Shift: Living in the Digital Age

The South by Southwest (SXSW) festivals are now a leading showcase for start-ups. At the Accelerator Competition, interactive tech companies from the world over presented their ideas. German start-ups drew crowds.South by Southwest (SXSW) was first held in Austin, Texas, as a music festival. But the "Interactive" component has been growing in size and significance to become one of the largest of its kind anywhere...

When something happens anywhere in the world, the Twittersphere is often the first to know. But user numbers are stagnating and the company still hasn't made a profit. What will the future bring for Twitter?

Online activists have founded a virtual state called Bitnation. The decentralized organization is designed as an alternative to traditional states. There are no limits, and a wide range of options. Text: Bitnation knows no hierarchies, is autonomous, and is based on voluntary participation. Anyone can join, contribute and offer services. The idea is based on the cryptocurrency bitcoin and the technology that produced the latter: blockchain. There are currently 1500 "citizens” worldwide...

Online activists have founded a virtual state called Bitnation. The decentralized organization is designed as an alternative to traditional states. There are no limits, and a wide range of options.

Deep Forger is a Twitter bot which transforms photos into famous works of art. Send a picture to the account and you’ll get an image back of it morphed in the style of one of 2500 classic paintings. Deep Forger was programmed by Alex Champandard. Originally from France, he now lives in Vienna, where he works as a computer game developer specializing in artificial intelligence. The bot is based on the principle of neural networking, which allows it to learn as it works...

Deep Forger is a Twitter bot which transforms photos into famous works of art. Send a picture to the account and you’ll get an image back of it morphed in the style of one of 2500 classic paintings.

Facebook has a growing problem with hate speech, and the German government is demanding that the social networking platform tackle the issue. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visits Berlin to answer his critics.The US company is spending €1 million on its Online Civil Courage Initiative to tackle extremism and hatred...

Facebook has a growing problem with hate speech, and the German government is demanding that the social networking platform tackle the issue. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visits Berlin to answer his critics.

They laugh, they cry - and their expressions can be worth more than a thousand words. Emojis are hugely popular in social media and messenger services alike. What impact are they having on communication?The first emojis were created in 1998 by a Japanese mobile phone operator. Their spread across the globe, however, did not come for another 13 years - when Apple incorporated the pictograms into its operating system. Some of the most popular emojis were developed by an Austrian graphic designer.

A growing number of filmmakers are showing an interest in virtual reality goggles. The 360° technology opens up new dimensions in computerized visualization - while also posing major challenges for the producers.Virtual reality goggles have entered the world of cinema. British filmmakers are now working with 360° technology. Designing visual narratives for virtual reality, however, involves facing some very acute challenges.