Rusty Foster

Lawrence Calvin Foster III,[1] commonly known as Rusty Foster, is an American media critic and programmer. He has been described as "something of a Zelig-like figure in internet history, popping up in key roles at various stages in the web’s development."[2] He is the author of Today in Tabs, the founder of Kuro5hin, and the creator of Scoop, a collaborative media application used by several websites. He also helped develop Scripto, the screenwriting software company founded by Stephen Colbert.[3]

In 2013, his Facebook account was subject to a 'prank' reporting him dead, drawing the attention of a number of major news outlets.[4][5][6]

Since 2013, Foster has written occasionally for The New Yorker magazine, including on the Healthcare.gov debacle.[7]

Kuro5hin

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Main article: Kuro5hin

Kuro5hin (K5; read "corrosion") was a collaborative discussion website founded by Rusty Foster in 1999, having been inspired by Slashdot. Around 2005, its membership numbered in the tens of thousands. On May 1, 2016, the site was closed down permanently with all content taken offline.

Today in Tabs

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Over the years, Foster has written an influential news media and Internet culture newsletter called Today in Tabs.[8] Its first iteration, which ran from 2013 to 2016, was syndicated on Fastcolabs and Newsweek and reached about 12,000 subscribers.[9][10]

He restarted the newsletter in January 2021 on the Substack platform, with a Discord server for subscribers.[11][12][13][14] In early 2024, Foster moved the newsletter to Beehiiv,[15] citing Substack's refusal to censor Nazis or extremist speech.

Personal life

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Foster currently lives on Peaks Island with his wife and three children.

References

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  1. ^ Search Corporate Names
  2. ^ Kurutz, Steven. "From a Tiny Island in Maine, He Serves Up Fresh Media Gossip". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  3. ^ Kim, E. Tammy (9 January 2018). "How Scripto, the App That Stephen Colbert Helped Build, Became a Fixture of Late-Night Comedy News". The New Yorker. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  4. ^ Hamburger (2004-12-18). "Facebook could have a big problem on its hands with 'memorial page' vulnerability". The Verge. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  5. ^ Popkin (2013-01-05). "Dead on Facebook: Pranksters kill accounts with fake death reports". NBC News. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
  6. ^ Timoty (2013-01-05). "Rusty Foster isn't dead". Slashdot. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
  7. ^ Foster (2013-10-21). "HEALTHCARE.GOV: IT COULD BE WORSE". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
  8. ^ Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (10 July 2014). "Tweet Cheat: How Rusty Foster's Newsletter Became a New York Media Obsession". The Observer. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  9. ^ Lynch, Matthew (20 March 2014). "Hate-reading with Rusty Foster". Capital New York. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  10. ^ Landsbaum, Claire (11 July 2019). "We're at Peak Newsletter, and I Feel Fine". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  11. ^ Broderick, Ryan. "Today In Tabs' Rusty Foster On The Weirdly Hopeful Hellscape Of Media". Garbage Day. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  12. ^ Doll, Jen. "Substackers are making serious money in the newsletter game". Fortune. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  13. ^ Sifton, Sam (6 January 2021). "Why You Should Follow the Recipe". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Catucci, Nick (8 October 2021). "My Internet: Rusty Foster". Embedded.
  15. ^ Foster, Rusty (February 3, 2024). "Tabs Migration Report".
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