As a member of a generation maligned as self-centered, lazy, and perpetually adolescent, David Burstein wrote his new book “Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Our World” to try and set the record straight about today’s young adults. Through research and interviews with several of the eighty million American Millennials, Burstein paints a nuanced and optimistic portrait of America’s emerging movers and shakers.

You write with more optimism about Millennials than most other people. What drove you to write this book?

For the 2008 election cycle I helped produce a documentary, and have been traveling all over the country showing it at college campuses and registering new voters. A lot of people talked to me about wanting to start an energy company or a business, about doing something about education, or about other problems around them. This is a story that needs to be told. At the same time I was reading all these stories by people from other generations about how our generation is a generation of narcissists, that we’re disengaged, and that’s just not what I’m seeing. So I set out to try and tell the story of our generation from the perspective of the people framing it.

I’m curious as to how the millennial generation is shaped by the Recession.

While this generation is on track to make less money than our parents, the cost of living actually decreasing. We have the lowest levels of car ownership, home ownership and childbirth. Young people today don’t need as much money as they have needed in the past. I think for the first time, you have a group of people not motivated by money as their #1 goal. There is a sense that happiness, fulfillment and community are more important. That is something that is consistently impossible for people of other generations to understand.

How have Millennials adapted the idea of community?

People today are part of so many communities, and they’re consistently and constantly connected to all of them. They take old communities with them, and join new ones along the way. Because of the internet, people can be part of communities across state or international lines, so the ability of young people to spread the work they’re doing is greater than ever before.

The post Are Millennials the worst? Maybe not. appeared first on Metro.us.

And, thank the gods of comedy and Internet buzz, it looks like it’s still funny. (What is also funny is how few people gave a crap about this show while it was on the air and how many, many, many people became invested in it once it was gone. But such is the way of these things.)

The gang’s all here in this trailer that looks like it picks up right where it abruptly left off seven years ago — Gob, Buster, Lucille, George Michael and co. haven’t missed a beat in their knack for dysfunctional hilarity and talent for non sequiturs. Plus, the awesome Judy Greer is back as Kitty Sanchez. It’s safe to say we’re as pleased about this as the rest of the world.

Now if only the cast of ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ would make good on those long-standing prequel rumors…

The post VIDEO: Arrested Development trailer is live and, oh good, it still looks funny appeared first on Metro.us.

“Well, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Something is wroooong here. Dead giveaway. Dead giveaway. Deeeaaad giveaway.”

You can’t make this stuff up. (Also shout-out to the stone-faced guy to his right in the leather vest. Why so serious, bro?)

Internet meme trollers, we said, get thee to your auto-tune machines! And so they did.

So far, though, the Ramsey auto-tunes are not top-notch. Internet, you can do better. And you will, we know you will. Because you’ve brought us Lady in the Gas Station Backing Up. And Double Rainbow. We’ll be right here waiting.

The post The Charles Ramsey auto-tunes have begun! appeared first on Metro.us.

A Dutch web hosting company has been accused of orchestrating the biggest-ever attack on the Internet that dramatically slowed web access around the world Tuesday.

The web hosting company Cyberbunker is said to be receiving support from criminal gangs in Russia and Eastern Europe to bombard servers with gigantic amounts of traffic in a bid to make the web inaccessible.

The allegations have been made by London-based Spamhaus, a company that attempts to block junk emails across the Internet.

Steve Linford, chief executive of Spamhaus, told the BBC that its servers had been hit by a denial of service attack at 300 gigabytes per second for the last week. He said attacks on the past that have blocked, for example, banking services, were only at 50Gb per second.

He said the attacks were being investigated by five national police services around the world.

The post Cyberbunker: Dutch web hosting company accused of biggest-ever attack on Internet appeared first on Metro.us.

Internet safety and digital parenting expert Hilary DeCesare answers our questions about the changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and what you need to do to make sure your little ones are safe while navigating the Internet.

