Simon Owens

The Daily Beast has published a story confirming that Chuck Johnson, who once wrote for “mainstream” conservative outlets but now primarily publishes to his own blog, paid for one of the women to attend Donald Trump’s press conference stunt prior to Sunday’s debate. It’s a great ...read more

I don’t always mind if people invoke the C word when referring to an instance in which a major social media or search platform bans a particular person from posting to it. Yes, Facebook or Twitter banning a user does not meet the technical definition of censorship given that ...read more

Back in 2012, I interviewed Jake Caputo, a web designer who had a novel idea for how to convince HBO to launch a standalone subscription service that didn’t require a cable package. Instead of simply voicing his wishes, he created a website called TakeMyMoneyHBO.com. It provided ...read more

In late March, CUNY journalism professor Jeff Jarvis reached into his own pocket and paid for a Google Consumer Survey, the results of which should concern anyone who works within the journalism or advertising industry. He did so after browsing the viral aggregation site ...read more

(Ashton Kutcher is the founder of a new viral aggregation site) It happens once every few months. A business or media reporter writes a breathless profile of some previously unknown web native who has “cracked the viral code.” We’ve been treated for years to the adage that you ...read more

In 2009, USA Todayconducteda survey of 1,000 Americans, asking them a very simple question: “Can you name one famous scientist?” The results were depressing. About 23 percent of respondents couldn’t name a single scientist. Of those who were named, none are currently living: ...read more

I’m the last person in the world to decry a good Twitter parody account. The Mayor Emanuel Twitter handle, launched during Rahm Emanuel’s election bid for the mayorship of Chicago, was a lesson in brilliant dadaist surrealism that caricatured Emanuel’s penchant for profanity and ...read more