Mirko Tobias Schäfer / Assistant Professor
University of Utrecht Department for Media and Culture Studies
Mirko Tobias Schäfer / Assistant Professor
University of Utrecht Department for Media and Culture Studies
Featured Blog Entries
Date December 2011 / Category News
Date August 2011 / Category News
Social media platforms have inappropriately been celebrated as enabling technologies that promote passive consumers to active producers of media content. However, this enthusiasm neglects that most social media platforms are designed for commercial means and that almost any aspect of their graphic user interface, application software design and terms of use is rendered to serve efficiently exactly these ends.
More Blog Entries
Date April 2011 / Category News
Date February 2011 / Category News
Date February 2011 / Category Lectures
Date November 2010 / Category News
Recommended
Date December 2011
VJ Um Amel from R-Shief invited activists and academics to dig deep into some 12 million tweets related to the Occupy movement. Three days teams from around the globe were participating in a concerted effort to make sense of these data. This exciting experience has been preserved eloquently in this documentation
Date December 2011
While some techno-optimists praise new media for liberating people from repressive regimes, dictators rely on Western technology to spy on their citizens, intercept their communication, monitor their internet traffic and block their access to information. The needed release of the Spy Files by Wikileaks identifies companies that thrive on repression.
The evidence provided on the Wikilekas platform consists of detailed brochures, price lists, manuals and presentations that clearly show that this industry is not only well aware of the way their products are used by repressive regimes but is explicitly advertising those activities.
Next step is to push for policies to outlaw the export of surveillance technology to repressive regimes.
Date October 2011
Der Beitrag der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung zur Enttarnung des Bundestrojaners durch den Computer Chaos Club ist großartiger Journalismus. Wie kein zweites Medium in Deutschland treibt die FAZ mit Frank Schirrmacher die gesellschaftsweite Debatte zu Gesellschaft und Internet voran. Ganz in aufklärerischer Tradition fordert der Abdruck von Auszügen aus dem Programm-Code der Überwachungs-Software die bürgerliche Gesellschaft auf, sich aus der Unmündigkeit zu befreien und die Rolle von Technik in unserer Informationsgesellschaft kritisch zu hinterfragen.
Date October 2011
After the amazing coup of the Computer Chaos Club reverse engineering the government malware & surveillance software the German weekly Der Spiegel covers the affair for the English speaking readers
Date October 2011
Matthew Braga at Ars Technica writes about the peril and promise of social media use in companies. He emphasizes that companies should try harder to understand the inherent risks of social media.
Date October 2011
Wired author Noah Shachtman writes about the computer virus that has infected US Predator and Reaper drones and points out the sensitive vulnerabilities of sophisticated weapon systems
Date September 2011
Handy interface to search the most notorious Wikileaks dump and to store a choice of cables in a personal cart
Date August 2011
A very informative report by the Center for American Progress reveals the funding structure of Islamophobia. Tracing various donors and cross-referencing their ties with right-wing politicians and opinion makers the CAP presents a comprehensive mapping of nationalistic ideology, Christian-fundamentalist reactionaries and the connections to media and politics.
About
Mirko Tobias Schaefer is a researcher in the field of digital culture.
This website provides information on his research interests and teaching activities.
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Contact
Mirko Tobias Schaefer
Department for Media and Culture Studies
Utrecht University
Kromme Nieuwegr. 20
NL-3512 HH Utrecht