This post was written by Jeroen Matthijs de Vos, Niels ten Oever, and Maxigas Dunajcsik. This event is a collaboration between the UvA, the Amsterdam municipality, and the ObA, it was made possible by Global Digital Cultures and IN-SIGHT.it (grant MVI.19.032 as part of the MVI programme). The IN-SIGHT.it People’s 5G Lab, together with the…
This post was written by Anniek de Koning, research master student in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam ‘To measure is to know’ is the mantra that underlies the increase in the collection of data that can be tracked, monitored, or analyzed. Datafication played a big role in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic…
This post was written by Emma Breuer, Research Master student in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam To provide the general public with up-to-date and scientifically-backed answers to pressing questions about COVID-19, local German public radio broadcaster NDR launched the daily podcast ‘Das Coronavirus-Update’ with virologist Christian Drosten in February 2020. With 15 millions…
This post was written by Roxana Varvara Boboc, Research Master student in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam As the EU Digital COVID Certificate enters the application, the digitalisation of health urgently requires critical reflection. In a previous GDC blog post, I have discussed how a public-private alternative to contact tracing solutions has pushed…
This post was written by Vanessa Richter, Research Master student in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam Since their inception, commercial digital health tracking (DHT) platforms, such as Apple Health and Google-owned Fitbit, pushed towards adoption by public institutions. We’re seeing them reimagine public health today through public-private partnerships. While DHT might still be…
This post was written by Dieuwertje Luitse, Research Master student in Media Studies (New Media & Digital Culture) at the University of Amsterdam The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the global deployment of data-driven healthcare technologies (e.g., contact tracing apps) to mitigate the spread of the virus (Ada Lovelace Institute, 2021; Chiusi, 2020). However, as a…
This post was written by Laura Köpping, research master’s student at the Media Studies Department of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Amsterdam “Help, I think I’ve been shadowbanned!” Posts like this seem to have increased in frequency on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. These posts refer to a phenomenon that a…
This post was written by Veronica Fanzio, Research Master student in Media Studies, New Media, and Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam. TikTok is arguably the most hectic and content-rich mainstream social media platform. We have all gotten lost in the paraphernalia of dance videos, cooking tutorials, kittens, and lip-synced songs. There are even…
This post was written by Luisa F. González Valencia, PhD candidate at the Centre for Documentation and Research on Latin America – CEDLA, as part of the Global Digital Cultures research project P(r)otestas. The tax reform project filed by Ivan Duque’s government in April 2021 provoked enormous popular backlash across Colombia, exacerbating growing discontent about…
This post was written by Laura Köpping. There has long been a pattern across social media and membership-based platforms. Initially, platforms profit from the engagement of sex workers and from sex-oriented content, only to turn around and deplatform sex workers and marginalised sexual communities, such as queer- and kink-oriented accounts. Tumblr, Patreon, and OnlyFans, historically…