Traffic

Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral

By: Ben Smith

Narrated by: Ian Putnam, Ben Smith

“Engrossing and suspenseful." —The New York Times

“Expertly pulls readers in.” —The Guardian

“Smith sharply chronicles the revolutionary moment.” — Financial Times

The origin story of the post-truth age: the candid inside tale of two online media rivals, Nick Denton of Gawker Media and Jonah Peretti of HuffPost and BuzzFeed, whose delirious pursuit of attention at scale helped release the dark forces that would overtake the internet and American society

If attention is the new oil, Traffic is the story of the time between the first gusher and the perceptible impact of climate change. The curtain opens in Soho in the early 2000s, after the first dot-com crash but before Google, Apple, and Facebook exploded, when it seemed that New York City, rather than Silicon Valley, might become tech’s center of gravity. There, Nick Denton’s merry band of nihilists at his growing Gawker empire and Jonah Peretti’s sunnier team at HuffPost and BuzzFeed were building the foundations of viral internet media. Ben Smith, who would go on to earn a controversial reputation as BuzzFeed News’s editor in chief, was there to see it, and he chronicles it all with marvelous lucidity underscored by dark wit.

Traffic explores one of the great ironies of our time: The internet, which was going to help the left remake the world in its image, has become the motive force of right populism. People like Steve Bannon and Andrew Breitbart initially seemed like minor characters in the narrative in which Nick and Jonah were the stars. But today, anyone might wonder if the op­posite wasn’t the case. To understand how we got here, Traffic is essential and enthralling reading.

Ruined by Narrator

Doesn't do a great job of introducing you to the characters/personalities - so I feel like it relies on someone who has even a passing familiarity with the people it talks about.

But truly ruined by the Robotic mono-tone narration that invites your mind to wander while listening.
I struggle to keep focused on this.

I'm sure this book would garner more stars from me had I read it, or had a better narrator been utilized.
I would return it if I could - because I know I will not finish it.

Social media good or bad

Smith’s explanation of internet potential for doing good and bad seems very even handed. Because he was deeply involved in the development of the internet as we now experience it, his story rings true to me.

a classic race to the bottom outlined in detail

a useful expose how two new internet news reporting companies lose their virtue through intense competition. it seemed one or the other media reporting company might choose to focus on if it leads, it succeeds. as it turned out, both focused on base case: if it bleeds, it leads. as it turns out, traffic goes to the venerable NY Times, who takes the high ground and drafts quality forces to win share. well written and useful insight.

WHY THIS NARRATOR??

Great story, well written, but AS ALWAYS an atrocious narrator. Like, come on Audible. Up the narrator game!!

Iconic, but wish Ben Smith read it

Amazing book if you are interested in digital media and it’s larger effects and history. Wish Ben Smith had done the reading himself though!