In an article published by The Week, technology columnist Navneet Alang recounts his successful attempt (at least for the moment) to wean himself off Twitter. Addicted since 2007, the author describes how Twitter has succeeded in deforming his perception of the world. At one point, he focuses...
When the Islamic State threatens Rome, Italians turn to Twitter. What happens when you mix terrorists, Rome and pizza together? Well, you get Twitter-savvy Italians who are ready to laugh off the latest threat from the Islamic State (IS). Drawing on an Islamic end of day prophecy, IS...
On social media sites, teens protect their privacy, transmit hidden messages and even hijack advertisers’ algorithms. Back in the early days of social media, Danah Boyd was asked to participate on a panel alongside some representatives from various consumer brands. A fellow panelist who worked...
South Africa’s AIDS epidemic exists because of colonialism and apartheid. In what has been dubbed the "Tweet heard around the world," Justine Sacco, former head of corporate communications at InterActiveCorp (IAC), tweeted the following before stepping on a plane to Cape...
Ran Chakrabarti imagines a dispute over freedom of speech of a slightly different sort. Free speech is under attack. Nowhere more so than in India, where draconian laws permit arrests and criminal charges against those who hurt the sentiments of others. Under Section 66A of India’s...
Daniel Miller provides an anthropological insight which negates the premiss that there is something as "The" internet. You can either study the internet or you can study culture. What you can’t do is both. Why not? Because, at least from the perspective of the anthropology...
Yahia Lababidi speaks about how he finally learnt to make peace with the Internet, and came to view social media as a source of sustenance as well as inspiration. I held out as long as I could before signing up for an email account. At the time, I viewed the idea of electronic mail as invasive,...
“What you don’t hear about is the distinction between digital renegades and digital captives… we need to know how exactly technology influences civic engagement and the propensity to actually go and engage in protest.” In this cat-and-mouse-themed animation...
A student movement in Mexico challenges the monopolization of traditional media through the use of social media and their rise provides an interesting study in media both old and new. Like a bizarro Tea Party mixed with the youthful cyber-savvy and anarchistic Occupy Movement, emerges the Yo Soy...
