Wake up, sheeple

A data scientist recently set out to quantify the most toxic community on Reddit. And because I'm self-hating, or something, I decided to spend two days reading every single comment posted in it. Here's the thing: Reddit's so-called "most toxic" community is a place devoted to outing bigotry elsewhere on the site. Which, as I learned in my hours of lurking, says quite a lot about some other, bigger Internet fights. Onward!

1. Wake up, sheeple: Facebook IS the Internet. It wants to be a media network, an email client, and the hub at the center of your Internet of things. Facebook is no longer just one facet of our lives: It's increasingly the platform beneath everything.

2. In 2015, you never have to leave your house. Seamless, Postmates, Washio, Homejoy ... there's a "sharing-economy" service or 12 for basically every human need. But are we actually sharing, or just getting inexcusably lazy?

3. The DIY science of brain-enhancing drugs. Pharmaceutical companies don't test them -- but Reddit certainly does.

~~Dance cam~~

Pocketable: Inside the scary online world of radicalized teens. (11,359 words/45 minutes)

Postscripts: Feminist Ben & Jerry's. Fake service dogs. A professional Russian troll tells all. How to be a writer and what elephants look like from space. Towards a theory on the science of clickbait. Why people are so mean online. Mitt Romney: "Just another old guy." IT support on the South Pole; OK Go on a decade of viral videos. This umbrella will text you if you leave it behind. Uhh -- when can I get mine?

Until tomorrow!
@caitlindewey

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