Darren McDonald is an Australian fashion photographer who is exploring a new medium (sort of). His latest photo series involves three simple screen grabs he took during a Skype session with model Caitlin Lomax. Slacker? Or creative? Refinery 29 calls McDonald’s idea a “smart alternative to high-production beauty shots.” If so, then we say becoming a fashion photographer is the easiest job ever! To begin your career change, here’s all you need to do ...

There’s a disturbing new trend out there in the world of sperm donation. Donors and recipients alike are giving and receiving sperm on the black market. Yes, folks … it’s a spunk rush. But it’s hardly about monetary gain, which makes it all the more strange. Basically, there’s a new kind of sperm donor popping up who just wants to help single ladies, lesbians and infertile couples make babies, since a vial of sperm and insemination by a doctor can cost about $2,000 a pop. These seemingly altruistic dudes with plenty o’ sperm to spare are offering their seed for free on sites, like Craigslist.

I’m a Gmail user. And I’m also in the unfortunate situation of having a father whose name begins with the letters D and A, an ex whose name also begins “Da,” and a friend who has the same name as the ex. As you probably know, in Gmail, as you begin typing the recipient’s name or email, an automated list appears, and, if you’re in a hurry, it’s easy to make the wrong selection. This has caused some embarrassing mix-ups wherein my father doesn’t understand why I’m counseling him on relationship advice; even worse, I’ve included my ex on an email invitation for my house party. Now Gmail has come out with a new feature called “Got the wrong Bob?” to help you out. The program monitors which groups of people you email often and makes suggestions if it seems like you’ve included the wrong person on the address list.

The downside is that the tool only works for group emails (but what do you bet the criticism against this will prompt a new feature?). Still, “Got the wrong Bob?” should cut down on embarrassing slip-ups. [Official Gmail Blog]

Along with the joys of the internet and immediate information comes some sense of a loss. It’s a race to get information first; runway shows can be streamed online now; with Twitter, fashion editors are commenting on trends right from the runway; and designers are participating in documentaries to show off their processes. Does all of this access take away the mystery of fashion?

With the shocking and depressing news that Conde Nast shuttered not one, but four magazines yesterday—Gourmet and Cookie, plus two bridal magazines—comes the harsh realization that glossies are not what they used to be. If a powerhouse like Conde is suffering, well, you know it’s bad.

But certainly this can’t mean the end of magazines everywhere? Enter the online salvation. Domino recently (sort of) revived itself, in the form of an online rag called Lonny, and now it seems publishing giant Time Inc. is sniffing around the Hulu format. Wait, huh?

I’ve heard about creepy old men trolling the internet to lure in underage girls, but I’ve never heard about a woman doing this… until now. Sarah Wilson, 21, seduced a 15-year-old girl whom she met in a chat room. Over the course of six months, Wilson comforted the lonely teenager through text messages, emails, and phone calls. When the two decided to meet in London this past January, the teen ditched school for the day. The school called to inform her mom that she was missing and she called the police. The cops spotted her at the Kings Cross station, before she got in contact with her 21-year-old suitor. Then, using the girl’s cell phone, the police were able to target and arrest Wilson.

German twenty-somethings would give up their spouse or car if they had to choose between them or an Internet connection or a mobile phone, according to a study conducted by German broadband association Bitkom. About 84 percent of a thousand respondents aged 19 to 29 said they would do without their current partner or car rather than relinquish their connection to the web. Living without a cell phone was also out of the question for 97 percent of the people surveyed. However, Bitkom president August-Wilhelm Scheer said that the findings don’t mean that “the Web is an anonymous medium that leads to social indifference.” Half of the respondents said they had made a new friend on a chat forum or web community. And 8 percent had found love on the Internet. [Reuters]

Would you dump your guy or automobile if it meant you could keep your web connection? What else would you be willing to give up? Let us know in the comments.

The best things in life are free.  Unfortunately, the porn industry is learning that lesson the hard way as sales go soft (zing!). Down 20-30%, Larry Flynt and Joe Francis have asked for a financial fluffer to help adult entertainment companies in their time of need.  But it’s not just magazines and DVDs that are feeling the squeeze; the Internet has been screwed up too!  Thanks to amateur porn on YouTube-like sites, porn that doesn’t require payment is easier to find than a swinger party. In a recession, that’s good news for broke consumers who are worried they’re going to lose their jobs, but what about the billion dollar adult industry? Can porn still make a buck in this tight economy?  If you ask an entrepreneur named Trixie, she’ll say, “F**k yes!”

If you’ve been guilty of snooping through your luvah’s internet history, you’re definitely not alone. A recent UK survey found that a whopping 70 percent of Brits regularly check their partners’ online activity. These aren’t isolated incidents—respondents admitted to snooping at least once a month to see if their partners had been surfing porn sites, trading sexy photos or love notes with anyone, or had been up to any other sneaky activities. “There really is nowhere to hide on the web anymore; especially now that people are so active online, with social networking sites and forums. People can post pictures or inappropriate comments that, when taken out of context, can lead to serious problems at home,” said study author, Steffen Ruehl.

Facebook, like nuclear technology, is a tool that can be used for good as well as evil. And there are clearly some people who lack the ability (or desire) to use either responsibly. One of my all-time favorite Facebook stories involved a recent college graduate backtracking it to the old Alma Mater (it wasn’t Tucker Max) on a recruiting trip. He went to a neighborhood watering hole, flashed some of that first-year cash and, later, worked on his night moves with a fine, young coed. Unfortunately, he knew she was going to Facebook (it’s a verb now) him and he still had a few days in College Town, USA. So, he did the prudent thing and changed his status to Single. He and his old old girl were on the rocks and he thought he’d enjoy the rest of the trip. This was how now ex-girlfriend found out. She was dumped by Facebook. And because this is neither Vietnam nor the Wild West, we decided to implement some rules of etiquette for Mark Zuckerberg’s handiwork. After the jump, the top 10 rules of etiquette for using Facebook responsibly in and around relationships.

