The difference between a social network and a movie about a social network, and what it says about the Facebook generation.

The perpetually underpaid author takes a moonlighting job with Demand Media, publisher of search-engine optimized articles with titles like “Hair Styles for Women Over 50 With Glasses”, absurdity ensues.

The article that spawned a school of thought; an elegy for the age of the megahit and a primer for the niche-based future.

Yes, 311 helped solve the mysterious case of the maple syrup smell. But with the data from more than 100 million calls, it’s primed to explain far more.

Requiem for a viral hit.

How virtual worlds like Ultima Online form economies and the sellers who make a living in digital goods.

An early attempt to explain the world-changing power of computer software—and the minds of young programmers like Bill Gates—to a mass audience. “Software,” the article begins, “is the magic carpet to the future.”

How two Italian teenagers hacked the Soviet space program and may have heard the dying breaths of a lost cosmonaut.

Are we at war? The U.S. government’s evolving response to cyber security and its impact on privacy.

The story of two Canadian artificial intelligence visionaries who became bitter rivals and then both committed suicide in the same month.

The story of Charles Goodyear, who dedicated his life to inventing usable rubber yet has little to show for it, aside from his name on the side of a blimp.

Can real activism happen on Twitter and Facebook? Malcolm Gladwell says no.

Google’s founders and CEO as they moved from the search business into… everything.

A 2006 profile of Mark Zuckerberg as Facebook opened from a college-only site to a public social network.

A new strain of educational thought (and practice) involves embracing the technology of the moment - which means bringing video games into the classroom.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, on the eve of the release of The Social Network, believed to be a deeply unflattering portrait of him and the genesis of his company.

Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong tabloid tycoon, thinks he’s found the future of journalism: an animation assembly line that can crank out clips recreating–or anticipating, or imagining–breaking news.

A 2009 profile of the guy behind 4chan, Christoper “moot” Poole, his anonymous army of millions, and how it’s all losing him money.

A 13 year old gets a webcam and starts doing dirty shows online, ending up running a smut business in Mexico with his deadbeat father.

The unsolved killing of Russia’s most notorious spammer.

A profile of Kanye West written in the style of an all-access magazine piece - using only quotes and statements that Kanye West has made on Twitter and other web outlets.

Why our entire understanding of copyright is due for an overhaul.

An American, born into privilege, became a bootleg DVD kingpin in Shanghai and then, in an unprecedented development, landed in Chinese prison.

How Madden NFL went from a programmer’s childhood dream to a $3 billion business.

Scott Dadich, 34, has been described by a former boss as a “combination of Pelé and Jesus” and is now tasked with figuring out the future of the magazine. All he’s got in his new Times Square office: an iPad and a book of George Lois’ Esquire covers.