Stacy Horn
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Stacy Horn (born June 3, 1956 in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
) is an American author, businesswoman and occasional journalist. She grew up on
Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
and received a B.F.A. from
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. She received a graduate degree from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
's Interactive Telecommunications Program. In 1990, after working as a telecommunications analyst for
Mobil Corporation Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the largest direct successor of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the modern company was formed ...
, Horn founded Echo, a New York-based
bulletin board system A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running list of BBS software, software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user perfor ...
.


EchoNYC

Stacy Horn founded EchoNYC or Echo, a New York City Internet salon, in 1990, whose members are called Echoids and go by their real names rather than a
UserName A user is a person who uses a computer or Computer network, network Service (systems architecture), service. A user often has a user account and is identified to the system by a username (or user name). Some software products provide serv ...
.
The WELL The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL or The Well, is a virtual community founded in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of 12, and gross annu ...
, one of the oldest
virtual communities A virtual community is a social network of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual commu ...
in continuous operation, was an influence. Horn later decided that Echo stood for "East Coast Hang Out". Horn saw the Echo
bulletin board system A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running list of BBS software, software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user perfor ...
as a place where conversation could revolve around literature, film, culture, and sex, rather than the more pervasive topics of computer technology at the time. Originally run out of Horn's apartment in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
in her spare time, Echo rapidly expanded its membership, and eventually consumed every free phone line in her Greenwich Village neighborhood, requiring New York Telephone to run a separate cable to Horn's apartment. In 1990, Echo became a company with a core group of members chosen by Horn for their "strong on-line personalities", who were responsible for creating enticing discussions to attract users. She donated twenty years worth of Echo's archives to the
New York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...
.


Books

Her first book, ''Cyberville: Clicks, Culture and the Creation of an Online Town'' (Warner Books, 1998), describes the community that formed on Echo, the problems Horn encountered as Echo's final authority, and her observations about the nature of the virtual world. Through the 90s, she was often profiled and quoted in articles about life and business on the internet. Her book is still used in courses on the sociology of virtual communities. The publication of her second book, ''Waiting For My Cats to Die: A Morbid Memoir'' (St. Martin's Press, 2001), a memoir about her midlife crisis, revealing an unusual fascination with death, coincided with a series of commentaries for the NPR's All Things Considered on the same subject. Her third book, ''The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad'' (Viking, 2005), recounts the stories of four of New York's cold cases and profiles the detectives who investigate them. Her fourth book, ''Unbelievable: Investigations into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena, from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory'', was published in 2009. Her fifth book is about singing. It is titled ''Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing With Others'', and it was published by Algonquin Books in 2013. Her sixth book, titled ''Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York'', is about
Blackwell's Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, with an area of , and had a ...
and was also published by Algonquin Books in May, 2018. Her seventh book, ''The Killing Fields of East New York: The First Subprime Mortgage Scandal, a White-Collar Crime Spree, and the Collapse of an American Neighborhood'', uses the history of East New York, Brooklyn, to explore the connection between white collar crime and the destruction of neighborhoods of color across America. It was published by Gillian Flynn Books and Zando Projects in January, 2025.


Selected bibliography

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References


External links


Stacy Horn's Official Website

Stacy Horn's Restless Sleep Blog
– A resource for cold case investigation.
Echo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horn, Stacy 1956 births Living people Internet pioneers Women Internet pioneers Writers from New York City American non-fiction crime writers American women in business American women founders 21st-century American women