Can you tell us a little bit more about COPPA?
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act was enacted to protect children under 13 online, and the parents of children under 13 committed to keeping their kids safe online.
Last year the FTC amended it. What are the new rules?
They needed to keep up with evolving technology and changes in the way children use and access the Internet. This includes the ever-increasing use of mobile devices and social networking sites. The amendments, which go into effect July 1, will require operators of websites or online services that are either directed to children under 13 or have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information from children under 13 to notify parents and get their verifiable consent before they can collect, use or disclose a child’s personal information. They will also be required to keep the information they collect from children secure. This information includes geo-locations, photos, videos and audio files that contain a child’s image or voice.
Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano spoke to the importance of teaching “good cyber hygiene” to today’s youth. What does good cyber hygiene mean?
It’s also called cyber etiquette, or digital etiquette, and it means acting appropriately online. At young ages, children have no idea what “forever” means and therefore don’t understand the implications of what they post online. Unfortunately, if they happen to post this content on non-COPPA sites, the content is out there forever. Some examples of this are posting inappropriate pictures or other media, and posting personal information including full names, addresses, phone numbers, schools, etc. Posting the latter can even result in cyber-stalking, or predators gaining information about the child. Learning good cyber hygiene helps kids understand what is and isn’t appropriate, and trains them to be responsible digital citizens.

 What is the appropriate age for children to begin going online?
Every child is different. While some are happy to wait to go online until they are 13, many children wish to get on the Web at an earlier age. In fact, among very young children (up to 5 years old) who use the Internet, about 80 percent do so at least once a week. If children decide to go online at a young age, it is important they respect platform age minimums; for example, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter ask that you be 13 or older to use their sites, as they are not COPPA-compliant. If children are online in an appropriate space, it is good for them to learn how to be a responsible digital citizen.

The post How to keep your kids safe online appeared first on Metro.us.

Dr. Janis Abrahms Spring, a renowned clinical psychologist and author of the popular book, “After the Affair,” recently released a second edition of the self-help book for couples. The updated edition features a section based on what she calls the “new” infidelity, which refers to online affairs.

Dr. Spring believes that the number of affairs taking place in America is “enormous” and she predicts that the issue is only going to get worse due to the amount of time people are spending online.

“The landscape has changed dramatically, people are spending hours chatting with others,” Dr. Spring says, “Partners can feel very, very betrayed by these relationships, because affairs at their core are not necessarily about sex but about secrets and the violation of trust.”

Dr. Spring suggests that couples should talk about what they’re comfortable with in terms of how they can communicate with others online.

“They have got to be explicit about what constitutes an affair,” she says. “If your partner was in the room looking over your shoulder watching what you’re watching or reading what you’re writing and they’re feeling uncomfortable, you know you’re doing something wrong.”

But what is it exactly that makes people want to have an online affair?

“You can be anyone you dream of being,” Dr. Spring says. “This experience of transcending your ordinary self, its very powerful … it’s not complicated by reality.”

 She adds that many unfaithful partners are not necessarily attracted to the person they’re communicating with, but rather how the experience makes them feel.

“It’s a great rush for the person who’s corresponding that way because it allows them to go outside of their normal self.”

But is it okay for someone to check their partners Facebook or their emails in order to uncover the truth and put a stop to the issue?

“I understand why people check, it’s human nature to check,” she says. “People want the truth and they believe they can’t get the truth from their partner.”

The post Taking cheating to the internet: The signs of online infidelity appeared first on Metro.us.

The search giant and the non-profit Chelsea Improvement Co are making Internet access available outdoors in Chelsea, which is home to Google’s New York offices and several technology start-ups.

The neighborhood is also home to many students, as well as residents of one of the city’s public housing developments.

Google does not plan to extend the program, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

The company also provides free Internet access to the city of Mountain View, California, where its main campus is located.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer helped unveil the initiative.

The post Google offers free WiFi in Chelsea appeared first on Metro.us.

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Akin said of rape resulting in pregnancy during an interview with KTVI. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

The Missouri republican hasn’t yet named the doctors feeding him this information, but according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 32,000 pregnancies result from rape every year.

