Engaged reading digest: Outrage, redesigns, laptops and RSS

Busy, busy day lecturing, but here's a few interesting things that I found the time to read:

The Psychology of Social Media outrage

This is essential reading for anyone working online.

The Paradox Of Viral Outrage: Public Shaming Inspires Further Outrage — But Also Increases Sympathy For The Offender

By Emily Reynolds. Outrage and sympathy cancel each other out, raising doubts about usefulness of viral outrage.

Research DigestName (required)

The Atlantic gets a haircut

I kinda love The Atlantic. I wish something like it existed in the UK, but it doesn't, so I have to make do. It just redesigned, and, well, wow:

There's a lovely video on the redesign:

I love the implied idea that any redesign of a magazine brand now has to consider its cross-media nature.

Wikipedia: Still a boys' club

This is a community management problem, pure and simple. And I see no evidence that the Wikimedia Foundation are willing to do what it takes.

Wikipedia still hasn’t fixed its colossal gender gap

A tiny fraction of the site’s contributors and subjects are women. It’s working to change that—but some community members are resistant to change.

Fast CompanyHarry McCracken

RSS is not dead

It's 2019, and one of the Interhacktive students I teach on the MA in Interactive Journalism at City, University of London, wrote about RSS Feeds. Voluntarily.

I'm so proud.

RSS Feeds Explained: How they can be a journalistic gold mine. -

RSS feeds are an ancient relic of the internet gone by. But, like any good community, can we learn to utilise the knowledge of our forebears?

InterhacktivesFergus O’Loan

Apple finally fixes its laptops (at the top end)

After a pretty disastrous three years for Apple's laptop line, they finally seem to have got it right. Once this hits the 13" models, my 2013 MacBook Pro might finally be replaced.

Key upgrade: A first look at the 16-inch MacBook Pro

Here it is, the new generation of Mac laptop. On Wednesday Apple announced a new 16-inch MacBook Pro, with a completely redesigned keyboard, bigger display, increased battery life, ninth-generation Intel processors, upgraded graphics processors, expand...

Six ColorsJason Snell