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The iPhone nudge and the choice to budge

The iPhone nudge and the choice to budge

  Every time you reach into your pocket for your iPhone (sorry to exclude non-iPhone users) you’re prompted with a security code, unless this feature has been disabled. Your options are entering a 4 to 6 numerical code or...
Instagram bots in the debate of free labor

Instagram bots in the debate of free labor

In the recent years there has been a growing trend of Instagram bots creating accounts, liking content and posting comments on Instagram. For a cheap price, these bots are offered as a service, by sites such as Gramista to...

Dust in the wind: On air pollution and objectivity

Abstract By comparing Robert Boyle’s measuring device to subtract data about corporal particles and air pollution visualization app the Breezometer I try to show that how and which data is being subtracted depends on a socio-cultural matrix in which...
There is no such thing as Privacy Policy: Tracking users’ online behaviour through Waze

There is no such thing as Privacy Policy: Tracking users’ online behaviour through Waze

When referring to navigation apps that are frequently used on our smartphones, the Waze app may sound familiar to many users. Founded in 2006, this app has been used by over 50 million users worldwide. Waze acts as a...
Voice assistants – speak or die?

Voice assistants – speak or die?

The Tech’s Big 5 feels honour-bound to win the race for the best voice assistant. Since Siri’s introduction for iPhone 4s in 2011 and Alexa’s official debut at smart speaker Echo in 2015 the appetite for more natural ways...
Publicism: Breaking the chains of press censorship and surveillance

Publicism: Breaking the chains of press censorship and surveillance

MEDIA FREEDOM IS INCREASINGLY FRAGILE   The 2017 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters without Border (RSF), shows that media freedom is increasingly threatened not only in authoritarian regimes but also in democratic countries. For example, the Netherlands...
Camarilla: New Concept of Social Media or Not?

Camarilla: New Concept of Social Media or Not?

Is it not cool to have so many friends on social media anymore? Do social media undermine the definition of friendship? Are we ever more concerned about our privacy? These questions are provoked by the emergence of a social...
Digital Gerrymandering, Computational Propaganda and the Electronic Electoral Advantage: Towards a Case for Reform

Digital Gerrymandering, Computational Propaganda and the Electronic Electoral Advantage: Towards a Case for Reform

Jonathan Zittrain, professor of international law at Harvard University, coined the term ‘digital gerrymandering’ in 2014. Traditionally, gerrymandering was the political practice of manipulating constituency boundaries to cultivate a party-political advantage. Although the etymology derives from Elbridge Gerry’s governorship...
The Brain’s Introduction to the Internet of Things (For Neuromancer)

The Brain’s Introduction to the Internet of Things (For Neuromancer)

The Brain Logs On Our technological culture too often takes its standard of development to be “marginally better consumer gadgetry” (Williams & Srnicek).  It takes some effort to puncture the hype and discern what are the leaps and bounds...
GIS: An Exploration of Non-Existent Maps

GIS: An Exploration of Non-Existent Maps

Introduction I’m reminded of the short story On Exactitude in Science by Jorge Luis Borges. He presents an encyclopedia excerpt from a nameless empire of cartographers who, in their pursuit of the perfect map and blinded by their hubris...
Big data, small issue?

Big data, small issue?

On the 2nd of August 2016, Facebook-owned Instagram rolled out a new extension of their already popular social network platform called Instastories. Media and netizens alike took to the internet to comment on the uncanny resemblance between Snapchat, which...
“Poop tech is the next big thing” – The Age of Quantified Self Tracking

“Poop tech is the next big thing” – The Age of Quantified Self Tracking

In the age of the quantified self we are asked to self-track our every mental and physical move to ensure us that we can live to our fullest potential, even if that means we have to track our poop…...
ArtPassport: How Virtual Reality Technology is Shaping Our Cultural Experiences

ArtPassport: How Virtual Reality Technology is Shaping Our Cultural Experiences

  One of the most influential figures of our time, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” On the contrary, writer Evgeny Morozov believes that “Celebrating innovation for its own sake is...
The clever dispenser that nobody asked for

The clever dispenser that nobody asked for

    A young Silicon Valley start-up just launched a product of arguable novelty. This product is a dispenser customized with some edgy additional features such as the Wi-Fi, several cameras and an app. The start-up, named Bodega, created...
“One More Thing…” – A critical approach to the Apple 2017 Keynote Presentation

“One More Thing…” – A critical approach to the Apple 2017 Keynote Presentation

But there is “One more thing.” There it was again. These famous words, first introduced by Steve Jobs, where presented at the 2017 Keynote Presentation. It was the first presentation in the official Steve Jobs Theater and the “One...
iPhone Face ID: Privacy issues we should worry about

iPhone Face ID: Privacy issues we should worry about

On September 12th 2017, the new iPhone X was introduced by CEO Tim Cook during an Apple event that took place at the Steve Jobs Theatre in the Apple Park. Due to its features, this smartphone is considered to be the most...
Have No Fear…Facebook is here?

Have No Fear…Facebook is here?

Since its February 2004 debut, Facebook has evolved from an online yearbook for Harvard students into a daily ritual for 1.32 billion daily active users as a resource for everything from status updates to the latest world news to...
Privatising public transport: tech companies are getting their foot in the door of London’s public transport

Privatising public transport: tech companies are getting their foot in the door of London’s public transport

Route-planning app Citymapper has decided to take public transport into its own hands. It seems the popular urban navigation app, after years of watching the bus routes of London, didn’t like what it saw, and now a Citymapper-branded bus...
From Fake to Fact: How the Blockchain May Rewire Our News Consumption

From Fake to Fact: How the Blockchain May Rewire Our News Consumption

Breaking news. No, literally: the news is broken. Fake over fact; clickbait over quality. Increasingly influential social platforms privilege content that ‘works’: content that captures our attention and drives up profits. Consequently, news organizations create such content. A new...
The ‘Uberization’ of Restaurants’ Food Supply Chains: Consumers Come to the ResQ and Civilians Don’t ‘Waste the Plate’!

The ‘Uberization’ of Restaurants’ Food Supply Chains: Consumers Come to the ResQ and Civilians Don’t ‘Waste the Plate’!

Via apps like ResQ Club and Get Chefs users can save surplus servings from restaurants. Not only do both actors tackle the symptoms of food wastage, the users get to discover new restaurants while paying less and the restaurants...
Sharing or Free Labour? The Value of User-Generated Content on Lonely Planet’s App Trips

Sharing or Free Labour? The Value of User-Generated Content on Lonely Planet’s App Trips

Before going on holiday you probably ask a friend or family member for advice on the best cafe’s, museums or hikes to visit on your trip. Lonely Planet, as the number one guidebook publisher in the world, are also...
Winter is coming for Uber

Winter is coming for Uber

Knockout or next round? All eyes towards the battle between Uber and London’s transport regulation system ‘TfL’. Employee conditions and security affairs are the big issues in this public discussion. Is there a bright new future for digital labor...
Using Personal Data to buy Art: The Data Dollar Store

Using Personal Data to buy Art: The Data Dollar Store

Recently, Kaspersky Lab has been in the news due to so-called suspicious activity within their security software system and a supposed link with the Russian government. Both TechCrunch and Wired state that the Department of Homeland Security has “banned...
VIA- A New On Demand Luxury Shuttle Service Expands to Europe

VIA- A New On Demand Luxury Shuttle Service Expands to Europe

  The ride-sharing phenomena has disrupted the way people commute and get around as popular apps such as Uber and Lyft continue to launch and grow in major cities around the world. By using these platforms, riders have the...