* On Thursday, as all hell broke loose in the Big Brother household and Nick fever reached an all-time high, fanatics all over the land stretched the Intel/Victoria Real servers to breaking point. Traffic doubled from the previous peak of 3m page impressions after web transmission was pulled for a few hours earlier the same day by an overzealous Endemol editor freaked out by the prospect of Craig beating Nick to a pulp. A few emergency meetings later, Endemol has decided not to be such a big brother and allow nature to take its course - that is, unless Tom ever does anything about his crush on Mel.
*The search for Nathan Barley continues apace following the realisation that Jamie King, one-time admittee of the moniker, has now distanced himself from the title altogether. Barley, the turgid, extreme sports fanatic, new media public schoolboy, mini-skateboard-riding, gadget-obsessed star of a fictional show on satirical website TVgohome.com, is gaining quite a following. Spare a thought then for the browbeaten King, who has discovered that putting the statement "I am the Real Nathan Barley and I claim my prize" on his website, Jamie.com, has tons more drawbacks than benefits. Having been inundated with abusive emails, King wants to set the record straight: "I've just about had enough. My big mistake was in playing along with this drivel, but abuse is abuse," he says. Stand up the real Nathan Barley, whoever you are.
*New media itinerant Julian Hardy is back on the move. Hardy, who took on the managing director's job at Freeserve in March, has decided to leave, so the internal memo said. "This is an entirely mutual agreement between the company and Julian, and reflects a change in Julian's initial expectations of his role and the way in which the role subsequently developed," it explained. So, did Hardy jump or was he pushed? You decide. Hardy's CV now boasts top positions at Emap Online, Capital Interactive, IPC Electric and MTVi, but given that the latter two and the Freeserve job combined lasted less than a year, surely he is a sure-fire contender for Itchy Feet of the Year award?
