will blog for food - or validation

Emily Gould, former co-editor of gawker.com, wrote a revealing piece for the the New York Times magazine charting her obsession, and then compulsion, with blogging and getting instant feedback - first on her thoughts, then feelings.

Her piece is raw, introspective, and as one commenter on her blog pointed out, very revealing of the times we live in. This is likely why it was chosen as the cover piece of the New York Times magazine. You also have to admire that she surrenders her ideas, her mistakes, and her truthful account of her past to her readers. In a way she's also sacrificing herself for the "greater good" because rookie bloggers will undoubtedly learn from her mistakes. The best part about her piece was her honesty - she contrasts hating her life being dissected by online wolves with her job as a celebrity media writer. (note: She wasn't just a celebrity reporter. gawker.com is notably insipid -and thereby funny- in its commentary.) But she doesn't come around with some "Shrek" conclusion that both forms are wrong, but rather that she feels that this is an acceptable price to pay.

On the other hand, while her piece is somewhat whiney, her advancement into this world is very self-aware. There's an expression in German, "ins fettnaepfchen treten" - it's literal translation is "treading into muck," but used in the past tense, its cultural equivalent is "open mouth, insert foot." In her article, you can see how she sets herself up for embarrassement and willingly treads into muck - but then complains once there. Even the first steps of her descent are damaging to her offline relationships - at that point, her thrill-seeking (or in online speak, attention whoring) is something she continues to search out, which negates any sympathy you have for her being caught in this online buzz world. Also, if you watch this clip of her getting pwned by Jimmy Kimmel, it's hard not to write her off as a dime-a-dozen, vapid Manhattanite. But maybe she's not looking for sympathy, just to share her story for all its flaws and still unlearned lessons. In which case, it's a good read.