Reflections on Technology, Media & Culture
Schadenfreude
Getting what he deserves
Gamification draws on a narrow understanding of game play: keeping score, leaderboards, rewards, competition, incentives of various kinds. In fact, stripped of ludic graphics and quirky interactions, gamification typically follows processes derived mostly from accounting: the technology of the ledger, or bookkeeping, more specifically double-entry bookkeeping. Gamification through the ages By most historical accounts this … Continue reading
Loose ends
Nobody knows where anything comes from any more. DNA testing reveals horse meat in hamburger mince. Do British food authorities “have sufficient measures in place to cope with the increasing globalisation of the food supply chain?” (Independent) Not being able to identify where things start is a bit like the problem of origins in philosophy: “The … Continue reading
Pleasure with malice
Tour de Schadenfreude. Yet another celebrity suffers disgrace. Cyclist Lance Armstrong at last admits to winning all those Tour de France titles while taking performance enhancing drugs. Interest in this celebrity’s confession was massive. Around 28 million people watched the tv interview in which he admitted guilt. Tweets and joke websites pile on the derision. Social media and prosumer culture … Continue reading
