Content analysis has been a commonly used method of social science for decades and can be considered to be an inseparable part of media and communication studies. It has formed basis for important theoretical advances within the field such as agenda setting, framing and cultivation theory. Yet, paradoxically, not all media content can, as I will argue, be properly analyzed within a traditional content analysis approach. In this paper inherent assumptions of content analysis is juxtaposed with the logic of digital and, increasingly, mobile media. In particular the difference between traditional content analysis need for ‘dead’ objects and the liquid and lively character of digital media is emphasized. Moreover, the paper proposes and discusses kernels of methodological approaches designed to study the content of digital media on it’s own terms.