January 2, 2013
Pixar’s Fake College Website Will Make You Want to Go There

Pixar’s Fake College Website Will Make You Want to Go There

November 29, 2012

The Campaign Tumblr Is Dead! (Long Live the Campaign Tumblr!)

That’s partly because Tumblr is generally, in ways that other social media platforms aren’t always, lighthearted. It is generally, in ways that high-stakes political campaigns aren’t always, fun. On Tumblr, Olin and her team could post, on behalf of the president, things like this. And like this. And like this and this and this. They could joke and wink and otherwise Internet, in a context that both suited and rewarded the effort. In a campaign whose whole point was to convert voters from potential to actual, the Obama for America staff could tackle that stark task much more subtly than the blunt forces of political persuasion typically allow. They could build community — and the kind of group accountability that comes with it. An engaged voter is a likely voter.

Read more. [Image: White House Flickr]

November 17, 2012
The President is Unimpressed
[Image: Flickr user: The White House]

The President is Unimpressed

[Image: Flickr user: The White House]

November 12, 2012

The Places Where America’s Drones Are Striking, Now on Instagram

Technology has countervailing effects. We can send a battle by air to a land we have never set foot in, laying previously unimaginable distance between us and our wars. But at the same time we can see on a device in our pocket a satellite picture of these places so remote. Maybe, Bridle writes, the instant connectivity of our world can be a platform not just for faster information, but for deeper empathy for people who live a world away.

See more. [Images: Dronestagram]

October 31, 2012
Where Sandy Knocked Out the Internet
[Image: Renesys]

Where Sandy Knocked Out the Internet

[Image: Renesys]

October 23, 2012
What Internet Trolls Thought of Last Night’s Debate
There was a 22-percent increase in insulting comments during this debate vs. the debate last week.
Over 7 percent of overall commentary contained some form of profanity, “astroturfing,” or spam.
Comments slurring Obama exceeded those against Romney by 3 times.
There was a 50-percent increase in negativity about Obama during this debate as compared to the second debate.
There was a 200-percent increase in negativity about Romney during last night’s debate as compared to the second debate.
The top themes provoking profanity on social media were China, oil, jobs, the military, and Iran.
Read more. [Image: Shutterstock/Albert Ziganshin]

What Internet Trolls Thought of Last Night’s Debate

  • There was a 22-percent increase in insulting comments during this debate vs. the debate last week.
  • Over 7 percent of overall commentary contained some form of profanity, “astroturfing,” or spam.
  • Comments slurring Obama exceeded those against Romney by 3 times.
  • There was a 50-percent increase in negativity about Obama during this debate as compared to the second debate.
  • There was a 200-percent increase in negativity about Romney during last night’s debate as compared to the second debate.
  • The top themes provoking profanity on social media were China, oil, jobs, the military, and Iran.

Read more. [Image: Shutterstock/Albert Ziganshin]

October 10, 2012

A Google Map of Mexico City’s Street Vendors

Scientists will sometimes stain a certain element of organic matter to enhance its visibility under a microscope. These surreal and sharply colored images could be mistaken for such contrast-enhanced biological material.

They are actually Google Earth photos of tianguis, the famous street markets that spring up all across the Distrito Federal. In a collection compiled by Fabian Neuhaus of UrbanTick, and featured on Nicola Twiley’s Edible Geography on Monday, the markets — sheltered beneath red plastic tarps, which gives them their distinctive appearance from the air - look more like living organisms than groups of merchants. They sprawl down certain streets, seemingly chosen at random from an endless grid, turning corners or branching off into side streets. Their logic, from above, is mysterious and undeniable.

Read more. [Image: Flickr/UrbanTick]

October 2, 2012
Homophobia Online: In the Last 3 Months, the Word ‘Faggot’ Has Been Tweeted 2.6 Million Times

In real time, NoHomophobes.com monitors homophobic language on Twitter — specifically the terms “faggot,” “so gay,” “no homo,” and “dyke” — and the results, rendered in all their infographic-style glory, are, well, let’s put it this way: They don’t make you feel awesome about the world. 

Read more. [Image: NoHomophobes.com]

Homophobia Online: In the Last 3 Months, the Word ‘Faggot’ Has Been Tweeted 2.6 Million Times

In real time, NoHomophobes.com monitors homophobic language on Twitter — specifically the terms “faggot,” “so gay,” “no homo,” and “dyke” — and the results, rendered in all their infographic-style glory, are, well, let’s put it this way: They don’t make you feel awesome about the world. 

Read more. [Image: NoHomophobes.com]

October 1, 2012
Why the Internet Is About to Replace TV as the Most Important Source of News

The headline conclusion of Pew’s latest monster survey of the media landscape was the demise of TV news. “There are now signs that television news is increasingly vulnerable,” the authors wrote, “as it may be losing its hold on the next generation of news consumers.”
But the larger story is the rise of the Web, which has surpassed newspapers and radio to become the second most popular source of news for Americans, after TV. 

Read more. [Image: Pew]

Why the Internet Is About to Replace TV as the Most Important Source of News

The headline conclusion of Pew’s latest monster survey of the media landscape was the demise of TV news. “There are now signs that television news is increasingly vulnerable,” the authors wrote, “as it may be losing its hold on the next generation of news consumers.”

But the larger story is the rise of the Web, which has surpassed newspapers and radio to become the second most popular source of news for Americans, after TV. 

Read more. [Image: Pew]

September 26, 2012
"My experience of the Internet has been that if you make something really cool, the neatness speaks for itself."

Randall Munroe, creator of the web comic xkcd.

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