Anyone who thinks personal content on the Web only means Britney Spears fan pages and other GeoCities fodder had better listen up.
Meet Derek Powazek, writer, designer, photographer and creator of The Fray, a 3-year-old online and sometimes offline coffeehouse that features highly confessional accounts of universal subjects like fear of commitment, friendship, sex, and family.
Although Powazek laughs at being called a "New Media Renaissance Man," the title is fitting enough, considering the diverse talents he brings to The Fray. Each week Derek not only combs through an inbox full of submissions to find the story that meets his personal/universal criterion, but he lovingly gives each piece its own unique look-and-feel and tends to the site's active reader response areas.
Powazek's efforts on The Fray are considerable and, on the surface, confounding: They prevent him from holding down a full-time job yet he has rejected countless solicitations from advertisers.
Why does it do it? Why does he spend 20 to 30 hours per week on a site that makes him no money? Powazek explains his motivations in the and also talks about how the current e-commerce craze makes personal content on the Web even more important than ever.
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Hear Derek Powazek discuss: 2. Passion How indulging one's passion disqualifies a person from full-time work.
listen3. "The Fray"
Editorial policy and meaning of the term "Fray."
listen4. Hype
The Web's "hype point" as a rapidly moving target.
listen5. Censorware
The Fray's run in with a popular Censorware product.
listen6. Fame without Fortune
Living with fame but not fortune.
listen7. Rock stars
"Most Web designers secretly want to be Rock Stars."
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