Facebook Puts a Downer on Upworthy

Facebook Inc. changed its newsfeed algorithm. You’ll never believe what happened to Upworthy’s traffic next. —Bloomberg. Similar:My Anti-Linkbait Pledge: Cynical Overhyping vs. Simply Being OnlineWhen I find something interesting that a…CultureIOC spokesman: Journalists free to Instagram at Sochi Olympics  Journalists will be allowed to u…BusinessA.I. 'Completes' Keith Haring's Intentionally Unfinished Painting After learning of his…

Beyond Usability and Design: The Narrative Web

We see narrative everywhere. It’s a primitive urge, a way to tie cause to effect, to convert the complexity of our experience to a story that makes sense. We want to see narrative everywhere. Stories are fun, exciting, comforting. This isn’t just a matter of bedtime stories and art. The saga of the Great Browser War, the…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu

My Anti-Linkbait Pledge: Cynical Overhyping vs. Simply Being Online

When I find something interesting that an online friend has shared via a linkbait site, I hereby pledge that I will link to the origin of the story, rather than a third-party site that republishes it without commentary. The people who share and like and respond to Upworthy and similar linkbait websites are just responding…

Feature: History Lesson: the treasured past of LucasArts point and clicks

I played more of the Sierra point-and-click adventures than the LucasArts ones, but “The Dig” and “Full Throttle” were probably as important to me as half a dozen of my once-favorite TV shows or movies. (I’ve revisited these games by watching YouTube longplay videos.) There’s a fondness throughout the catalogue for the catalogue. Monkey Island…

The Formation of Love

Relationships start with a period of courtship: on Facebook, messages are exchanged, profiles are visited, posts are shared on each other’s timelines. The following graph shows the average number of timeline posts exchanged between two people who are about to become a couple. We studied the group of people who changed their status from “Single”…

Valentine’s Day Sensitivity

Me: Yes, that sound was me choking up while running The Secret Garden lines with Carolyn. Wife: (Laughs.) Me: So, you married a sensitive man. Now shut up. Wife: You should blog that. Similar:8k trimsheets baked as efficient building blocks for my #fantasy #steampunk #cgi cruiser. …PersonalEnjoying live theater.The Illustrious Invalid. @kinetictheatre_pghPersonalBird flight simulator. The…

The Trouble with Tribbles: A Television Adaptation by Richard Gorey

Shaenon K. Garrity – New Smithson!. Similar:Why typewriters beat computersThe BBC offers a pleasant bit of retroph…AestheticsAs CRT Supplies Vanish the Classic Arcade Machine is Virtually DeadIf you understand the environment in whi…CultureHow Mickey Mouse Evades the Public DomainI get my fill of Disney pretty quick. In…BusinessBottled Authors: the predigital dream of the audiobookThere was…

Utility Tactical Waist Pack Pouch Military Camping Hiking Outdoor Hand Waist Bag: Sports & Outdoors

Really. These things aren’t at all associated with nerds. Look at the manly color. Look at the size of those straps. Guys who wear this use metal filings as toothpaste. Chuck Norris wears these in memes! For God’s sake, would you look at the keywords! There’s no reference to how convenient these pockets would be for SD cards,…