SevenQuestions: Owen Thomas, the Ditherati guy

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Seven Questions

Owen Thomas has a nifty e-mail list called Ditherati in which he mocks the vapid emanations of various cyber scions who are everything he isn't (rich, famous & banal, for instance). These days he writes for The Red Herring but he also made a bit of a name for himself as the copy editor at Suck.com. 20 October, 1998

1 Describe a disturbing trend you've noticed of late. Back to the 7Q index

Online interviews conducted by email. I just did one for Jeffrey Zeldman.

(Editor's note: Zeldman and I apparently had the same Idea at about the same time, a pure cyber coincidence. His 15 Minutes project is a a lot more snazzy than my meager attempt and his site is a hoot as well.)

2 Recommend a band/book/movie/etc. that you really like but suspect you should really hate.

"Misadventures in the (213)," a novel by Dennis Hensley.

It's delightful fluff about a gay L.A. screenwriter and his celebrity pal -- think "Tales of the City" meets "Melrose Place." I realize reading it was probably contributing to my brain rot, but it was a damn good read.

3 Describe something that happened to you that could only have happened while covering the technology beat.

When I posted a Ditherati about CitySearch abandoning its IPO plans to pursue a merger with Ticketmaster Online -- a deal where they got a ton of cash -- a CitySearch flack wrote to me at the Red Herring inviting me to get the "real story."

There is no real story in Ditherati, of course -- only spin and counterspin. But it was naive of me to think that no one would want to try to spin my counterspin right back at me.

4 What's the redeeming social value of exposing rich, powerful people to ridicule?

None. What's the redeeming social value of rich, powerful people?

5 Why are writers, as a class, so insecure?

Their work is on display, open to criticism, every day.

6 How well would you fare in a pretechnological society?

Well, my vision is poor, so if you're including glasses as an artifact of a technological society, I wouldn't do very well.

My brutish strength would probably let me get by adequately, though.

7 Describe one thing an editor should always do, and one thing and editor should never do.

Always generalize. Never let your writers do it.

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Copyright 1998, Thomas L. Mangan >Back to new SevenQuestions
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Owen Thomas has a nifty e-mail list called Ditherati in which he mocks the vapid emanations of various cyber scions who are everything he isn't (rich, famous & banal, for instance). These days he writes for The Red Herring but he also made a bit of a name for himself as the copy editor at Suck.com.		20 October, 1998
1	Describe a disturbing trend you've noticed of late.	Back to the 7Q index
	Online interviews conducted by email. I just did one for Jeffrey Zeldman. (Editor's note: Zeldman and I apparently had the same Idea at about the same time, a pure cyber coincidence. His 15 Minutes project is a a lot more snazzy than my meager attempt and his site is a hoot as well.)
2	Recommend a band/book/movie/etc. that you really like but suspect you should really hate.
	"Misadventures in the (213)," a novel by Dennis Hensley. It's delightful fluff about a gay L.A. screenwriter and his celebrity pal -- think "Tales of the City" meets "Melrose Place." I realize reading it was probably contributing to my brain rot, but it was a damn good read.
3	Describe something that happened to you that could only have happened while covering the technology beat.
	When I posted a Ditherati about CitySearch abandoning its IPO plans to pursue a merger with Ticketmaster Online -- a deal where they got a ton of cash -- a CitySearch flack wrote to me at the Red Herring inviting me to get the "real story." There is no real story in Ditherati, of course -- only spin and counterspin. But it was naive of me to think that no one would want to try to spin my counterspin right back at me.
4	What's the redeeming social value of exposing rich, powerful people to ridicule?
	None. What's the redeeming social value of rich, powerful people?
5	Why are writers, as a class, so insecure?
	Their work is on display, open to criticism, every day.
6	How well would you fare in a pretechnological society?
	Well, my vision is poor, so if you're including glasses as an artifact of a technological society, I wouldn't do very well. My brutish strength would probably let me get by adequately, though.
7	Describe one thing an editor should always do, and one thing and editor should never do.
	Always generalize. Never let your writers do it.
Back to SQ index Copyright 1998, Thomas L. Mangan		>Back to new SevenQuestions main page