Akin later apologized in a statement on his website:

As a member of Congress, I believe that working to protect the most vulnerable in our society is one of my most important responsibilities, and that includes protecting both the unborn and victims of sexual assault.  In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it’s clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year.

But that hasn’t stopped the Twitterverse from taking his remarks and running with them. Akin hasn’t tweeted since August 14, but if he were to log on now, he’d find he’s the of target parodies, jokes, criticism and political analyses. 

The question now? Will Akin’s comments be enough to lose him the election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill? An August 7 poll showed Atkin leading McCaskill 51 to 40 percent. So now, the Internet waits….

[View the story "Todd Akin" on Storify]

The post Twitter reacts to Rep. Todd Akin’s claim women can’t get pregnant from ‘legitimate rape’ appeared first on Metro.us.

BigGovernment and sister sites BigJournalism, BigHollywood and BigPeace posted a tribute to Breitbart earlier this morning:

Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles.

We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior.

Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love.

Andrew recently wrote a new conclusion to his book, Righteous Indignation:

I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and—famously—I enjoy making enemies.

Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.

Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us.

An early associate of Matt Druge, Breitbart assisted Arianna Huffington with the launch of The Huffington Post before striking out and building a conservative media empire dedicating to exposing the foibles of what he saw as “the institutional left.” In the few short years since their inception, Brietbart’s lineup of sites were responsible for breaking the ACORN scandal and exposing the pornographic text messages of Rep. Anthony Weiner, among others.

The post Andrew Breitbart dead: Internet gadfly dies at 43 appeared first on Metro.us.

That’s right, another internet sensation is sweeping the nation. This time, people have created a meme mocking Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as he sat in a dumbfounded stupor after his team lost the Super Bowl.

“Bradyers” are striking the dejected pose in  a series of photos, which are actually catching on at an alarming pace. Seriously, this is a thing.

People of all ages are Bradying up and down the internet — in their homes, in offices, even in casinos. It’s got its own website and people are tweeting about it left and right!  

Take a look and help us make sense of this.

First, the scene that started it all….

And now, the rest:

The post Introducing ‘Bradying,’ the saddest new internet meme appeared first on Metro.us.

While internet users across the country suffered withdrawal from the grid, Time Warner Cable tweeted, “We appear to be recovering from a large but brief internet outage affecting most of our service areas.”

As much as we would love to pint the finger at Time Warner because — let’s be honest — the company is often the bane of our technological existence, it turns out it wasn’t alone in this screw-up. The Atlantic Wire reports that RCN and Blackberry users also complained of service interruptions today.

The real source of the problem may have been Level3, a tier one network that is responsible for a large portion of the internet. Level3 issued this statement about the incident:

Shortly after 9 am ET today, Level 3′s network experienced several outages across North America and Europe relating to some of the routers on our network. Our technicians worked quickly to bring systems back online. At this time, all connection issues have been resolved, and we are working hard with our equipment vendors to determine the exact cause of the outage and ensure all systems are stable.

Though we have little control over the powers that be, we pray they get their acts together quickly. Don’t they know we have Facebook statuses to update?!

The post Internet outage spurs nationwide frustration appeared first on Metro.us.

Thanks to novelty tumblr Stocking Is The New Planking, we are now consumed by photos of people who are mimicking stock photos. Yes, that’s right– photos of people who want to appear exactly the same as people in other photos.

We are haunted by the word “why.” Why are people doing this– what is the point to it all? However, more pressing is the question: Why do we keep looking at it? Why does stocking make us chuckle aloud?

We may never know.

Just as amusing as the two photos side by side, are the captions that go along with them.

“Disheveled groggy guy with fake sleepy gaze lies around in bed.”

“Though uncertain of decision to be photographed on toilet, young man in red sneakers reads document.”

“By holding water bottle and yoga mat, model couple radiates health and wellness.”

Anyone who has ever had to search through stock images can appreciate these satirical little blurbs. That being said, humans are such peculiar creatures, aren’t we? See for yourselves.

Would go ever go stocking?

The post PHOTOS: Is stocking the new planking? appeared first on Metro.us.

