For many single Arab women, to live and work or study away from their family is not a choice made easily, because of fear of 'what people will say'. A number of bloggers from around the Arab world have voiced their frustration recently at the obstacles single women face. ...

Back in June we told you about Gopalan Nair (pictured), a US citizen living in Singapore who was arrested for writing mean things about a judge on his blog. He accused the judge of "prostituting herself," and goaded the police by posting his address and phone number. His arrest was international news, but it appears that Singapore's authorities didn't learn their lesson: Nair now says he'll be going to trial next month, facing up to two years in jail. Who is this brave man standing up for free online speech in the face of an unyielding corrupt power structure? He's kind of a crank! But the charming, revolutionary type: Nair is a Singapore-born lawyer who became a US citizen in 2005. He says the he left Singapore because he was "harassed and persecuted" for his political beliefs. Nair has been posting long entries on his blog about his ongoing case. He strikes you as the type of person you see at City Council meetings throughout America, waiting to get up and harangue the politicians about their corruption and

In the "largest social network constructed and analyzed to date," Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University researchers investigated on a planetary scale the oft-cited report that people are separated by "six degrees of separation." Based on 30 billion Microsoft Messenger instant-message conversations among 240 million people, the study found that the average path length among Messenger users was 6.6. "Researchers have concluded that any two people on average are distanced by just 6.6 degrees of separation, meaning that they could be linked by a string of seven or fewer acquaintances," a Washington Post article stated. However, one publication, eFluxMedia, suggested the study was "heavily misinterpreted" by the media. "MSN Messenger users are not a random group of people. Their use of the Redmond company's instant messaging tool is already a selection which raises chances they can connect to each other in fewer hops. Furthermore, instant messaging itself is not a measure of real life connection

A dead sea monster washed ashore, and a nation was captivated. Theories were floated. Nothing was solved, although everyone tried. We railed against freebloggers. They are subsidizing the entire Internet! Larry King got drunk. Anderson Cooper continued to confuse us sexually. We met John Edwards' mistress. And his love child.We vetted it all with Wikipedia. EARTHQUAKE! It was dutifully Twittered. What will we, the media, do if Obama loses? Let us pray. Banksy? Banxy. Advertisements behaving badly! Also, Roger Stone said something.

How women are waking up to the power of blogging

If you're a fugitive from justice, probably one of the last things you want to do is start a video blog like Patric Ian Henn's "Boy About Town." Although he allegedly skipped out on a 12-year probation sentence, Henn peppered his Los Angeles-focused blog with videos of himself interviewing various minor celebrities at local events. After just 52 posts, including many with pictures of himself, Henn is now apparently headed back to prison, adding to the two years he already served for conning $68,000 from the Red Cross by posing as the lover of someone killed in the 9/11 attacks. Between that scam and the blog, it's clear Henn craves attention, even if it means exploiting the suffering of others. Unlike, say, the rest of us bloggers! After the jump, Henn's cringey interview with (very patient!) comedian Margaret Cho.

Remember how yesterday we told bloggers they should insist on getting paid because "someone is making money off your work and your content?" That argument applies to the creative side of pretty much any corporate media endeavor. But all rules have their exceptions, and Exhibit A, for today at least, is Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn. For the show's first season, Gunn worked for free, it has emerged in court. Meanwhile, Harvey Weinstein and his Weinstein Co. were milking the show for every last dollar. In season two, Gunn took home just $2,500 per episode. These days, of course, he has his own spinoff program, a best-selling book and a cushy executive suite gig at Liz Claiborne. So should everyone go throwing their labor around for free? Of course not! Here's why it worked for Gunn: Huge platform. Even without financial compensation, Gunn enjoyed the benefits (and potential hazards) of what, based on early critical acclaim and audience growth rates, looked to become a hugely-watched hit. Airtime like that doe

This is getting ridiculous. Today, Alley Insider reported that some bloggers at AOL have chosen to keep posting for free after cutbacks that would only pay them for five posts per day. It's assumed that at least some people are indeed donating some of their blog posts. And don't even get me started on the Huffington Post, that repository of crackpot rants built by an army of many free-bloggers writing in the name of "exposure." (CEO Betsey Morgan said in a recent interview that paying the HuffPo's bloggers might possibly be part of the picture someday; in the meantime, "It feels very 1993 to say, Hey, its all about the check that I get at the end of the month.") After the jump: Econ 2.0, or why bloggers should stop writing for free. Bloggers have to stop thinking of themselves as white-collar creatives and more like rank-and-file workers. After all—that's how they're paid! Some bloggers get paid per-post, like pieceworkers in a 19th-century factory. Some get paid for pageviews, which is even mo

"I read your post on how some of the AOL/Weblogs bloggers are blogging for free. I don't know who the bloggers are or which blogs within the portfolio this applies to either. I was recently hired (signed a contract) to write for one of the blogs. Last week, the blog I'm with sent out a note to all the members of the team that everyone except for lead bloggers and paid staff should refrain from posting until August because of a budget shortfall. On the blog I was hired to write for, we receive just $X [redacted] per post, features (slideshows and such) are paid at a higher rate. I think some bloggers continue because they feel a sense of mission and duty and are really into it. [Emphasis added] I will not write for free." "NO ONE SHOULD BE WRITING FOR FREE except for interns and people looking to get a start in the field. I have written for HuffPo on special occasions but I received press passes that made it worthwhile, as well as exposure and clips that showcased a different side to my writing. However, I can

