Digital Detox

Why won’t life slow down and be still? Why can’t I figure it all out? And also my phone is making noises while I’m trying to think.

Alexis C. Madrigal, at a digital detox

It’s Magical

Nothing says, ‘I love the Earth!’ quite like bringing bulldozers into an old-growth forest to create a fake ruined castle.

Alexis Madrigal, writing in The Atlantic about the site of Sean Parker’s wedding, an unpermitted scenic construction project in a redwood grove in Big Sur which resulted in $2.5 million in penalties

Free Media

The mantra of a “free” Internet has shaped the prevailing view of how we access information and entertainment in the digital age. This enduring myth is actually a misnomer.

Peter Osnos, writing at The Atlantic about how much people pay for Internet connectivity, cable access and smartphones

Beck Sings David Bowie, Brought to You by Lincoln, on YouTube

If this is what you guys are talking about when you talk about “native ads,” then okay.

How to Get a Million Facebook Likes and a Free Puppy

Super-easy. You can do it in a day, and still have time for a long lunch.

“Sponsor Content” Doesn’t Fool Anyone Except Advertisers

One big difference between the Atlantic’s Scientology ad and every other advertorial — we actually paid attention to it.

When Page Views Are Not Unique

Readers may click through your slideshow, but they’ll hate you a liiitttle bit more than they did when they got to the site. And I bet they’ll feel the same way about whatever advertiser was unlucky enough to get stuck on the page with some stupid thing that a reporter did with a little bit of hate in his heart and fingertips.

— The Atlantic magazine reporter Alexis Madrigal, in a story called “The Pernicious Myth That Slideshows Drive ‘Traffic'”

Telling iPad Stories

It’s funny that people think iPad stories generate ad revenue for media companies. That’s not how it works.

— The Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal, via Twitter

Not Your Mother’s 1995 Ford Escort

The site is like a 1995 Ford Escort with a 500-horsepower advertising engine under the hood.

Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at The Atlantic, describing the Drudge Report in an article entitled “Drudge Report Looks Old-School, but Its Ad Targeting Is State-of-the-Art”

The Atlantic Pretties Up With Photos

Short, Shorter, Shortest!