Digital Media Is a Wasteland
A prose poem in 11 parts
1.I am a writer and an editor who launched his first site in 1999. Since then, I have either launched or edited at least 30 sites, maybe more. I also used to drink too much. I am probably responsible for a hundred billion clicks, the most precious resource in the world.
Over the years, I have pivoted from print to digital, from digital to video, from video to digital, and from panic to depression. I have been laid off three times, and each one is different, like a snowflake of pain. I ran a cupcake blog once. I edited 20,000 zingers on a joke website. I have worked for a leading cable news website, and an Emmy-winning comedy website, and the blog of a prestigious magazine. I was an editor for a movie website, a travel website, and for two years I wrote a weekly column for a feminist website, which I’m very proud of even if I never, ever read any of those columns again. I was a mucky-muck for a viral clickbait factory. I ran a website for a mattress company. I have dispensed love and sex advice on the internet because the old saying is true: Those who can, do. Those who can’t give love and sex advice on the internet. I was part of an infamous Bush-era political parody website and sometimes, late at night, I wonder if I helped make the world better or worse. I have written thousands of blog posts, slideshows, articles, and essays…
