When the web sucked … in the best possible way
Valleywag is one of my guilty pleasures, nestled in my Google Reader stream, in a “Tech News” folder that includes more sober reads like TechCrunch, TechMeme, TechDirt and, well, you get the idea. While I’m not a fan of Gawker Media’s other gossip blogs (though I am devoted to Consumerist and Lifehacker), Valleywag, with its obsessive coverage of all things Calacanis, Brin and Arrington, is endlessly fascinating. And, while I’ve enjoyed Nick Denton’s reign at the helm, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens now that he’s handing the reins to Owen Thomas, late of Business 2.0. I have great hopes for Thomas, based on his history as a contributor to Suck. Though he may not have been one of Suck’s founding fathers, he was there early enough, and if cohort Ana Marie Cox’s influence on the Gawker empire is any indication, Thomas should be just what Dr. Nick ordered.
Thinking of Suck, I can’t help waxing nostalgic. The fact is, as Denton acknowledges, Suck really was “the legendary site that pioneered web snark.” Suck was the ur-blog, without which the entire Gawker ethos wouldn’t exist today. Sure, self-important, media-obsessed columnsists existed before Joey Anuff and Carl Steadman launched Suck in mid-1995. But Suck served it up daily, and took on the early giants of the Net. Back in the day, we’d check Suck first thing in the morning, and keep hitting reload until it was finally updated. When Suck was acquired by Wired in November 1995, I wrote a Suck-style takedown, which Suck then linked back to, taking me down in the process. I deserved it (and so did they). Here’s hoping for more takedowns, snark and self-absorbed arrogance from Thomas and Valleywag.
