Web Whizzes Renovate Rickety Sites to Flip for Profit

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»

failin.gs is the latest truth-seeking social networking site

(NEWSER) - If you really want to know what people think of you, the Web can help. A flurry of new sites—basically intense versions of Truth or Dare—offer constructive criticism or, in the case of the latest, just plain truth. Sites like Formspring.me allow people to ask users anonymous questions, and a new site called failin.gs goes further, prompting users to dish on exactly what is wrong with you. More»

Time ranks top websites

(NEWSER) - Overwhelmed by the stream of new, powerful sites constantly emerging to suit every taste? Time picks 50 you should explore, if you haven’t already:

• Etsy: “The long-haired, Birkenstocked love child of Amazon and eBay,” and the place to go online for handmade crafts, from housewares to clothing.
• Hulu: The television industry’s answer to the music industry’s pirating troubles. It gives the people what they want, at the price they want—free.

Writer bemoans the constant barrage of jealousy from Facebook

(NEWSER) - Remember those holiday letters, the ones informing you of all the exciting things your friends did while you sat at home? Facebook brings you that jealousy 24/7, writes Patricia Beauchamp in the Washington Post. While she’s “wondering how much she could get for a box of gaucho pants on eBay,” her friends are skydiving, closing deals with ABC, and “packing for a trip to the international space station.” More»

Little-known Internet player hitting the big time with simple idea

(NEWSER) - Richard Rosenblatt doesn’t work in Silicon Valley and few people, even there, know his name. But in just 2 years his Demand Media has become a huge player, backed by $355 million in private investment, and pulling in nearly $200 million in revenue this year, the Los Angeles Times reports. His big idea is, well, a small one: eat up thousands of niche social-networking websites, the so-called Long Tail of the Internet, and create tailored content that draws the faithful, and by extension, the advertisers. More»