Taylor Lorenz Sets the Record Straight in Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet

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How many journalists do you know who can simultaneously report a story and inadvertently become the story? Taylor Lorenz sits in a class by herself. As a technology journalist for The Washington Post, she doesn't just report on the latest trend but writes about topics with more significant meaning and what they say about the state of technology, media, and culture.

But as a creator and internet personality, Taylor has often become the story herself and a target by many. The backlash comes swiftly, frequently, and usually from right-wing media. Tucker Carlson's favorite pastime is bashing her every move. Fox has held entire segments around Taylor, and #TaylorLorenz is often a trending hashtag on Twitter (now X). Elon Musk has gone after her many times. The minute she publishes a story, she'll start trending, and the trolling begins. None of it is slowing Taylor down.

Taylor Lorenz has been the authority on internet culture for over a decade, documenting its far-reaching effects on all corners of our lives. In her first book, Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet, debuts this week, she presents a groundbreaking social history of the internet—revealing how online influence and the creators who amass it have reshaped our world, online and off.

"It's important to set the record straight on where the "creator economy" emerged from because, in 2021, when Silicon Valley finally woke up and was forced to take internet culture seriously because of the pandemic, there was just so much revisionist history. They were talking about how MrBeast founded the notion of productizing himself — that's just not true. Beauty vloggers were doing that back in 2012. Mommy bloggers pioneered a lot of these revenue streams, so I wanted to also talk about that. No one has written that history. I want to tell the stories that have been written out of history by Silicon Valley," says Taylor.

In this episode, Taylor and I map her journey from former aspiring fashion publicist to globally renowned journalist. We cover the state of the creator economy, how she follows trends and the future of tech, where she sees social media heading, and most importantly, setting the record straight on its birth and evolution. I am honored to be included in her book for my work as the former DKNY PR GIRL social media personality I created and was the voice of from 2009-2015.

I have loved watching Taylor's career. Fun fact: her first work experience was as a PR intern at DKNY in my department! She has an exceptional finger on the pulse of the internet and the ability to see patterns others don't. I truly admire her strength and resistance to her haters. In her new book, Extremely Online, she shares "the inside, untold story of what we have done to the internet and what it has done to us."