Instead, they’ve gone a classier route on the FBI’s "Most Wanted Terrorists" list, with just a simple red "DECEASED" banner. Understated elegance, we like it. You know you did good.

(Also, if you’re curious, the new #1 most wanted terrorist is now Adam Yahiye Gadahn, if we’re reading the chart right.)

The post ‘DECEASED’: FBI ‘Most Wanted’ list celebrates bin Laden death appeared first on Metro.us.

The best we’ve seen in the first 12 hours after the announcement:

The .gif that kept on giving:

Many took joy at punking the Birthers one last time:

FOX News’s gaffe was a common target:

Obama’s tweet was pretty leet:

Many delighted in this pic of a knowing Obama smiling at Seth Myers’ bin Laden joke Saturday night:

Then there was the strange tale of Sohaib Athar, the guy who accidentally live-tweeted the raid that killed bin Laden:

And many people just watched music videos. (Some NSFW lyrics in the last one, obviously.)

The post Osama bin Laden dead: The best memes so far appeared first on Metro.us.

Dodson, who had online fame thrust upon him after his local-news rant against a home invader went viral, was pulled over outside Huntsville, Alabama around 2:30 Saturday morning. He was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession and released.

Dodson was also charged with speeding, failure to provide insurance, and failure to appear on a traffic charge.

No word whether the Gregory Brothers will record a benefit single for Dodson. (via TMZ)

The post Antoine Dodson arrested for marijuana possession appeared first on Metro.us.

It’s not our fault. Really. Really. Back in the day, us kids were smart enough not to videotape ourselves. We had seen Star Wars Kid. We knew what happened to those who didn’t toe the line: merciless, ceaseless ridicule. We kept our heads down, and stayed away from web-cams. That way only danger lay.

And then Justin Bieber happened.

With the Bieber’s meteoric YouTube ascent, suddenly having a video of yourself on the Internet wasn’t something to be avoided at all costs, it was a career strategy. Teens today see Bieber selling millions of records, or even Greyson Chance going on "Ellen," and think, "That could be me!" That’s the sin of hubris, and there’s nothing wrong with making fun of it. Because it turns out, as with nearly everything teens do, becoming famous singers is something teens are hilariously bad at.

Which brings us, finally, to Kory Shore, and his song "Crying for America." Watch it!

As with the poor girls of Ark Music Factory, we sort of get the sense that this video was not something the poor child performing in it dreamed up 100% on his own. Unless 14-year-old boys really love Glenn Beck-style Founding Fathers imagery and espousing Tea Party-ish views? Which we weren’t super into when we were that age. But if kids do like that sort of thing now, more power to them! (Just don’t give them record contracts!) (via Videogum)

The post Kory Shore: Is ‘Crying for America’ boy the next Rebecca Black? appeared first on Metro.us.

New York, aka “Silicon Alley,” is emerging as the leading home for tech start-ups, all eager to be the next Facebook or Twitter. For the first time ever, the city beat Boston in number of venture capital deals in 2010, lagging now only behind Silicon Valley.

“New York is becoming a very good place to start a tech company,” said Jeremy Fisher, a 27-year-old Carroll Gardens resident who created Dinevore.com — a personalized restaurant recommendation website.

Social Media Week introduces the work of entrepreneurs like Fisher to the world. “This is a great opportunity for companies to connect with the potential users,” he said. “And, as an Internet entrepreneur, it’s about seeing who’s doing interesting things.”

Metro’s hot list

Keep these new apps and sites on your radar, all created here in the Big Apple:

Cliqueinnyc.com:
On Sunday, a trio of New Yorkers will launch Cliqueinnyc.com, an invite-only dating site that introduces you to friends of friends.

Dinevore.com:
Get customized restaurant recommendations by following friends or critics.

Redroverapp.com:
Parents can create a private social network and find out what their kids are doing in real time, and they can set up playdates.

Hashable.com:
This networking site shows who you know and allows you to introduce friends to each other.

The post Hop aboard the next Web thing appeared first on Metro.us.