What It Feels Like to Jump Off a Virtual Cliff

Images: Project Tango When I strapped Google’s Tango gadget on my head, a device designed to virtually replicate reality, I found myself standing on a platform overlooking a chasm that felt thousands of feet deep. I took a virtual step off. Up until that point it felt real enough to generate some feelings of nausea while peering into the abyss, but with the background chatter from crowds of people milling around Google’s I/O conference, the experience of virtually diving off a cliff didn’t feel quite the way I’d expect it would in reality. Still, after messing around with one of the Tango developer units, I couldn’t help think their tagline “we like epic shit” sounded accurate. Project Tango is the brainchild of Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects division. The device […] Read More

The Internet of Pain: When Suffering Goes Viral

Image: Shutterstock It begins with a sickly child, as so many stories do. This week saw two news stories which tested the “viral” potential of bodily suffering. The first was that of Victoria Wilcher, the three-year-old survivor of a pit bull attack who was asked to leave a branch of KFC because of her “scary” facial scarring. The narrative lends itself to social media: hate on the giant fast food chain, side with the child victim, then share your outrage on Twitter and Facebook. Then a second story surfaced: after investigation the entire account was shown to be a hoax. Whatever the parents’ intentions, they must have known their daughter would attract online attention. Her story coincides with another, yet more sinister one: that of Garnett Spears, […] Read More