The gadgets we use can be a good indicator of where our society is at today, and where it’s going in the future. And judging by numbers from a recent survey by the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration), some encouraging tech trends have been occurring over the last couple years.
For a long time, Google and other web-minded businesses like Mozilla have been pushing HTTPS as a way to address the shortcomings and security flaws inherent in HTTP. And if Google’s reports are any indication, it seems to be working based on data claiming that over 82 percent of Chrome pages in the US are loaded over…
Monday night, Slate published an explosive new story suggesting shady ties between a server registered to the Trump Organization and ones own by a Russian bank. While the Clinton campaign quickly pounced on the story as possibly “the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow,” security analysts raised doubts
What is the purpose of the “World Wide Web”? Some would say that it’s to facilitate the free exchange of ideas on a global scale. (Hah!) Others might argue that it serves to democratize the tools of mass communication. (LOL) Personally, I believe that “on-line” exists to bring us videos like this:
A couple years ago, I wanted to find out the name of the actor who played my favorite character on House of Cards, so I googled the character. Big mistake. The very first Google search result was the character’s House of Cards Wikia page—including date of death. I didn’t even have to click on the link. Spoiled.
The other day I woke up convinced that Gawker Media management sent out an email that never actually existed. The dream was so real I had to search my inbox just to be sure. Has this ever happened to you?
For all its wonders, the internet does have some dark sides. Trolls. YouTube comments. 4chan. But as YouTuber Tom Scott explains by showing us what a completely offence-free internet dystopia would look like, even the lowliest of bridge-dwellers are a defining feature of online life.
It was the inherent beauty of the web. I had access to the same tools and the same publish button as any big time brand. As an indie player, this was incredibly powerful, and in many ways, that leveling of the creative playing field was what got so many of us so excited about this joint in the first place.
Earlier today, reports abounded that North Korea had suffered an unprecedented internet outage. While it remains unclear whether it's the result of a cyber attack or the country's longstanding technological woes, one thing is certain: you got jokes!
The death of net neutrality is a looming catastrophe that the FCC thinks it can slip past you, while you just twiddle your thumbs and fail to notice how much of a farce the whole process is. And if that hadn't hit home just yet, John Oliver's explanation from last night's Last Week Tonight is a solid (and funny)…
If you ever, for a second, wondered questions like what's the purpose of life or why the Internet exists or what are you going to eat for lunch today, the answer is simply this magical software tool created by GitHub user LindseyB. It automatically turns any Star Wars quote into an animated GIF, complete with caption…
You're a different person online compared to your real life. It's okay. You don't have to irrationally like cats just because you're obsessed with cat videos. You don't have to literally poke the people you poked on Facebook. You don't have to like or follow or tag or comment or stalk celebrities like you do on the…
This colorful tiny shirt that will impress a lot of cool tenth graders came for me in the mail today, and I had totally forgotten about it until now. Surprise! Am I alone here, or does anyone else order random things online and erase them from your memory until they arrive?
Green shows the countries you want to live in because they have little to no Internet censorship. Yellow reveals countries that you might not want to stay in too long because they might increase censorship in the future. And if you love the Internet, you should probably avoid every other color because they all have…
In my years working in technology, I have learned a few things. These lessons have become oft-repeated refrains when speaking to people, so I thought I'd collect them so I have a link to send folks when needed.
I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to explain to my future kids what life was like before the Internet. Those stories of a pre-YouTube, pre-Wikipedia, pre-Google, pre-iPhone, pre-iPad day will be the modern day equivalent of my parents' stories about walking a mile to school barefoot in the snow with two barrels…
You're not looking to bang every person you meet online. Sometimes, you're just looking for friends. But somehow, meeting someone you know online platonically has become a far more awkward endeavor than a random OKCupid date. You know her but you dont know her. Do you shake hands? Do you hug? Do you do that…
The Internet is always hoppin'. Maybe parts of it will be slowing down just a little as everyone and their hermano tunes in to watch season four of Arrested Development, but it'll still be humming along.
For YouTube's comedy week, Dane Boe created this music video 'We Didn't Star the Viral' (riffing off Billy Joel's We Didn't Star the Fire) that recaps pretty much all the viral videos that became infamous on YouTube over the last 8 years. You know the usual suspects: Keyboard cat, Star Wars kid, evolution of dance,…
You love the Internet. You're not alone, obviously. That guy in the cubicle next to you is on the Internet too. That girl checking her email while walking down the street loves the Internet too. Your mom who messages you on Facebook, yeah, she's on it too. Everybody uses the Internet. But what is the Internet, a drug…
