Masters of Media

There’s an xkcd for that! (GeoHash: A Spontaneous Adventure Generator app)

(Christmas GPS by xkcd) I’ve been a very avid iPhone user since 2008, ever since then it has been an extension of my arm and brain. It was my first mobile phone and my excitement over having access to...

By Demet Dagdelen on 10/09/11 Comments Off

App Review : Foodspotting

When you are in a unknown neighborhood and it is time to eat, it can be hard some times to find a good place to grab a bite. Thinking of that the developers of Foodspotting created an easy way...

By Mario Gesteira on 10/09/11 Comments Off

Open social networks and their role in society

Social media has grown to amazing heights the last couple of years. Some people say that these social media platforms help to activate citizens and to help answer social issues. Examples of the power of these platforms are abundant:...

By Wouter Timmermans on 10/09/11 Comments Off

App Review: AroundMe

Where is the next cinema? Are there any pubs and restaurants near by? Where can I find the nearest points of interest? With the help of an iPhone you can answer such questions yourself within seconds. GPS and permanent...

By Jesse Oyegbesan on 10/09/11 Comments Off

Mobile Application Review: Grindr. It’s a guy thing.

Since Facebook has gained such worldwide success, it was long overdue for gay people to have their own social network. Joel Simkhai made their wish come true and created Grindr. I have to admit, I first found out about...

By Luana Pascu on 10/09/11 2

App review: Hoccer

I’ve got an iPhone 3G (yes that’s a really old one, and it is really slow as well!). Maybe that’s the main reason that I don’t use apps very often nowadays, except for some built-in apps and a Dutch...

By Maarten Jansen on 10/09/11 Comments Off

No Worries About Your Lost iPhone

One of my friends who is a hysterical fan of Apple spent almost a whole scorching afternoon for the campaigning of getting a extremely new-launched iPhone 4 in Sun Litun Apple Store, Beijing. The moment he got his “precious”...

By Duohuai Zhang on 10/09/11 1

Being ‘late’ with the help of new app-locations

Unfortunately we’re all familiar with the situation in which you’re a few minutes late for a meeting or appointment. On your way to this meeting it’s likely you try to catch up with the time. While you’re on your...

By Anne Laurine Stadermann on 10/09/11 Comments Off

App Review: Stiktu (Beta)

…is a new (not yet released) augmented reality app for Android and iPhone by the makers of Layar. It enables users to attach (‘stick’) texts and images to ‘real-life’ objects, whether it is a book, a pack of cigarettes,...

By Daniel de Zeeuw on 10/08/11 Comments Off

The Vibe that comes and goes – an app review

In an event of ongoing demonstrations called ‘Occupy Wall Street’, people in the United States are demonstrating against the effects of the latest economic crises, corporate domination and negative capitalist effects in general. The idea of the protests came...

By Yeun Au on 10/08/11 Comments Off

App Review: Flitsers.mobi

Are you tired of all those fines in your mailbox because your speed was too high? Are you again surprised by another sneaky hidden speed camera? Those times could belong to the past since the app Flitsers.mobi released in...

By Erik van Mastrigt on 10/08/11 1

App review: Repudo

Repudo, the fysical location bound message service, explained and reviewed. The app proves to be easy to use, original and playful, but still comes with some minor issues...

By Joep Hegger on 10/08/11 1

You ‘like’, you pay! – Do Social Network Services Users Consciously and Willingly Give Up Their Right for Privacy?

Facebook faces more and more scrutiny over its user privacy issues, but do people willingly trade privacy as a commodity for using Social Network Services (SNSs)? Would they prefer to pay a certain fee in order to prevent surveillance...

By Andrei Florian on 10/08/11 Comments Off

How an app can save a life

Mobile applications are no longer just for fun and (financial) benefits. They can even help in saving a life. Think of Amber Alert, a Dutch warning system for missing children, Slown Down , an app that slows down your...

By Annet Bos on 10/07/11 3

Foursquare’s success and ignorance of the crowd

Foursquare is known as LBM (Location Based Marketing) and uses the GPS ability of smart phones to search for restaurants and other interesting locations nearby. With an account anyone can claim locations and leave specials or tips for people...

By Anne Laurine Stadermann on 10/07/11 Comments Off

SNS research proposal; Flickr

Now that the use of social networking sites has become pervasive in our daily lives, the deluge of images floating around in the cloud is growing larger then ever. The Internet has moved from a mostly text-based medium to...

By Martijn Dorresteijn on 10/06/11 Comments Off

Representing complexity: data visualization & Fredric Jameson’s notion of cognitive mapping

“There is nothing the beautiful world finds as intolerable as explanations. I, too, find it terrible when somebody begins to explain, for when worst comes to worst I understand everything myself.” (Hegel, 1808) In this post I want to...

By Daniel de Zeeuw on 10/06/11 Comments Off

The Public Sphere, New Media and Politics

According to Metareporter, a student blog for BA-student Media en Culture about new media in newspapers, a lot of articles in Dutch traditional media are about new media subjects. The top 3 tags that are being used are: Twitter,...

By Daan Fliervoet on 10/06/11 3

Your Baby Will Google You

Whether by design or by default, the current generation whose lives are playing out in social networks, in the blogosphere and throughout the Internet are leaving traces of their lives online. Controversy was anticipated as guardians and future employers...

By Autumn Hand on 10/06/11 Comments Off

Adding emotional value to apps: Buurtwinkels

We all use apps for practical reasons; checking e-mail, messaging, checking train departure times and much more. These apps are down-to-earth practical; they don’t bring tears to my eyes or amaze me with flashy images or unbelievable content. But...

By Leonie Nijenmanting on 10/06/11 Comments Off

Bits of Freedom: Do your bit!

Their timing is quite unfortunate. With Steve Jobs passing away, it’s hard to get through on Facebook and Twitter, so I thought I’d help them out a bit and shamelessly promote Bits of Freedom on the MoM blog. Bits...

By Leonie Nijenmanting on 10/06/11 Comments Off

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Yesterday, on the 5th of October 2011, the world lost a great visionary – Apple‘s co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs. He also worked as the chief executive of Pixar. His creative vision did not only make Apple one of...

By Ave Tampere on 10/06/11 Comments Off

The Administrator

The administrator is the boss. He is the ruler of his community. He has the power to alter his site, remove content or ban specific users. Basically one could consider him as the autocrat, the despot of the community....

By Erik van Mastrigt on 10/05/11 4

How do YouTube personalities change in response to fame

One social media website that has more or less gone under the radar since the 2008 Facebook boom is the now-classic YouTube. While social media research has recently focused its efforts predominantly on Facebook and Twitter, where personal identities...

By Laura Burlacu on 10/05/11 Comments Off