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

Twitter’s “buy” button creates one-click shopping

Twitter, a microblogging platform with 271 million monthly active users began beta testing a “buy” button, allowing users to purchase exclusive merchandise from within the Twitter app. According to Twitter’s blog post, released September 8, 2014: “Today we are...

By Sage Stargrove on 09/18/14 Comments Off

The Narrative Clip. Lifelogging wearables on the rise?

What if you could re-live one moment of your life? “Remember every moment” is the main concept behind the Narrative Clip, a wearable lifelogging automatic camera. You just have to clip it on and it will automatically record your life...

By Maria Belen Muñoz on 09/17/14 Comments Off

Tweet, Tweet, Buy. (Or bye bye Tweet?)

Last week I received an e-mail from Twitter with the heading ‘We’ve updated our Privacy Policy and terms of Service.’ That’s always interesting news. What was even more interesting was the easily announced new feature Twitter is testing: a “Buy” button...

By Arla Krikke on 09/16/14 Comments Off

Clasp, a new app helping to bring down Autism barriers

Generally described as a disability that affects how a person makes sense of the world and communicate to others, we will explore how a new electronic device is trying to help and improve the life of those suffering from...

By Caio Domingues on 09/15/14 Comments Off

Should companies care for social media webcare?

Who does not use social networking sites these days? For millions of people around the world social networking sites are part of their daily routine. This phenomenon has major advantages for companies; it offers them the possibility to enhance...

By Richelle Werners on 09/11/14 Comments Off

Ice Bucket Challenge: Entering a new era of viral fundraising

Approximately two months ago, another viral phenomenon started taking over the Internet: The Ice Bucket Challenge. While everybody should applaud the charitable motive behind it, I was tired of seeing foolish narcissists pouring ice water over their head and posting a video...

By Miles Zornig on 09/11/14 Comments Off

Social Media interactions as a way to success in travel blogging

Nowadays, blogging is a rapidly evolving form of media. 77% of Internet users read blogs and there are twice as many more bloggers today than there were in the previous year, shows Social Media Today. According to BestWebHostingGeek.com, there...

By Agnieszka Walewinder on 09/11/14 Comments Off

Social Media and Sensitive Content

Since its inception, Twitter has considered itself a stalwart for free speech. It’s gotten them into some hot water in the past, including outcries over abusive Internet trolls, as well as the intricate balancing act of promoting open dialogue...

By Nora McLeese on 09/10/14 Comments Off

Spread the Word: Fund Clean Oceans

96 days ago, a crowdfunding project started and was widely spread through Facebook, Linked-In and other social media. It all started with the 17-year old Boyan who had a plan. A plan to do something about the plastic pollution...

By Arla Krikke on 09/09/14 Comments Off

Has internet worsened our grammar?

Since the advent of the internet and the world wide web, it has never been easier to exchange and share information with people from all around the world. A good part of the technological inventions developed in the last...

By Josip Batinic on 09/08/14 Comments Off

SHOW ME THE DATA! 2014

On Thursday afternoon March 27th seven interactive data visualization projects will be presented, developed by Master students of the University of Amsterdam. Show Me The Data is an annual event which is open to the public, click here for...

By Nicholas Vieira on 03/22/14 Comments Off

Re-visiting 90s media theory: The Media Archive by ADILKNO

Alexandra Kontou, Caroline Boserup, Jakub Dutka ADILKNO / BILWET (Foundation for the Advancement of Illegal Knowledge / Stichting tot Bevordering van Illegale Wetenschap ) was founded in 1983 as a collective of five artists/authors, Geert Lovink, Arjen Mulder,...

By Jakub Dutka on 03/21/14 Comments Off

Digital Hangovers: Capturing an Emergent New Media Phenomenon through DigitalObservatory

Introduction Modern technology has led to a rapidly increasing amount of media objects that can be shared online. Every minute, for instance, more than hundred videos are uploaded on Youtube. Yet, the downside of this development is that what...

By Tessa de Keijser on 10/21/13 1

We Are Dread: A Review of the Dread Exhibition at De Hallen, Haarlem

By Lani Shadduck & Lucy Chinen “Dread trembles in my pocket. Dread chirps incessantly. Dread flashes and bounces. Dread summons me a hundred times a day to pay attention to my phone or my laptop, and stiffening...

By Lani Shadduck on 10/09/13 Comments Off

#VemPraRua

How the use of Social Media platforms can mobilize a whole nation and transform the history of a country “Vem pra rua, porque a rua é a maior arquibancada do Brasil” The sentence above was extracted from the song...

By Gustavo López on 09/12/13 3

Brazil Left Facebook

Although it’s winter in Brazil, the so-called ‘Brazilian Spring’ has clearly arisen in June and July 2013. The protests in Brazil show parallels to the ‘Arab Spring’ demonstrations (Dec. 2010-Feb. 2011), in which network communications were used to form a grassroots movement. Through...

By Cristel Kolopaking on 09/11/13 Comments Off

Social media – the new watchdog?

September 5th the former leader of the Norwegian far right party (Progress Party), Carl I. Hagen, wrote a status update on his Facebook-profile. Here he blamed the current government for the murder of a 21-year old girl, Anja Weløy...

By May Andersen on 09/11/13 Comments Off

Death of A Museum

‘No flash please.’ A handsomely uniformed Van Gogh Museum attendant gently reminds a befuddled middle-aged iPhone-toting museum patron. The woman appears confused — confused at the prospect of making that pesky flash go away and equally confused at the...

By Lani Shadduck on 09/11/13 Comments Off

Social network is aging. What’s next?

We’re hopelessly addicted to social platforms as if it would be still revolutionary in our lives but is anyone thinking about it to be aging? People start getting bored with social networks because it does change in the way...

By Indre Lauciute on 09/08/13 Comments Off

Visualizing Our Global Mood 140 Characters at a Time

“We need a new way to convey information, a method which is simple to teach and to learn, and at the same time comprehensive and exact. What I might call ‘consistent visualization’ is such a way.“ These are the...

By Robert Silvis on 03/13/13 1

[Event] Unlike Us #3 | Social Media: Design or Decline

This March, the Unlike Us conference is taking place in Amsterdam for a second consecutive year. Hosted by Amsterdam’s Institute of Network Cultures, the event gathers academics, artists and activists to discuss ‘social media monopolies and their alternatives’. Unlike...

By Larissa Hildebrandt on 02/28/13 Comments Off

Fake Identities in Social Media

The popularity of social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, has resulted in new forms of user performance and identity. Each new online account creates a new identity in which users must negotiate issues of disclosure, security, and...

By Joe Mier on 11/14/12 4

Information Overload: how much is enough?

If you’re reading this post, on this blog, your interests clearly relate to the wonderful realm of new media. Your notifications icon on Facebook is probably blinking to indicate that you have some messages pending and there’s a cue...

By Alex Manole on 11/02/12 Comments Off

Second Chance Serendipity: Missed Connections on Craigslist

“Had I said anything at the time, it would have come out as a disorganized mix of the different things going through my mind. So, opting for ‘better to be thought of a fool than to open one’s mouth...

By Maya Livio on 10/20/12 Comments Off