Internet

L.A. Podcast Festival Returns for Second Chapter

At last year's inaugural Los Angeles Podcast Festival, some fans and amateur podcasters brought their own equipment and started recording. Yep, podcast fans were podcasting live from a festival dedicated to podcasts. "You'd see them sitting at tables in the cafe or downstairs on the couches and th ... More >>

#LAWebAwards: The 2013 Winners List

The Internet just won't stand still. A few years ago it was all about Facebook and Twitter. Then Pinterest, then GIFs. Now we're all taking a crash course in something called Vine. Oh, and did you hear MySpace is back — and Yahoo is beating Google? But as online life continues to evolve, the ... More >>

#LAWebAwards: 'Shift It' Wins Funniest YouTube Video in L.A.

The L.A. Weekly's 2013 Web Awards honor the best of what's online. Check out the complete list of winners. What's the secret to turning a low-budget commercial into a YouTube phenomenon? Full-time YouTube producers and self-proclaimed "Internetainers" Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, better known as ... More >>

Why Grace Helbig Could Be the Next Big Star to Come From YouTube

If I hadn't had been scanning the entrance to Silver Lake's La Mill Coffee, searching for YouTube star Grace Helbig for our scheduled meeting, I never would have recognized her. Even though I'd been watching her award winning vlog Daily Grace constantly for the past few weeks, sharing such intimate ... More >>

R.I.P. Diner's Journal, The New York Times Restaurant Blog

Today The New York Times announced in a post titled "A Note to Readers," that it would be shutting down its dining blog Diner's Journal. This comes a little more than six months after The Washington Post did the same, shutting down its blog All We Can Eat. The New York Times was far less forthcomin ... More >>

How USC Grads Freddie Wong and Ryan Coogler Became the Future of Filmmaking, Via Two Very Different Paths

Fruitvale Station was a hit at Sundance, while Video Game High School has millions of teen fans

The Crucial Mistake Most Bands Are Making With Facebook

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you ... More >>

Please Subscribe: New Documentary Looks at What Makes a YouTube Star

See also: *Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera and Friends Create a YouTube Channel *Our Profile of YouTube Star Jenna Marbles *Our YouTube Issue Some people like to have only egg whites in their omelet," declares a tomboyish young woman as she weaves around a sparsely appointed L.A. apartment kitchen, h ... More >>

What is .art? Financiers and Artists Vie for the Power to Define the Domain Name

By Jef Otte The Internet is about to radically change, and hardly anyone knows it. Think about it like a phone system: The Internet operates on just a handful of top-level domains (TLDs) -- like .com and .org -- that function like area codes. Right now, the internet needs more of them. And pretty ... More >>

JASH: Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera, Tim & Eric and Reggie Watts Create a New YouTube Channel

It's 2 p.m. and I'm sitting on a blue exercise ball in an office at Culver City Studios, across from Emmy-nominated TV writer/producer Daniel Kellison. To the right are the essentials for a late night work-athon: stocked mini fridge, snacks, Bulleit Bourbon. Covering the walls, like the masterpiece ... More >>

Streamy Awards: Online Video's Biggest Night Accepts Old Hollywood Into the Fold

See also: *Our Streamy Awards slideshow *Our profile of Jenna Marbles, from our People Issue The 3rd annual Streamy awards, honoring excellence in original online video, streamed live online (appropriately) Sunday night at the Hollywood Palladium. More than ever before, nominees ran the gamut of n ... More >>

BiteSize Studio Hits Hollywood

A Truman Show–like view into the world of online video creators

Rainn Wilson's Website SoulPancake Gets Serious, With Web Series About Death and L.A.'s Homeless

In 2008, Actor Rainn Wilson (NBC's The Office) wanted to create a space on the internet where people could discuss life's big questions with total strangers. You know, what Socrates and Plato would have done if they had access to adequate bandwidth and a YouTube deal. Knowing nothing about building ... More >>

MOCAtv on YouTube: Museum Tries to Lure Online Art Lovers

Issa Rae and Awkward Black Girl Fill a (Tiny) Niche

Check out our entire YouTube issue here. In front of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at the Grove, someone is scraping lightweight plastic chairs across the pavement instead of picking them up, and the sound is akin to fingernails being dragged down a chalkboard. Issa Rae, the 27-year-old writer, direct ... More >>

Megan Lee Heart and Reply Girls Game the System, While YouTube Wants Our Eyeballs Pointed Elsewhere

Check out our entire YouTube issue here. Megan Lee Heart made tens of thousands of dollars in the last year -- and did it all from her home in suburban Sherman Oaks. No special effects. No fancy equipment. Just strategic positioning -- and as many as 10 videos each day. Her most popular YouTube cha ... More >>

30 Other Ways to Succeed on YouTube

After you've read our YouTube issue on the secrets to online video stardom, check out 30 other ways to succeed on YouTube:

Hollywood Fringe Festival Can Has LOLPERA

It's a warm Saturday afternoon a month before the start of the Hollywood Fringe Festival and LOLPERA is in its first day of rehearsal. Cast members have just finished a run-through of the work's dramatic opening number in the living room of Director Angela Lopez's Long Beach apartment. The word "mas ... More >>

