Mashable Hunk Not Ready for Heavy Petting with AOL

Responding to rumors he might sell his tech blog to AOL, Mashable CEO/babe magnet Pete Cashmore says he's gone to first or second base with some company, and flirted with others, but isn't about to close a deal. More »

Gwyneth Paltrow Will Never Answer for Her E-Crimes

Blogging her poops. Deflating Scarlet Johansson. And now, apparently, taking blog bribes that are federal crimes for the rest of us. These are but a few of Gwyneth Paltrow's transgressions, and the FTC will continue to let them happen. More »

AOL Lusts for the Brad Pitt of the Blogosphere (and His Company)

AOL is interested in buying the world's largest tech blog, Mashable, we hear from a source at the internet conglomerate. And in fact the two sides have been talking, people outside AOL have whispered to one another, and to us. More »

FTC regulations on blogger payola and freebies went into effect today, and bloggers have gotten busy disclosing their "material connections" to the people and companies they write about. Most of what's been disclosed is small-time, slapdash or downright stress inducing. More »

Get Ready for Blogger Shameless Tuesday (And Help Us, Too)

Starting tomorrow, new FTC regulations require bloggers to disclose when they accept cash or freebies for posts. Appropriately enough, fameball queen Julia Allison is leading this coming wave of embarrassing confessionals, with a disclosure about her insides. More »

It may seem crass to put a pricetag on a human life. But you never know when a brand-name blogger like Matt Drudge or Perez Hilton might be tragically killed. Luckily, 24/7 Wall Street has calculated the economic loss. More »

Exposed: Nikki Finke's Small-Time Traffic

Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke has always been cagey about her Web traffic. But having sold her website, the stabby gossipmonger can't keep her numbers private any longer. All she can do is try and push them up. Which we'd recommend. More »

The Blog-War Revenge of Brooklyn's Hipsters

Matt Mullenweg should be proud; his giant WordPress.com has reportedly earned him millions. But his blog-platform rival, Tumblr founder David Karp, just surpassed him in one key metric. Mullenweg can blame Brooklyn one-upsmanship. More »

Sell Your Twitter Soul for $100 Per Tweet

Shilling has never looked more attractive: Amid an old-media depression, "sponsored" blogging company Izea thinks it can get you around $1 per character to sell out on Twitter. More »

Prissy Food Bloggers Hate Food Blogger Movie

Julie Powell blogged her way through cooking every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking; a book deal and movie followed. Are food bloggers thrilled for her? Hardly; Powell is a foodie infidel who must be stopped. More »

The Huffington Post just hired another VIP's child, this one the son of White House senior adviser David Axelrod. Funny how a website famous for not paying bloggers finds room on the payroll for an undistinguished corps of rich kids. More »

The Low, Low Price of a Blogger's Soul: A Pair of Plastic Shoes

A leading goal at the annual BlogHer conference is "economic empowerment" for female bloggers. For some participants, this means ample freebies; for at least one, it meant the chance to shake a company down for free shoes. More »

San Francisco Chronicle Wants You to Pay For Phil Bronstein's Pearls of Wisdom

These are desperate times for newspapers. Experimentation abounds. For the San Francisco Chronicle this means trying to charge for their fancy (but relatively cheap to duplicate) columnists and giving away less-glamorous (but expensive) reporting. More »

Marc Andreessen, Aspiring Blog Mogul

Sure, Marc Andreessen is now helming a $300 million investment fund, but where is the Netscape co-founder investing his own money? On that surefire moneymaker, professional blogging. More »

Return of Fake Steve Is a Vote of Confidence in Real Steve

Fake Steve Jobs is back. Dan Lyons, author of the piercingly funny satire blog, insists his return may be temporary. But he wouldn't be having this much fun with Jobs' illness if he still worried about the Apple CEO's death. More »

Omen That No One Will Pay for Twitter

Ever feel like Twitter is just too, well, free? A new company allows you to pay for select tweets. To prove this is a terrible idea, fallen loudmouth banker Tim Sykes has jumped on board. More »

Julia Allison Shills for Sea World (Updated)

Julia Allison sounds so excited: The professional "lifecaster" is headed for "an adventure" at Sea World. As it happens, she's also showing other bloggers how not to make money in a recession. More »