The Trouble With Web Metrics

Natalie Portman steals top spot from Johnny Depp this year

(NEWSER) - When you want to ogle an actor, the Internet Movie Database is a reasonable destination. So which 10 celebs racked up the most IMDb profile page views in 2011? The top spot now belongs to Natalie Portman , who snagged the crown from Johnny Depp (now No. 3, he's been No. 1 for six out of the last seven years). IMDb's managing editor certainly isn't shocked at the new queen bee: Natalie "won a Best Actress Oscar for Black Swan, was in the news welcoming a son into the world in June, and appeared in three films." Mashable reports on the rest of the top 10:

2. Mila Kunis : another Black Swan star

'Red Social' launches a year after Cuban Wikipedia clone

(NEWSER) - Cuba has introduced its very own Facebook-style social network called Red Social. The website appears to be sponsored by the communist nation's Ministry of Education, reports USA Today . Red Social imitates both the look and feel of Facebook, and its homepage features the slogan "A virtual meeting point for Cuban universities." The new social network arrives a year after Cuba launched its own Wikipedia, EcuRed, but it is only available from within the country. The domain name is facebook.ismm.edu.cu. More»

Pushes against distribution of war material

(AP) - The Defense Department is asking media organizations not to publish or post on websites classified US war files released by WikiLeaks. The department has been bracing for a possible leak of as many as many as 400,000 documents from a military database on the Iraq war. The documents are mostly field reports, summarizing actions taken by troops and intelligence gathered. Click here for more what might be in the files. More»

The funniest web addresses

(NEWSER) - Choosing a web address can be a perilous task—especially if your company is named Pen Island. Before choosing a URL, think carefully about where other people might mentally insert spaces in a multiple-word name written without any, the Daily Telegraph reports. Here's a sampling of the funniest double entendres to arise from poorly chosen URLs: More»

Editors seek to create less open but more welcoming environment

(NEWSER) - Should people who comment on blogs and news websites be allowed to say whatever they want? For a growing number of editors, the answer is no. Many sites—realizing that discussion on almost any subject can all too often degenerate into personal attacks—are ditching the anything-goes attitude and trying to cut down on the nastiness that can turn users away from online discussions, NPR reports. More»