Tag Archives: internet culture

Happy Birthday, Flickr!

Posted on Sunday, 18. February 2024 by hmvh

Flickr turned 20 years old last weekend. While it may have lost some of its original lustre in recent years, Flickr was, is, and remains one of the prime sites for amateur and professional photographers alike. My recent photo digitisation project made me rediscover Flickr in a manner akin to meeting an old friend who had recently beaten cancer. Flickr has, meanwhile, returned to its core audience of enthusiasts and professional photographers after it was “saved” from the clueless clutches of corporate greed by a small operation named SmugMug. Continue reading →

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Something is weird about YouTube

Posted on Monday, 4. November 2019 by hmvh

“YouTube’s algorithm is easy to game. It’s a system that rewards creators for figuring out what works, and then doing that same thing over and over again.” Continue reading →

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The Matrix remembered

Posted on Sunday, 29. September 2019 by hmvh

2019 rings in yet another anniversary. The Matrix movie is twenty years old. Had the film been released now, in 2019, it would still be a terrific actioner and perhaps even more relevant than it was then: the matrix will be instantly recognised as an obvious allegory to the always-connected, domesticated, utilitarian social media of today. Surveillance by machines is a pervasive theme, and much of the computer jargon that would have befuddled viewers two decades ago has since entered mainstream speak. Continue reading →

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Discogs Fan Mail: 2016 to 2018

Posted on Friday, 16. August 2019 by hmvh

Adding and updating information in Discogs is an interactive process. Edits are subject to “peer review”. Most users are grateful for the guidance, learn from their mistakes, and go on to use and enjoy Discogs in whatever way they do. Occasionally you, as a voter, even receive a thank-you message from a fellow user. This article is not about those users. Continue reading →

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It’s all on video

Posted on Sunday, 9. July 2017 by hmvh

I’ve recently been clearing out a bunch of old video clips. The early web was home to many weirdos, and videos of the kind didn’t help its reputation. Continue reading →

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Fan mail

Posted on Sunday, 31. January 2016 by hmvh

Discogs is a cross-functional site. Actually, we’re just a bunch of music lovers who do our best to reflect verifiable details, neutral descriptions, and create readworthy profiles. Discussions usually stay civil but sometimes can get heated and lengthy. Not all fan mail is friendly, though. Sometimes things get ugly. Continue reading →

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The future is today

Posted on Wednesday, 21. October 2015 by hmvh

Today is “Marty McFly Day” or, alternatively, “Back to the Future Day”. Today is the day when Doc and Marty will encounter hoverboards, flying cars, video conferencing, food hydrators, news drones, fingerprint readers, voice-controlled home automation and mosaic-view multi-channel large-screen flat-panel TV sets, motion controlled arcade games, power laces, augmented reality visors, holographic 3D movies, and a black Michael Jackson giving cooking advice — Max Headroom-style. Continue reading →

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#ExplainAFilmPlotBadly

Posted on Tuesday, 9. September 2014 by hmvh

Once in a while there’s a trending topic on Twitter that just grabs everyone’s attention. Last weekend the #tt was “Explain A Film Plot Badly”. Imaginations run wild, plots become riddles. The trend goes viral. Continue reading →

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