The Elan Gale internet hoax sums up all that is rotten about our online lives | Hadley Freeman

When I was a teenager, I thought it would be great to be an adult and be surrounded by people who weren't mean to each other all day. Enter stage left: the world wide webBack in the early 90s, when I was still at school and words such as "friend" and "message" were nouns as opposed to verbs, a particular incident occurred. For a month or so, a book had been circling among my classmates in which we wrote anonymous mean things about each other, and the statements that were deemed the funniest – invariably, the meanest – would get (anonymous) stars of approval. One day someone wrote in the book that a classmate whom I'll call Rose had made out with her cousin. More details about this fascinating make-out session were added to the book daily, and reading about Rose and her cousin became the only reason any of us wanted to come to school in the mornings. Eventually the writer of the story, whom I'll call Charlotte, couldn't resist claiming the attention she felt was duly hers and let her involvement be known.The saga now reached peak hysteria and Rose tearfully went to a teacher. Charlotte was forced to admit that she had made the whole thing up, all because she wanted some stars. (Naturally, the most salacious story a privileged, protected 13-year-old girl could think of was someone making out with their cousin.) All of us stared down at the floor as she confessed, because even though we knew Charlotte had now laid herself open to the most deliciously sharp mockery, hadn't we... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]

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'Call of Duty' publisher brings esports to Facebook Live

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[ Engadget | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Activision Blizzard to bring live eSports to Facebook

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Christine Sneed: Stories Living a New Life

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Call of Duty maker Activision to use Facebook live video to push e-sports

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[ The Guardian | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Online and On Air: Week of April 25, 2016

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Online and On Air: Week of April 18, 2016

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[ PC World | 2016-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Should Media Companies Fear Facebook Live and Instant Articles or Embrace Them?

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[ AdWeek | 2016-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Britain's GCHQ spies helped stop Harry Potter spoilers ending up online - publisher

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[ Stuff | 2016-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Guardian | 2016-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rosen Acquires Rights to Three Gale Imprints

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Watch live: Refinery29, The Daily Mail and The Atlantic at the Digiday Publishing Summit

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[ Digiday | 2016-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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To listen to the Audio Book Club discussion of Better Living Through Criticism, click the arrow on the player below. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2016-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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