Texas football program defends controversial cotton celebration
In another example of poor judgement by a major brand’s social media team, Texas Tech’s Athletics Department tweeted out a photo imploring its fans to “celebrate cotton” and “black out” their game...
View ArticleFleshlight wants you to remember a very NSFW 9/11
I was going to stay away from the brands-tweeting-smarmy-sentiments-about-9/11 stories today. But then the people behind Fleshlight, the world’s premier manufacturer of fake vaginas for dudes to have...
View ArticleThe one thing #WhyIStayed doesn't mention about partner violence
Note: This article features graphic descriptions of domestic violence and may be triggering for some viewers.Like most people, I was extremely moved by #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft, the hashtags that...
View ArticleKelly and Michael make the iPhone 6 d**k joke we all wanted to make
The news that Apple’s new iPhone comes in two sizes—the iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch screen, while the iPhone 6 Plus boasts 5.5 inches—triggered an avalanche of penis jokes this week. WHY WE LETTING 5.5...
View ArticleThe 6 biggest lies everyone tells on Facebook
People seem to regularly get fired or arrested for being too honest on Facebook, but where does one draw the line with dishonesty?A Dutch student named Zilla van den Born decided to test this out with...
View ArticleNicki Minaj snubbed by her own high school
Nicki Minaj, a rapper of some renown who at virtually any opportunity encourages her fans to stay in school and graduate, will not be allowed to speak to students at her alma mater, New York’s...
View ArticleIggy Azalea responds to sex tape rumors by schooling everyone on Twitter
This week, rumors have been floating around that Iggy Azalea recorded a sex tape with her ex-boyfriend, Houston rapper Hefe Wine. She says no. Hefe Wine says yes. So does Steven Hirsch, the CEO of porn...
View ArticleAfter 13 years, woman finds owner of wedding photo lost at Ground Zero
After searching for 13 years, a woman has tracked down the owner of a wedding photo found at Ground Zero, thanks to the power of Twitter. Elizabeth Stringer Keefe posted the photo—given to her by a...
View ArticleOnline campaign urges news media to stop showing ISIS videos
On Saturday, a video showing a member of the militant group ISIS beheading British aid worker David Haines appeared online. This is at least the third such video of the group murdering an American or...
View ArticleReal men don't tweet about what 'real men' do
Back in April, just before 276 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped by the jihadist group Boko Haram, America’s male celebrities decided that the time had come to insert themselves into the global sex...
View ArticleOnline shopper orders walnut bread, gets entire octopus instead
What has eight limbs and will keep you from making sandwiches? An octopus delivered to your home in lieu of a loaf of walnut bread. The convenience of doing your grocery shopping online has a price,...
View ArticleWomen named Isis want you to stop calling the jihadist militants 'ISIS'
A terrorist by any other name would be just as evil, but for “thousands of women” named Isis, the initialism applied to the jihadist organization of the moment is a pressing concern. While the White...
View ArticleWhat it's like to watch a meme explode on Twitter
There have been several twists and turns in the evolution of Twitter as it grew from elite gathering place for journalists and early adopters to open forum for the masses. One of the latest chapters...
View ArticleStudent's tragic final tweets predicted her own death
On Monday, Georgetown University sophomore Andrea Jaime succumbed to a case of meningitis—three days after posting a sadly prescient Twitter status about her lethal illness.“This is what dying must...
View ArticleWhy I just asked my students to put their laptops away
I teach theory and practice of social media at NYU, and am an advocate and activist for the free culture movement, so I’m a pretty unlikely candidate for Internet censor, but I have just asked the...
View ArticleTwitter sleuths help track down group suspected in hate crime
Thanks to the efforts of Twitter users, several possible suspects have been found in relation to an alleged hate crime in Philadelphia.The incident took place on the evening of Sept. 11, when two gay...
View Article'Catfish' star Nev Schulman thinks you should quit the Internet
BY ANGELA SERRATORE Nev Schulman wants to be the next Dr. Drew. Or Dr. Phil. Any doctor who specializes in treating the symptoms of mass culture will do, really. Instead of going to medical school,...
View ArticleWhy Urban Outfitters wants to piss you off
Open Twitter on any given day, these days, and it feels like you’ll be launched head-on into yet another controversy over a company selling offensive garments, like Zara’s concentration camp-themed...
View ArticleThe business of hating Kanye West
Kanye West is at it again. Of course, according to most sources, Kanye West isalwaysatitagain, so long as the "it" is something distasteful and worthy of our collective scorn. In this latest case,...
View ArticleLil B releases emoji pack for all your based texting needs
If it feels like relentlessly upbeat rapper and Twitter superstar Lil B hasn’t been putting out mixtapes at his usual frenetic rate, it’s probably because he’s been working on an app that will change...
View Article