Baltimore native Ben Rosen, 26, serves as ad operations coordinator at online media juggernaut Gawker Media,whose eight websites combined — Gawker, Jezebel, Deadspin, Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Jalopnik, Kotaku, and io9 — get more monthly views than The New York Times. Rosen, also a dedicated standup comic (he was voted Baltimore Comedy Factory’s Funniest Person of 2010), graduated from the Park School in 2004, and later the College of Charleston with a business administration degree and a concentration in entrepreneurship. He now calls Williamsburg, Brooklyn, home.

At Gawker Media, Rosen works with two more Baltimoreans — look for their profiles later this summer in our series, Baltimore Boys of Gawker Media.

I talked to the funny young businessman about his work life, his standup life, the future of social media, and his all-important Baltimore roots.

What is your dream job title?

Standup comic/astronaut.

Down the line, is the progression of social media going to make us better social animals, more connected, communicative and compassionate, worse…or both?

It depends on what you mean by better. We’re able to share more of our lives with more people, but it’s no question that the art of conversation is dying. Drinks with friends in a biergarten will always trump lonely Facebook scrolling in a dark room. Still, you can’t pin the end of the human race solely on social technology. I blame the parents, the Republican Party, and Rick Astley’s dance moves.