Internet: 2015

The theory always went that BuzzFeed couldn't be all cat GIFs, because it would very quickly wear out its welcome. But that theory was wrong in one crucial aspect — with the rise of social media, a site's brand identity is a little less important with every year. Gawker is important to those of us in the media because it's Gawker, with its strong institutional voice. But to someone not entrenched in the world of the media (which is the vast majority of everybody), it's just another Facebook content provider. Social media has, essentially, turned every content provider into a syndicator.