Ripley's Hosts Online Freak Talent Show by Erik Sass

After a thoroughly depressing week, I thought Friday might be the right time for freaks -- to lighten the mood, startle some prudes, and generally make things a little less bleak. Ripley's Believe It or Not! -- that venerable purveyor of weird, unsettling facts -- is hosting an online contest seeking the freakiest person in America to serve as an attraction at the company's Times Square venue, where they will be on display at the Odditorium. Contestants just have to submit a video to Ripley's Web site, where viewers will vote on them; the videos are simultaneously hosted (and open ...Read the whole story

  • telecom Study: Social Access Key To Smartphone Happiness by Aaron Baar

    According to the latest Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power and Associates, owners who used their devices to access social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook had higher satisfaction rates (783 on a 1,000-point scale, about 22 points higher) than those who do not often access the sites on their handsets. ...Read the whole story

The New York Times' New Paywall Uses Social As A Sampling Tool by Catharine P. Taylor

our topic today is The New York Times' just-announced digital subscription policy, because now we finally know how at least one great media property will try to eat its cake and have it too when it comes to monetizing content while at the same time making it shareable. ...More