Next Week In 'New York': "Thanks For The Add: The MySpace Story"
The cover story of this week's New York magazine - Mothers Anonymous - is a sizzling expose about the message boards of UrbanBaby.com. Well, not exactly sizzling, and not exactly an expose, unless it's news to you that some new moms get depressed and people on message boards can be mean. Apart from the fact that we were overcome by a remarkable sense of d j vu (Haven't we read this story before? In New York?) , and in spite of the piece's by-the-numbers feel (Betty Friedan? Check. Message board acronyms explained? Check. Earnest, solemn suppositions as to what it all means? Check.) we rather enjoyed it, which is unusual for us when it comes to anything in New York. And then it occurred to us why: A good quarter of the piece is direct quotes lifted from the UrbanBaby boards. Maybe the whole magazine should be written by anonymous insomniac cranks. Instead of, you know, just the features.
