By
Debbie Weil
July 96, Number 1
A
NEW MERITOCRACY
It’s been said before,
but boy (or grrl)
is it true: the Net is
the great equalizer.
When it comes to fame
as a writer, the Internet
is creating "a new breed
of celebrities," says
Lawrence J. Magid, syndicated
personal technology columnist,
editor-at-large for CMP
Media, and author of such
best-sellers as The Little
PC Book. "We’re going
to see superstars emerge."
He admits, "The reason
I have a successful career
is because I’m affiliated
with The
Washington Post, The
LA Times, NPR,
CNN,
CBS,
etc." He uses his Web
site, Larry’s
World, primarily as
a place to "put my print
articles" and as a billboard
for issues he cares about
- such as "keeping kids
safe online." Another
print journalist who uses
the online medium is Dan
Akst, an editor and writer
for The L.A. Times who
maintains the Dan Akst
Home Page.
But there are successful
cyberwriters, Magid says,
who’ve side-stepped
the path of traditional
journalism and who "pose
both a threat and a challenge
to the print journalist."
One is former HotWired
columnist Dave Winer,
whom Magid affably describes
in a phone interview as
"a software developer
who’s kind of schlepping
it as a Web celebrity."
Winer is no longer affiliated
with HotWired but does
post periodic articles
to his own Web site DaveNet.
THIS
GUY’S GIG IS ’ATTITUDE’
Another writer who’s
made a name for himself
in cyberspace is the D.C.-based
Brock N. Meeks, creator
and producer of the free,
fiery and periodic
The former Washington
bureau chief of Inter@ctive
Week, Meeks is also
a regular contributor
to Wired
magazine and writes daily
Campaign
Dispatch and periodic
Muckraker
columns for HotWired.
Meeks is known for his
"voice" - edgy, opinionated
and usually outraged.
He’s got "attitude"
and he flaunts it, even
through e-mail. "The term
’cyberwriter’
sucks," he wrote me in
an e-mail Q. & A. "Who
the hell thought that
up?"
Well, umm, I did, Brock.
It seems like a descriptive
term for a new kind of
journalistic writing that
relies on hypertext links
(to audio and visuals,
as well as other Web sites)
and references to _content_
created by others.
THE
LAYERING CONCEPT
Magid calls it the "layering
conceptò it’s stuff
from me, from other people
and from other places."
Being a cyberwriter requires
"a whole new set of skills,"
Magid says. "You’ve
got to be a writer, a
choreographer, a librarian,
a producer, a directorò
and yet the writing is
shorter." Magid says he
can produce "hours and
hours of material for
my (online) readers in
only 900 words."
THE
MEDIUM’S INFORMALITY
And of course the culture
of the Net encourages
a breeziness not found
on the pages of the newsprint
New York Times. "There
is a tradition of speaking
one’s mind without
the artificial barriers
in traditional print,"
Meeks agrees.
But Meeks adamantly rejects
the mantle of "cyberwriter."
"Don’t use that word
to describe me or what
I do or I’ll be really
pissed," he hisses into
my e-mailbox. "See, there
is this f-up (ed.’s
abbrev.) dichotomy between
online and print. Why
should there be a split
like that? Each has its
place and its strength,
but to call what I do
a ’cyberwriter’
sounds cheap and second-rate."
NETMEDIA96
Meeks had just returned
from NetMedia96 in London
where he’d been invited
to speak on the melding
of traditional journalism
with online culture. "I
talked about how traditional
journalism hasn’t
gone by the wayside in
cyberspace. However, I
believe that writing for
this community means you
have to do more, you have
to give the reader more,
something the reader can’t
get in traditional printed
form."
"That usually means attitude,
a point of view," he said.
"It’s what makes
the writing rise above
most of the dreck we find
online and it’s what
creates the ’brand’
as I have with CyberWire
Dispatch." (Typos discreetly
fixed, Brock; Meeks had
apologized for them and
said "it’s late and
I’m writing this
on the fly.")
THE
UP-SIDE OF SELF-PUBLISHING
Whether or not one embraces
the label of cyberwriter,
the ability to self-publish
on the Web creates a whole
new set of possibilities
for journalists. "It’s
far more of a meritocracy
than any other medium
we’ve had," says
Magid. "Journalists can
hang out a shingle like
a lawyer or a doctor and
if a) they’re good
and b) they have a following,
you can get as many readers
as you want."
He compares the phenomenon
to the early days of talk
radio and to the evolution
from "silents" to "talkies"
to television. Some stars
never made the transition
from the silents, Magid
reminds us. "We’re
going to see the Lucille
Balls of the online world."
AS
FOR FORTUNE...
That takes care of fame.
As for fortune, it just
might follow, according
to both Magid and Meeks.
"On the Web, eventually
we’re going to know
_to the person_ who is
reading (our stuff),"
Magid says. "There is
the possibility I can
make a living independent
of any institution, if
I establish enough of
a presence on the Web.
If a million people paid
me a penny a day to read
my column, that comes
out to $10,000 a day...
I could make over $3 million
a year."
"If a million people pay
me a penny a day to read
my column, I’d make
over $3 million a year."
-- Larry Magid
Meeks concurs: "If you’re
good, the money will follow.
It’s not easy, but
it can be doneò Create
a brand - as I have done
with CyberWire Dispatch
- and the money is good.
Frankly, I don’t
know what others are makingò
I’m too busy taking
care of my own gig."
Which brings me to the
subject of ò
DOES
SLATE SLIP?
As A.J. Liebling put it,
and as editor Michael
Kinsley aptly quotes him
in the inaugural edition
of SLATE:
"Freedom of the press
is for those who own one."
It’s obvious that
anybody who’s semi-HTML
literate can self-publish
on the Web. But what about
the _content_ that’s
spewed into cyberspace?
It strikes me that because
this is a new medium,
there should be something
_new_ about the content.
The message should reflect
- and reflect on - the
medium.
_Jumping off_ into cyberthought,
this reminds me of how
Picasso’s Cubistic
images visually dissect
the surface of his paintings
- and thus reflect on
the nature of painting
as a two-dimensional art
form.
IMHO, SLATE is the sameold,
sameold inside-the-beltway,
policy-analyzing, Hill-gazing,
patting-each-other-on-the-back
of the Atlantic Monthly
and New Republic crowd.
In response to a query
(along with a congrats
on the launch) I sent
about writing an article
on _Wired Women_ , Kinsley
responded: "Debbie-- Thanks
for your good wishes,
and for the piece proposal,
but women on the web sounds
too inside baseball for
us. We’re trying
not to be a web-oriented
mag. Thanks. Mike"
OK, there’s nothing
wrong with that - and
thanks, Mike, for your
reply. The mag is an intelligent
- and dense - read for
those with serious political
and cultural interests.
But, dare I say it: what’s
the point? Why put it
online? Bill, are you
listening? It may save
a few trees and possibly
net Microsoft a few more
bucks because of lack
of distribution costs.
But I’ll wager that
_virtually_ everyone who
tried to read SLATE ended
up printing it out. And
of course there is a lengthy
section on the site explaining
(somewhat confusingly
to those who are not cyberliterate)
the various ways of downloading
and/or perusing the ’zine.
Hmm...
DO
LEAVE A MESSAGE AFTER
THE...
Tips (monetary and otherwise)
gratefully accepted. Send
feedback and comments
to debbie
weil.
Seeya
