I had to write about Gawker. I enjoyed it yes but also actually: my very strong belief is that if someone is employed to write things, if editors then suggest that a person writerize a thing, then you go to that phone and start calling or go to that keyboard and start typing. I know this is a horrifying idea to some and bless, I support your SCUM Manifesto level theory of anti-work! Take what you can, and scam on, you crazy diamond! But the phrase “you had one job” is also literal.
The guys loudly cutting down a tree outside right now (so loud!) aren’t like … mmm .. can I instead cut down this other, prettier tree instead? No, hoss! You got hired to cut down This Particular Bad Tree, for Reasons.
Also it turns out if I don’t have a byline in a day I feel like I’m actually dying. (Real Taylor Lorenzes will understand.)
QUICK BREAK: THINGS MY COLLEAGUES WROTE
Where should Andrew Cuomo live now? <— Goodbye, Andrew.
As seen on Riis Beach. (Gorgeous!)
What happens when all your coworkers quit? <— Fuck around and find out for yourself today!
Help! I Ate Like Saweetie for a Week to Prep for Her McDonald’s Meal <— I screamed thrice.
ANYWAY BACK TO MY DUMB GARBAGE
One of the things I asked at least one of the new Gawker writers was: What are we doing launching text properties here in this post-text (© Felix Salmon LOL) era? Jenny G. Zhang said a thing I liked:
“People still like to read and people are still able to read. As much in this industry as people like pivoting to XYZ, which has not really born out in the way some executives would like it to, there are people who are always going to enjoy reading words on the page or screen.” Which seems right — it’s OK that many people don’t want to read the blogs, that’s cool! It’s probably for the best to limit who consumes what you put out there. It made me think about this horrifying Tim Ferriss blog post on why you should never, ever be famous from Feb. 2020 (a simpler time!?), which, relevantly, was tweeted out by both Taylor Lorenz (sorry double mention!) and Jane Manchun Wong today, who both get a disgusting stream of inbound garbage for being visible online and being good at what they do and having dedicated coverage areas. Scaling your methods and channels is key to having a life without feeling like everyone’s going to murder you or also of course actually getting SWATed.
I’d rather email you weirdos than tweet any day. The murder pool is smaller, at least.
I was thinking of text and post-text and making things in an environment where you are less likely to get murdered because I’d just assembled my list of the best TikToks of the first half of 2021, all together on an Instagram highlight. Sound on!
I compulsively save TikToks that make me laugh or surprise me. This is mostly because, as you know if you have been on the internet at all, people often delete the “best” things they put online. Need to see any missing spicy tweet? Check with me, I have probably screenshotted it. I didn’t ever say I was well, I just said I was good at using a keyboard.
When you look back over a swath of time, a theme, as they say, emerges.
While we were busy mostly not thinking about the arms of FISA courts and Amazon Rings reaching around to hug us tight together, we worried about other things.
In the first half of the year, Americans were worried about the January 6th invasion and the surprisingly short never-going-to-happen then suddenly happening period of mass vaccinations. They were also worried about growing up and bad relationships and family disasters. But mostly what I saw — and was biased to react to most — is disgust at and hatred of workplaces.
And then, it feels like a new moment began in July. This moment mingles our growing resistance to the workplace, some back to school culture wars, the horrible situation of parents in a pandemic, the consequences of imperialism (subscribe to Spencer Ackerman today!) — and the frustrations of an America that doesn’t really want to or maybe need to get along. I just don’t think we’ll all be sitting down together at Thanksgiving.