This morning's Times brings the story of Arnold Kim, the blogger behind MacRumors.com. Kim just quit his job as a freshly-minted physician to blog full time. Wait, what? Well, see, MacRumors has been estimated to be worth $85 million — more valuable than the Huffington Post. So, for Kim, going full-time was "on paper... an easy decision." Also he has a 14-month-old daughter (awww) who he'd like to spend more time with. Even his dad approves! "When he told his father, also a doctor, about the decision, Dr. Kim was pleased that 'he was very supportive of it, which was sort of surprising to me,'" the Times said. Only an hour after publication, the Times story has already reached number two on the Technology section most-emailed list — no doubt thanks to platoons of vindicated bloggers forwarding the piece to their parents. I think I'll join them! [Times] (Photo via blakespot on Flickr)

Well, it's been a year or two since the corporate world started its "green" advertising revolution, and it's worked. The problem is solved! The problem being the fickle consumer's desire to hear companies talk about how "green" they are. After 18 months, levels of concern on any issue tend to drop off, explains one marketing wizard. Now we can all sit back and feel good about what we've accomplished! The earth is still destined for environmental ruin, but at least we'll be subjected to less marketing bastardization like this: [Bloggers] and other Internet critics have already started to expose what they see as greenwash advertising. A French group called lAlliance Pour la Plante, for example, cites an ad for a Japanese sport utility vehicle that was billed as having been conceived and developed in the homeland of the Kyoto accords, the international emissions-reduction agreement. The Times' advice: "avoid vague and unsubstantiated claims " the kind that bloggers and other critics are quic

Oh hey, beloved humorist Joel Stein wrote a fantastic column for the Los Angeles Times newspaper called "How to Make Fun of Barack Obama." Wait, sorry, that's the wrong link. That link goes to a post we wrote on Wednesday. We meant to link to Joel Stein's hilarious and original column, "How to make fun of Obama." Do you need reassurance that all is right with the world? Here it is: his advice directly contradicts ours, repeatedly. Did you know that Barack Obama is really gay? He's effete. He's well-dressed. He eats arugula — which he buys at Whole Foods. He mocks those who use guns. He is, as we mentioned, quite thin. He may only be half-black, but he's three-quarters gay. "Arugula" is a funny word in a Catskills sense, sure, but that is the gayest thing you can come up with? He shops at Whole Foods? Also on the list, specifically from our "don'ts" column: "His name is weird." We were going to quote the bit about his racist grandmother but it will make you feel actual physical pain. Joel Stein, you are

The Huffington Post, that repository of crackpot rants and informed political debate (plus "verticals"! Lots of verticals) does not pay its bloggers. But they hypothetically might, sometime in the future. HuffPo CEO Betsy Morgan (formerly of CBSNews.com) was interviewed by her college alumni magazine. After the jump, probably the most obnoxious and telling new-media statement of our time about actually paying employees. (Hint? "So 1993.") (Mixed Media via CJR) That said, we have a very good relationship with our bloggers; were unbelievably respectful of them. By blogging, they get terrific exposure and our brand gives them a unique platform. Weve had a positive two-way relationship with them. Could that include money at some point? Sure. But it feels very 1993 to say, Hey, its all about the check that I get at the end of the month. How incredibly, arrogantly out of touch. But hey, but this wouldn't be such a problem if people started REFUSING TO WRITE FOR FREE! [Q&A: Betsy Morgan]

Get in line, the bread's here. But only six of you are going to get any. Why? Because these are hard times and experiments have failed, and theories are grand but practice is hard work. So put out those little mitts of yours and trudge after the jump to see who eats this week. From Aaron Altman in Race Baiting Media Whore Is a Credible Source To One Dumb Paper:

"Dear Newspapers: There are still journalistic tenets to uphold, whether you are a free newspaper or not. Why must the new media keep schooling your fucking asses like this? Do you really, really think that your readers don't fucking care that you can't go around flouting basic reporting rules like 1) Checking your sources; 2) Factchecking; 3) Running your shit story by a goddamned editor who still gives a fuck that he or she is working at a fucking newspaper, that last bastion of objectivity in a very subjective world, for fuck's sake? Newsies, please. I went to school for this shit. I bought textbooks. I was taught by former writers and editors, pro

First he was going to open a "restaurant truck that serves tapas" in East Hollywood, then he was ready to seriously take on the LA dining scene---"I want to be where chefs are welcome...there's space for new places and things that people haven't seen here..."---now the rumor is Top Chef winner Ilan Hall is going back to New York. If true, what chased him off? The city's notorious red tape, the commute, the thought that maybe LA isn't such a push-over food town after all? Or was it the fact that we, too, have bloggers? Curious. ELA/Grub Street

Getty Images - now with more cat photos.

There was news this week that Flickr has struck up a partnership with Getty images to start allowing Flickr photographers to license their images via Getty.

Specific details about how it will work are scarce, but we know the system will begin "soon" and that it won't be open slather across all images, only the ones chosen by Getty picture editors.

From a photographers perspective

I've long thought it would be handy if Flickr had an in built tool to allow people to pay for a license to use an image.

On a semi regular basis i'm contacted by people asking if they can use one of my photos they found on Flickr. From ad agencies wanting it for a campaign, to a band wanting a shot for a run of photocopied gig flyers. Most often it's opportunists looking for a free photo but sometimes they approach prepared to spend.

As an example, i was contacted by an ad agency about licensing the image above after they found it on my Flickr page. I'm hopeless at n