Black Mirror is one of my personal favorite TV series, and it belongs to the near-future science fiction sub-genera that imagines a future only a short time away from the period in which it is produced. The challenge of near-future science fiction is that for it to be believable it needs to closely align to the latest developments in science and technology. It means that it has the potential...
If a picture tells a thousand words then ten pictures will tell ten thousand words, right? That’s not just a story, that’s a novel! This is the door that Instagram has recently opened by releasing Galleries – the ability for users (and brands) to upload 10 images at a time, creating a swipeable art gallery with one caption that...
And Susan Boyle is part of the answer.
Have you ever wondered why you are compelled to share? Why you end up talking about products, services or experiences for no apparent reason? In other words, why things go viral? And no, it has nothing to do with luck, chance or even magic. There is actually a true method to all the madness that causes things or rather content, to go viral. And...
Warning: Some of the videos linked are NSFW
To paraphrase one of my favorite Simpson episodes:
“A funny viral video is like a mule with a spinning wheel. No one knows how they got it, and gosh darn if they know how to use it.”
The use of humor has long been a powerful persuasive tactic for communication. Not only...
This week, I downloaded a new and increasingly popular app Depop. I had come to know about Depop because many influencers and celebrities I follow on Instagram had been posting about the app and linking their Depop accounts in their photo captions and bios. Depop is reminiscent of eBay in that users set up an account on which they can both buy and sell clothing items; on the other hand, it...
Gene Therapy 2.0
Ever since the death of Jesse Gelsinger, the gene therapy researches have been stagnated for over a decade. Jesse Gelsinger was the first person received a clinical trial for gene therapy. He suffered from ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency—a form of metabolic disorder—and he joined a clinical trial...
Today, government officials including POTUS use Twitter to express their thoughts and spread information—the effects of doing so have immediate and significant effects.
Donald Trump’s use of Twitter reveals how truly powerful modern technology and social platforms can be. Since the start of his campaign, his use of Twitter has not only increased news coverage of his campaign and...
The first emoji is said to be created in Japan in 1998. The word emoji comes from the Japanese e, meaning “picture” and moji , meaning “character.” Emojis have come a long way from their first introduction into the digital world in the 90s. Over the years, they have changed in size, color, and shape, and continue to become more advanced as the years go on. Importantly enough, they have also...