Drew Curtis
Encyclopedia
Drew Curtis is the founder and an administrator of Fark.com
, an Internet link dump
site. He is also the author of It's Not News, It's FARK: How Mass Media Tries to Pass off Crap as News in May 2007.
in Decorah, Iowa
in 1995. From 1996 to 2002, he owned and operated DCR.NET, an ISP
based in Frankfort, Kentucky
.
Although Fark is a million-dollar business, Curtis takes a yearly salary of $60,000. The rest of the money goes to the site's legal 'war chest' and to pay other expenses. Under Curtis, Fark has purposely shied away from the Web 2.0
mantra of total user control. "I don't care what anyone says, the masses are morons. You can't count on them to pick good stuff. Just check out Network TV to see what the masses want for entertainment. There's certainly a place for that kind of thing but it's not on Fark." According to Drew, Web 3.0 will be "something called Good Editing." Speaking at a media conference in Washington, DC hosted by the Poynter Institute
, Curtis stated, "The 'wisdom of the crowds' is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in my life. Crowds are dumb. It takes people to move crowds in the right direction, crowds by themselves just stand around and mutter."
In 2006, Curtis was featured on the cover of Business 2.0
magazine as the feature in a story about successful websites. Lexington Weekly named him one of their businessmen under 40 to watch
On November 28, 2007, Curtis filed an application to trademark
the phrase "not safe for work" a common phrase on Fark.com. His application was denied.
. An in depth analysis of the state of modern media, It's Not News, It's Fark slams news organizations for running smaller versions of his not-real-news. In his review of the book, Farhad Manjoo of Salon.com
said that "[Curtis] even seems to go after the audience -- his audience -- for indulging in [not-real-news] Curtis seems to want us to be repulsed by them instead."
Curtis's book peaked at #12 on Amazon.com
's non-fiction
bestseller list. Media critic Jack Shafer
noted that despite the book's success, it surprisingly received "scant attention" from mainstream media outlets. The book was later released in paperback.
Fark.com
Fark is a community website created by Drew Curtis that allows members to comment on a daily batch of news articles and other items from various websites. As of June 2009, the site boasts approximately four million unique visitors per month, which puts it among the top 100 English language websites...
, an Internet link dump
Hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
site. He is also the author of It's Not News, It's FARK: How Mass Media Tries to Pass off Crap as News in May 2007.
Bio
Curtis graduated from Luther CollegeLuther College (Iowa)
Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...
in Decorah, Iowa
Decorah, Iowa
Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,172 at the 2000 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S...
in 1995. From 1996 to 2002, he owned and operated DCR.NET, an ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
based in Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
.
Fark.com
Fark's history began in 1993 when Curtis was a student in England, sending links back to his friends. Curtis registered Fark.com in 1997 but did not begin posting links on the site until 1999. The first story on Fark was a news article about a fighter pilot who crashed while attempting to moon another fighter pilot. Since then, the site has become one of the most popular link dump sites on the internet with nearly 50 million pageviews a month. As of 2006 the site was getting over 2,000 link submissions every day. It was the first indie blog to earn one million dollars a year in profit and its classifieds section alone generates as much as $40,000 per year.Although Fark is a million-dollar business, Curtis takes a yearly salary of $60,000. The rest of the money goes to the site's legal 'war chest' and to pay other expenses. Under Curtis, Fark has purposely shied away from the Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
mantra of total user control. "I don't care what anyone says, the masses are morons. You can't count on them to pick good stuff. Just check out Network TV to see what the masses want for entertainment. There's certainly a place for that kind of thing but it's not on Fark." According to Drew, Web 3.0 will be "something called Good Editing." Speaking at a media conference in Washington, DC hosted by the Poynter Institute
Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a non-profit school for journalism located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school's mission statement says that "The Poynter Institute is a school dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists and media leaders. It promotes excellence and integrity in the practice of...
, Curtis stated, "The 'wisdom of the crowds' is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in my life. Crowds are dumb. It takes people to move crowds in the right direction, crowds by themselves just stand around and mutter."
In 2006, Curtis was featured on the cover of Business 2.0
Business 2.0
Business 2.0 was a monthly magazine publication founded by magazine entrepreneur Chris Anderson, Mark Gross, and journalist James Daly in order to chronicle the rise of the "New Economy"...
magazine as the feature in a story about successful websites. Lexington Weekly named him one of their businessmen under 40 to watch
On November 28, 2007, Curtis filed an application to trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
the phrase "not safe for work" a common phrase on Fark.com. His application was denied.
It's Not News, It's FARK
Curtis published his first book, It's Not News, It's FARK: How Mass Media Tries to Pass off Crap as News in May 2007. It soon became a bestsellerBestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
. An in depth analysis of the state of modern media, It's Not News, It's Fark slams news organizations for running smaller versions of his not-real-news. In his review of the book, Farhad Manjoo of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
said that "[Curtis] even seems to go after the audience -- his audience -- for indulging in [not-real-news] Curtis seems to want us to be repulsed by them instead."
Curtis's book peaked at #12 on Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
bestseller list. Media critic Jack Shafer
Jack Shafer
Jack Shafer covers media for Reuters.com Opinion section. Prior to joining Reuters, he edited and wrote the column Press Box for Slate, an online magazine. Before his stay at Slate, Shafer edited two city weeklies, Washington City Paper and SF Weekly...
noted that despite the book's success, it surprisingly received "scant attention" from mainstream media outlets. The book was later released in paperback.
Presentations
- "Patterns in the Media and the Fark backend" at NotaconNotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
in 2005. - "Stupid Media Tricks: Which will kill us all first, the Bird Flu or Janet Jackson's nipple?" at NotaconNotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
in 2006. - Appears on the radio show/podcast Free Talk LiveFree Talk LiveFree Talk Live is an American call-in radio talk show heard seven nights a week. The program is hosted by Ian Freeman and Mark Edge on Tuesday through Saturday, Mark Edge and Stephanie Murphy on Sunday, and Ian Freeman and Dale Everett on Monday. It is a chiefly libertarian political talk show and...
periodically - Appears on Twitch and ZRock Morning Show with hosts Twitch and Mary Jane on ZRock 103.3 FM every Thursday in LexingtonLexington, KentuckyLexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth... - SXSW (South by Southwest) Mar. 2009 -- Building Strong Online Communities
- Poynter Institute Sensemaking Seminar, May 2009
- Poynter KSU Media Ethics Workshop, Sept. 17 2009
- Pecha Kucha Lexington, Dec. 3 2009
- SXSW (South by Southwest) Mar. 16 2010 -- How to Save Journalism
- Poynter Institute Sensemaking Seminar, May 5 2010 -- Farking Metrics
- Poynter Institute "Fact or Friction" conference at the Newseum, June 29 2010 -- Innovation and Audience
- SXSW (South by Southwest) Mar. 2011 -- Coordinator, Community Engagement Workshop