1. 25 Feb



    We're hiring a business editor

    TheWeek.com is looking for a Business Editor to take ownership of the business coverage for its fast-growing, award-winning site — the online counterpart to The Week, the acclaimed national news-and-opinion magazine. This individual should be a highly organized news junkie with proven chops in the business journalism realm — and someone who can work successfully in the fast-paced environment of a breaking news-and-opinion website. Versatility is important — the ideal candidate should be enthusiastic about writing business stories of their own, and assigning and editing business stories written by other writers. Creativity is key, too. The ideal candidate will be a sharp-thinking self-starter who can imagine new and better ways to cover all things business for TheWeek.com.

    More details here

     

  2. 24 Jan


    nedhepburn: I did some actual journalism and wrote an article about internet addiction for The Week magazine, and interviewed the head of an Internet Addiction Rehab. Here’s an excerpt.  Researchers have noted a rise in something called Digital Attention Disorder — the addiction to social networks and computers in general.  How does it work? More than 50 years ago, psychologist B.F. Skinner was experimenting on rats and pigeons, and noticed that the unpredictability of reward was a major motivator for animals. If a reward arrives either predictably or too infrequently, the animal eventually loses interest. But when there was anticipation of a reward that comes with just enoughfrequency, the animals’ brains would consistently release dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that (basically) regulates pleasure. What does this have to do with the internet? Some researchers believe that intermittent reinforcement — in the form of texts, tweets, and various other social media — may be working on our brains the same way rewards did on Skinner’s rats.  “Internet addiction is the same as any other addiction — excessive release of dopamine,” says Hilarie Cash, executive director of the reStart program for internet addiction and recovery, a Seattle-area rehab program that helps wean people off the internet. “Addiction is addiction. Whether it’s gambling, cocaine, alcohol, or Facebook.” And thus begins my contributions to The Week!  Welcome!

    nedhepburn:

    I did some actual journalism and wrote an article about internet addiction for The Week magazine, and interviewed the head of an Internet Addiction Rehab. Here’s an excerpt. 

    Researchers have noted a rise in something called Digital Attention Disorder — the addiction to social networks and computers in general. 

    How does it work? More than 50 years ago, psychologist B.F. Skinner was experimenting on rats and pigeons, and noticed that the unpredictability of reward was a major motivator for animals. If a reward arrives either predictably or too infrequently, the animal eventually loses interest. But when there was anticipation of a reward that comes with just enoughfrequency, the animals’ brains would consistently release dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that (basically) regulates pleasure.

    What does this have to do with the internet? Some researchers believe that intermittent reinforcement — in the form of texts, tweets, and various other social media — may be working on our brains the same way rewards did on Skinner’s rats. 

    “Internet addiction is the same as any other addiction — excessive release of dopamine,” says Hilarie Cash, executive director of the reStart program for internet addiction and recovery, a Seattle-area rehab program that helps wean people off the internet. “Addiction is addiction. Whether it’s gambling, cocaine, alcohol, or Facebook.”

    And thus begins my contributions to The Week! 

    Welcome!

     

  3. 27 Sep



    You don’t need a highlighter for anything on an iPad. You don’t need a 3M Post-it for your iPhone. Five years from now, I predict that copier sales will be a fraction of what they are today
    — Cody Willard at MarketWatch predicts the downfall of Staples, which announced this week that it is closing 60 stores worldwide as part of a restructuring effort to halt sliding profits.