BuddyAbroad: an application for international students to meet other students!

Each year more and more international students arrive in the Netherlands to follow a master program at one of the universities. These students want to have a nice and fun students’ life and want to meet a lot of new people, but the truth is less fun. The international students feel isolated and they find it hard to meet other students with the same interests. Another difficulty for them is that they find it hard to make friends because when they arrive in the Netherlands, most students have already formed peer groups. To solve the problems of the international students we have developed an application called BuddyAbroad for an iPhone. With BuddyAbroad it is possible to meet other students and to share experiences.  BuddyAbroad is divided into two sections, namely: ‘Before studying abroad’ and ‘During studying abroad’. This division is necessary because international students who are in their country of origin have other needs than international students who are already in the Netherlands. A student who is in his or her country of origin can use BuddyAbroad to find other students to travel together, or ask questions to share experiences so the student is prepared well. The international student who is already in the Netherlands can use BuddyAbroad to meet other students in his or her student city. Another feature of BuddyAbroad is adding spots. With spots it is possible to add your current spot in you student city, another student who has logged in on BuddyAbroad can see that you are at that spot and he or she can meet you at that spot.

With BuddyAbroad the problems of the international students have to be solved and their students’ life is fun!

Computer mediated communication and eye catcher

Currently, computer mediated communication is a fast growing type of communication which is also a popular research topic. Thanks to computer mediated communication, people can get to know each other and communicate with another person without knowing the other person in real life. In addition to this, two perspectives are formulated: the lost perspective and the liberated perspective. The liberated perspective suggests that due to the lack of physical communication through the new media, real and interpersonal relationships can be formed. The opposite of the liberated perspective is the lost perspective; this perspective suggests that it is impossible to form a close friendship over the Internet because relationships via the Internet are seen as superficial and impersonal precisely by the absence of physical communication.

To solve the problem of absence of physical communication, Dr. M.L. Antheunis, who is a researcher of the Tilburg University, investigates the possibilities of using an eye catcher during computer mediated communication. With an eye catcher it is possible to have eye contact with the person with who one is talking to via the computer. Eye catcher is an extensive version of Skype and it will give the user the opportunity to have more physical communication with the other person. When eye catcher is available for the normal user and this study about the eye catcher is finished a new research can be done in which researchers investigate the effects of eye catcher on relationships. With these researches it is possible to make clear decisions about the lost and liberated perspectives. Which perspective will be remaining, the lost or the liberated?

 

Interview Dr. M.L. Antheunis

The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton

One week before the the royal wedding, I am curious about what this wedding will do with the (social) media on the 29^th of April. This is what I think: the trending topics on that day on Twitter will be: wedding, Prince William, Kate Middleton and off course, the wedding dress of Kate. For months, the media are speculating about the wedding dress of Kate Middleton, and finally she will show her dress to Prince William and the rest of the world. Furthermore, the newspapers around the world will be completely under the spell of this wedding. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo will be overwhelmed by interested people from all over the world who are searching for pictures of the wedding, the wedding dress of Kate and off course Prince William. And let’s be honest, I can’t blame them because I will do the same thing on April the 29^th.

Children and their privacy on social network sites

According to the popularity of Facebook among students in the Netherlands, Facebook is also becoming very popular by children. 70 percent of the Dutch children between 9 and 12 year have an account on Facebook or Hyves. Due to the fact that more children use social network sites, these sites have to be private for the safety of the children. It is important that the profiles of children are only visible for the ‘friends’ of the child and not all other members of social network sites. Nowadays, children say that they know that they can change their settings, so that their profile is only visible for ‘friends’, but they do not want this. Therefore, the settings of the social network site of a child should be private automatically.

It is necessary that the profiles are automatically private and parents do also have to keep an eye on the social network sites of their children.

Who is the Mole?

The Netherlands the popular television program” Who is the Mole?” (Wie is de Mol?) is almost over. After weeks of exciting assignments, the winner will be announced and also the mole will reveal her/himself. For weeks, the mole has been trying to deceive the other participants and to ensure that assignments fail making sure as little money as possible is won. It is incredible that the mole is now also Twittering. Each week the mole Tweets something so that conspiracy theories are made by many Dutch people. In addition, conspiracy theories about who the mole could be can be shared on the forum of “Who is the Mole”? with other forum users. Everyone thinks they know who the mole is, one is 100% sure it's Art, another one had doubts between Soundos and Karin and another is convinced that Patrick is the mole. One thing is clear, the mole keeps us entirely under a spell, on television, Twitter, and the forum.

