Jay Caspian Kang

I think the people at reddit are invested in making it as neutral of a platform as possible. I don't know if they've completely accomplished that task or if that was always their mission, but from my time there and my interviews, I think they want to believe that reddit is like twitter. The one thing I kept hearing, in reference to ViolentAcrez (http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web) was that twitter and facebook both have similar forums but do not have the same blowback. There are a lot of great responses to this claim, including ViolentAcrez's elevated status at reddit, but I do think on the whole, the employees at reddit want to see the entire operations as "content agnostic" Not sure if that answers the question, so if it doesn't, let me know so I can clarify further?

Yes, I believe this is true and it's one of the most frustrating parts about working for mass media companies. When they casually make fun of Asians and we're supposed to just wait for an apology and when it doesn't come, we're told to stop complaining so much. It's unbelievably frustrating and hypocritical, in my mind.

I know a lot of people are split on this -- some would argue that reddit has a unique investment in catering to the loud, vocal minority on the site (powerusers) and that they will promote things that those powerusers tend to like. I do think powerusers do have an undue influence on such a massive site, but I suppose that's true on Twitter as well. I suppose I mostly have an issue with defining reddit as one massive hive mind that follows a sometimes distasteful taskmaster. Again, I think a lot of reddit users woudl argue that redditors, in general, should be a little more responsible, but the free speech yellers tend to be the ones that yell.

In a world where James Dolan doesn't care about the luxury tax, it's fine. Don't know why they gave up draft picks, though, considering Toronto probably would have given up him for the rights to James White's dunk highlights on Youtube.

I think it came out of my own attachment to Twitter over the past few years and how I've observed other people using the platform. Also, I was as glued to all social media on the night of Watertown just like everyone else and there was a certain swell to how news was relayed that struck me as something new. Maybe not new in practice, but certainly new in volume and importance.

I hope so, although I think my next book will probably be a work of non-fiction about mass shooters.

alright guys. I gotta go walk my dog. Thanks for the questions and the time. If you want to ask any follow up questions, please do so through twitter: @jaycaspiankang.

thanks. I did write a novel about those topics, but I suppose that's not what you're asking about...

I understand why asians in the mainstream media can get a bit hesitant when it comes to "talking about race," mostly because there has never been a place for it and the last thing you want is to be pigeonholed as the guy who writes about Asian stuff whenever a magazine or newspaper or website needs "Asian stuff." When Linsanity hit, I felt a bit hesitant about being the Asian dude at ESPN who wrote about Lin and race from an Asian perspective because I thought it was a) a little weird that I was the only real option and b) because I didn't want to get stuck in that hole.

But at some point, I guess you just have to write things that effect you and as a minority in this country, there's not one thing that effects you more than your race. And so, while I understand why some people don't want to embrace "the race thing" and want to go about their careers without it being an issue, I think it's also fundamentally dishonest to do so. At some point, you have to have some faith that readers will not act like bigots and that those outlets will provide you with other opportunities.

I wrote a piece about Divas for the Awl.

http://www.theawl.com/2010/09/who-is-the-greatest-diva-of-the-last-25-years-we-offer-scientific-proof

It got passed around some and I think it was deemed that the tone was the right fit for Grantland. Honestly, I don't know the specifics, but I ended up getting an email from Bill.

I got a bit blocked on basketball this year. It was an incredible season and I found myself at a loss. Not entirely sure why, but that's the honest answer.

That's a good question -- right now, I think I'm mostly focusing on American shootings, although I'm sure all that can change. The reaction to the Brevik mass killing was certainly a lot different over in Norway...