iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25m

I do appreciate also the robe and traditional garments awarded to the winner of Almaty's tournament in Kazakhstan, also earlier today, but I look forward to all sorts of more creative celebration trophies across sports, beyond cups and medals

000 0

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27m

I'm not much into sports, but looking at the trophy awarded today in Lyon to the winner of the #tennis tournament there... I thought this looks great. So much more interesting than the usual cups and plates... isn't there a lot of untapped potential for more diverse artistry in sports trophies?

100 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026

Greetings from the University of Latvia, where I'm joining a workshop by the title: "The Neoliberal University as a Research Factory: Academia in an Age of Metrics, Bureaucratisation and Institutional Pressure" Interesting, but as usual, also challenging to […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

100 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026

Random news from Russia's internet today: the skyscraper in Moscow due to host the headquarters of "Wildberries", the Russian on-line marketplace which had its infrastructure heavily hit by Ukrainian drones in recent weeks, will apparently be 40 meters higher […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

000 0

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/08/2026

Listening to old Radiohead albums, the lyrics sound as timely as ever

Lyrics of the Radiohead song "2 + 2 = 5"

020 2

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/06/2026

I hadn't considered the issue of "illegal balconies" for quite some time. You see them around, and just get used to it until you stop noticing them. Until I saw this headline: "Demolition Blitz In Bishkek As Authorities Target 'Illegal' Balconies" - […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

101 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/05/2026

RE: mastodon.social/@puntofisso/1165742… Less love, more empowerment in the lyrics of #Eurovision songs. And slightly less English in recent years. Check out this visual exploration by @puntofisso puntofisso.net/eurovision

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/05/2026

This "Foreign Affairs" piece seems to outline the entshittification logic applied to authoritarianism, with business oligarchs who initially believe it's all great for them, eventually coming to grips with their diminished, even vulnerable role under […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

002 2

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/05/2026

"Spain’s popular vote in the 2025 Eurovision Grand Final" How is this remotely believable? Good folks at the NYTimes insist that with 20 votes each even a few hundred committed voters would be enough to skew results even in a country as big as Spain. That […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/05/2026

Some of the reasons why it's difficult for Russia's returning military staff to find a job in the civilian sector, if they somehow get the chance to go back. In a nutshell: the fact that they served in the army is supposedly self-evident proof that if they […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

002 2

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/05/2026

And exactly ten years earlier, on 9 May 2006, I was at the "Victory Day" parade in Pyatigorsk, in the northern Caucasus. Long times spent in Russia, but by now, a long time time ago... many memories, and thoughts and feelings. #Russia

020 2

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/05/2026

Exactly 10 years ago, on 9 May, I was at the "Victory day" parade in Abkhazia. Here are some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/giocomai/albu… #Abkhazia

101 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/04/2026

Fantastic site providing a detailed catalogue rich with metadata of all the rubber ducks found in the canals of Leiden in recent years by local volunteers who kayak in the canal to collect floating litter. Truly fantastic stuff. Website made with digital archives CMS @Omeka

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/04/2026

Last pic from #ijf26: group pic along with colleagues working as part of the project "Media Organisations for Stronger Transnational Journalism" - www.balcanicaucaso.org/en/projects/… EU support to independent journalism takes many forms. It is […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

112 2

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/04/2026

About to start: session at #ijf26 (and live streaming!) dedicated to open social web and news media organisations. Featuring Mastodon director @mellifluousbox , @PaulNemitz , @bjoernsta , and Bluesky COO Rose Wang […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

100 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/04/2026

Already on my way to Perugia for a bunch of meetings and the International Journalism Festival in the days ahead www.journalismfestival.com #ijf26

011 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/03/2026

One may think that moral standards in Silicon Valley have degraded. But no: top notch stuff from the very beginning

011 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/03/2026

@jdelacueva @EUCommission oh, it just got even worse! now to enable 2FA the EU funding and tender portal forces you to provide an answer to three "security questions" to be chosen among the following. Absolutely mandatory, no way to skip. Why, oh, why, must […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

000 0

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/02/2026

@jdelacueva @EUCommission A couple of years ago, I complained to the portal's assistance service about this very issue, and this is the reply I got. With SMS now not any more an option, we are really left only with FIDO2 keys. It is unclear why they can't […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

100 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/02/2026

Putin has not appeared with fresh contents in the last 10 days; on TV, they have daily news about meetings, but there's distinct evidence that these were pre-recorded, based on the plants decoring the room and the manicure of interlocutors. For details,see […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

002 2

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/02/2026

Perhaps, relevant context: > "Scientists thought they understood global warming. Then the past three years happened." It's "funny" how mainstream, corporate media cover climate breakdown quite clearly, and yet […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

000 0

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/02/2026

Mountain ranges in Europe have seen "a reduction in snow cover of 50 percentage points or more over the past 20 years". I repeat, the last *20 years*. Decrease across central-Eastern Europe particularly noticeable. www.ft.com/content/05490087-d784-4b…

204 4

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/02/2026

You can see data and explore maps for all previous Summer Olympics since 1960: edjnet.github.io/OlympicsGoNUTS e.g. 2024 Summer Olympics map: edjnet.github.io/OlympicsGoNUTS/202… #olympics