You are being watched while you are shopping!

Nice system it is, the bonus card of Albert Heijn, but this system is not only valuable for you to collect points as a customer but it is also a spy-system! Albert Heijn gets more information about you with this system than you might think because Albert Heijn uses so-called data mining. This means that they want to discover patterns in the data provided by your bonus card. They can keep an eye on what you are buying and when you are buying it, because in this way Albert Heijn can establish a purchasing behaviour of each customer. In addition, the cameras in the store are indeed for safety but not only for that! Albert Heijn keeps an eye on which route you take when you are in the store, and with this data Albert Heijn can detect a buyers-pattern of each customer. In this way, products which are often purchased together are also put together in the store on the shelves. It sounds so weird that you are going to do shopping and somebody keeps an eye on you and sees everything you are doing. So watch out for Albert Heijn because they know more about you than you might think!

Be careful with what you tweet! It’s not smart to share everything!

Apparently, it is still difficult for many people to not use Twitter for writing about stupid things. That’s hard if you want to be as fun and interesting as possible on Twitter. Jose Enrique of Newcastle United could not keep his mouth and let people on Twitter know that he would not play against rival opponent Tottenham Hotspur. Not a smart move by Mr. Jose because the coach wanted to keep the news from the public for as long as possible. Thanks to this smart action, each Newcastle player got a free Twitter course: “what can I do and say on Twitter”.

In the Netherlands there were also a few things with Twitter which did not make people happy. Following the Tweet of a senior police officer from the southwest of Drenthe (in the Netherlands) which stated some negative things about the PVV (political party), this time the head of another police force in the Netherlands crossed the line. He could not restrain himself to be out negative about the PVV on Twitter. That was the drop that spilled the bucket and all police officers now get a free course: “what I can and cannot say on Twitter”. Maybe they can ask for the signatures of the Newcastle squad.

But if that wasn’t even bad enough, there is a Dutch teenager who was apparently looking for some attention on the Internet. She thought it was fun to Twitter about committing a bombing at her high school. She thought she would be so funny. But afterwards, she was arrested and interrogated by the police. It’s a lesson to learn for her because she is also temporary suspended from school. Now she has plenty of time to think about what is funny and what is not…. 

One positive thing though, is that a new industry is born thanks to these people: courses in Twittering!


Telegraaf - Newcastle

Telegraaf - Police 

Telegraaf - Student 
 

How many communication can there be?

Persistence pays, or maybe not?   

 
Egypt, 2011. Following the announcements on Facebook, by human right activists and other people who stand for a democratic Egypt, many people in the streets of Cairo began protesting against President Mubarak. Fierce battles against and between civilians arise, but also journalists are harassed. The Egyptians demand that Mubarak must step down immediately. But Mubarak thinks that he is running the country in a great way and says he will resign in September 2011 and not earlier. Of course this promise is not enough for the Egyptians, so they continue the protest. Millions of people are in the streets of Cairo to express their dissatisfaction towards the president. Mubarak uses propaganda against the Egyptians by stating that the Journalists and Western Countries are at the core of the rebellion (he really does not get it). The civilians protest even more and they do not believe the allegations from their President. Finally, it is February 10, and it seems that Mubarak intents to step down. Mubarak speaks live from his Royal Palace to the Egyptians, who are following him at the Tahir square. Many of them are excited because they feel that their demands will be met.  The protest of millions of people has had its effect and the president understands; he is finally in line with the population. He has to go; he knows that he is hated. Great news for the Egyptians! At 9:50 p.m. Dutch time, it is time, there he is. He looks sad and all the Egyptians think that this is the end of Mubarak as the President of Egypt. He starts his speech by talking about the casualties and that those who committed those crimes will suffer and pay for it. However this is something what no one wants to hear. The Egyptians want to hear only one thing after all those days in which they have expressed their displeasure with the President. And that is the following: “I will step down with immediate effect”. Mubarak continues his speech with a sad face which bodes well for the Egyptians but not for him (it seems that he does have the right communication skills). But again, his speech takes a turn; he says that he wants to change the constitution, and his functions will be taken over by the equally hated Suleiman. So, he still not realizes what the civilians want. The temper on the Tahir square turns; Egyptians are holding their shoes in the air to express their displeasure. Mubarak tries to calm the people and preserve his function as a President .Protests, battles, and casualties have occurred, but the most hated President of the moment has not understood the people and will continue as a President… So they lived happily ever after with a President who has learned nothing in the past 3 weeks.

