To be is to Buzz

Firefighter, biker bar employee, recipient-of-sword-from-a-king, editor and writer, Isaac Fitzgerald has had a colourful life. When Buzzfeed, one of the best sources of 'interesting' content on the web – launched its 'Books' section only last year, they got Fitzgerald, co-owner of The Rumpus and founder of Pen & Ink – to helm it. The lively, bearded man took to the main stage of Hay on Day 2 in a more stand-up-comedian gusto than literary-festival-session for “Top 10 Buzzes of the Year”, and in a fast-paced hour, spoke how the World Wide Web has been buzzing on the literary front.

“Writing is a form of conversation,” Fitzgerald gave away probably one of the biggest trade secrets to producing reader-engaging writing at the very beginning. “And the incredible thing about the internet is that it has unending space – any idea you have, anything you create, you can publish it there, most often for free.” Buzzfeed began in 2006 trying to figure out why people share things online, and to bring audiences to the site, and give them content they wanted to share. But then it developed from being a source of just funny images and jokes, to in-depth and highly informative material. “Serious, fun and smart – does not necessarily have to be separate,” exclaimed Fitzgerald.

He also spoke about reading trends, pointing out that in the US, a major survey found that people under 30 are reading more than their counterpart age group. And also, reading and writing both have evolved to fit this expanding readership – a result of which was the launch of Buzzfeed Books, and its success. Fitzgerald also observed that printed books were not dying out because of electronic reading material, and that their appeal are different, further arguing that e-books have made reading easier by making it portable and contributed in growth of reading habits.

“People share items online for two reasons – either it says something about them, or it says something about their friends,” Fitzgerald said, adding that it's why lists have proven immensely successful for Buzzfeed to drive audiences to the site. But quizzes, book suggestions based on readers' reading preferences and in-depth personal essay series were also doing the trick, he said, along with bridging books and films: “Read the following books before the movies come out” has proved successful, Fitzgerald added.