Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Facebook Trending Topics is that special box you see on the right hand side of your Newsfeed that tells you what news is trending. Most people thought it was simply an algorithmic amalgamation of what Facebook users were talking about until Gizmodo reported this month that it’s actually curated by human beings. And some of…
For many of us, Facebook has intertwined itself into our lives to such an extent that it often seems to fade into the background—it’s always there, like the atmosphere, and so we stop thinking about it. But now and then, the giant social network does something that forces us to consider its over-sized influence on…
Begin: WordPress Article Content Today at TechCrunch Disrupt NY, we had both the founder of AdBlock Plus Till Faida and Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg on our stage — but not at the same time, mostly because Rothenberg refused to even shake hands with Faida in public. Rothenberg minced no words in his dislike…
Moderators of Reddit’s popular technology subreddit, which boasts more than 5 million subscribers, are considering banning links from publishers, specifically Wired and Forbes, that force users to disable ad-blocking tools to access their sites. In a message posted yesterday, r/technology moderator “cerq” signaled out Forbes for reportedly serving users malware when ad-blockers are turned off resulting…
If you’ve spent any time on social media, I can bet that you might have come across a BuzzFeed piece or two. Originator of the iconic listicle, with over 200 million audience members worldwide, BuzzFeed continues to dominate media in the millennial era. I happen to know first-hand how pervasive this content is to my…
Google is reportedly jumping deeper into the ad blocking issue by exploring an acceptable ads policy, publisher and industry sources say. Google, together with Facebook, controlled 64 percent of the digital ad market last year. With that clout, Google could have an outsized impact on the kinds of ad formats that become the industry standard. Intrusive and…
When CNN boss Jeff Zucker took the stage at Great Big Story’s NewFronts presentation to talk about the content his digital network has lined up for the coming year, he said something he’s never had to at a TV upfront: “These are not built-if-sold concepts. These are real projects that will grow our brand.” Five…
A Brief Encounter with Alexia Tsotsis (Credit: Getty Images — I’ll get rid of it if you really want me to I promise just email me.) I did not know Alexia when I worked at HuffPost. I still don’t know her. I don’t engage with her on Facebook, I don’t write witty replies to her tweets. I’m…
As I’ve spent the last several months looking for a full-time journalism job, I keep noticing something depressing. When you search job sites for “journalism,” “reporter” or other similar keywords, what you’ll find is a whole bunch of roles that have nothing to do directly with producing the news. For every one job result for…
On Thursday afternoon, presumptive Republican Party nominee Donald Trump threw the content creators of digital media some literal red meat. He tweeted a photo of himself enjoying a taco bowl for lunch, adding a typically ham-fisted assurance that, contrary to popular belief, he “love[s] Hispanics.” This is not an article about that tweet. This is an article…