Brits Need to Buck Up: Looks like British celebrities can’t handle a little Twitter drama, unlike American celebs who are not only used to, but also often feed the Twitter rumor mill themselves (ehem, Mr. Sheen). An anonymous user started a Twitter account InjunctionSuper, to out British celebs who have invoked gag orders known as “super injuctions” (which prevent the press from reporting a story or even reporting the invocation of the gag order) and to give details about what scandalous story they were trying to cover up. Example: the account claims that TV host Jeremy Clarkson has an injunction to prevent the publication of super-friendly photos he took with a socialite named Jemima Kahn. (Kahn’s gone ballistic over the tweet.) The account has all of six tweets so far, but England is already huffing and puffing about it. Welcome to the wonderful world of Internet anonymity. At the end of the day, however, Twitter isn’t all that new. People could do the same thing with Blogger years ago. Fact is, information creation and delivery is in the hands of everyone, for better or worse — in most cases for the better. What this is doing is shedding light on the dubious practices of “super injunctions,” which seem ripe for abuse by the powerful and connected. It might be messy but that’s the price you pay for free speech. Gawker
New Vocabulary: First it was the OED that sanctioned terrible Web-speak like LOL and OMG; now it’s Scrabble. The much loved word game is adding Internet slang and terms like innit, thang, grrl, Facebook, and webzine to its official word list. Is nothing sacred? The Scotsman
Crazy Gadget of the Day: Furry cat ears that monitor brain waves and move according to your feelings. WTF? Kind of cool, mostly creepy. Of course, it’s a Japanese invention. I kind of want a pair? Fashionista
Ad position: web_incontent_pos1
Twitter Account of the Day: I know all you old folks are always wondering what we youngins are up to, what we think about the latest technology and Internet trends, etc. Here’s a Twitter account for you to follow that will keep you filled in: @Millenials_.
Happy Belated Mother’s Day: Gerry Graff wants moms (and everybody) to spend less time on Facebook and on your computer in general. Thanks Gerry for this much needed PSA. Adweek
More in Media
NewFronts Briefing: Samsung, Condé Nast, Roku focus presentations on new ad formats and category-specific inventory
Day two of IAB’s NewFronts featured presentations from Samsung, Condé Nast and Roku, highlighting new partnerships, ad formats and inventory, as well as new AI capabilities.
The Athletic to raise ad prices as it paces to hit 3 million newsletter subscribers
The New York Times’ sports site The Athletic is about to hit 3 million total newsletter subscribers. It plans to raise ad prices as as a result of this nearly 20% year over year increase.
NewFronts Briefing: Google, Vizio and news publishers pitch marketers with new ad offerings and range of content categories
Day one of the 2024 IAB NewFronts featured presentations from Google and Vizio, as well as a spotlight on news publishers.
Ad position: web_bfu