Gossip Geek Gains Ground

Harvard’s got its own “Gossip Girl” and, appropriately enough, she’s a geek.

The title character of the popular TV show claims to be the “one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite,” and a new Web site, “Gossip Geek,” is trying to play the same role for the College’s social elite.

The blog, which launched during finals period, is drawing ire in some student circles and laughs in others, as Harvard becomes yet another campus roiled by online innuendo in recent months.

The authors of the site, who purport to “blush crimson for the stars,” post short blurbs on what they claim are the exploits of “campus celebrities,” including Undergraduate Council President Matthew L. Sundquist ’09 (he “used to have neon yellow hair,” the site explains), and sex blogger Lena Chen ’09.

The posts are often accompanied by grainy, practically inscrutable cell phone photographs, and most contain information that is provably false, and often wholly ridiculous—for example, a recent post claimed VES and Physics concentrator Lewis Z. Liu ’08 would be trading one of his paintings with British billionaire Richard Branson for a ride on Virgin Galactic’s first spaceflight.

The authors also like to play fast and loose with names, final club affiliations, and other easily-confirmed facts.

While many of the “celebrities” on the site see the postings as innocuous—“It’s just fun and games at this point,” Liu said—others are less pleased.

“I think it is stupid. The Internet has given writers tremendous freedom about what they can publish and the number of people that they can reach,” said Christopher B. Lacaria ’09, publisher of the Harvard Salient and a former “celebrity” on the site’s “most wanted” list, in an e-mailed statement. “Some people, it seems, have used this freedom very irresponsibly.”

(Lacaria is also a Crimson editorial writer this semester.)

Despite the negative attention—or perhaps because of it—the site’s popularity is growing, with over 15,000 hits so far and between 500-1000 hits a day, the authors said in an e-mail.

The numbers appear to indicate, as the site’s authors said, that “there seems to be quite a large void at Harvard where publications about students should be.” Gossip Geek, they said, is filling that void.

Still, the authors have thus far steadfastly refused to identity themselves.

“Our anonymity is integral to the quality of our craft,” they wrote in an e-mail. “Thus, it is impossible for us to talk to you via telephone, as we do not have the technology to conceal our voices.”

‘RETARDED’ OR ‘GENIUS’?

Most of the “celebrities” who appear on the site take a cavalier attitude toward their newfound exposure.

“They say only nice things [about me], so at this point, whoever it is, I hope I don’t say the wrong thing around them,” said Derek M. Flanzraich ’10, a former member of the site’s “most wanted” list for being a “sex symbol.” “I think that anyone who takes it seriously is kidding themselves.”

UC Representative Andrea R. Flores ’10, featured in the “most wanted” list for being “kinda awesome,” said she found her presence on the site “weird,” but was mostly unconcerned about invasion of her privacy.

“As long as they don’t say anything false about me, I’m okay,” she said. “I think its a funny site...it makes the UC look silly.”

The Gossip Geeks themselves said most of the feedback they have received has been positive, and that they have built a network of “dozens of tipsters” contributing to the site.

“We’ve gotten the entire spectrum [of feedback], from ‘this is retarded’ to ‘this is genius,’” they said. “We get lots of great e-mails, too, from students telling us how much they look forward to our new posts. And there’s, of course, people who love the blog because it says nice things about them.”

Some “celebrities” are simply apathetic: Sundquist said he had only looked at it when his roommate showed it to him, and does not check it regularly.

‘BAD FOR THE COMMUNITY’

As might be expected, the blog has also angered students and administrators for its somewhat relaxed attitude toward the truth.

While the site’s creators claim that “everything we publish is 100% true,” many of the students mentioned on the site argue otherwise.

“I think its charm is that literally nothing on the site is true,” Flanzraich said.

Several of the students mentioned on the site have contacted administrators regarding potential recourse against the bloggers, said one student featured on the site. The student asked to remain anonymous to avoid provoking greater attention from the bloggers.

According to the student, acting Dean of the College David R. Pilbeam said the administration is “making efforts” to protect students from the site.

Secretary of the Administrative Board Jay L. Ellison has recommended that those affected file a police report with Harvard University Police Department in order to expedite administrative response.

“I think these [blogs] are bad, and bad for the community,” said Ellison in an e-mailed statement. “Indeed, even if what is said is true there is never enough context in these type of things to fully understand what happened.”

Jonathan L. Zittrain, a visiting professor at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, said that the law is murky regarding online blogging and photo posting.

“Fabrications that hurt someone’s reputation are technically actionable—the victim could sue for defamation,” he said. “But again, that’s an awfully cumbersome process and possibly Pyrrhic victory that may not do much to ameliorate the original harm.”

The bloggers themselves seem unconcerned, even amused about the possibility of action against them.

“Everyone wants to have their picture taken, so we don’t consider consent an issue. Same applies to blogging,” they said.

‘A CRY FOR ATTENTION’

The identity of the Gossip Geeks remains unconfirmed, but some have speculated that the blog’s Quad-focused coverage is a telling clue.

“It’s straight out of Currier,” said Flores, a resident of the House.

The blog also seems strangely centered on UC representatives who rarely make large splashes in Harvard’s social scene.

The bloggers say no one has come close to revealing them.

“There is some consensus as to who is behind the blog, but, fortunately for us, it’s been way off base,” they said.

Lacaria didn’t hazard a guess as to the identity of the Gossip Geeks, but did speculate as to their motivation.

“This is obviously a cry for attention. Harvard has many inflated egos that constantly need to be reaffirmed and coddled,” he said. “And when some of them feel like they are not getting the recognition they think they deserve, stunts like these become more common.”

—Staff writer Maxwell L. Child can be reached at mchild@fas.harvard.edu.