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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Scribd Rolls Out the Internet’s First All-You-Can-Listen Audiobooks Service

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[ Wired | 2014-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Livres Hebdo stops measuring online sales

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Facebook Could End Up Controlling Everything You Watch and Read Online

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[ Wired | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Fast Company | 2014-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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GovDeals Auctions Surplus Books Online

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books in Browsers V: Live Stream Video

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon and Simon & Schuster reach a deal on internet book sales

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[ Engadget | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Living Secular: Books on Nonbelief Shift from Argument to Lifestyle

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Martha Stewart Living magazines to be produced by Meredith

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[ Crains New York | 2014-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wattpad partners with IFOA for online festival

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Online Publishers Association Announces Rebrand to Digital Content Next

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four Questions for...John Freeman

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Abingdon Pulls Back in Fiction, Christian Living

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dutch courts lets ebook reseller stay online

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[ PC World | 2014-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ AdWeek | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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