In a roundabout way, this reminded me of a funny montage I saw awhile back that highlighted the way that the existence of cell phones have thrust a monkey-wrench into the plot devices of horror films, which universally rely on having characters isolated and cut off from civilization so they can be more easily picked off by the villain. The montage features clip after clip of horror movie characters realizing they mysteriously don’t get service in whatever location they happen to be stranded. The no-phone-service twist seems to be the only turn of events screenwriters have been able to dream up in order to create situations of true anxiety and danger in an era of constant connectedness.

Contemporary technology and social media certainly offer us convenience and immediacy, but they also homogenize daily life and lower the stakes of anxiety-provoking situations in entertainment and in reality. I suppose in real life this is a good thing, but in fiction, it’s just a boring thing.

In the summertime, when flipping on the TV means exposing oneself to a depressing array of bad reality programs and reruns, obsessive fans of some of the best shows on TV can find comfort on the internet. A small trend of brilliant fan-fiction-y blogs is on the rise, and they will keep even the most fanatical TV viewers entertained until September.

All the Sad Young Gossip Girls is one such blog. Its format, similar to that of Found magazine, features (fictional) notes, lists, forms, boarding school applications, Facebook pages and other pieces of ‘evidence’ about Gossip Girl characters, with each post extrapolating on a plotline or character. It is truly a masterpiece of fan fiction, and also an interesting extension of the show’s premise, which itself revolves around a blog.

Similarly, a crop of Mad Men-inspired blogs have recently begun, all in Q&A format. Each blog is told from the perspective of a Mad Men character: there’s What Would Roger Sterling Do?, which quotes the slick, slimy old boss of the Sterling Cooper ad agency, and What Would Don Draper Do?, which dispenses the wisdom of the agency’s troubled creative director.

Then, there’s What Would Joan Do?, told from the perspective of Joan Holloway, the agency’s resident femme fatale/objectified woman. Joan’s blog is particularly funny because she (having been around the proverbial block a time or two) is known for often dispensing advice to the office’s more naive secretaries. The blog really captures her matter-of-fact tone and is sprinkled with some of her best lines from the show in response to queries like “What’s the best cigarette a lady can smoke?”

Even though Mad Men has (mercifully) begun its new season already, the Mad Men advice blogs are still a funny, fun counterpart to the show for die-hard fans. (I maintain this despite the fact that NY Magazine seems to think this trend has already lost its freshness)

The point of these blogs is (like the shows themselves) nothing but frothy, frivolous entertainment. But they do manage to maintain (or perhaps even heighten) fan interest over the long, boring summer, which is no small feat.

The Internet has long been a haven for those with anti-establishment leanings. One of the web’s most secretive new developments combines this counter-culture spirit with the current social-networking obsession. The site nicknamed “Cheatster” takes on the project of distributing information for the sole purpose of connecting cheaters.

Cheatster is difficult to describe because it is so elusive. Currently, it operates on a limited invite-only basis. An ever-changing IP address and anti-search engine strategy allow it to live online almost completely under the radar. Worldwide there are fewer than 1,500 users; but despite its complete lack of advertising and relative unavailability it is safe to say that it is becoming an increasingly sought-out commodity. Thus far, Cheatster has enabled hundreds of (mostly college) students to fake their way through take-home exams, term papers, presentations, and outlines covering topics on almost every subject in an undergraduate coursebook. Conveniently, the site includes an unusually accurate translating function, thus encouraging international cheating.

Unsurprisingly, a backlash from academia is arising. Professor Hellmut Spangenberg of the University of Frankfurt, Germany is one of the most outspoken opponents of the site, calling Cheatster an ‘enemy of higher learning’. Other critics have written off the site’s body of ‘expert-submitted’ essays and academic papers as nothing but a “cornucopia of mediocrity”.

Despite the alleged mediocrity of the site’s body of knowledge, Cheaster aficionados are reportedly faking their way to A’s world-wide and basking in the site’s ingeniously secretive status.