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December 2, 2008 6:59:01 AM CST

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He Gets Paid So You Can Slack

Posted Apr 20, 08 10:55 AM CDT in Arts & Living,  Technology 

(Newser) – Wasting people’s time is an odd job—but it’s also a big business, writes CollegeHumor.com editor Streeter Seidell in the New York Times. Seidell spends his days wading through an “ocean” of submitted videos and other items, choosing which funny or bizarre selections deserve publication. Yet there’s no method to the madness: every day is a guessing game as to what will draw in time-wasters.

It’s a tough game, too, working for a viewership “as idiosyncratic as it is fickle.” While rough guidelines say pieces “should be short, easily understood, universal, nostalgic,” it’s impossible to be sure what will score. But with 45% of 18- to 24-year-olds spending upwards of three hours online per day, getting paid to suck in slackers is lucrative.

Source New York Times

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This undated photo, provided by CollegeHumor.com, shows Paul Rudd, left, and Michael Showalter during a taping of "The Michael Showalter Showalter," a CollegeHumor.com show.   (AP Photo/CollegeHumor.com, Sam Reich)
The CollegeHumor writing staff.   ((c) Zach Klein)
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Sample CollegeHumor.com fare: the Mario Bros. theme tune played on bottles.   (bmwboy3000)

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