A screen shot of an earlier version of reality blurred.
As a medium, the web is both frustrating and fantastic. Designing via code allows me—forces me—to learn while I play. From those early days struggling with table cells to using CSS to control everything, it’s often like designing while blindfolded. But the result is always rewarding.
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reality blurred
Born in the summer of 2000, right after Survivor and Big Brother debuted, reality blurred was my answer to the lack of a central place for reality TV-related information. The first publication dedicated solely to reality television, it has chronicled this wave of the reality TV phenomenon since June of 2000, about when “Survivor” and “Big Brother” debuted on CBS.
reality blurred / the reality TV news digest is a daily report about the latest in reality TV. Every weekday, I publish summaries and analysis of the day’s reality TV news, from gossip to industry news. In addition to breaking major stories (I’ve been the first to report on the location of The Real World for the past two seasons), I also make fun of the more ridiculous parts of the genre. reality blurred is read by hundreds of thousands of people every month, including reality show cast members and journalists, and the site has received international accolades and media attention from publications such as Entertainment Weekly. But despite all that, I still publish reality blurred primarily for reality TV junkies who need to get their fix.
For a period of time, part of reality blurred was exposed, “a journal of our blurring culture.” Its irregularly published single-essay issues focused on places where the real and the hyperreal overlap, where creations in our culture eclipse or even become reality. From an essay that explores the creation of found poetry to an examination of the state of discourse in America to a discussion of Martha Stewart’s dual identities, the topics are broad, but are all centrally connected in that they focus on examples of this particular type of hyperreality.
BrassRing/thepavement.com
Working as the community producer for thepavement.com (later called BrassRing Campus), a career site for recent college grads, I developed the site’s community features, transforming a Q&A column into a vibrant multi-section community space. Additionally, I handled all user feedback, compiled metrics, and wrote a weblog-style digest. I also worked on the site’s user interface, developing elements like this distinctive site map; wrote copy and help for the site; and worked with the marketing, technology, and sales teams.
As thepavement became a part of its parent company, BrassRing, I began working as a member of the user interface team. My most significant contribution was architecting the user interface and information flow of the Career Advice section of the company’s main web site, which, per my design, was dynamically generated from just three templates and a content database. I also worked on the user interface and design of a new internal content management system. Alas, none of this has survived.