Masters of Media

Is Performative Activism bad?

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the world listened to an ongoing battle of police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The video of police killing George Floyd went viral on Instagram and Twitter, followed by countless black squares...

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Too young to vote, but not to like: is Matteo Salvini attempting to reach under-age youngsters on Tik Tok?

Introduction Matteo Salvini, leader of the major Italian political party La Lega, with his 4,3 million likes on Facebook is one of most followed politicians in Italy. Last November he was the first (and so far the only) major...

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Cloud computing: Shadow, the line between privacy and illegality

With the introduction of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu or Disney+ a new era of cloud computing emerged. After the already existing cloud storage services, for example GoogleDrive, you now too can stream your favorite films through the...

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Leading the fight against coronavirus, the State…or Apple and Google?

Figure one: Getty Images. TraceTogether Phone Image. 17 Apr. 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52325352. In the month of March, as more than half the world’s population headed into lockdown, internet privacy campaigner Maciej Cegłowski released his relatively worryingly titled article “We Need...

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Extend the Flawless Beauty: Facetune Video Further Goes against Beauty Activism

With TikTok becoming increasingly popular in people’s daily life, such global prevalence of applications that focus on instant short video feeds indicates that people’s quest for a flawless face and a well-proportioned body shape no longer stops at still...

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‘Reinventing the wheel’ – how online activism and e-bikes reduce the carbon footprint

Abstract: E-bikes are becoming an element of the clicktivism culture and by appearing eco-friendly they propose activist solutions to only a small group of people. This paper analyses the implications of e-bikes, how they help to develop a low-effort...

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Arcturian Supernova: Hyper-real religions and the future of belief

This entry aims to shine a light on hyper-real religions—digitally mediated religions that are born in a digital medium and aggregate pop-culture elements in their spiritual doctrines (Possamai). This will be done by presenting the “Artcturians” Facebook group as...

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The Political Ecology of Spotify: How Streaming Takes A Toll On The Environment

Digital music does not just appear out of thin air. While ostensibly immaterial, the energy used to transmit and stream music has a tangible, detrimental impact on the environment. In order to understand Spotify's role in eco-pollution and e-waste,...

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Signal – Speaking with no one listening

Signal is a messaging app that has been around since 2013. It is said to be one of the most secure messaging apps on the market. Whistleblower Edward Snowden uses it daily and describes Signal as the safest messaging...

By Alexandra Hagedorn on 09/28/20 Comments Off

Live-Stream Shopping: The Future of E-Commerce?

In the era of e-commerce, did you imagine that one day we can buy a Maserati, a house, or even a rocket launch service on our smartphones? Don’t be surprised. It is certainly happening on the live-stream shopping platforms...

By Yingying Chen on 09/28/20 Comments Off

Help the food delivery couriers out: would you like to wait 5 more minutes ?

The food delivery frenzy China has the largest food delivery services market in the world, which is expected to exceed 300 billion Yuan in 2020. The market is a duopoly, dominated by two platforms – Ele.me and Meituan, respectively owned...

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We have Fans at Home: Artists x Twitch Streaming

Thanks to the pandemic, Artists on Twitch is an emerging subculture that utilises the platforms affordances to provide a candid intimated experience for fans, while being able to receive support simultaneously. As always, while individuals are creating content for...

By Samuel Vitikainen on 09/28/20 Comments Off

TikTok, it’s Trump O’Clock: Discussing the Motivations Behind Banning Popular Platform

Abstract: Following the banning of TikTok on US-based online mobile app stores, I argue that, rather than privacy, TikTok is being banned because the platform threatens the Trump administration. It poses a threat since the app is not owned...

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Don’t Leave the Light On: Visualizing Privacy in iOS14

The iOS14 update offers new forms of visualizing privacy, through features such as the camera indicator light and (still forthcoming) opt-in tracking. Rather than put pressure on the developer, these features act to visualize the continued shift of power...

By Max Buzzell on 09/28/20 Comments Off

It’s a Small World – Oculus’ Quest 2 Redefine Distance

Oculus Quest 2, Facebook’s latest wireless Virtual Reality (VR) headset, was released in September 2020. Similar to its predecessor Oculus Quest, the gadget has been largely used for gaming, however this is not where the possibilities end. According to...

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As Cookies Crumble, Publishers Come Out to Play

Introduction: In January 2020, Google announced that web browser Chrome would be dropping third-party cookies by 2022. According to Google, blocking third-party cookies is meant to “enhance privacy” for end-users and “to support publishers.”So, with the end of third-party...

By Carla Roman on 09/28/20 Comments Off

“U can’t touch this!” – Does sense of touch is needed in online shopping experience?

In the last decade, consumer purchases behaviour has changed. The explosive growth of e-commerce generates the tendency to design immersive shopping environment. The most advanced interactive technology focuses on the visual improvement of cybershopping, such as creating a 3D...

By Anna Maria Biernat on 09/28/20 Comments Off

“Encrypt your face”: protestors Signal digital data privacy fears with new face-blurring feature

In the wake of George Floyd’s death, protestors flocked to encrypted messaging application (“app”) Signal to plan events and share content. In response, a new tool was quickly released that allows faces to be blurred in photos. These events...

By Paul Bugeja on 09/28/20 Comments Off

The Strawberry Dress, a VIRAL cure for the pandemic?

Amidst a pandemic, worldwide lockdowns, in time of sweatpants and cancelled galas how did a sweet $490 strawberry dress become “the dress of the summer”? An examination of the prolific spread of the strawberry dress and how ‘viral’ objects...

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You Can See Me Naked (After the Paywall): How OnlyFans Transforms the Online Sex Industry

Whereas most social media platforms ban nudity – Instagram’s User Guidelines forbid posting pictures of women’s nipples, for example – the emergent platform OnlyFans runs on nakedness. By paying a monthly subscription fee, people can now see their favourite...

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Health Code, a tool to tackle COVID-19 or automatize social control?

“Please show your Health Code.” A few months since the COVID-19 pandemic started, almost all public places in China have posted such requests at the entrances. Health Code, a color-based application, is rolled out to control people’s movements and...

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AI comment moderation: Perspective API – a case study

With the increasing relevance of online social networking practices, forums of discussion have come to play a significant role in shaping the public opinion. Emerging from the panorama of Artificial intelligence employed to moderate online conversations is Perspective API,...

By Sofia Rastelli on 09/28/20 Comments Off

“I identify as a unicorn”- queering your augmented reality

Last month, Amsterdam’s new museum for digital art Nxt Museum opened. In one of their first offered activities, you could follow a workshop by Jeremy Bailey in which you were invited to make face filters within the application Lens Studio. ...

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Designing identities with Memojis – Apple’s animated avatars

Apple's new feature - Memoji - allows its users to design animated versions of their digital characters, which can be later shared with other iOS device owners. What does an introduction of this affordance entail for human practices of...

By Zuzanna Kędzia on 09/28/20 Comments Off