Popular cab-hailing service Uber seems as accident-prone as ever, attracting criticism for quadrupling its rate to a minimum of $100 during the Sydney siege hostage situation. Having been criticised in…
In the age of social media, misinformation travels rapidly around the globe.
AAP
It has become one of the hallmarks of the news now. Whenever there is a dramatic event, social media instantly comes alive with comment and conjecture as facts vie for attention with fiction. Alongside…
As the hostage crisis in Sydney came to a dramatic, deadly end, people were flooded with information. The siege at the building in the city’s Central Business District is over and the gunman is dead. The…
“You think you’re in pain now, but this is not going to look good on Facebook tomorrow.”
Stefano Bolognini/National Museum of Denmark
The immense popularity of social media seems to have redefined “privacy” from the sense of keeping information secret to being in control over how information is shared – among friends, colleagues, companies…
Sports journalist Daniel Taylor wrote an article highlighting questions that still needed answering about the Valley Parade stadium fire of 1985 in which 56 people died. But publishing it was just the…
The printed word or waving flags, such as this ISIS banner, can only reach so many people.
EPA
On an overcast afternoon in London in May 2013, an off-duty soldier named Lee Rigby was murdered near his barracks in Woolwich, southeast London. Rigby’s killers were two young British men of Nigerian…
Controversial Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli is in hot water. Despite being the victim of online abuse, he has become a perpetrator of racist humour. Earlier in the season, the Italy forward faced a…
Tons of social media there for the taking… but is it truly representative of real life?
Jürgen Pfeffer
Behavioral scientists have seized on social media and their massive data sets as a way to quickly and cheaply figure out what people are thinking and doing. But some of those tweets and thumbs ups can…
The possibility of a posthumous digital social life seriously challenges our notions of death.
Shimal Ahmed (Fulhi)
Media technologies have operated as both a means of communicating news of a death and memorialising the deceased for a significant period of time, moving from traditional epitaphs, eulogies, wakes and…
There has to be a better way than this.
Syda Productions/Shutterstock
Any verbal exchange – whether a scientific panel discussion, lovers quarrelling in a hallway, or the political hard-talk of a live interview – is a very sophisticated human activity. Besides the intricate…
Internet users are increasingly rejecting the advertisements used by social networks, even as those ads get ever more sophisticated.
Shutterstock
My last article looked at how social media stocks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are overpriced unless these companies manage to boost their revenues several times over. Given their business model…
Funerals increasingly employ digital media; and a growing body of research addresses the intersection of digital culture and traditional memorialising practices. Commonly-used digital media include PowerPoint…
The internet has become a safe haven for racial and religious abuse.
Shutterstock
In late 2013 I was invited to present evidence, as part of my submission regarding online anti-Muslim hate, at the House of Commons. I attempted to show how hate groups on the internet were using this…
As the leaders were meeting at G20 the tweeters were tweeting their own thoughts on the global summit.
Flickr/Palazzo Chigi
Peta Mitchell, Queensland University of Technology; Axel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology; Darryl Woodford, Queensland University of Technology, dan Katie Prowd, Queensland University of Technology
The G20 Summit that brought many of the world’s most important leaders to Brisbane last weekend was also a major Twitter event. Australian and international users expressed their concerns over the appearance…
Rape and death threats on Twitter? Not on.
Lara604/Flickr
The Women, Action and the Media (WAM) activist group announced on Friday a collaboration with Twitter to address online harassment of women, which it claims has “reached crisis levels”. The group, concerned…
Philip Kotler says the rise of social media is challenging the concept of brand loyalty.
Gabriel Chmielewski/Mays Communications
International marketing expert Philip Kotler is in Melbourne this week telling Australian companies how best to position their brands in the face of new global challenges. These challenges include the…
The new social network, Tsū, is banded with a clear and vivid green. Its hue is reminiscent of aspects of nature: the sea in winter, the stripes on certain kinds of leaves, the colour of chrysanthemums…
Can social media keep you safe from disasters?
Flickr/Jim
Given the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, it’s not surprising so many people use social media in crises such as floods, fires and earthquakes. Facebook has introduced Safety Check, a new tool for users…
Tracking the career of YouTube star Charles Trippy provides some insight into the dynamics of YouTube success.
YouTube screenshot
Darryl Woodford, Queensland University of Technology dan Katie Prowd, Queensland University of Technology
It might be ancient in social media terms but YouTube – which has been around since 2005 – continues to capture popular attention, with a number of internet entrepreneurs successfully building careers…
Tapping into a public stream.
Indiana Public Media
For more or less any topic we can think of, social media has great potential for both good and harm. One example is suicidal distress. It is increasingly common for people to express despairing and suicidal…