Stacy Horn facts for kids

Stacy Horn, born on June 3, 1956, in Norfolk, Virginia, is an American author and businesswoman. She has also worked as a journalist.

She grew up on Long Island, New York. Stacy studied at Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, earning a B.F.A. She later received a graduate degree from New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program.

In 1990, after working as an analyst for Mobil Corporation, Stacy Horn started her own company called Echo. It was a special online system based in New York.

EchoNYC: An Early Online Community

Stacy Horn created EchoNYC, also known simply as Echo, in 1990. It was like an early online meeting place in New York City. People who joined Echo were called Echoids. They used their real names instead of made-up usernames. A very old online community called The WELL helped inspire Echo. Stacy Horn later said that Echo stood for "East Coast Hang Out."

What Was Echo About?

Stacy Horn wanted Echo to be a place for interesting conversations. She hoped people would talk about books, movies, culture, and other topics. At the time, many online discussions were mostly about computer technology. Echo was different.

How Echo Grew

Echo first started in Stacy Horn's apartment in Greenwich Village. She ran it in her free time. But it quickly became very popular, and more and more people wanted to join. Soon, Echo was using up all the available phone lines in her neighborhood! The phone company, New York Telephone, even had to install a special cable just for her apartment.

In 1990, Echo became a real company. Stacy Horn chose a main group of members who were good at starting fun discussions. These members helped attract new users to the community. Stacy Horn later gave 20 years' worth of Echo's online conversations and records to the New York Historical Society.

Stacy Horn's Books

Stacy Horn has written several books. They cover different topics, from online communities to historical events.

Cyberville: A Look at Online Life

Her first book, Cyberville: Clicks, Culture and the Creation of an Online Town, was published in 1998. This book describes the community that grew on Echo. It also shares the challenges Stacy faced as the person in charge of Echo. She also wrote about her thoughts on what it was like to live in a virtual world. Throughout the 1990s, many articles about online life and business featured Stacy Horn. Her book is still used in college classes that study online communities.

Waiting For My Cats to Die: A Personal Story

Her second book, Waiting For My Cats to Die, came out in 2001. This book is a memoir, which means it's a story about her own life experiences. Around the same time, she also shared some of these stories on NPR's All Things Considered radio show.

The Restless Sleep: Solving Old Cases

Her third book, The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad, was published in 2005. This book tells the true stories of four "cold cases" in New York City. Cold cases are crimes that were never solved. The book also describes the detectives who work hard to investigate these old cases.

Unbelievable: Exploring Unseen Phenomena

In 2009, Stacy Horn published her fourth book, Unbelievable: Investigations into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena, from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory. This book explores different mysterious events and studies done at a special laboratory.

Imperfect Harmony: The Joy of Singing

Her fifth book is all about singing! It's called Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing With Others, and it was published in 2013.

A Book About Blackwell's Island

Her sixth book, published in May 2018, is about Roosevelt Island, which was once known as Blackwell's Island. The book explores the history of this island in the 19th century.

A Book About Neighborhoods and Crime

Her seventh book, published in January 2025, explores the history of East New York, Brooklyn. It looks at how certain financial crimes can affect and damage neighborhoods, especially those with diverse populations across America.