000 0

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/02/2026

If we look by number of medals by EU NUTS region by population, my native Trentino-South Tyrol tops the list so far. See repo: github.com/giocomai/olympics2026nuts

100 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/02/2026

Winter Olympics 2026 medalists by place of birth: an interactive map I built (again) thanks to @wikipedia, @wikidata and #rstats). Check out the interactive version of the map: giocomai.github.io/olympics2026nuts…

A screenshot of an interactive map of all medals won so far at the 2026 Winter Olympics by place of birth of the winners

195 9

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/01/2026

Planning to work more on data and collaborative journalism in the coming years... This is the latest addition to a set of projects I'll be involved in. #datajournalism

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/01/2026

Latest trend in peer review? Oxford University Press sending out "certificates" to peer reviewers, explicitly with the purpose of sharing these on social media. > "We've also provided social media images for each journal so that you can share your […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

"Reviewer certificate" by Oxford University Press, with name of the reviewer and the journal involved

101 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/01/2026

> "A Nobel Prize cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred" Official statement released. www.nobelpeaceprize.org/press/press… It all feels so silly and puerile, I mean, although I understand the need to react seriously

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/12/2025

Funny how old street name tags can take decades to disappear, long after street themselves have been renamed. A "Geoeghiu-Dej street" tag still standing, as 2025 draws to a close...

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/12/2025

[abortion, historical perspective] In earlier Christianity, it was believed that the soul was given by god only at more advanced stages of pregnancy. Hence, abortion in early pregnancy was not a mortal sin. This remained the case until 1869 […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

000 0

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/12/2025

I just published (in Italian) a review to a book by the Romanian director and screenwriter Cristian Mungiu: it's really a great read, a slim book that can be read in a few hours. It's based on a simple premise: the author asks his grandmother to tell him […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

003 3

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/12/2025

Venice remains my favourite conference venue

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/12/2025

Web artifacts of political stories: on the Telegram channel of Prigozhin's official press service: "The owner of this channel has been inactive for the last 17 months." Owner may lose admin rights, but contents should remain online.

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/11/2025

Big structural change for #Romania: already in 2020-2024, the ratio between incoming and outgoing remittances was 5 to 1. In a few years time, migrant workers to Romania may well be sending home more money, than what the Romanian diaspora sends to Romania

002 2

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/11/2025

Just checked the location where I'll be giving a public talk later today... fancy!

000 0

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/11/2025

Off to Bucharest today! Happy with my choice of reading for the journey

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/10/2025

Coming soon: my debut holding a public talk in Romanian! 🇷🇴

102 2

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2025

We are now at 52 mandates for PAS at 95% of votes counted, so we'll probably end with at least 53, maybe 54? #Moldova

191 9

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2025

With over 90% of votes counted, it appears that Maia Sandu's pro-EU ruling party will have an absolute majority. Already 51 seats (out of 101 seats in Parliament), with many of the votes not yet counted from the diaspora, this is more likely to end with 52 […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

124 4

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2025

Among all post-electoral comments in #Moldova, Usati (about 6% of the vote) made it most blunt he's open to negotiate with all sides. Here's how (in Romanian):

010 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2025

I can't get over the home-designed logo of "patriotic" electoral bloc in Moldova 🇲🇩 - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriotic_Ele… And to leftist friends attracted by the "hammer and sickle in a heart in a star" combination, let me break it to you […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2025

German army ads on frequent display at Munich airport

001 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2025

The main Italian news agency opens its homepage with: "Putin says yes to a bilateral meeting with Zelensky by August" However, there's no real hint that this will happen, nor that Putin ever said it will. I don't see it happening. #ukraine #russia

011 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2025

I am somewhat puzzled by the current discourse around "article 5"-level guarantees for Ukraine. Even according to Nato official website, the wording of the article is actively meant to reflect how the US would *not* automatically come to the assistance of its […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Quote from Nato official website: "The European participants wanted to ensure that the United States would automatically come to their assistance should one of the signatories come under attack; the United States did not want to make such a pledge and obtained that this be reflected in the wording of Article 5."

000 0

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2025

Curious to see companies addressing the diaspora, traditionally back to visit in the summer, in #Romania: "Diaspora, happy to see you again!"

000 0

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/07/2025

I just got one of the most puzzling cold emails... what is it? is it what students do when both Wikipedia and ChatGpt are down? is it some bizzarre social experiment? the beginning of an elaborate spam and scam scheme? Or the kind of thing an "AI" agent would […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Hello Giorgio,

Hope you are well and good,

I am a undergraduate student based at Leeds University. I wish to ask what are the various social,cultural and historical factors that contributes to Lombardy region being the dominant economic unit in Italy.

It plays a disproportionate role in the country employment,exports,business start ups,revenue generation etc.

Kind regards

010 1

Giorgio Comai @giocomai.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2025

Reading about Russian modernist conservatism and the need: > to strike a balance between human agency and technological power by seeking the “spiritualization [odukhotvorenie], deification [obozhestvlenie] or, more simply, the humanization [ochelovechenie] of […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

001 1