Actually, this was the story; until February 11. You wouldn’t believe it, but at 5.00 p.m. Dutch time the breaking news aired; Mubarak has seen the light! He will officially step down. Hurray for the Egyptians! Persistence pays off! Not in the case of Mubarak by the way, he has left the country!

Regarding my previous post, a new development has occured

Breaking news from "The Telegraaf":  Dutch youth, EU leader on Social Websites. 

Telegraaf says that our youth is leading the in EU on Social Websites such as Facebook. Yeah right, their information is based on Digital Agenda. But Digital Agenda never mentioned Facebook. Great news topic Telegraaf! And yes, Hyves is still the most succesfull social website in the Netherlands, but for how long?

And how long will it take before other countries to take over our leading role?  In my last post I mentioned that more and more people in the Netherlands are switching from Hyves to Facebook. The percentage of youth that is active on Social Media sites will therefore remain more or less equal. However this trend is accelerating and Hyves will lose a lot of its members. This will cause Hyvesmembers which are still active, to become bored because so many have already switched to Facebook. These people have to make the switch to Facebook or other Social Media, otherwise they will not use any Social Media again. The Netherlands will then of course, lose its leading role.

Article of "The Telegraaf"

Article "Digital Agenda"

We Dutch people still live in the Stone Age when it comes to Social Media

How can it be that that the Dutch are so far behind with other countries on so many things? Hyves, we thought, was the next big thing and Facebook was not really interesting. It was more than enough to interact with your close friends or their friends through the use of Social Media. But now, while we were sitting here doing close to nothing for a few years, numbers tell us that suddenly we are all registering with Facebook. Facebook gives us the opportunity to be in touch with the world, instead of only our native country. In the past half year only, one million Dutch people have made a new Facebook account and by the looks of it, this rise will not give out yet!

But now; Twitter. While we are speaking, there are an estimated 200 million active Twitter accounts and of those only 191 thousand originate from the Netherlands. I hear you thinking; that is a small amount! But it is true! It gets even worse. We have 191 thousand accounts and only 9550 of them are owned by companies or other organizations. Yes you just read it in the right way; NINETHOUSANDFIVEHUNDREDANDFIFTY of the 884 thousand companies and organizations in our country use Twitter. All we do is cling to our safe little world. Please, do not ask us to be innovative on the area of Social Media. But I ask you, my dear fellow Dutchmen and women, do not behave so conservatively! When Social Media is used in the right way, it has a lot of opportunities. In the following little movie you can see 10 reasons why Social Media is not a choice but an absolute NECESSITY! 

Sources: 

Twirus

Webwereld

The vicious circle of finding your ultra-perfect partner

Yes, a new semester! Of course this means exciting new courses. During one of them, I learned that love relationships via the internet are a vicious circle. How? I will explain.

The first step is finding a suitable partner. There is an infinite amount of ways to find your perfect partner using so-called “dating sites”. On these sites, you can search for someone who suites to all of your personal desires, brown or blond hair, green or blue eyes, smoker or non-smoker, casual or retro clothing. And if this is not enough, you can filter your search even more by choosing education level, and if you do not want to hook up with a dwarf, choosing height is also a possibility. Oh, while we’re at it, the least we can do is tightening our packet of even further. It would be a pity to hook up with a construction worker instead of a doctor. Even when you have found the “perfect” partner, you can sign in for a new dating site, this time for people with a perfect partner. 

Did you find the right partner on this site to talk about relationships? Now you can chat and exchange your pictures with your new “perfect” partner. After more and more chatting, Facebooking, twittering and exchanging other information, intimacy will grow. The more they interact, the more they will realize that their current partner is less perfect than their newly found one. Of course, such an “ultra-perfect” couple will arrange a date. After a wild night together they decide to continue with each other because who does not want the ultra-perfect partner? But then after a short while, when both of them are getting bored, they break up their relation using a Tweet on Twitter. Now they have arrived at the “I’m a bachelor phase”. And for people who have arrived at that phase, numerous internet sites exist on which they can show their ubercool I’msohappywithoutapartner-life to the rest of the world. And when their inspiration for Tweets about the bachelorlife has dried out, of course that life has to be changed. How to do that? You guessed it, datingsites!
Renate Geven