Striking Writers Turn to Web Biz

Racy pics, suicide threats get would-be cops dumped

(NEWSER) - Law enforcement agencies are probing potential recruits’ digital lives for information that might make them unfit for the job, USA Today reports. More than a third of police agencies look into applicants’ social media presence, says a new report conducted for police executives. Reviewing postings to sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, some agencies require applicants’ online passwords, or want to see their text-messaging and email records. More»

'Meet kids where they live: online'

(NEWSER) - Schools that ban teachers and students from social media may think they're keeping classrooms safe from the harassment, bullying and exploitation of social networks, but actually they're missing a chance to harness the tremendous energy kids devote to social media, Nicholas Bramble writes on Slate . By bringing Facebook, MySpace and YouTube into the classroom, teachers can channel this energy toward schoolwork, Bramble says. More»

YouTube is like shots of tequila; Gmail is caffeine

(NEWSER) - We all have our favorite Internet time-wasters; now, Patrick Moberg gives us their equivalents in real-world vices:

• Twitter is crack cocaine: “Fucking ANYONE is your friend. Yuppies do it on their iPhone. Cheap. Short. Fruitless.”
• Tumblr is a bottle of wine: “A quiet night in with a couple friends … flipping through photo albums, singing favorite songs. … Emotions flow freely and without thought.”

Dem will use internet to reach out to, get advice from voters

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama is poised to be, by far, the most wired president ever, reports CNN. With more than a million MySpace friends, 3.7 million Facebook pals, and online access to more than 13 million voters, Obama invented a new media model and will be able to communicate in ways far beyond the capacity of previous presidents. More»

But pitfalls lie amid flurry of documenting

(NEWSER) - They’re known as millennials, the documentation generation, and the Look at Me’s. But what defines Americans born after 1982 is a mindset that every moment can be turned into a performance worthy of YouTube and MySpace and maybe parlayed into broader fame, Newsweek reports. Now sociologists are asking: Can healthy identities and relationships thrive in a generation obsessed with self-presentation and exhibitionism? More»