Even if 'bossy' could be banned, there are far better ways to boost girls' self-esteem | Hadley Freeman

Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg and Beyoncé want to ban the word 'bossy' as disparaging to women. It's a good start, but there's so much more to be done. Here are my top tipsThat growing numbers of girls suffer from issues of self-esteem during adolescence – ones that can be carried over into adulthood – is not up for debate. What is debatable is what should be done about this. Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook and author of the bestselling feminist-ish book Lean In, has come up with her own typically high-powered and certainly well-intentioned solution: to ban the word "bossy". "When a little boy asserts himself, he's called a 'leader'. Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded 'bossy'," she writes.It will come as a massive surprise to no one to learn that I was called bossy quite a lot as a kid, and still am (although I wouldn't have to be bossy if people would just bloody well do as I say). Yet it's never bothered me, mainly because I grew up idolising Miss Piggy and Lucy van Pelt from Peanuts, and never saw bossiness as anything other than a wholly commendable quality. But for those unacquainted with the mighty pig, Sandberg has made a video featuring herself, Condoleezza Rice, Beyoncé and others, arguing that the word "bossy" should be "banned" (in the self-censoring sense, one suspects, as opposed to the, you know, legal one) because it's a way of telling confident girls to shut up.Insults are often gendered – in adulthood at... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Way Publishers Cash In Twitter Referrals Now (Hint: More Ads)

Much bandwidth has been consumed discussing the effects of Facebook's recent algorithm change to favor sites offering "high quality" content. It's been said to hurt viral sites like Upworthy -- a notion the site's founders have denied -- while rewarding other publishers including Mental... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #high quality #make money


The Debrief website aims to be more than 'BuzzFeed for girls'

Bauer Media launches site targeting perceived gap in the market for 'constantly connected, influential, 20-something women'Bauer Media has launched digital brand The Debrief, targeting twentysomething women, with a promise that it is more than "BuzzFeed for girls".The Debrief officially launched... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital venture #unique ways #marketing manager


Two Authors Launch Brown Girls Publishing

Bestselling Simon & Schuster authors Victoria Christopher Murray and ReShonda Tate Billingsley are now teaming up on the business side: the two writers are launching Brown Girls Publishing, a new digital publishing venture that debuts today. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mirror, Independent and Standard enjoy festive website traffic boost | Digital ABCs

Three sites buck annual trend, but Mail, Guardian and Telegraph report month-on-month declines in daily unique browsersMirror Group Digital, Independent.co.uk and Standard.co.uk enjoyed month-on-month traffic gains in December, when the festive holiday usually results in newspaper website user... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Flynn rewrites Gone Girl ending for film

Writer Gillian Flynn has acknowledged rewriting the ending to her novel Gone Girl (Weidenfeld... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An app to check your cholesterol is the latest way smartphones are evolving into medical devices

On mobile phones, health, and fitness are rapidly becoming big business. The latest idea? A concept from researchers at Cornell which demonstrates how your phone could be used to check your cholesterol levels, no visit to the lab required. In a paper published in the medical technology journal... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The "Netflix For Books" Business Model, And How It'll Change The Way You Read

Mark Coker of Smashwords, which recently inked a major content deal with Scribd, weighs in on how the all-you-can-read model changes the way we read, how authors make creative choices, and how everyone gets paid.Is a "Netflix for ebooks" nearing viability? Yesterday, Smashwords, the largest... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #self-published ebooks #business model #ll change #mark coker #largest distributor #e-reading service


Reality Check: Mobile Ads Have a Way to Go

The mobile ad world has become one of haves and have nots. The Wall Street Journal concentrates on the haves, the platforms like Facebook, but the world of publishers isn’t so luckily.The post Reality Check: Mobile Ads Have a Way to Go appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Treat online abuse of women and girls as robustly as offline, authorities urged

Call on police and prosecutors by women's group EVAW comes as report reveals extent of sexual harassment on social mediaWomen's groups are calling on the police and prosecutors to treat abuse of women and girls online as "robustly" as they do offline, as a report published on Thursday reveals... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Boost for Scholastic from new 'Hunger Games' film

The release of the latest Hunger Games film, backlist titles such as Harry Potter and success... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sequel announced to Stieg Larsson's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy

Swedish publisher Norstedts says new book in international bestselling crime thriller series will be out in August 2015The Swedish publisher of the best-selling The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy says it has hired an author to write a sequel to the series by Stieg Larsson, who died in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News UK sings its way into a new era, and a new home, at carol concert

I wrote the other week about Rupert Murdoch's newspaper outfit, News UK, being reborn by putting a digital smile on Wapping's face.Now, with the company's move to London Bridge in mind, the publisher has put a smile on the face of Southwark Cathedral by donating £1,000 to its All Hallows... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fifa's Sepp Blatter goes to court to ban book of cartoons

Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa, whose middle name should be "Controversy", has walked into another embarrassing row.As The Observer's David Hills reported yesterday, he has won an injunction in Switzerland, his native country, in order to prevent the publication of a book of amusing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Irish literature gets €150,000 boost with laureate award

An outstanding Irish writer of fiction will be chosen to promote Irish literature around the worldAs Ireland becomes the first country to exit the eurozone bailout programme, one of its writers can look forward to a period of prosperity with the creation of a laureateship award worth €150,000... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #highest level #established authors #anne enright #sebastian barry #younger generation


HCCB signs new Geek Girl book deal

HarperCollins Children's Books has signed a new three book deal with Holly Smale, author of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harpercollins children #book deal #holly smale


Paywalls Boost Ad Rates for Some Magazines and Newspapers, OPA Study Finds

Online paywalls are helping some newspaper and magazine websites increase the ad rates they charge, according to a new report from the Online Publishers Association.It's a hopeful sign for publishers that have hesitated to erect paywalls, despite the potential to generate new revenue from... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #subscription models #negative impact #including time


HarperCollins buys gang girl memoir

HarperCollins has acquired Sour, the true story of Tracey Miller, a former Brixton gang girl,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #true story


A transparent market means rethinking the ways brands advertise

In the transparent marketplace it's what you do, not what you say, that makes the difference, and that's good for sustainabilityIn New York's Central Park recently, an old man was selling "Banksy paintings" for $60 apiece. His booth was right next to others selling everything from second-hand... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Banning bad reviews undermines the very purpose of reviews

In an interview with Poynter back at the beginning of November, BuzzFeed book editor Isaac Fitzgerald said that the site will not include negative reviews. "Why waste breath talking smack about something? You see it in so many old media-type places, the scathing takedown rip. If you can’t say... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Facebook Tweak Gives Publishers a Traffic Boost

Facebook has altered its newsfeed algorithm, which is turning out to be great news for online publishers. Major sites say the social network has driven more referrals in the past month than ever before.The post A Facebook Tweak Gives Publishers a Traffic Boost appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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