Depending on whom you ask, Perez Hilton is either the “Queen of All Media” or the proprietor of “Hollywood’s Most-Hated Website.” Born Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr., in Miami, Florida, to Cuban parents, the 30-year-old actor-turned-blogger runs the celebrity gossip site that has redefined Hollywood coverage. Whether he’s adding splooging penises to photos of stars’ faces or shoving Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris kicking and screaming out the closet, Hilton has neatly positioned himself alongside the infamous to become a virtual celebrity. After the jump, the notorious blogger talks about his new book, how to blog, and who should play him—and his love interest—in his biopic.

Nothing says, “Hey, let’s write a sex story,” like a slow economy. The New York Times weighs in with a report on adult shops that indicates sex toy sales are on the rise. Adult toy retailers say vibrator sales are up as much as 50 percent. Why? According to Babeland founder Claire Cavanah, “People are looking for stress relief and a little connection.” Over at the Huffington Post, Mike Alvear, host of HBO’s “The Sex Inspectors,” predicts 2009 sex trends: 1) more sex, 2) more porn, 3) cheaper sex, 4) more high-tech sex, and 5) more online sex. And having listed the world’s most phallic monuments, Listicles lists the world’s most yonic monuments, from the womb-like to the architecturally vaginal. [New York Times, HuffPo, Listicles]

Don’t you just hate it when a friend starts dating a guy and she does absolutely everything with him? She can’t go to the grocery store without him, she can’t do her laundry without him, and she certainly can’t update her Facebook status without including his name. We’ve been noticing that a bunch of couples are doing joint status updates, i.e., “John and Jane are ringing in the New Year!” or “Kelly and Josh just got the most amazing espresso machine.” We don’t like it. Isn’t the internet the last refuge for lonely singles?

Whether you’re an avid porn fan or you’ve only ever visited an adult entertainment site “accidentally,” you know the sex industry has had a huge impact on the World Wide Web. At the forefront of many of the Internet’s innovations, porn is “an ecosystem in which participants are willing—indeed forced—to experiment, and where experimentation isn’t hobbled by common sense, good taste, or bureaucracy,” says Bruce Arnold of Caslon Analytics, a research and analysis firm that specializes in regulatory issues, demographics, social trends, and technologies. After the jump, the not-entirely-dirty dozen ways porn has shaped the Internet.

Want to know how important the internet has become? A new study says women would rather be online than have sex. Researchers surveyed 2,119 adults and found that 46 percent of women and 30 percent of men would choose the internet over sex for two weeks. Interestingly, as women age, they become more likely to select surfing the ‘net than taking a roll in the hay, while the number of men choosing the internet over sex lowers as they get older (possibly because if they get any action, they’re not about to turn it down). This year, I did almost all my Christmas shopping online. I’ve found jobs, apartments, friends, dates, tickets, and a vintage owl necklace with rhinestone eyes while surfing the internet. I guess it’s good to know I’m not alone in my proclivities; I, for one, am in the “internet over sex for two weeks” camp. What about you? Would you rather give up sex or the internet for two weeks? [eFluxMedia]

“Sean recorded private webcam conversations with his girlfriend and put them on his blog. When she finds out, things go from bad to worse.” I’m not going to spoil “Dumped” by saying too much about it, but suffice to say it’s about a guy who gets dumped, and it has a surprising twist. Thanks to Kasia at Current for sending it.

Who are 2008’s best female bloggers? From futurists to postfeminists, octogenarians to mommies, nonbloggers to celebrities, we’ve rounded up the best bloggers who happen to be women. Found out who they are after the jump.

Online dating has a pretty unfair stigma attached to it. After all, most of us probably spend at least half our day in front of a computer, so it stands to reason that we might as well multitask and meet someone there while we’re at it! Whether you’ve tried it before and been burned, had mixed results or are an online dating virgin (probably the only time you’ll ever be able to use that word again), there’s never been a better time to try it than now. There are the traditional sites like Match.com and eHarmony (which has finally gotten with the program by offering same-sex matching), as well as niche sites like Millionaire Match for wealthy individuals, FarmersOnly for rural dwellers, and TrekPassions for sci-fi fans. Who knows? You might just find the perfect New Year’s Eve date… and didn’t you say you wanted 2009 to be a year of new experiences? If you’re still mouse-shy, try a few tips from dating expert Alison Roth, who has consulted for numerous sites, including JDate, Match.com, and Yahoo! Personals, and helps people write profiles that get real results.

Hold onto your mouse pads, I have a revelation for you (drum roll please): online friends are not the same as their “real world” equivalents.

I know, duh. You rarely, if ever, actually see the people you meet online. They don’t go with you to the grocery store or to check out the cute guy at Starbucks and are unlikely to ever ask to borrow your Marc Jacobs handbag (meaning you never have to humiliate them by saying no). If you’re going through a bad time, they might be there with some emailed sympathy and advice but call them in tears at 4 AM and you’re crossing over into stalker territory.

There’s a new terror in the skies: pornography! Recently, American Airlines began offering passengers internet access on cross-country flights. Guess what fliers were found watching mid-air? Suffice to say, it wasn’t “Atonement.” Now, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants is demanding in-flight Wi-Fi firewalled and salacious sites blocked. Some folks are crying censorship, but considering the close proximity of flying, maybe X-rated surfers should considering saving “Debbie Does The Eastern Seaboard” for home. [CNET News]