There has been a surge in interest and activity around question-and-answer sites over the past six months, creating an opportunity for Answers.com to cash out with a private equity firm to the tune of $127... MORE >
As the tech blogosphere continues to gush and agonize over the question-and-answer site Quora, New York's question-and-answer site Stack Overflow has been quietly catching fire. Stack Overflow is primarily a message board where programmers can share tips and tricks and crowdsource solutions to problems they run into while coding. The name is a reference to a programming... MORE >
If you follow techies in the Twittersphere, you know that hundreds of thousands of people on the Internet have met, fallen in love with and married Quora, the hottest startup question-and-answer scene. The Wall Street Journal just discovered Quora, however, and did not fall in love: "I found it uninviting, geeky and poorly explained," Katherine Boehret writes in the course of a lengthy... MORE >
Question: Is Q & A just a fad? Answer: Not at all. Q & A sites are a kind of social network and a solution to problems with the Google's decreasingly-useful search engine. It's a crowded space--Tech Observer has receivered press releases this week from Ask.com, ChaCha and Answers.com, the last of which is relaunching soon. Joel Spolsky of Stack Overflow, the popular Q & A site for programmers, had some insight in his interview on... MORE >
The Q&A site Quora has been getting a lot of attention lately thanks to a review by a high profile tech blogger, and recently hit the half-million user mark. The increased attention on Quora reminds us of two New York companies: one old, one new. Ask.com, formerly Ask Jeeves, recently pivoted to a Q&A strategy after losing the search wars. Jeeves was fired in 2006 (although you can actually dress him up on uk.ask.com) and Ask.com... MORE >
The question-and-answer site Quora was founded by former Facebook employees, lauded from the start for being smarter than Yahoo Answers, and is valued at $86 million. Despite the fact that it's been trolled by tech journalists for almost a year, Quora's userbase had been growing slowly and quietly until it started to shoot up in the... MORE >
Carrie Fisher's touring show Wishful Drinking was recently filmed for an HBO special that debuts December 12. The show, which began on Broadway, is taken from her book of the same title and provides a broad overview of her many tabloid scandals — though Ms. Fisher says she's actually not that much of a drinker. We recently had a chance to talk with her from her home in Los Angeles. So, you just got back... MORE >
We caught up with Fran Lebowitz last week to talk to her about her new HBO documentary Public Speaking, which debuted last night. The documentary consists of an interview with Ms. Lebowitz, and assorted clips from her speaking engagements, and is directed by Martin Scorsese. We spoke with Ms. Lebowitz at the HBO offices in midtown, one of many in a long line of interviews for the day. We came just after Cosmopolitan.com. This movie... MORE >
"Your voice," Simon Cowell says to a singer in a story from Ben Greenman's latest collection Celebrity Chekhov. "It rattles like a pan under a car. What is Bono going to think when you take his song and treat it like an advertising jingle? I would be surprised if you are here a week from... MORE >
Two years ago, at the age of 45, Chris Downey had surgery to remove a brain tumor. The procedure robbed him of his sight--but not his vision for architecture, which he continues to practive. The Architect's Newspaper has a stunning interview done by august real estate maven Peter Slatin, who has also lost the ability to see, albeit progressively. Here is a... MORE >
Ross Mandell turned himself in to the FBI in July 2009 for his alleged involvement in a $140 million securities fraud case. By November, the former Wall Street stockbroker was taking a page from the Rod Blagojevich playbook, pitching a reality series that would focus on his on his legal struggles. He's even made a trailer for the would-be... MORE >
We asked Beth Rudin DeWoody how much art she actually owns. After a minute, "lots," the real estate heiress said. "Just say... MORE >
The new Details features a nutty interview with Mike Tyson, wherein he peddles a new serene vegan shtick ("meat's become a poison for me now"), which, depending on your thoughts about his past, may be a bit hard to... MORE >
Hilde Limondjian retired from her job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last month after 41 years. In charge of the Met's concert and lecture series for most of her life, she's seen the institution, and the cultural life of the city, go through sweeping changes. Shortly before her goodbye party, hosted by Met director Tom Campbell and president Emily Rafferty, she talked to The Observer: The Observer: How did you start at the Met?... MORE >
Prepare to forget all about mopey teenage vampires, Airbenders and whatever animated thing is currently ruling the box office. Perhaps 2010's most eagerly anticipated film, Inception-Christopher Nolan's follow-up to 2008's critical and commercial smash The Dark Knight-will hit theaters on July 16 (cue nerd jubilation). Inception shares DNA with The Dark Knight-similarly dark, moody, gorgeous, elegant and thrilling-as well as being a relentless brain-teaser, with the action spinning through our dream life.... MORE >
From our partners...
