Biographical Sketch

Erik Borra is new media developer and lecturer at the University of Amsterdam's M.A. program in New Media, freelance programmer-designer and web analyst. He is the lead programmer, as well as researcher, for the Digital Methods Initiative through which he is involved in the 'Mapping Controversies in Science and Politics' European research project (MACOSPOL). This employment is a continuation of his work for Govcom.org, a foundation dedicated to creating and hosting political Web tools. This work consists of mapping issue networks on the Web by using the Issue Crawler software, as well as devising new tools such as the Issue Feed (beta), Issue Scraper - which makes comparative analyses of webspheres (e.g. news spheres and blogospheres), a surfer pathway browser, and tag ecology visualizers.

The remainder of his time Erik works together with artists and designers, in projects such as the WEX machine - a physical website recursively connecting the on- and the offline, iTea - an interactive RFID installation designed as a coffee table, tapemixer.com - a playlist recommendation mash-up between YouTube and Last.fm, and the IP-browser - an alternative browsing experience that foregrounds the Web’s machine habitat and returns the user back to the basics of orderly Web browsing.

Erik earned his BSc and MSc in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Amsterdam.

Further Info

• Curriculum Vitae
• MSc thesis for AI
• Gpg key