Number of Posts: 5
Posts 1 - 5
Caricatures become an obsession
Newspaper | Los Angeles Times
Date | 14.9.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | smartphone, virtual reality
Summary | Bitmoji is an app that allows users to create avatars of themselves. Bitmoji images are funny and absurd, which is why the app has become so popular. 3D Bitmoji World Lenses allows users to create 3D Bitmojis in the real world; they can select specific scenes through their smartphone, and it looks like Bitmoji avatars are interacting with their environment. Jacob Blackstock claims that it is important to have a digital extension of oneself. Also, based on a focus group study with teenagers, users want diversity. Moreover, they like the app because it offers a kind of lightheartedness that they can't find elsewhere.
Image Description | Screenshot of Bitmoji World Lenses, and series of different Bitmojis.
The Smartphone’s Future: It’s All About the Camera
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 30.8.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | privacy, smartphone, translation, virtual reality
Summary | Now that smartphones are as thin and as fast as possible, they need to develop into another realm. The camera will be used in new ways to, for instance, improve privacy by unlocking your phone by showing your face. Another innovation is the possiblity of taking a picture of a restaurant menu and having it instantly translated. Augmented reality also relies on the camera enabling users to, for instance, project a 3D model of a piece of furniture they want into a picture of their living room to see what it would look like.
Image Description | Illustration showing a smartphone scanning a woman's face.
Image Tags | female(s), smartphone
The Week in Tech: The Next Big Thing, According to Mark Zuckerberg
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 16.4.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Facebook, research/study, smartphone, texting, virtual reality
Summary | Facebook is already huge: more than three times as many messages are transmitted over Facebook Messenger than SMS messages at its peak. But Facebook is also hugely significant as a video platform and they are investing much of their resources in developing virtual reality. Apparently, Zuckerberg believes that VR is the next big platform after the smartphone. They are even working with anthropologists to make the body language VR avatars more realistic.
Image Description | An image of Zuckerberg doing a presentation with VR goggles projected behind him.
Image Tags | Facebook, male(s)
Teenage Days, Streamed For Coins
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 7.6.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | smartphone, social media, video communication, virtual reality, youth
Summary | 15-year-old Bryce Xavier is a star on Live.ly (a live streaming app). Bryce spends every day among a virtual crowd of fans (mostly teenage girls). For instance, he can broadcast his lunch at Olive Garden with his mom. Bryce became very popular on the platform; as a consequence, he dropped out of school and started homeschooling so that he would have enough time for Live.ly. Live streaming has become popular because it is seen as more authentic than other social media platforms. Despite many advantages, the platform can also render human interaction shallow.
Image Description | N/A
Pokémon Go boom puts Occoquan on the map
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 14.8.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | game, smartphone, threat, virtual reality
Summary | The smartphone game Pokémon Go is becoming popular among teenagers, mothers and sons, couples, or middle-aged government workers. The game's augmented realited has brought those people to the small town of Occoquan (Virginia). The town is a hotbed for the game, and the town's popularity has been good for businesses. The game allows people to catch Pokémon creatures in real life. Why is Occoquan a good location for the game? It is situated on the banks of a river, so people can catch both land and water Pokémon creatures. Occoquan is also filled with historical buildings which can house many Pokémon creatures. People have been concerned about the popularity of the game. For example, players' distraction has led to an increase in robberies.
Image Description | N/A
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