Rusty Foster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Computer programmer
- media critic
Rusty Foster | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 1976 (age 48) |
| Education | College of William & Mary[a] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Spouse |
Christina Fischer (m. 2000) |
| Children | 3 |
Rusty Foster (born July 1976) is an American media critic and programmer. He has been described as "something of a Zelig-like figure in internet history, popping up in key roles at various stages in the web’s development."[1] He is the author of Today in Tabs, the founder of Kuro5hin, and the creator of Scoop, a collaborative media application used by several websites. He also helped develop Scripto, the screenwriting software company founded by Stephen Colbert.[2]
In 2013, his Facebook account was subject to a "prank" reporting him dead, drawing the attention of several major news outlets.[3][4][5] Since 2013, Foster has written occasionally for The New Yorker magazine.[6]
Foster was born in July 1976.[7][1] His father, Lawrence Foster, was a franchise developer for Dunkin' Donuts.[1] He grew up in Plymouth, Massachusetts,[7] and spent summers at his grandparents' cottage on Peaks Island, Maine.[1] Foster graduated from Falmouth Academy in 1994.[8] He enrolled at the College of William & Mary, where he studied physics and film studies before dropping out his senior year.[7] He learned HTML and moved to Washington D.C., where he worked for government agencies.[7]
Kuro5hin
Today in Tabs
Foster writes a news media and Internet culture newsletter called Today in Tabs.[7] Its first iteration, which ran from 2013 to 2016, was syndicated on Fastcolabs and Newsweek and had about 12,000 subscribers.[10][11]
He restarted the newsletter in 2021 on Substack, with a Discord server for subscribers.[12][13][14][15] In 2024, Foster moved the newsletter to Beehiiv,[16] citing Substack's willingness to host extremist speech, including Nazis.
Personal life
While a student at William & Mary, Foster met Christina Fischer, a history major. They married and moved to San Francisco in 2000.[1] In 2001, they moved to Peaks Island, where they live with their three children.[1]