The Looking Spoon
—
Category: Social Media
Yahoo To Acquire Tumblr For $1.1 Billion
” Reports say the Yahoo board has approved a $1.1 billion cash deal to acquire Tumblr. Yahoo’s board reportedly approved the deal in a meeting on Friday.According to All Things D, the deal was a unanimous vote and it will be announced Monday morning.Part of the deal stipulates that Tumblr CEO David Karp, will stay with Yahoo for at least four years and retain control over day-to-day management of the online service allowing the Tumblr brand to continue, but Yahoo will be helping to develop advertising.
The Wall Street Journal notes that Tumblr had just started focusing on building its advertising revenue after concentrating on building its user base as an easy-to-use blogging platform.
Tumblr has experience fast growth in recent years. According to WSJ, it had a worldwide traffic of about 117 million vistors in April, compared to 58 million the previous year, about 12 million unique visitors on smartphone, compared to about four million in the previous year. The site claims 108.4 million blogs and 50.9 billion posts. It had a US desktop traffic of 37 million in April, comparable to LinkedIn and Twitter although Twiiter has much more mobile traffic. “
Related articles
- Report: Yahoo to buy Tumblr for $1.1 billion (wtvr.com)
- The Fabulous Life Of David Karp, 26-Year-Old Founder Of The $1 Billion Tumblr Empire (businessinsider.com)
- Why Yahoo’s $1.1 Billion Tumblr Buy Is A Great Idea (YHOO) (businessinsider.com)
- Why Yahoo acquiring Tumblr for $1 billion makes a certain horrible kind of sense [GigaOM] (gigaom.com)
- 5 Reasons Tumblr + Yahoo is Good For Users (forbes.com)
—
New Drug Called Sisa Is Killing Austerity-Hit Greek Youths
” A new and very cheap drug is killing Greek youth who no longer can see a future for themselves. Sisa is a form of crystal meth being mixed with filler ingredients such as battery acid and engine oil. It makes users violent and kills within six months.Ever since the austerity crisis has hit Greece, drug use and alcohol abuse have been rising sharply, as have suicides. The larger cities, and especially Athens, are filled with homeless and impoverished people who often seek to escape their misery by taking refuge in drug induced stupor.Enter the relatively new drug called sisa (pronounced as shisha) that arrived on the scene about two years ago and soon became the drug of choice because it’s the cheapest of them all — a hit costs less than 2 Euro ($2.50).
Easy to make at home, sisa is a deadly mix of crystal methamphetamine filled with the most weird and dangerous ingredients: battery acid, engine oil, shampoo and cooking salt. The Greek independent press eNet English has called it “cocaine of the poor” and the UK edition of Vice says its the “the epitome of an austerity drug.”
—
Related articles
- Briton Arrested for Allegedly Smuggling Crystal Meth (thejakartaglobe.com)
- Shisha Drug Grows Popular in Debt-Stricken Athens (eu.greekreporter.com)
- Greek addicts turn to deadly sisha drug as economic crisis deepens (guardian.co.uk)
- Greek addicts turn to deadly shisha drug as economic crisis deepens (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
- Drugs; What You Need To Know (deakinscicomm.wordpress.com)
—
Famed ‘Hatchet Hitchhiker’ Wanted In N.J. Homicide
” A homeless, hatchet-wielding hitchhiker who became an Internet hero earlier this year is wanted for allegedly beating a New Jersey lawyer to death inside his home, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Caleb “Kai” McGillvary is wanted on a murder warrant and should be considered armed, according to Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow.
The self-proclaimed “home-free” McGillvary was last seen traveling to Philadelphia.
“We don’t know where he is,” Romankow said. “But we do know this man is used to being on the road and he is considered dangerous.”
Readers will be familiar with Kai’s exploits from our previous post Hippy With A Hatchet Saves The Day
Update: Hippie Homicide Suspect Captured
—
FBI’s Latest Proposal For A Wiretap-Ready Internet Should Be Trashed
” The FBI has some strange ideas about how to “update” federal surveillance laws: They’re calling for legislation to penalize online services that provide users with too much security.
I’m not kidding. The proposal was revealed in The Washington Post last week — and a couple days ago, a front-page story in The New York Times reported the Obama administration is preparing to back it.
Why? Federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI have long feared their wiretap capabilities would begin “going dark” as criminals and terrorists — along with ordinary citizens — shift from telephone networks, which are required to be wiretap-ready under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), to the dizzying array of online communications platforms available today.”
Related articles
- How the FBI Wants to Penalize Internet Companies for Providing “Too Much” Security (silveristhenew.com)
- FBI’s Latest Proposal for a Wiretap-Ready Internet Should Be Trashed (dailyqueernews.wordpress.com)
- Experts Warn: Wiretap Law Could Create ‘Backdoors’ For Hackers (huffingtonpost.com)
- FBI wants backdoor wiretapping access to Google, Facebook, and other popular websites (dottech.org)
- President Obama Wants the FBI to Have More Access to Spy on You (hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com)
- FBI’s Latest Proposal for a Wiretap-Ready Internet Should Be Trashed (readersupportednews.org)
—
Amazing Things In The World
” The 650-gallon tank spans the top of the bed, and rests on a pair of matching tables on either side. The folks at Acrylic Tank Manufacturers, who created this masterpiece, have cleverly integrated a set of bedside lamps into the tank itself. But for $11,500, let’s hope there’s some way to completely darken the tank. Otherwise you could be wide awake all night finding Nemo right in your face.”
