Is the Internet hostile to women?
A recent study by the Pew Research Institute revealed that 40% of Internet users have experienced online harassment. Among young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, 70% cited that they had experienced some form of abuse online. A disturbing trend showed that women were far more likely to have experienced severe forms of […]
Geotagging
Do you know how geotagging works? Check out the newest video in our Think Before You Ink series – then read more about geotags. Video by Digital Tattoo
#ALSIceBucketChallenge: altruistic or narcissistic?
If you’ve spent any time perusing social media over the past few weeks, you’ve probably come across dozens of videos of friends, celebrities, and even politicians dousing themselves with ice water. Are people really that desperate to cool down in the last few weeks of summer? Not quite. The videos are a part of […]
Ghostery: track your trackers
Ever feel as though you’re being watched? If you spend a lot of time online, that sentiment may be justified. It is no longer a secret that an overwhelming number of online companies now use data mining to target their ads based on individuals’ specific internet histories. Ever looked up an item online, only to […]
Digital Tattoo experiences Twitter hijacking
In the age of passwords and countless online accounts, it would appear that even the most informed are at risk! Last week the Digital Tattoo Project fell victim to a Twitter hacking. We first became aware of the issue when we noticed that the Twitter name of the account in question had been changed to the […]
Hashing out the hashtag
Following a horrific shooting in Santa Barbara, that left seven students dead and over a dozen injured, news of the massacre spread on social media like wildfire. In the days that followed, it was uncovered that the shooter had a YouTube channel dedicated to promoting misogynistic ideas, and had left a deep Internet archive documenting […]
Censorship versus Privacy: the implications of the “right to be forgotten”
Can a digital tattoo be temporary? A groundbreaking court case out of Europe may be redefining the boundaries shaping online identity. Google’s recent decision to respect the “right to be forgotten” has triggered a debate spotlighting the intersection of freedom of speech, censorship, and privacy rights. The case was initially introduced by Mario Costeja Gonzalez, […]
UBC Snaps: the appeal of “disappearing” media
If you’re a UBC student with a Facebook account, you’ve likely already perused the UBC Compliments and UBC Confessions pages, and perhaps even made an anonymous contribution of your own. Given the exponential rise of Snapchat, a disappearing-photo sharing app, it is no surprise that UBC Snaps is the latest in a series of […]
Five take away lessons from the Digital Tattoo
I have been lucky enough to work for The Digital Tattoo Project since September 2012. The following (almost) two years have taught me so much, not just about protecting my online identity but all sorts of skills both hard and soft. For example, I now know how to create DIY educational materials as well as […]
Data Mining: How eBay knew I’d buy that Batman Snuggie
Ever wonder how Amazon knew you’d buy that slap chop set? Or how Netflix predicted you’d love Tropic Thunder before you even heard about it? The reason behind this predictive magic is that companies like Amazon and Netflix are studying historical user data to improve their forecasting and marketing, and to increase their revenue. Data Mining […]
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