Invasion of the Beauty Bloggers

Erika Brechtel's kid is only 3 years old, but she knows the perils of being raised by a fashion blogger. "Mom, put your iPad down," she'll say. Or rather, scream: "Mom! Put! Your! iPad! Down!" Brechtel, 38, is a mom, homeowner and full-time graphic designer married to "a workaholic architect husban ... More >>

Free Wi-Fi Comes to Los Angeles' Comcast, Time Warner Customers (Sort of)

Five of the nation's biggest cable companies today announced they're rolling out free wi-fi hotspots for customers. The markets covered including Los Angeles, New York, Tampa, Orlando, and Philadelphia. The participating companies include Comcast and Time Warner Cable in L.A. and Cox Communication ... More >>

Want to Start a Food Blog? Food Blogging for Dummies Could Be Just What You Need, Depending on Your Pie Expectations

We were bound to get a food-blogging edition of the endless "Dummies" series (we must not be getting any smarter) one of these days. With Food Blogging for Dummies, the days of "Branding Your Food Blog Through Consistency and Frequency" chapter headers has arrived. The author is Kelly Senyei, an as ... More >>

5 Podcasts for Food Lovers

If you're already a podcast listener then you most likely know and love KCRW's Good Food and The Splendid Table, two of the best shows on the radio, ready for uploading at any time. In terms of food coverage, there's also NPR, Martha Stewart, and the list goes on. Those shows are great because they' ... More >>

"State of Food Blogging" Survey Results: Guess How Much Food Bloggers Earn (You're Right)

According to the results of the first State of Food Blogging Survey, your friendly neighborhood food blogger can be described as "a married woman in her 30s or 40s living in the United States. While she is either a parent or perhaps on the way to being so, she is likely to be employed full time, par ... More >>

Meet Your Food Blogger: Valentino Herrera of Trippy Food

Valentino Herrera abides by two philosophies: Try everything, at least once. And share unusual experiences with others, especially when it comes to travel and eating. Both ideas are evident on his blog, Trippy Food. Don't expect hallucinogenic mushrooms. For Herrera, "trippy" means unusual items ran ... More >>

Dana Gould Tells Us the Secrets to Creating a New Podcast (and Dishes on His Dave Grohl FX Comedy)

Comic and prolific writer Dana Gould has seemingly done all that Hollywood has to offer: performing on everything from Kimmel and Conan to HBO, Comedy Central, MADtv and The Daily Show; acting roles stretching back to The Ben Stiller Show, The Nanny, Roseanne, Ellen, Seinfeld and The King of Queens; ... More >>

Adult Entertainment Virtual Convention: Inside the World of Wank-Craft

The main virtual hall​ Most conventions are pants-mandatory kinds of affairs -- even those of the adult nature. For the world's first virtual porn convention, however, I'm not wearing any (relax...I'm in my PJs). This past weekend, XBiz and Red Light Center hosted the Adult Entertainment Virt ... More >>

'Bark Side' Super Bowl Ad, With Star Wars' Imperial March Sung by Dogs: Director Keith Schofield Explains How He Did It

Have you seen that video of the dogs barking the Darth Vader song? Chances are, if you have a pulse and an Internet connection, you have. The viral video is a teaser for a Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial, so yes, that makes it a commercial for a commercial. It's bold new territory for advertising ... More >>

XXX Porn Sites That Advertise Local College Girls Get The Block Treatment From USC, UCLA

imgurThis USC rooftop action deserves a .xxx domain.​Why would a university want to buy a porn domain name on the web? Because that website URL just might advertise hot, nude college girls who (allegedly) attend said school. And that would be bad for ... something. And so campuses across the ... More >>

10 Favorite Food Quotes in Simpsons' "The Food Wife"

L. Balla​The food media world was chomping at the bit to see last night's highly anticipated Simpsons episode. "The Food Wife" has Marge, Lisa and Bart write a food blog called The Three Mouthkateers as they make their way through the surprisingly eclectic Springfield food scene. There are sno ... More >>

Which Is Better: Spotify or Grooveshark?

LJ WilliamsonWhich one gets your money?​The arrival of Google is forcing us to make some tough choices about Facebook -- what about the friends, carefully-curated photo albums, and goofy little notes you're not sure you want to pack along to the new place? And now there's Spotify, which is tr ... More >>

Vidcon 2011: YouTube Stars Invade the Hyatt Century Plaza for the Comic-Con of Online Video

Zachary Pincus-RothThe line to meet the online comedy duo Smosh​ An army of teens sporting Justin Bieber haircuts, donning animal hoods and wielding Flip cameras invaded the Hyatt Century Plaza in Century City Thursday through Saturday for the second annual Vidcon, which is making a push to be ... More >>

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Y2K, 2011-Style: We're Running Out of Internet Protocol Addresses

hotgirlswithiphones.comOne IP address at work.​When the precursor to the Internet was developed at UCLA in 1969, little did the pioneers know that we would all someday be connected by this thing many times over: Your computer at work has an IP address. Your laptop has an IP address. Your iPhon ... More >>

