explores how the dynamics of sex work have changed on online spaces by looking into the relationship between OnlyFans and Instagram, specifically...
By Martin Trans on 10/27/21 Comments Off on Sex Work Re-loaded: How Digital Platforms are re-defining Sex Work
One Magic Leap For Mankind: Is this visual platform the magic bullet to remote learning?

One Magic Leap For Mankind: Is this visual platform the magic bullet to remote learning?

The pedagogical shift from classrooms to chatrooms, exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic, has changed education—for better and worse. This blog post seeks to explore some of these issues and how Magic Leap 1, which is a wearable head-mounted AR...
By Paul Bugeja on 10/21/20 Comments Off on One Magic Leap For Mankind: Is this visual platform the magic bullet to remote learning?
Censorship creates discourse: the implications of banning political advertising

Censorship creates discourse: the implications of banning political advertising

Ayushi Arora (13237748, arora.ayushi@gmail.com) Thomas Ba (13286544, thomas.ba.7@outlook.it) Maurice Dharampal (10439250, maurice.dharampal@student.uva.nl) Alex Soete (13208918, alex.soete@gmail.com) Introduction Is free-speech under attack? Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has recently joined the head of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, in the...
By on 10/20/20 Comments Off on Censorship creates discourse: the implications of banning political advertising
What is VK and why could it be a social media platform of the future?

What is VK and why could it be a social media platform of the future?

What is the best and most well-known social network of all times? Most of the people would say Facebook. But what if somewhere in the land of forests, snow, and, of course, bears exists a social media platform, which...
By on 09/27/20 Comments Off on What is VK and why could it be a social media platform of the future?
Shattering a totalitarian monopoly?

Shattering a totalitarian monopoly?

This blog post covers the struggle between Epic Games on one side and Apple and Google on the other. By suing Google and Apple over anti-competitive practices, Epic Games hopes to break the tight grip the platforms have on...
By David Dijkhuis on 09/24/20 Comments Off on Shattering a totalitarian monopoly?
On platform aesthetics: TikTok as the next level of the gamification of social exchange online

On platform aesthetics: TikTok as the next level of the gamification of social exchange online

TikTok has taken the place of being among the most recent cases in social media success history. In just two years since its global launch in 2017, the app has reached the number of 1 billion downloads in 75...
By Lukas Beckenbauer on 09/23/19 Comments Off on On platform aesthetics: TikTok as the next level of the gamification of social exchange online
Framing AlphaZero: An infrastructural approach to A.I.

Framing AlphaZero: An infrastructural approach to A.I.

Man V.S. Machine It was in May 1997 when world champion chess player Garri Kasparov lost the now infamous chess match to IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. Deep Blue was considered the first artificial intelligence program to win a chess...
By on 09/23/19 Comments Off on Framing AlphaZero: An infrastructural approach to A.I.
A.I. Influencers: Preaching to the Choir?

A.I. Influencers: Preaching to the Choir?

As virtual influencers are gaining popularity on social media platforms such as Instagram, an increasing amount of money is being invested into the development of so-called A.I. influencers. Will such influencers cause a shift in the relationship between different...
By Dieuwertje Luitse on 09/22/19 Comments Off on A.I. Influencers: Preaching to the Choir?
Deepfake technology: a paradox of economic and political possibilities

Deepfake technology: a paradox of economic and political possibilities

Abstract: Nowadays, deepfake technology seems to be a trending debate in not only media academia but also the social world. The discussions encompass many economic and political concerns that perhaps become prerequisites of further research in disinformation, misinformation and...
By Lei Ding on 09/22/19 Comments Off on Deepfake technology: a paradox of economic and political possibilities
How to be thoughtful without thinking, new app promises stronger relationships

How to be thoughtful without thinking, new app promises stronger relationships

The latest trend for the digitally immersed is having an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant app teach how to be a more thoughtful human. ‘Monaru’ is a start-up app that intends to overcome the disconnection that has resulted from constant...
By on 09/22/19 Comments Off on How to be thoughtful without thinking, new app promises stronger relationships
Genetic Genealogy: Will your DNA have a life of its own?

Genetic Genealogy: Will your DNA have a life of its own?

Genetic Genealogy is a novel method to link DNA from a crime scene to DNA stored on Genealogy websites such as MyHeritage, 23andMe and GEDmatch. It has the potential to solve many cold cases, but on a Web that...
By Rimmert Sijtsma on 09/22/19 Comments Off on Genetic Genealogy: Will your DNA have a life of its own?
“Hidden Cost”: Social Commerce Practices and the Collaboration between Snapchat and Amazon

“Hidden Cost”: Social Commerce Practices and the Collaboration between Snapchat and Amazon

In an era when S-commerce (social commerce) is dominating digital environments, social media platforms use more and more tools to achieve this combination of commercial and social activities. Like Instagram and Pinterest, now Snapchat jumped onto this trend and...
By Aikaterini Mniestri on 10/19/18 Comments Off on “Hidden Cost”: Social Commerce Practices and the Collaboration between Snapchat and Amazon
The rise of connected cars: telematics, carrots, and ads

The rise of connected cars: telematics, carrots, and ads

The car culture, as we know it, is dying. Not because cars are going hybrid or electric, and lack of noise coming out of exhaust systems makes car lovers depressed, neither because they are “learning” to drive by themselves....
By Péter Fussy on 09/23/18 Comments Off on The rise of connected cars: telematics, carrots, and ads
For artists, or for itself? How Spotify’s artist app enhances the platform’s growth

For artists, or for itself? How Spotify’s artist app enhances the platform’s growth

Spotify now gives artists access to information about their listeners. This has been hailed as empowering by artists who use these insights to forge careers in an ever-changing industry. But why would Spotify want to share its data? Spotify...
By Sarah Dear on 09/22/18 Comments Off on For artists, or for itself? How Spotify’s artist app enhances the platform’s growth
Interventions on Nick Srnicek’s “Platform Capitalism”

Interventions on Nick Srnicek’s “Platform Capitalism”

A representation of the current platform capitalist culture.
By Els Versluis on 02/16/18 Comments Off on Interventions on Nick Srnicek’s “Platform Capitalism”
Big tech goes to war over Augmented reality (AR) dominance

Big tech goes to war over Augmented reality (AR) dominance

In the year between June 2016 and June 2017, AR went from being a fun optional technology in a handful apps - like Pokémon GO – to becoming a vital part of the future strategy for every technology company...
By Ståle Grut on 09/24/17 Comments Off on Big tech goes to war over Augmented reality (AR) dominance
What Apple’s new cookie blocker says about platforms and privacy

What Apple’s new cookie blocker says about platforms and privacy

Apple’s new built-in cookie blocker may be welcomed by most consumers, but what does it say about the power yielded by the company, which maintains vast amounts of data on its own users? If platforms are allowed to make...
By Liam Corcoran on 09/24/17 Comments Off on What Apple’s new cookie blocker says about platforms and privacy
Working the Social Network

Working the Social Network

 “Social media is not Facebook. Nor is it YouTube. Neither is it blogging or tweeting. Facebook, YouTube, blogs, and twitter are merely platforms and channels; players on a much broader stage collectively referred to as social media” ....
By Janina Sommerlad on 10/17/14 1