Leap second FOMO

What will YOU do with your extra second of life on earth today? Given the hour (8pm) and the duration (one second, obvi), I think I'll probably be mindlessly eating dinner when that spare moment blows past me. I'm apparently in the minority, though, as all these other people have elaborate LEAP SECOND plans. I had leap second FOMO for a second there, but it's already passed ...

1. If you always click the first Google result, you might want to click again. Some academics and Google competitors claim the site manipulates local search results to their detriment. Which means if you search for, say, a restaurant or a hotel or a doctor, the best link for you could be pretty far in.

2. With bots like these, who needs real friends? From Drunk Shopping to Text Riley to Invisible Girlfriend, a new wave of chat apps are changing the way we shop, talk and interact on the Internet. We can only dream/fear/guess what new chat bots will come next.

3. The Internet legend who didn't exist. Ann Pragg was an up-and-coming celebrity in the gaming world -- until "she" retired abruptly, under mysterious circumstances.

Will the tiny hamster meme ever get old? Unlikely!

Pocketable: They have "breathing classes" at HuffPo, I guess? And other fascinating insights from the original sweatshop for Internet content. (4718 words/19 minutes)

Postscripts: Zero/zero. Ghosting vs. ghosted. Where are these ancient websites even being hosted?! Hands-on with the "Keurig for cocktails" and hands off evil cats. How much does streaming actually cost you? (Ugh I thought less than that.) Sleeping with smartphones; searching for strangers; sleuthing through government data. Convinced everyone's in on the ~hot new viral trend~? Network science sez: nuh-uh.

Until tomorrow!
@caitlindewey

Do you like this newsletter? Please send it to a friend! If you don't like this newsletter, please send it to an enemy. Have questions or feedback? Just hit "reply" to talk to me.