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Real emotion: the rise of reality culture

With social media opening up million of little windows into the lives of others, reality TV expanding into new frontiers like space travel, and people growing savvier about what's real and what's not – what does the future of reality culture hold?

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No more heroes

Becoming famous may now be relatively simple, but maintaining a celebrity image is harder than ever. As constant media scrutiny increasingly highlights stars' imperfections, is the relationship between brands and their penitent endorsers changing?

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Evolving the magazine: how publishers are diversifying

'Print is dead' – or is it? Adapting to a complex digital landscape, publishers are finding new avenues to extend the brand, from leisure to education – a shift with implications reaching far beyond just publishing.

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How second screens are responding to (and shaping) user behaviours

Second screens are a growing part of the TV experience. But as televisions, remotes and consoles get 'smarter', how will new user behaviours affect the balance between screens?

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Crisis in Toy Town: learning to play with digital natives

What kind of toys appeal to the digital natives? Is there any space for old favourites? Volatile sales are causing iconic toy brands to reassess what exactly they sell, as toymakers face a shrinking market of kids that are growing up fast.

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Hypersensitive! The new political correctness

In a connected world, people are watching more closely what they say and who they align with. As issues of representation and diversity come to the fore, how is the new political correctness changing the way organisations communicate?

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'Wa' culture: how Japan's mobile operators are building smarter cities

Japan's futuristic technology often leads outsiders to assume that what happens there will catch on elsewhere. Before we get excited about tomorrow's world, what can we understand about the particular culture that's enabled such innovations to flourish?

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Tuned in: how 'Generation App' are redefining radio

Young people have always looked to music, filtered through radio DJs, for identity. For generations growing up with every song at their fingertips and algorithms replacing DJs, how is the medium being redefined, and what new roles can it fulfil?

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Feeling Alive

With modern minds entrenched in information work, a new kind of leisure is seducing office workers with visceral thrills and sensory explosions - fusing pain and pleasure - but above all, offering people the chance to do something 'real'.

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Finding the sweet spot: the American brands ditching prime time

With the completion of the first half of the US television season recently taking place, advertisers can see more clearly that the best shows aren’t necessarily the most-watched or the ones being shown on the biggest networks.

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Unfinished business: why the prosumer matters

Creators who leave their products open for remixing and hacking are redefining pop culture and extending the longevity of their success. Both Kinect and Twilight offer insights into how this creativity can be harnessed to everyone's benefit.

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Dark and dirty: erotica mainstreaming

Hedonism is taking a dark and dirty twist: seedy is cool, erotica is mainstream, and taboos are being overturned. But in these fantasy worlds, are we really as liberal as we think we are?

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Jump around thinking: how publishers are rewiring for tablets

A bright future is emerging for publishing on tablets, but as early adoption shows, people see digital magazines more as a springboard to other content. In this fight for the fingertips, how will publishers keep readers engaged?

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Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony: is this for everyone?

Britain chose ‘collaboration’ as its theme for the 2012 Olympics. While the message jarred with London's brand exclusion zones, it demonstrates the increasing importance of a progressive national identity in an age of globalisation.

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The sticky stuff: how apps keep consumers’ attention

Stickiness is one of the core principles of web design, which is still used to measure a product's success. It's also key to achieving brand objectives. Daniel Nye Griffiths unpacks the dynamics behind some sticky apps and games.

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New values: television in the US

The big US broadcast television networks recently completed their 'upfront' presentations, in which they unveil their autumn programming lineups and new ideas. The most striking thing is the emphasis on social media and family-based sitcoms.

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Gaming in China: a cultural perspective

The Chinese gaming industry has expanded dramatically over the past decade, but due to stringent government regulations it is largely inaccessible to foreign companies. This, however, may be set to change...

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We Are All Media

Mainstream media channels have been destabilised and individuals are now the most powerful mouthpieces, no longer reliant on traditional channels to communicate with their audience.

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Social media, technology and sport

Sport is seeing an increased desire from fans not just to watch, but also to participate and interact. This has been facilitated by digital technology, which gives fans access to their favourite teams in ways that were previously impossible.

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Frictionless intimacy

How has the way we communicate online evolved? In the midst of raging debate around privacy and frictionless sharing, what does ‘ambient sharing’ tell us about modern forms of communion and intimacy?