Marc Horowitz

http://www.ineedtostopsoon.com/

Area: Social research blogger Age: ?? Nationality: American Marc Horowitz has decided to swim against the tide of crap that is modern life. On his site ineedtostopsoon.com he sets himself missions in the name of social research, like getting his mum a date or travelling across America to see what it's like to dine with a nation of strangers. When he's not busy doing that, he posts up blogs that stick a long probe into the butt of humanity - inventing a cure for soapy shower snot; how to exact the perfect revenge against a loud motorbike; and the best way to win the Hickory Farms Beefstake Sweepstake, 23 years after it’s taken place.

More from Marc Horowitz

How has ineedtostop.com changed your life for the better?
It's very cathartic and serves as a diary. Research is a big part of my day. Some of it's pretty useless I admit, like discovering what type of fuse stays lit underwater. Then I'll find out if John DeLorean really did stuff the doors of the DMC-12 with coke. But more importantly, the site's been great exposure for me.

And for the worse?
I spend lots of time at my laptop and it overheats and makes my palms and fingers sweat, and then they get all pruney and it's kind of a turn-off. If I didn't jog daily, I would probably also have horrible 'internet butt'.

What did you learn from dining with strangers?
Forget what I learned - talk to strangers. That was, by far, my favourite project.

How many hits do you get?
Normally, between 10 and 15k daily. It's slightly less on the weekends when people aren't at work, which leads me to believe I'm generally bookmarked under 'Waste of Company Time'.

Is being popular important to you?
Totally, I'm an only child. For those of you that don't know, 'only children' usually like to be the centre of attention, call my Mum, she'll tell you.

When did this become a job instead of a hobby? Or has it?
I love the word hobby! It reminds me of hobnobbing, which is just as exciting. Can I say my site is a hobjobby?

What do you think of celeb bloggers?
I don't look at many celebrity blogs because they mostly bore me, but I like David Byrne's journal and David Lynch's daily report. I stay away from David Blaine's blog though, he falls in the zit category.

You love ideas. Give us a free one.
Have a mudperson host a talk show. When the season is done, hose down the mudperson and either have nothing behind the mudperson (he disintegrates) or have P.M. Dawn surface (Prince Be sitting on top of Jarrett's shoulders).

How do you see the net transforming over the next decade?
We will wear an eye patch like in Spies Like Us, but rather than having all the test answers on the inside, we'll have the internet right there. So we'll all look like a bunch of pirates. Or maybe Rupert Murdoch will buy it (the internet). Maybe both.

What are your favourite websites?
I look at nastynets.com, boingboing.net, fark.com, superdeluxe.com.

Interview by Tim Noakes