I was thinking of a snarky headline about the inherent dullness of Alex Balk and Choire Sicha's newest baby, The Awl, but thought: "No. Let's not be "counterintuitive" for the sake of being "counterintuitive" let's just write a nice little thought piece."
So I put aside shining my own self-indulgent word daggers for another time and instead focused on the plain and simple. The Awl: be less stupid.
Hm. That is a loaded phrase, indeed, from the two former Gawker editors. But (now that they mention it) there's little (or NONE) of the clever word pun-y headlines, splashy, celebrity dart throwing, ("reality show linkbait" as The Awl mentions in it's "About" button) or even any of the sensationalized media or political gossip that made Gawker the traffic and advertising darling of the '00s.
Instead they talk about a Pixies box set that retails at $450. Hey. We like the Pixies. That's cool. And then how Chicago will name this Thursday as "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" to celebrate the 445th anniversary of The Bard.
Right on.
Our simple brains are going into bite size, picture-friendly withdrawal, but as Choire refers to Depeche Mode as the "Pink Floyd for homos" we wonder if this is what Gawker may look like look without pictures of Kate Moss's ass.
We recently stumbled upon a site, Recessionwire.com, which is a virtual celebration of all things laid off. Sample feelgood stories: Screwed: A Daily Review Of The Employment Fallout Around The Country And World, Love In The Time Of Lay-Off and Recession Briefing.
Well, no, to be fair it isn't all rain clouds. A recent column by writer John Riha had the gall to say right now is an awesome time to look for a job (HA!). Why? Because top companies are all vying for talent and using social media tools to reach out to prospective employees.
It's the wild west, y'all, so you best pimp out that Youtube and Facebook page to score a shiny media gig. Which, to be honest, unless it's an opening at Drunk Girls Who Are Reluctant To Have A Camera Pointed At Them federation, than I'm loath to think this would help me.
The founders are peddling Recessionwire.com as a "pop-up" site. This means the site is gaining momentum now when everyone's media careers are in the toilet, but when these scorned worker bees get their low-paying volatile jobs back, we'll likely forget all about this mess and travel back down the Media Is Awesome Rabbit Hole.
For all of you just tuning in, I was once a Conde Nasty.
While the idea of working in an office seems positively arcane now, back in 2007 and 2008, I'd wash myself, squeeze on the F train, and slink into the honorable 4 Times Square building five days a week.
I always felt like a knock-off Target version in the elevator. Artfully messy hair and criminally expensive shoes never looked so haute. I still remember the abhorrent amount of Styrofoam used in the cafeteria. Shout out to the stir fry guys.
Really, I just liked gazing at my e-mail address: melissa.noble@condenast.com. It sent arrogant chills through my limbs. Those red editing marks couldn't even touch me.
Anyway, Conde Nast is definitely feeling the economic crunch. Nearly every title, minus Gold World (of all publications) experienced a decrease in ad pages from 2008 to 2009. While this alone may not be groundbreaking, some publications -- Wired, Portfolio and W -- decreased as much as 50%.
This is further proof for anyone with delusions of Glossy Masthead Granduer that you'd be better off honing a more marketable skill.
I hear Apex Tech has reasonable rates. I'm thinking of a double major in plumbing and refrigeration with a minor in auto body repair major. Triple threat.
