Tech Meets History & Totalitarianism

Kristallnacht on Twitter post - interior of burnt synagogue in Berlin

Kristallnacht on Twitter seems hopelessly naive

Tech Meets History & Totalitarianism /

This weekend was the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht – the Night of the Broken Glass, when thousands of Jewish homes and businesses were ransacked and destroyed across Germany. Ninety-one Jews died that night. That was the night of November 9/10, 1938. (Awkward anniversary tie-in – on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down.) Media around the anniversary spooled up in all the expected ways, […]

Kristallnacht on Twitter seems hopelessly naive Continue Reading

An Instagram worthy of royalty and madmen (with video!)

Tech Meets History & Totalitarianism /

Following up on last week’s post, some related notes on the dictators of the interwebs. Because once you’re done Photoshopping those propaglamour shots, where else do you turn but to Instagram? Slate posted a round-up video of Assad & his cohort are getting up to on Instagram a few months ago. Yes, dictators on Instagram is a thing. You can fill up your phone with a

An Instagram worthy of royalty and madmen (with video!) Continue Reading

Kim Jong-Un Photoshop contest - Statues of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il

Can you Photoshop that? Our tone-deaf response to the Kim Jong-Uns of the world

Tech Meets History & Totalitarianism /

One of my favourite Soviet-era jokes goes something like this: Three Russians are in the gulag. The first one says, “What are you in for?” The second one replies, “I called Zbarsky a revolutionary.” “That’s funny,” the first one says. “I called Zbarsky a counter-revolutionary.” “That’s funny,” the third one says. “I am Zbarsky.” (I may have written a little something about it before, but that doesn’t

Can you Photoshop that? Our tone-deaf response to the Kim Jong-Uns of the world Continue Reading

Vintage Russian phone found in Moscow illustrating how immigrants keep in touch

With so many ways to keep in touch, let’s never talk again

Immigrant Experience, Tech Meets History & Totalitarianism /

I spend a lot of time downloading Facebook photos, uploading them to an email and sending them to my parents, where, I suspect, they will sit for all eternity in their inboxes. We, like most families, used to have albums, but now we have attachments we will never find again. As usual, we have an extra layer of “how immigrants keep in touch” on top

With so many ways to keep in touch, let’s never talk again Continue Reading

Fotopedia North Korea iPad App - image collage

People of North Korea (and the world), we are looking at you

Tech Meets History & Totalitarianism /

It’s North Korea week here on the blog (and, apparently, everywhere). Fotopedia has a fantastic series of photo apps, including this one on North Korea. It’s neatly divided into categories – Pyongyang, propaganda, women of North Korea, men of North Korea…you get the picture. I popped it open in bed a few nights ago (something cheery to sleep on…). Right there in my bedroom, North

People of North Korea (and the world), we are looking at you Continue Reading

Mapping Gulags - What Happened When Google Turned the Lights on in North Korea

Google turns the lights on in North Korea

Tech Meets History & Totalitarianism /

When journalist Barbara Demick wrote her book about the lives of North Koreans (Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea), she opened with a darkened map – the black mass that is North Korea at night, surrounded by the flickering lights of an Asia immersed in modern life. But last month, those lights went on. Google released a detailed map of the gulags in North

Google turns the lights on in North Korea Continue Reading

walmart, retail, store-4054031.jpg

The social media revolution, World War II, Syria, and oh, Walmart

Tech Meets History & Totalitarianism /

I’ve been thinking a lot about social media – mostly Twitter – and whether the increased speed and availability of global communicating is really going to make the world a better place (see: every Twitter revolution, everywhere). But Twitter just reflects ourselves back to us – the good and the bad. It’s not going to save us and it’s not going to be our doom.

The social media revolution, World War II, Syria, and oh, Walmart Continue Reading

Soviet citizens listen in Moscow as Molotov announces German invasion of USSR on June 22, 1941. Photo taken by Soviet-Jewish photograher, Yevgeny Khaldei.

Public and private during war: YouTube vs Soviet street announcements

Tech Meets History & Totalitarianism /

Found: Surprise soldier homecoming videos, an entire YouTube phenomenon I never knew existed. Basically, American soldiers who plan to surprise their families with an unexpected homecoming. Usually in public, with a videographer in tow, often from a local TV station. There is an endless reel of these videos, and you can watch them for hours without repeating the same clip. I thought I’d share a few

Public and private during war: YouTube vs Soviet street announcements Continue Reading

Scroll to Top