Number of Posts: 104
Posts 71 - 80
Time to Put on Your Big-Boy Pants
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 19.1.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | hashtags, Instagram, social media, threat
Summary | The skinny jeans trend is fading and the new trend are low-waisted loose-fitting curduroy pants with a drop-crotch. Social media influencers comment that Instagram is changing the game when it comes to promoting trends. Users can access an endless stream of visual material by just searching for a hashtag of a new trend. This has some downsides to it since it accelerates the changing of trends and pressures people to renew their wardrobe each season.
Image Description | Getty image of models wearing the new trouser trend.
Image Tags | male(s)
Gaymoji: A New Language for That Search
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 14.3.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | diversity, emojis, research/study, sexting
Summary | The dating app Grindr caters to gay men and is now adding specific emojis - called Gaymojis - to their app. They have noticed that 20% of the messages sent on their platform contain emojis so they are providing emojis specific to the gay dating experience such as a peach with a phone (= bootycall) or an eggplant with a ruler (= well endowed). One linguist says that emojis may take some pressure off of the content of the conversation. Instead of thinking of something to say, emojis just signal that 'I am here and I am interested'.
Image Description | Portrait of the Grindr owners, the Grindr office in LA, and some Gaymojis.
Image Tags | emojis, male(s)
How I Became Addicted to Online Word Games
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 18.3.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | addiction, game, language threat, spelling, word/writing
Summary | There are plenty of stories about the horrors of online game addiction. But being addicted to online word games mimicking Boggle or Scrabble does not only have the same addiction-related issues but also messes with your vocabulary. These games have no penalty for guessing a word that might not even be one, which is why one just begins to memorize all words that the app accepts without really knowing what they mean. This obsessive toying with words may have a negative impact on our linguistics abilities as well as spelling, and so on.
Image Description | Illustration of a man with Scrabble tiles on his tongue reminiscent of party pills.
Image Tags | game, male(s)
United and Pepsi Affairs Force Brands to Respect Social Media
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 13.4.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | marketing, politics, social media, Twitter
Summary | Companies are becoming ever more aware of how powerful the "data tsunamis" transmitted on social media really are. Some are installing real-time social media response screens where they can track their brand image on social media. Many companies have increased their social media up to five times in the past two years. These social media analysts track trends and determine whether the company's marketing should jump on the bandwagon or whether the trend is on the decline already. Controversies can also hurt companies when they become viral, for instance the recent United Airlines incident or the insensitive Pepsi advertising. Social media staff are made aware that when they communicate with one customer on Twitter, they have a public audience, even if it is through the messenger because screenshots can get shared too.
Image Description | Carl’s Jr restaurant.
Image Tags | male(s)
Trump literally holds the world's attention in the palm of his hand
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 17.1.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | politics, Twitter
Summary | Twitter is the perfect medium for Donald Trump. Short, polarizing, and not particularly throuroughly argued but memorable statements emulate his brand. Often he tweets very aggressively and without much content. Hillary Clinton usually tweets links to further multimedial material or engages with powerful supporters on Twitter but Donald Trump's tweets are much more often retweeted.
Image Description | Tweets of Donald Trump.
Image Tags | male(s), Twitter
Today’s protest signs are sharper, meaner, funnier — and live on long after the rallies
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 2.2.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | politics, social media
Summary | Protest signs are becoming increasingly wittier as popular culture and politics converge by politics increasingly becoming entertainment. The protest sign are not only wittier but also live longer thanks to their digital footprint. The funniest/best protest signs are spread online and are seen by thousands of people nowhere near the protest which is why such signs may be remembered for longer.
Image Description | Various protesters with signs.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), text
How to Listen to Donald Trump Every Day for Years
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 21.1.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | grammar, language threat, politics, texting, Twitter
Summary | President Trump is widely criticized for his poor speaking abilities. His speaking style is more akin to regular talking whereas presidential speaking traditionally resembles the written language. This explains why Trump's medium of choice is Twitter or 'speeches' (too linguistically informal to be called an actual speech). Twitter, with its limitation on message length resembles texting, which as linguists have confirmed mimicks spoken language rather than formal writing.
Image Description | Donald Trump on a stage being photographed.
Image Tags | camera, male(s)
Facebook Releases New Tools To Combat Revenge Porn
Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 5.4.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | cyberbullying, Facebook, pornography, sexting, threat
Summary | Facebook have begun implementing new ways to combat the sharing of revenge porn on their platform. These changes stem from roundtable discussions with women's safety organizations. Revenge porn, the sharing of intimate photographs without permission after a breakup (or similar), is becoming increasingly frequent. Facebook can now take down such images very quickly once they're reported and keep users from sharing such images again.
Image Description | Image of a Facebook like billboard and a video where people discuss revenge porn.
Image Tags | Facebook, female(s), male(s)
Twitter plans 'completely new approach to abuse'
Newspaper | USA Today
Date | 8.2.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | politeness, Twitter
Summary | Twitter is now trying to combat trolling again because the general tenor of bad language on the platform is repelling investors such as Disney. Twitter's market value is tumbling but the company is scheduled to start profiting in 2017. New features have been set in place so that users can not only block other users but block them from tweeting about oneself, too. Other features are 'safe' searches and filtering 'low-quality' comments (just profanities) out.
Image Description | Portrait of Twitter CEO.
Image Tags | male(s)
Vine Dries Up. Black Humor Loses a Home
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 31.10.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | diversity, social media, Twitter
Summary | Twitter announced that it will shut down it's video-based social media platform Vine. The six second videos had established a particular kind of humor that the author argues is reminiscent of black humor with its allusions and communicating in codes. Many black comedians in particular had thrived on the platform and significantly shaped its visual language.
Image Description | Some vines by Jay Versace and a screenshot of a Nicholas Fraser vine with comments.
Image Tags | male(s), Vine
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