Where are my readers at? Answer: Washington, D.C. According to a new study, the nation’s capital is the most-literate city in the U.S. for the second year in a row, followed by Seattle, Minneapolis, and Atlanta. The rest of us should start using those e-readers that Santa brought.

Meanwhile, Travel + Leisure released its list of the rudest cities in America, and although D.C. didn’t grab top dishonors—that goes to New York—the nation’s capital did take the No. 3 spot, behind Miami (which probably cut in line anyway).

If you’d rather watch something than read, here’s a video that explains how our favorite brands got their names:



While a couple of those were surprises to us, it was no shock that Bob Parsons faced backlash last year when the GoDaddy.com CEO hunted and killed an elephant in Africa—oh, and touted his exploits online. What is shocking is how much some are willing to pay to take part in this barbaric activity: as much as £10,000 to hunt a giraffe. We’ll stick to the Wisconsin Dells, thanks. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

Lots of people are knocking Facebook’s announcement on Tuesday that it will make its Timeline update mandatory for all users “over the next few weeks.”

If you don’t like those changes, consider joining Lego’s new social network, ReBrick.

Google also publicized an update Tuesday regarding changes to its privacy policies that take effect at the beginning of March. The changes, which alter the way the online giant treats its users’ information, will reportedly make the privacy policy shorter and more readable.

Perhaps a better explanation of its new guidelines will help blunt the recent criticism Google faces for merging its user data across its sites.

Google-owned YouTube offers a look at the vast activity constantly taking place on its site with the creation of an interactive, video infographic (of sorts) called “One Hour Per Second.” (via Creativity)



Thanks, in part, to all of these videos, many marketers find it a challenge to reach distracted (sorry, multitasking) millennials. With 93 percent of the demographic categorized as Internet users, digital advertisers must be more creative to reach this difficult-to-influence generation.

As far removed from millennials as Martha Stewart probably is, it seems her namesake lifestyle empire could be even further removed from Macy’s. The department store filed suit against Martha Stewart Living for inking a deal with rival J.C. Penney. Careful, Macy’s—Martha’s been to prison.

We’d bet Netflix wouldn’t mind inking a deal with anyone it could these days, but as Advertising Age explains, gains in streaming revenue verses losses in DVD subscribers has led to a “misplaced confidence” in the growth of its numbers.

If you are a Netflix user, there’s a good chance you’ve come across the work of Jason Segel, whose impact on TV and film landed the actor Harvard’s Hasty Pudding’s coveted Man of the Year honor, joining 2012’s Woman of the Year, Claire Danes.

Seems Groupon is taking its cue from Redbox rather than Netflix, providing deal-seekers in the Chicago area with some 30 kiosks set up throughout the city, with plans to expand to Miami and New York.

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