Why subscribe?
I’m Bob Sullivan. I’ve spent the past three decades trying to make sense out of technology, money, and journalism. I’ve written five books and spent nearly two decades writing about broken technology, cybercrime and corporate ripoffs at MSNBC.com. Journalism, democracy, and even the notion of “facts” now face an existential crisis; I believe independent journalists will be one key to getting us out of this hole we’ve dug ourselves into. I believe it so much that a left my safe perch at a big media company to set out my own shingle seven years ago. I love it out here, but it’s not easy. Your support can help me help you keep companies honest, call out misbehavior, and help untangle the unintended consequences of technology. It will also help me get rid of annoying advertising. Subscribers get ad-free, exclusive and early access to several news stories each week; early access to podcasts. and ad-free access to my archive, with 1,000s of posts.
You can learn more about me at BobSullivan.net/about. Also: Why the Gotcha logo?
My interests are wide and deep, but they all revolve around what I think of as digital red tape. They include:
Cybersecurity, computer hacking, corporate espionage, viruses, etc. I co-host the podcast Breach, about history's biggest hacks. It has spent time in the top 100 podcasts.
The intersection of technology, policy and law. The Red Tape Chronicles and "So, Bob?" podcasts cover the unintended consequences of technology.
Behavioral economics, particularly how cognitive biases "trick" consumers into making bad choices. Here is a collection of 30 essays I wrote for PeopleScience.com on specific biases. This is also the subject of his book The Plateau Effect.
Identity theft and fraud (I wrote one of the first books on ID theft, Your Evil Twin)
Consumer protection and 'gotchas' (Gotcha Capitalism and Stop Getting Ripped off were both NYTimes best-sellers
America's 'Restless' problem, including Overwork and other unintended consequences of technology
I’d love your support, but I really want you to read and share.
When I left MSNBC.com, my biggest fear was not that’d lose my steady salary — that was a big fear — but I worried most that I’d lose my platform for having impact. Companies only react to stories I do because they know I have a sizable audience. So please don’t let my subscription wall be an obstacle. If there’s a story you really want to see, contact me. If you are a student or a journalist or just a person who really likes my stories but can’t pay, we can work that out.
Thank you for considering.
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