Until recently he was president and creative director of [http://www.advance.net Advance.net], the online arm of Advance Publications, where he developed the children's educational site "Yuckiest Site on the Internet" with Susan Mernit. Jarvis currently consults for [http://www.advance.net Advance.net]. He has also consulted for the New York Times Company at About.com, where he worked on content development and strategy. In 2006 he became an associate professor at City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism, directing its new media program.[http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2005/09/12/in-the-academe/] He has a fortnightly column in the MediaGuardian supplement of the British newspaper The Guardian.

In 1974 Jarvis was an undergraduate at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University when he was hired by the Chicago Tribune. Jarvis first began his career in journalism writing for the Addison Herald-Register, a weekly newspaper, in 1972.

Jarvis is also the creator of the popular weblog BuzzMachine, which tracks developments in new media and chronicles some of the author's personal obsessions, such as the fortunes of radio host Howard Stern. He gained national notoriety when he wrote about his negative experiences in dealing with Dell Computer's customer support system on the website.

Jarvis describes himself as "a liberal: a centrist leaning left," claiming to have voted for Democrats in most elections. Nonetheless, he notes that he upsets some Democrats for not always agreeing with them and for linking to those with whom they disagree. Jarvis says that is why he likes the blogosphere so much: because it allows him to talk with people whose opinions don't align with his views. [http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/about-me/] Jarvis also describes himself as "a post-9/11 hawk, having survived the attacks on the World Trade Center."