The culture of algorithms

The culture of algorithms in which we live is a culture based on reduction, simplification, and model-building. We are overwhelmed by the data fetish, with the imperative of computability and the quantifiability of the world. We do not wonder why, because the only thing that has a value is the thing that is or can be measurable. The reduction to the digit format becomes necessary in order to generate profits. This compulsion to calculate appropriates everything, even the spheres where   countability becomes not so much possible as irrational. In this way, a human being, who cannot be counted in many dimensions, becomes—as Foucault said—a “countable person” fitting perfectly

The power of media algorithms—between reification and the market

The aim of the article is to identify the power of algorithms interpreted as mythologized and reified culture machines which establish relations in the new media cyberspace of the algorithm culture.From the humanistic point of view, algorithms are understood as a relation between a code, project assumptions, the institutional and cultural context, and a user.

In digital media ecosystems, we consider the presence of algorithms to be indispensable, and we attribute them with the redemptive potential of compensating for human limitations—they are supposed to restrict the bias of media, to perform browsing tasks, to recognise patterns, and to provide data compression and automatic correction. All of this is done better, faster, and more accurately than if performed by people. 

The analysis of the significance of media algorithms, and of the digital media technologies in general, scarcely goes beyond the simple schemes according to which they come across as ultra-modern, neutral (although not easy to be recognised) elements of IT infrastructure and management in the eco-systems of new media. Usually, the role of algorithms in media is perceived in the way the management of Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other organisations would like to perceive it. Such organisations call themselves technological companies (not media organisations) without any influence on social attitudes and hence without any responsibility for them.

When viewed in the context of the discussion about responsibility of new media (technological) organisations in the post-truth environment, the interpretation of algorithmic solutions in the category of power becomes not only legitimized but also indispensable.

Google for education. Benefits and threats to the official system

In 2017, the Google company was recognized as the most valuable brand in the world. It is primarily a technologycorporationthat aims toearnprofits and become a leader in the global market of Internet products and services. In its strategy, Google also refers to the idea of a public mission, whichis to consolidate the image of a company that serves the  users by fulfilling their needs. As part of the mission, Google uses free educational applications designed to modernize and improve the education process. Google offers students and teachers tools to bridge the social differences and democratize the school. The educational practice in many countries points to the advantages and serious threats associated with the implementation of Google’s educational applications. Violation of students’ privacy, treating them as potential customers of the advertised products, or using student profiles to collect data—all this castsdoubt on Google’s intentions. It is also a challenge for traditional educational systems.

Excess freedom as a source of oppression—the reasons for the collapse of the Google+ social networking site

Google has a wide range of services and products that provide nearly end-user service. In addition, Google’s multi-year experience and the ever-growing number of its users is likely to lead to the successful launch of another social networking product. In the meantime, it turns out that it is quite the opposite.

This paper is an attempt at answering the question about the reasons why the Google Plus social site has failed. To that end, an analysis of the tools offered by Google Plus and the leading social networking site Facebook will be conducted.

Google’s cultural interface: the paradigm of audiovisuality in the universe of words

Although the Google search engine is considered as the nervous sytem of the Internet, its role in the new media universe is still undetermined. The search engine, placed between the Web 2.0 medium and the mechanism of content selection, is ambigous, and its website can be easily distinguished from social media news feeds. As for the domination of visual content, SERP can be considered as the last stand of the words in the Iconosphere. In the context of the digital content and its representation, the borders between verbal and visual communication are fluid and mistakable, while the relations between them can be discussed in a wider cultural context.