Number of Posts: 3
Posts 1 - 3
Auf die Bombe folgten die Explosionen
(The bomb was followed by explosions)
Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 10.12.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, law, politics, privacy
Summary | Recently the news story about a company called Cambridge Analytica made waves: they claimed to have extracted an accurate psychological profile of all adult US citizens based on their Facebook likes. The company uses those profiles to target very specific audiences with political advertising. Such rigorous profiling based on data that was not willingly given for the purposes of such analysis would be illegal in Europe.
Image Description | Bloomberg image of a woman with glasses (only eyes portion of face visible), the glasses reflecting a screen showing the Facebook logo.
Image Tags | Facebook, female(s), logo
Jetzt kommt die Sticker-Schwemme
(The sticker flood is on its way)
Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 15.11.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | abbreviations, emojis, Facebook, language threat, marketing, social media
Summary | Emoticons (f.i. ":-D") and abbreviations (f.i. "LOL") have trickled down from "geek speak" and established themselves in the mainstream. Emojis are nowadays ever present in our digital communication as well as in other arenas such as film or advertising. Now various social media platforms, among them Facebook, offer users various palettes of stickers. They are larger versions of emojis and are sent as an image file rather than included on the keyboard as a letter. Because many sticker palettes need to be purchased, a whole economy is beginning to form: The Japanese messaging app Line has sold over $250 mio worth of stickers last year. We do not need to fear that emojis and co. will replace language as we know it.
Image Description | Commodified emojis in various forms (as balls, as tattoos, as bed sheets, as food, on clothing, as masks, etc.) and Facebook messenger chats using/purchasing sticker collections.
Image Tags | emojis, Facebook, male(s), social media
C'est tu, que tu le veuilles ou non
(It is 'you', whether you want it or not)
Newspaper | Le Matin
Date | 30.7.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, politeness
Summary | A Migros customer complained because an employee from Migros used the "tu" form (familiar 'you') instead of "vous" (formal 'you') when replying to the customer on a Facebook post. The customer does not understand why a Migros employee would talk to her online using the "tu" form, as if there are only young people on social media. It might be one of Migros' strategies to get closer to its customers. Nevertheless, a cashier should not use "tu" when addressing a customer. The more 'light-hearted' tone of the internet does not mean one cannot be polite.
Image Description | Photograph of a Migros customer with shopping carts, and screenshot of a Facebook chat between an employee and a customer.
Image Tags | Facebook, female(s)
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