18th April 2015
1) Brilliant piece about the web, reading and learning – “The typical American consumes more than 100,000 words a day, and remembers none of them. When everybody’s reading, but nobody’s smarter, what value has the word?”
2) TripAdvisor has a massive influence on the world of travel and if you travel, ever it’s hard to ignore Despite it’s huge (and growing) profits, though, it’s only so helpful. Sometimes you have to get lost to find what you are looking for.
3) For all budding authors – A collection of brilliant story writing tips Including tips from authors such as Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin and Neil Gaiman: “I take a very pragmatic approach to backstory. I want to know what moment defined the character’s relationship to their parents, what moment defined their greatest desire, and what moment defined their greatest fear. Those three moments are most of what I need, because those three tell me where the character comes from, what they want, and what holds them back.”
4) The April Fool that has become a web sensation – It began life as a joke, but Reddit’s “The Button” is turning into a fascinating social experiment. Why? Well it is powered by two of the most powerful forces in human societies: status competition and boredom.
5) Invisible Girlfriend is an app that those without significant others, can use as a cover – ….”she’ll text you 100 times/month (for $9.99) and even leave a few voicemails. And on the other end? Not a bot, but a stranger. And instead of using the service as a cover, individuals are using it for comfort: “You don’t sext your Invisible Girlfriend, you text her your benign frustrations. Uber for emotional support”.
6) Are these 11 proverbs of the internet age ? Perhaps the best known – “If you’re not paying for it, then you’re the product” Proverbs only become proverbs when it feels like they’ve been around forever. So some of our slogans, catchphrases or favourite sayings of today may one day be seen as proverbs. Here are some examples that may stand the test of time.
7) Unexpected but wonderful – A Gorgeous Atlas of New York Tree Species.
8) Clever. (ht @faris) – Digiday recently announced a new feature called TLDR – “Short for ‘ too long, didn’t read’ in internet speak, and it can also be used to summarise thoughts. Digiday is having their writers write two versions of each story and by clicking “TLDR” you’ll be taken to a 50-75 word version of the story (as opposed to the average 700-900 words.)”
9) Probably the best poster in the World? The Carlsberg poster that serves beer.
10) … and of course, there is a new Star Wars trailer out.