The River

In case you’re wondering.

Ah, it’s only been 3 short years since I last posted about moving. And… here we go again — in the other direction.

In an eerie coincidence, we’re probably going to be taking off within a week of our 3 year anniversary of moving West. And our new digs are within 1/2 mile of where we lived before (in Brooklyn). But, boy, have things changed (one 2-year-old boy changes everything) in the intervening time.

This move is also due to my husband’s job, but, thankfully, as occurred in my last move, I’ve got an office — FM’s NYC satellite — to land in, upon my arrival sometime in December. I’m really looking forward to seeing all of my NYC-based professional contacts again, and I’m excited about returning to the city I never stopped loving.

Sad news about CNET editor James Kim. Searchers found his body a few hours ago. As a parent, and as a human, I feel for the Kim family.

Checking out the blogosphere this morning, I see a lot of people are posting their memories of that day, five years ago, when the unbelievable became reality. I’ve been dreading this anniversary in some ways, partly because coverage still makes me cry — the way I shed tears in Union Square (NYC) reading “Missing” flyers in the days after the tragedy.

I lived and worked in New York City on September 11, 2001. My office was on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. It was far away from the downtown events, but, because of the towers’ height and the geographical lay-out of the city, we could, and did, step outside our doors to look down Fifth Avenue and see the fatally damaged towers, while they stood, and the sickening black smoke after they fell.

Some other memories:

• Despite just being a couple miles away, I found out about the WTC attack via instant messenger. We had an editor working from home that day, and he’d seen footage on CNN. He IMed those of us in the office and kept us updated regularly. We didn’t have a TV in the office, and the Internet (being totally clogged with traffic) was next-to-useless.
  
• After doing what we could at the office, I walked home, straight down Fifth Avenue. Along the way, people were actually snatching up postcards of the WTC from tourist-oriented shops.
  
• Restaurants started running out of food in the days after the attacks, as Manhattan is an island, after all, and shipments of fresh food and produce weren’t exempt from security restrictions that kept everyone out.
  
• My brother reached me by phone after the first plane hit, but before the second one did, so he was able to relay news to my family that I was nowhere near the buildings. My then-boyfriend, now husband, still living in the UK, didn’t find out I was OK until he got to a place where he could IM me.
  

May add more as I get more time today.

Well, the day has finally come. Yes, there’s been a big build up, but it’s ending with a whimper. I’m here at the subleased office by myself, packing up the last of my stuff (including the famous goose). When I finally shuffle out the door and turn off the lights, it’ll be goodbye to ClickZ after nearly 5 years. And goodbye to daily news reporting about interactive advertising, which I started doing in 1999. (Well, I’ll be blogging, but, still…)

Instead of getting all sentimental, I’ll just keep it short and sweet. In my years at ClickZ I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the most hard working, talented journalists and columnists (not to mention all-around good people) I’ve ever met. (See their blog here.) It’s been a great experience to be associated with such a strong brand, and such an influential publication, through the years when the interactive advertising industry has seen so much innovation. There were ups, downs, and, now, the resurgence. I’ll miss them, but I’m sure ClickZ, and the team, will be just fine without me. Goodbye!

P.S. I don’t expect this blog to continue the way it’s been going the past few days (with lots of personal and FM-promotional stuff). So, if it’s not to your taste (and even if it is), stick around.

Yes, it’s true (as if you doubted it). I’m joining FM Publishing as author services manager, to work with John Battelle and his team on developing this next-generation publishing company.

Why? One of my earliest experiences in the Internet ad world was as intern/writer/ad sales person at @NY. I got the ad sales part of the job (and all the rest) courtesy of Tom Watson, who I’d met while finishing up my masters in journalism at Columbia. One of the more important things I learned (besides that I was not cut out for selling) was how difficult it was for agencies to buy ads across niche Web sites. No matter how engaged and influential their audiences, it was just plain logistically difficult to buy across all those sites. And that was 1998, before the explosion in blogs, and their accompanying engaged, influential (but niche) audiences. That’s one of the issues FM is looking to address.

Why else? I’ve spent the years since that experience thinking and writing about interactive advertising, watching the boom, the flameout and the subsequent rise. Joining FM is an opportunity for me to apply everything I’ve learned over the years about advertising and about managing writers. It’s also a great chance to work with brilliant, dedicated people who have a strong vision of the future of publishing. Needless to say I’m especially looking forward to getting to know the authors, many of whom I feel I know already through reading their compelling writing. I’m really eager to start helping them realize their dreams for their sites.

One of the things I had to really look at when considering this opportunity was whether I’d miss writing. I’ve helped with writing news and authored a bi-weekly column since 2001. I looked back recently over the archives of what I’ve written for ClickZ, and the sheer volume is amazing. Thankfully, FM, as you might expect, is supportive of my blogging, so I’ll have The River as an outlet for my musings. Not sure exactly how often I’ll be posting or what shape it’ll take, but give me time to get my feet wet and together we’ll see what emerges. (Feedback is always welcome, of course.)

I’m still at ClickZ for the next week. Then I’ll take a whole day (!) off to do yoga and nap (or something equally relaxing), and I start at FM on August 1. To all you FM authors out there, I look forward to working with you!

I’m in NYC for the next couple of days, culimnating in ClickZ’s inaugural Online Video Advertising Forum on Friday. I’m really looking forward to the show. It’s the first new standalone event we’ve launched under the ClickZ brand since being acquired by Incisive Media, and it’s looking like attendance is going to be excellent. I’ve already run into Gary Stein on the plane on the way over, and I’m looking forward to catching up with more folks while I’m on the road.

BTW, I’m moderating the “Publisher Perspectives” panel Friday afternoon.

So, apparently it rained 25 days out of 31 in March. And now it’s rained every day in April, thus far. So, one of my office neighbors looked at a 10-day forecast, hoping to cheer himself up with the prospect of sun in the future. But nope. The best that’s predicted is partly cloudy.

Y’know how I said I was hoping the INS (USCIS) would do something to change my perception of its brand? Well it did… somewhat. My husband finally got approval of his application to become a permanent resident of the U.S. That means he’s getting his green card! Yippee! And it only took 3.5 years, give or take a month.

A personal request to TiVo owners out there. Our Replay TV unit is on the blink. We will probably have to send it in to be serviced, to the tune of $120 plus shipping. Alternatively, we could buy a TiVo box, for around $50, and pay for lifetime service for $299. Any helpful hints on making a decision?

Some factors: We have one of the old-timey ReplayTV units that automatically fast-forwards over commercials, which is fantastic. But it’s also been around for a few years so we don’t know what part is going to go out next. I keep hearing people rave about TiVos. Are they that great? Has anyone really had the chance to compare between the various DVR options? Please advise in the comments.

UPDATE: Thanks, MegaZone, for the great comments. We’ve taken the plunge and ordered a TiVo on Amazon. What put us over the edge? Comments like MegaZone’s, laziness about packing something up and sending it back, plus the desire to experience some of the innovation TiVo seems to be pioneering. (Media playing features, TiVo to Go, etc.) Also look forward to checking out some of the ad-related experiments on the new device. They say it’ll be here Monday but I’m rooting for an early UPS delivery (too optimistic?) so we can play with it over the weekend.

UPDATE2: May I just say how thrilled I am with UPS and Amazon Prime? Ordered the TiVo yesterday — with the regular, free shipping option. UPS tracking says it’s now “out for delivery.” It’s pathetic how excited I am.