I find blogs and lists useful online, though I think the list might be dying somewhat? I try not to work through those forms, though ‘blog’ is a slippery term. The essay is always the best unit of writing, IMO.
Tag: Kyle Chayka
There is absolutely an emphasis on measurable circulation online because that’s how publications make money. It’s different if the publication exists outside the usual monetary ecosystem—as many art publications do, but I tend to write mostly for mainstream outlets lately. For me personally, stakes are high to get a work to go viral or get attention online. That pressure might come mostly from myself, since editors are happy with pieces regardless, but impacting the online discourse is ultimately the goal of every article.
I think the reading experience of print will always be better and I can focus better on it. However, its reach is limited. I think my writing online is shaped by the publications I read and the editors and other writers I talk to online all day. The writing is a kind of social product.
I do think the web allows me to get closer to my audience or feel a better connection to who my readers are, simply because they can talk back to me. Online, I get validation from my readers and from other journalists. In print, the validation often comes simply from placing a piece in a reputable magazine. I do think most dialogue happens online, these days.
I tend to refer to more online sources when I write online, and I don’t cite much in print. My online pieces tend to be shorter simply because that seems to be the currency of the web, and I don’t have as much opportunity to write in print. Breadth of research—I am often getting paid more for print and thus can afford more time to research. Online work will always include more multimedia.
I do feel that I write differently for the web vs. for print, if that’s what you mean. I think print retains a license to be more obtuse, abstract, or difficult in a way that web writing does not—even though there’s enough space for everything on the Internet, as a career journalist, I feel a pressure to reach as many people with my writing as possible. Of course, this is also how I have to make money. For a print article, I feel more confident in my work with a single editor and that the resulting collaboration is valid and successful even if it doesn’t net a ton of traffic.