http://socialite.posterous.com

Rea McNamara writes about the on/offline statuses of niches and subcultures. Follow her on Twitter @reeraw, or get meta with the Socialite Posterous.

Preaching to the social media choir

June 21, 2010

The social media conference has become as much of a cliché as, well, the social media expert.

Looking for obscenity? There's no app for that

June 14, 2010

Bloomsday fans, hold off on ordering that Guinness round: Wednesday may be a cause for protest rather than celebration, especially if you’ve been trying to download that iPad webcomic adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

The ghosts of social networking past

May 31, 2010

When I’m feeling nostalgic — or you know, workcrastinating — I sometimes lurk on ghost town social networks, riffling through the old profiles of online-only friends I lost touch with.

Manning the anchor desk on Facebook

May 31, 2010

Ray Heard — a silver-haired surfer who can “still hang 10 on a Hobie dating back to Frankie Avalon” —  just might be Facebook’s un-official news director, thanks to his daily stream of news links for more than 600 friends, many of whom are big names in Canadian politics and news.

The day we are all the same, from your mom to Ashton Kutcher

May 17, 2010

Last Monday morning, Twitter users were outraged by its latest outage. Everyone — from your mom to Ashton Kutcher — had zero followers.

Use your smartphone to unlock the city's culture

May 10, 2010

City Sonic, a new Canadian documentary series, imagines an urban adventure perfectly tailored for the smart or iPhone owner.

The power of micro-fiction

May 03, 2010

Last year, Ernest Hemingway tweeted one of his own quotables: “That is what we are supposed to do when we are at our best — make it all up — but make it up so truly that later it will happen that way.”

Trafficking in nostalgia with 'Indiana Jones'

April 19, 2010

Feeling chatroom nostalgia? Dump.fm allows chatters — pining for grainy animated GIFs and photoshopped images past their 15 minutes of viral fame — to talk with each other using their favourite pictures.

Seeking serenity from social media stress

April 05, 2010

I think I need to go on an information diet. Every morning, I wake up and check my Gmail. I dive first into personal correspondence, and then pick or delete the various Facebook event invites.

Just another time-waster

March 29, 2010

When people type “Internet phenomenon,” it’s usually that hilarious thing you get in your email inbox from an co-worker or friend with a “OMG SOOO FUNNY!!!” subject line.

OK Go takes control of online video sharing

March 22, 2010

It’s a story that the stick-it-to-the-man interwebs will always fall for: Indie rock band finally ditches major record label and strikes out on their own.

Roger Ebert finds a new voice, and new model, online

March 15, 2010

It’s been suggested its time to add yet another title to journalism’s endangered species list: The film critic.

Online dating's rules of the road

March 08, 2010

If there’s any lessons one can get in “identity management” — that careful curation of who you “are” online — look no further than the digital dating profile.

Take a gamble on Chatroulette

March 01, 2010

Chatroulette — that person-to-person video chat site that everyone’s talking about — is possibly yet another “everything old is new again” online voyeuristic fad.

Online personality life-blogs her way to MTV

February 22, 2010

You may not know it yet, but Casie Stewart is your new favourite online VJ, the latest update on that oh-so-’80s on-air media personality.

Social media seizes the Olympic moment

February 15, 2010

Even as we amp up that “Go Canada!” pride, there’s still no shaking Vancouver 2010’s “Bailout Games” label.

It's hip to be Foursquare

February 08, 2010

Nicoel Mitchell-Duff is the mayor of 32 places in Edmonton — on Foursquare, that is.

Fashion bloggers driving unique fashions online

February 01, 2010

Etsy — that online marketplace of handmade goods — has long been dominated by sales of felt owl tchotchkes.

Online storm over prorogation updates 'the protest wheel'

January 18, 2010

Perhaps you’ve noticed how protest has become an online centre of attention.

Still crazy after all these years: GIFS and the web users that love them

January 11, 2010

It’s strange when you realize the Internet is old enough to cause nostalgia. I won’t bore you with my reminisces, but I’ll admit to a Geocities home page I had that briefly included (as I was learning HTML basics) a blinking yellow and black diagonal “Under Construction” sign.

It's 2010. Do you know where your friends are?

January 04, 2010

What can’t social media do? Google “social media trends 2010,” and you’ll encounter the usual sea of predictions from relevant influencers and naysayers.

A 12-month stream of social media headlines

December 28, 2009

Social media has finally come of age in 2009, playing roles in world events and pop culture. Here are some of the biggest moments this year.

The famous last tweets of celebrity tweeple

December 21, 2009

Ah, the celebrity “qwitter”: An apt Gawker-coined phrase for the “Sorry, that page doesn’t exist anymore” of a recently deleted celebrity Twitter account.

You’ve got ‘presents’

December 14, 2009

Only a year ago, the typical holiday online present was an ornament or icon posted on a friend’s Facebook profile.

Ins and outs of Oh No They Didn’t

December 07, 2009

At first glance, the online gossip community Oh No They Didn’t (ONTD) offers snarky commentary on people’s 15 minutes (or longer) of fame, from Jon and Kate’s marriage breakdown to Britney Spears’ tour lipsyncing.

Fans show ’em the money

November 30, 2009

As we brace ourselves for the 2010s, the music industry’s future — one unsettled during this decade with illegal file sharing — is experiencing a bit of nostalgia.

Ups and downs of a Tumblette’s life

November 23, 2009

Canadian Jaime-Leigh Fairbrother (a.k.a jaimeleigh) is supposedly a Tumblette: young, sexy and an over-sharer.

Style bloggers bring fashion to the masses

November 15, 2009

During the spring/summer 2010 ready-to-wear shows, the biggest trend wasn’t the micro mini or the transparent blouse — it was the style blogger.

Gleeks blurring line between show and fans

November 09, 2009

You can finally raise up your L for Loser hand sign again