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Rusty Foster

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Rusty Foster
Born
Lawrence Calvin Foster III

July 1976 (1976-07) (age 48)
EducationCollege of William & Mary[a]
Occupations
  • Computer programmer
  • media critic
Years active2007–present
Spouse
Christina Fischer
​
(m. 2000)​
Children3

Lawrence Calvin Foster III,[1] (born October 1976) 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]

Early life

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Foster was born in July 1976.[8][2] His father, Lawrence Foster, was a franchise developer for Dunkin' Donuts.[2] He grew up in Plymouth, Massachusetts[8] and spent his summers at his grandparents' cottage on Peaks Island, Maine.[2] Foster attended Falmouth Academy, graduating in 1994.[9] Later on he enrolled at the College of William & Mary where he majored in film studies, but dropped out on his senior year.[8] He learned HTML and moved to Washington D.C., where he worked for government agencies.[8]

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.[10][8]

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.[11][12]

He restarted the newsletter in January 2021 on the Substack platform, with a Discord server for subscribers.[13][14][15][16] In early 2024, Foster moved the newsletter to Beehiiv,[17] citing Substack's refusal to censor Nazis or extremist speech.

Personal life

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While a student at William & Mary, Foster met Christina Fischer, a history major. They got married and moved to San Francisco in 2000.[2] The couple relocated to Peaks Island in 2001, where they live with their three children.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ Dropped out

References

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  1. ^ Search Corporate Names
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kurutz, Steven (April 17, 2024). "From a Tiny Island in Maine, He Serves Up Fresh Media Gossip". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 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. ^ a b c d e f Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (July 10, 2014). "Tweet Cheat: How Rusty Foster's Newsletter Became a New York Media Obsession". Observer. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "Alumni News: Rusty Foster '94". The Gam. June 2, 2024. p. 22. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  10. ^ Foster, Rusty (December 8, 2020). "Rusty Foster: Resume". Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Landsbaum, Claire (11 July 2019). "We're at Peak Newsletter, and I Feel Fine". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  13. ^ Broderick, Ryan. "Today In Tabs' Rusty Foster On The Weirdly Hopeful Hellscape Of Media". Garbage Day. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  14. ^ Doll, Jen. "Substackers are making serious money in the newsletter game". Fortune. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  15. ^ Sifton, Sam (6 January 2021). "Why You Should Follow the Recipe". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Catucci, Nick (8 October 2021). "My Internet: Rusty Foster". Embedded.
  17. ^ Foster, Rusty (February 3, 2024). "Tabs Migration Report".
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