Book agents trying to cash in on Greek tragedy – If you’ve been paying attention to the economic crisis in Greece, you know that economist-turned-Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned after his push against a financial bail-out proved successful in this weekend’s national referendum. Varoufakis has always been a controversial figure, but what may be even more controversial are the actions Zed Books, which used the crisis and the news of Varoufakis’s resignation to bump up interest in his 2011 book. Talk about extreme marketing…
Zed Books sent out promotional material to announce an update to Yanis Varoufakis’ 2011 “The Global Minotaur” and suggested using the hashtag #ministerofawesome.
The company described him as “possibly the coolest, charismatic and most intelligent Finance minister ever.” –New York Post
Reddit Fired the Woman Trying to Save It – After the doxxing of reddit’s Violentacrez, I am not at all surprised that the one woman, Victoria Taylor, who responsible for trying to keep Reddit on the rails, was fired. Because even back then it was obvious that Reddit had a real problem balancing the protection of speech and the protection of actual human beings from harassment, among other unethical things (like doxxing, especially of women), and that the crisis was nowhere near resolution. In this case, though, the fact that the company engaged in this action does not seem to bode well for the future of Reddit, especially since Taylor was largely responsible for the success of AMA (ask me anything), one of Reddit’s most popular aspects, and she was managing a good deal of the invective that seems to flow freely in so many directions on the site.
Reddit execs found themselves at war with their own massive userbase Thursday when over a thousand communities went dark to protest the termination of Victoria Taylor, the website’s primary employee tasked with keeping its community less susceptible to abuse.
The company’s last two announcements called for “removing harassing subreddits” and “taking a step forward [toward] transparency.” Taylor was often seen as the only path for the website’s volunteers to alert the company’s executives of harassment or a lack of transparency. . . .
A former publicist based in Los Angeles, Taylor had been hired out to Reddit HQ in New York two years ago to serve as the online community’s Director of Communications, becoming a rare human—and female—public face for the company. –The Daily Beast
Woman witnesses the worst date ever, live tweets it for your amusement – When a friend sent this link to me the other day, I was afraid to read it, because I tend to dislike the practice of tweeting overheard conversations. Yeah, I get that everything in a public space is public, but it can still feel intrusive. But I suspect that the guy represented in what appears to be a first date ever read this account, he probably wouldn’t even recognize himself. For anyone who’s had a bad date with a narcissist, you will likely relate to Anne Thériault’s account. I kept thinking that this would make a great scene in a Romance novel, especially if the hero overheard the exchange, as well. –Daily Life
The Story Of Menstruation: Walt Disney’s Sex Ed Film from 1946 – Did you know that Disney produced a bunch of educational films in the 40s and 50s, including this one on “the story of menstruation”? There are just so many treasures in this ten-minute film, I cannot begin to describe the experience of watching it. I knew the moment we were told that the pituitary gland was responsible for girls playing with dolls that big trouble lay ahead.
An estimated 105 million students watched the film in sex ed classes across the US. And, according to Tinker Belles and Evil Queens, the film remained a mainstay in schools until the 1960s. It’s now in the public domain. When you’re done, you’ll also want to watch Family Planning, Walt Disney’s 1967 Sex Ed Production, Starring Donald Duck –Open Culture
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