Analyze This: New York Puts Brownstoner on the Couch
Considering the tone of what New York Magazine has written about some other blogs, we thought that this week’s cover story about Brownstoner, and its culture of commenting in particular, was reasonably thoughtful. Sure, it had some the magazine’s signature sensationalism, but underneath that were some interesting thoughts about what the commenting culture on the…
Considering the tone of what New York Magazine has written about some other blogs, we thought that this week’s cover story about Brownstoner, and its culture of commenting in particular, was reasonably thoughtful. Sure, it had some the magazine’s signature sensationalism, but underneath that were some interesting thoughts about what the commenting culture on the blog says about the collective psyche of Brownstone Brooklyn. Our only major gripe was that it played up the importance of one egomaniacal commenter over some of the more constructive aspects of the community. In the end, though, it did include one belief of ours that we’ve clung to from the beginning: That as messy as many of the threads get, the tough issues that underlie much of the change that Brooklyn has experienced in recent years—class, race, gentrification—are at least getting discussed, and often among people who wouldn’t otherwise be mingling offline. The conversations could be a lot more polite, but at least they are happening.
The Brooklyn Wars [New York Magazine]
Illustration by Zohar Lazar
I never really thought about who or what The What is. All I know is that if this were an episode of Scooby-Doo, the What would be revealed to be Jonathan Butler in disguise. He’s posing as this deranged idiot to lower property values in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene so he can secretly buy up the whole area and sell it in one big chunk to Bruce Ratner. And he would have gotten away with it too…
They got it all wrong … Chuckie is a maniacal doll come to life in a horror film. How can a writer be so stupid??
This WHAT guy has some issues… His views are way too extreme I believe. Its good press for the site but the whole article is really about nothing…
Way to put a brave face on terrible media coverage, Mr. B.
There’s a lot of useful info on this blog, but it’s also a huge outlet for anonymous negativity. People who can barely behave face to face can remove all restraints. It’s like rubbernecking, compelling but leaves a foul tsste.
The What is the star of the show. Nice.
Hey Butler, the What is he star not you. Ha!
I kinda like the what. he has a flair for the dramatic that’s hard to ignore.
Yo,
I work in real estate and have been reading Brownstoner since the beginning.
Mr. B, where did the old thoughtful posters like CrownHeightsProud and the rest of them go?
TheWhat is a loser who want attention. Everyone knows markets go in cycles, so of course eventually his doomsday predictions will come true. The What must be a very a sad person.
Mr. What, if you assume other people have good intentions, instead of angry, backstabbing motivations, you might not feel angry and sad all the time.
Congrats on the article, Mr. B.
Next stop, the WALL STREET JOURNAL!