—
NRA Releases “New Energy” With Women’s Channel: Simply Divine Or Downright Dangerous? (VIDEO)
” Last week The National Rifle Association, along with Smith & Wesson, launched a new women’s Internet channel in an effort to highlight and cater to the growing movement of women in the gun community.
The NRA announced on their Facebook page, “We are proud and excited to announce the new and improved NRA Women presented by Smith & Wesson Corp. Our mission is to expose the public to the female face of the NRA. Look for profiles featuring women in the shooting sports who are making their voices known coming soon!”
The channel features a variety of topic areas: ‘Armed and Fabulous’ is a collection of profiles of women and one teenage girl, who have already made a presence for themselves in the gun community while ‘New Energy’ looks at the fresh faces among the ranks of NRA women. The ‘Range Ready’ section offers a variety of tips and tactics in the categories of shooting, safety, hunting and competition. ‘Lifestyle’ sections centerpiece is ‘The Girl’s Guide to Guns with Natalie Foster’ along with recipes for wild game, and ‘Girls and Guns Night Out’ showcasing local leagues. The Women’s Leadership Forum introduces women of influence that defend Second Amendment freedoms and help secure the future of the NRA through philanthropic leadership. ‘Refuse to Be a Victim’ is dedicated to all the brave women who have defended themselves with a firearm and those who refuse to be a victim, featuring an armed woman of the week and resources for self-defense training.”
—
Mercedes AMG Driving Academy Giveaway
TRACKS
| ROAD AMERICA | ROAD ATLANTA | LIME ROCK PARK | LAGUNA SECA RACEWAY |
 |
 |
 |
 |
“Speed, performance and thrills usually enjoyed only by the pros, this is where motorists become drivers. AMG Driving Academy allows you to experience your inner speed demon at some of the top racetracks in the country.”
VEHICLES
| E63 AMG | SL63 AMG | SLS AMG | CLS63 AMG | ||
 |
 |
 |
 |
C63 AMG COUPE SLK55 AMG
” AMG Driving Academy allows you to develop your high-performance skills in a premier selection of AMG’s–including the iconic SLS AMG ‘Gullwing’ in ways you never thought possible. Everything we put into AMG vehicles we learned at the track. Now you can share in that too. *Actual fleet may change based on availability and location.”
” AMG Driving Academy allows you to push both your driving abilities and a selection of AMG vehicles to the limit on some of the most legendary racetracks in the country. Under the guidance of professional instructors, and among fellow AMG enthusiasts, it’s a high-speed, gut-twisting, adrenaline-packed driving adventure like no other.
*NO PURCHASE OR GAME PLAY NECESSARY. Limit of fifty (50) entries per person. Ends 6/2/13, subject to official rules available at http://www.AMGPowerDrive.com. Open to legal residents of the 48 contiguous US and DC, at least 21 years of age at time of entry. To receive bonus entries without playing game see the official rules. Void where prohibited. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook®. Entrants understand that they are providing their information to New Video Channel America, LLC (d/b/a BBC America) (“Sponsor”) and not to Facebook®. The information Entrants provide will be used for purposes of selecting and notifying the Prize Winners and for the receipt of future marketing communications from Sponsor. Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.”
—
Jihadis, Hackers Join Forces To Launch Cyberattacks On United States
” Middle East- and North Africa-based criminal hackers are preparing cyberattacks this week against the websites of high-profile U.S. government agencies, banks and other companies, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The attacks, dubbed #OpUSA, for Operation USA, will begin Tuesday, the department said in a warning bulletin circulated to the private sector last week. The bulletin was first obtained and posted online by blogger and cybercrime expert Brian Krebs.
The attacks are called for in the name of Anonymous, the leaderless coalition of hackers whose trademark Guy Fawkes mask has become a global symbol for their anarchistic spirit.
“OpUSA poses a limited threat of temporarily disrupting U.S. websites,” the homeland security bulletin states, saying the attackers will likely use commercial hacking tools in a variety of “nuisance-level” strikes, defacing websites or temporarily knocking them offline.
“Some of the participants possess only rudimentary hacking skills,” the authors add.
More dangerous, though, is the developing alliance the organization of the attacks seems to presage between criminal hackers and violent Islamic extremists.”
Related articles
- Jihadis, hackers join forces to launch cyberattacks on United States (iranaware.com)
- DHS Says OpUSA Will Mostly Consist of Nuisance-Level Attacks (news.softpedia.com)
- Embassy of Cape Verde in US Breached by Islamic Hackers (news.softpedia.com)
- US Honolulu Police Department and 1090 websites hacked as part of #OpUSA (ehackingnews.com)
- Anonymous to Join Forces With Middle East Hackers? (rawsecurity.wordpress.com)
—