L.A. Facebook Lawsuit Pits Moms Against Zuckerberg: Quit Making Cash off Our Kids

Chill, Ma!​It was bad enough when the mothers and fathers of the world all started joining Facebook -- posting family portraits, friending our crushes and spelling out statuses in correct caps 'n' grammars like the Tweetarded calligraphers they'll forever be. But a lawsuit? Come on, Mom. Da ... More >>

Camp Blogaway 2011 Update: Registration Is Officially Open

Camp Blogaway​ If you're reading our food blog, chances are good that you might have your own food blog. You might write about recipes, restaurants, chef crushes, or even obscure flavors of Kit Kats. And whether you have 10,000 loyal followers, or twenty casual readers of the friend-and-famil ... More >>

'XXX' Domain Names For Online Porn Delayed But -- Breaking News -- You Can Still Find Smut Online (Somewhere)

diebmxPorn!​Implementation of the ".xxx" domain name suffix was delayed by the international organization responsible for such things. Darn. We need this. Because a name like YouPorn (.com) isn't quite clear enough for us. ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) postpo ... More >>

Food Bloggers Now Eligible for James Beard Foundation Awards

James Beard FoundationA Coveted James Beard Award​ In barely the blink of an eye, food blogging has exploded. Sometimes it seems that hardly an accountant, construction worker, or production assistant is without a personal blog detailing their relationship with food, or at the very least, the ... More >>

Camp Blogaway: A Boot Camp For Food Bloggers

Camp Blogaway​ There are two types of food bloggers, says Patti Londre, who runs Camp Blogaway, a boot camp for food and recipe bloggers. There are those who don't care all that much about how many hits they get but are more interested in the content, and there are those trying to make a few ... More >>

L.A. Artist's 37-Year-Old Nudity Too Much For YouTube

susanmogul.com​By Tom Christie Susan Mogul's landmark 1973 video, "Dressing Up," has been taken down by YouTube censors. The video, which was posted on YouTube by Mogul's Chinatown gallery, Jancar Gallery, features a nude Mogul putting on underwear and clothing, while chewing on a carrot and ... More >>

Forget Dot-Com: Dot-XXX Websites Approved, Will Aim For Adult Content

estherase via Flickr​The Marina Del Rey-based organization that governs website domains, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), approved a ".xxx" domain suffix for adult-content websites. A Florida-based company called ICM Registry will facilitate registration of sites ... More >>

This Week In: The Future of Web is Streaming Video, Jason Calacanis and Mark Jeffrey Explain Why

Buh-bye​Jason Calacanis, Internet entrepreneur and "L.A.'s brash tech superstar," thinks the future of the web is streaming video and he's willing to put his money where his mouth is. Literally, since his mouth is on "This Week In Startups," one of the shows featured on streaming video network ... More >>

Streamy Awards Red Carpet Video Interviews: Web TV Stars Give You Advice on How to Start Your Own Web Series

Prior to the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards on Sunday, April 11, L.A. Weekly camped out on the red carpet with a video camera and asked nominees, presenters and winners what best piece of advice they'd give to someone just starting out who wants to create their own web series. We figured you wouldn't w ... More >>

I Blog Dead People

The tyranny of the uninformed in the Internet age

Food Bloggers Honored by Saveur: Winners of the Magazine's 1st Annual Food Blog Awards Announced

Saveur​Food blogging, as many of our readers and fellow bloggers know, is an activity where you can express reactions to the latest restaurant you attended, or simply share your penchant for baking chocolate chip banana bread pudding as a peace offering to your ticked-off husband. In recogniti ... More >>

Countdown to Web TV's 2010 Streamy Awards: Comedian Paul Scheer Confirmed as Host, Beatboxer Rahzel Says VOTE

When world renowned beatboxer Rahzel tells you to do something, you fucking do it. On March 29 after the 10 finalists were announced for this year's coveted 2010 Streamy Awards Audience Choice honor, the "Godfather of Noyze" and web TV enthusiast spit some beats and released this video encouraging ... More >>

Adam Carolla's Pilot Fish

Update on Story LA Weekly Broke: Google Amps Up Its Music Blog Deletions

Fred Noland​Almost a year ago, LA Weekly freelancer Jeff Weiss broke the story of Google's unilateral removal of music blogs who were accused of posting unauthorized MP3s on the company's Blogger software. Wrote Weiss on February 5, 2009: Google, the bloggers believe, has quietly changed t ... More >>

When Ordered, Twitter Monitors Tweet-Bangers For Authorities -- Report

​Representatives of Twitter and Facebook said they cooperate with authorities investigating gangs that use the social-networking tools to communicate about crime, according to a report. "Representatives from Twitter and Facebook say they regularly cooperate with police and supply information ... More >>

Meet Your Food Blogger: Javier Cabral of Teenage Glutster

Javier Cabral turned 21 two weeks ago, which means not only that now he can legally drink alcohol when he eats out with his blogger friends, but that the name of his blog, Teenage Glutster, seems a bit outdated. Some might agree that after a mention from Dana Goodyear in a New Yorker profile of Jona ... More >>

A Movable Feast: LudoBites 3.0 at Royal/T Café