Jobs: Ilya Dyer, publisher of the online media Meduza

Career Elijah Dyer has developed quite interesting. At 21, he became the chief editor of the magazine "Bill", then moved to Riga, where he publishes online media "Jellyfish». We met with Ilya in Kharkov, in a creative space SpalahWhich he attended a presentation on how to create a "Medusa".

- What does the publisher of the online media?

- Published in the online media has been all but wording. Editorial content is engaged, and the publisher - the channels through which the content reaches the reader. This includes marketing, development platforms and design. Plus all this should make money.

- So you combined the duties of Technical Director, Marketing Director and other?

- Not. We have a technical director, art director, commercial director. Nevertheless, there is a product that is out of all this is going.

- I have a very emotional issue. How did you become the editor in chief in '22 "posters»?

- AT 21. How did you - does not matter to me, but to Ilya Tsentsiper (founder of the magazine "Bill".

- Note. ed.),which I have appointed the chief editor and seems to was horrified by what he had done. He was going to fire me, but I myself was going to leave, but did not, because Tsentsiper fired. I then even tried several times to slip away, but to no avail. I just did not understand what kind of work and how to do it. The first two years were painful. You until you feel that you do not grope first success, not you begin to understand the people with whom you do it, you will hang like shit in the hole.

- You have come to the editor?

- I came as an editor at a salary of 10,000 rubles to launch a new website, "Afisha", it was going to happen in two weeks, as happened in nine months. During this time, I have several times - again - I wanted to leave because nothing happened. But then I met with Tsentsiper - and the madness began.

I either three, or four positions in the "Bill" was replaced in less than a year. And it was all a lot of fun (at least to me), as I have not actually became editor in chief. Because you somehow think you're terribly steep that 21 years was the main editor. But all around believe exactly the opposite: "What is this shit in '21 was appointed chief editor?" Well, to prove all that shit you not, when you have no idea how to do it - is rather difficult operation.

- It turns out the first two years you were by shit?

- Full. (Laughs.)

- Can you tell us about the devices that are using in your work?

- I use only MacBook and iPhone.

- As for the applications and services?

— Slack, Trello, Dropbox, Telegram, Meduza, Skype, which I hate, Facebook and, of course, Gmail. This is a basic, everything else is secondary.

- Do you work in the office?

- I work in the office, well, plus the house, in the toilet, in bed. In short, you understand. But at least once a month I go to Moscow - where the sales department, where the designers, there is a lot of cases. Plus all the time to wind somewhere. Always I wanted to travel a lot, but I can not imagine that I would be all the time to travel to Moscow. As soon as I start to not work out of the office, getting awfully nervous. Rings bunch of messengers, messages come to Facebook, Slack and the post office - all this is happening at the same time incredibly annoying.

- And what are you doing in the road, flights, traffic jams?

- Unfortunately, I sit in Facebook, Slack and Telegram, in the mail. We have to admit, mainly to Facebook.

- Speaking of mail. When I was looking for ways to contact you, and could not find the email. You use it only for business questions?

- No, do not open e-mail, it can be found on the Internet.

- I was unable to and had to write in the "Other" on Facebook and wait for a response. I thought, do not wait: all the same 200 thousand subscribers.

- To this figure should not be taken seriously. Most of them - is the Arab bots, came running after is not clear from the rallies in the Swamp. And since almost all (or at all) Russian Facebook users who have more than one hundred thousand subscribers.

- This is the insider! Tell me, how is your day.

- I wake up in the morning and pick up children in the kindergarten, if does not do his wife.

- And in the morning - this is how much?

- If you want to keep the children wake up at 7:40. Otvozhu children in the garden, buy a sandwich with coffee and go to work. Then I work until evening. Listen, this is a tedious tale. The more so because I am now living in Riga, and there are not that many ways to distract from the work.

- Can you tell us about education? You do it once in handy?

- I do not have it as such. The first course I studied at the Institute of Linguistics at the Russian State Humanitarian University Department of Artificial Intelligence. There has been a lot of programming. I knew I wanted to be neither a programmer nor a mathematician, although programming is like, and the only thing that interests me - it's history. He transferred after the first course with an academic difference in the form of all subjects except physical education, he studied for a year and then went to work in the "Poster".

After that, everything was strange and "uryvisto". As a result, I was expelled from the fifth year. Handy if something out of this? Maybe yes. This is an important moment in social life, and there were some things that were taught structuring thoughts. But my education was extremely fragmented. And, in general, my real education was "Bill". And now the "Medusa." So I can not say that my education ended. Absolutely not.

- And why you were expelled from the fifth year?

- I just did not come to take the session.

- From the perspective of knowledge the university has given nothing?

- From the perspective of knowledge - I was a historian specializing in Russian history and was going to write a diploma at the Germans in Russia. None of this, I did not, so to speak of a fairly sophisticated knowledge. And all the knowledge related to my profession, I got to practice. Not sure you can get them any other way.

- Since we are talking about education, tell me what books to read.

- You know, when I break the Kindle, completely stop reading - and now I'm just in this situation. A week later, coming from America New, will tell you that.

- Most read in Russian or English?

- In Russian. English only articles.

- And what about your favorite websites, books, magazines?

- I read almost everything via Facebook tape, plus "Medusa"There are a lot of channels in Slack and people who look after them. They monitor source, and all the professional information appears there. But first of all - it's Facebook Feed.

Magazines I stopped reading altogether. Is that on the plane. For me, this genre is dead.

- That is no favorite books?

- Of course have. At the moment it 'Arzamas"And"Pantserzin». "Arzamas" made my friends, but I love it not only for that. I really think it's cool. Not to say that I was there watching everything, but I can go there specifically to relax. A "Pantserzin" - it's just a space. Roma Volobuev tells stories about the Nazis. What could be better? As regards other publications, I was more interested in how they are made in product and they can like me, but that does not mean that I read them daily.

- Then, perhaps, Esquire?

- Well, it is better to start with the US. like Quartz, Vox and BuzzFeed. Like because the cool done. With Russian harder.

- Let's get back to work. You say that a lot is not enough time. You use time management?

- Not. I try to keep everything in your head. All I forget, but in another way I can not.

- Enough time for sports?

- Here the question is not the time and willpower, which is completely absent.

- Sports "no"?

- I honestly tried, but failed.

- A hobby?

- Poker. By the way, can be called a sport.

- By the way, yes. And there are achievements?

- Well, I once won a tournament editors, it is not being able to, however, to play - to me there two or three times two aces came. Won and went to Monaco to play. Without any further success, of course. But then we started to play regularly a small company - and five years already playing. Though I, once again, is now live in Riga, so they often do not come out to play. But in Riga have a great casino, where you can go and play a game of poker. In general, poker, soap operas and a little football on the Xbox.

- What are your favorite TV shows?

- Of those that go, "Game of Thrones", "Correct wife", "True Detective". Everything else is thrown.

- "House of cards"?

- Scored on this season, there are so monstrously Russian line went, I cut down a series of furious and no longer included.

- I have a few brief questions. Can you name three favorite books?

- I hate these questions. «modifications"Jonathan Franzen"what a Carve Up"Jonathan Coe"Spy, come from cold"John Le Carre. But in general, this is a question that can not be answered properly.

- A favorite singers?

- Morrissey (Steven Morrissey, founder of The Smiths.- Note. ed.)Group Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the band Belle and Sebastian. Or Sparks, I do not know. Something I recently switched to Spotify playlists.

- And a couple of activities that help to relax and get away.

- Go to the Sanduny, drink, or better yet - get in the car and go somewhere for 2000 kilometers.

For assistance in the interview thank the Creative space Spalah.