Astroturfing: A question of trust

The practice of astroturfing – faking support for a product or cause – is on the rise on and offline. Bobbie Johnson reports on the battle to stamp it out

Internet review: My Life Is Average

A life without thrills is admitted to, with each post's averageness commented and voted on, finds Johnny Dee

Newsbytes

EU pushes 4G | Route master | Gamers are older, fatter | Happy birthday, Blogger | Searcing for the future | At night with Bailey | Speak in more tongues | Wattpad meets Ovi

Google: We defended Cyxymu attack to protect free speech

Keeping Blogger.com up and running during a politically-motivated attack indicates Google's dedication to free speech, says the company. But is that just spin?

Can the netroots influence healthcare?

Jay Stevens: Support for a public option was strong at Netroots Nation, the annual meeting of progressive bloggers. Will they be heard?

Dan Wagner will use Shiny Blogs to build fashion network

Bright Station Ventures investor Dan Wagner has bought 10 fashion blogs from the former Shiny Media and will add them to his social fashion shopper site Osoyou.com

Transparency benefits us all, even when it hurts

Digital media, Jeff Jarvis: I'm not blogging about my prostate cancer for my own sake

Unmasked: the blogging model who rocked the world of fashion

An interview with Jenna Sauers, the fashion model who worked anonymously for the feminist website Jezebel

Shiny Media goes into administration

Founders hoping to resurrect parts of UK blog publishing house in new venture. By Mark Sweney

The website that turns your Big Mac into a gourmet dinner

Sarah Phillips: At fancyfastfood.com Erik Trinidad transforms convenience food into gourmet creations

Internet review: We Are Hunted

Trawls through blogs, forums and social networks to work out the 99 most popular tracks, says Johnny Dee

Despite preconceptions, videogames can help highlight social issues

Naomi Alderman: An 'incredibly moving' blog based on characters created for The Sims 3 proves that computer games can tell a very different kind of story

How to police popslash

This week the case against the author a violent rape fantasy was dropped - further evidence that existing obscenity laws have no teeth. But would we have it any other way?

Obama urged to punish US firms for aiding internet censorship

Companies earning millions from helping repressive governments, say supporters of global online freedom act