duckface
SPRING 2012 volume 1.0
GENERATION TECH technology through the ages
app attack #mompreneurs#mompremuer social media siren specializes in mommy marketing
The Complete guide to online dating
Digital Reality
drawing the line between photography and fantasy
social media, stilettos and skynet
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN TAMPONS AND TECHNOLOGY
HELLO
. d e pir
my name is
Be s Pi n
Introducing
129 followers 282 followin g acks required.
no thumbt , rd a bo in p e th of on ti the reinven
It’s time to toss your craft scissors, outdated magazines and Polaroid pictures away. Pinterest takes your traditional pinboard online by helping you share whatever you find beautiful, wherever you go. Upload photos through the Pinterest web page or on-the-go with the iPhone app so that your fellow pinners can like, comment or re-pin your favourite finds. Pinterested? Start sharing your chic couture, exquisite architecture and delectable desserts by creating an account on Pinterest.com.
What are you waiting for? Let’s get pinning. Photos by Jackie Doming
get started on
Pinterest.com
WHAT THE DUCK? W
e would like to welcome you to duckface Magazine, the ducking coolest new tech magazine for chicks, err ducks. Congratulations on picking up or downloading a copy. You’ve already taken the first step to starting the duckface revolution. We started duckface after noticing that tech magazines currently on the market are, for lack of a better word, ducking awful. They’re mostly geared towards guys, are cluttered, ugly, and written like a computer manual. Ducking stupid! We know that girls are living, learning, and changing online. We know that the broads are holding it down on their computers or smartphones, be it through blogs or social media, and that they needed to be represented on the newsstands. We chose the name duckface because of the stigma it represents: the trashy girl, pouting her lips for her profile picture, attempting to attract e-attention in all the wrong ways. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. The duckface pose is fraught with the stereotypical bias that girls only use technology for vapid, unsophisticated reasons. We want to reclaim the pose and reinvent what it means. We want the duckface pose to represent the kick ass chicks that are changing the world, one tweet, blog post, status update, or website at a time. We want it to be a symbol of our magazine, the awesome women it represents, and the exciting ways that girls are using and rocking online portals in totally innovative ways. duckface Magazine will offer you the latest gadgets, social media tips, blogger profiles, tech fashion, all with a side of snark. So go on, pose duckface and tweet it our way (@duckfacemag), because it’s no longer a symbol of total online lady suckage. It now stands for this ducking awesome magazine and the chicks that are changing the online world.
XOXO,duckface
Photos by Jerry Grajewski
Jackie Doming - The social media maven of the editorial team, Jackie eats, sleeps, and breathes technology. Jackie’s best memory of putting together the inaugural issue of duckface is executing the “Find Ruby” contest on duckface’s Twitter page (@duckfacemag).
Katherine Dow - As the fashion-interested journalist of the editorial team, Katherine devotes her life to eliminating tapered jeans from newsrooms everywhere. Katherine’s favourite memory of putting together duckface’s first issue was filtering her online dating inbox.
Terry Proveda - As duckface’s hunky dose of testosterone, Terry also serves as the magazine’s in-house photographer. Terry’s favourite memory of putting together this issue was shooting the fashion spread “Generation Tech.”
Corinne Rikkelman - Snarky, sarcastic, and online savvy, Corinne has graphic design and layout skills to boot. Corinne’s favourite duckface memory is working with talented people with senses of humour.
/THREE
Photo by Terry Proveda
WHAT'S INSIDE
3 7 8 11 14 16 26
/ TABLE OF CONTENTS
7
TECH HORROR STORIES
8
11
DIGITAL REALITY
14
#MOMPRENEURS
16
GENERATION TECH
24
HOT OR NOT
26
APP ATTACK
28
GOODBYE TO YOU
3
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO ONLINE DATING
NO DICKS ALLOWED
The edgiest tech magazine...for women duckface Magazine brings you the hottest tech tips for chicks. After only one issue your Twitter will be blowing up, and you’ll understand the ins and outs of the tech world. So bust out that smartphone, open your laptop, set up your tablet, and get ready. Oh yeah, NO DICKS ALLOWED.
Photo by Terry Proveda
duckface
magazine
JACKIE DOMING jackie@duckface.ca
KATHERINE DOW katherine@duckface.ca
TERRY PROVEDA terry@duckface.ca
CORINNE RIKKELMAN
Photo by Terry Proveda
TECH HORROR STORIES
corinne@duckface.ca
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: JACKIE DOMING KATHERINE DOW JERRY GRAJEWSKI TERRY PROVEDA FOURANDSIX.COM ART BY: CORINNE RIKKELMAN SPECIAL THANKS: LANA BELTON CAKEOLOGY NICOLE CARRINGTON ERICA GLASIER SAMANTHA HILL JENNY-LYNN LASCANO BURKE LIBBEY KAITLIN MARTENS CLARK MOELLER MONDRAGON SUSIE PARKER MEGHAN TOOLEY VANTAGE LOUNGE LINDSEY WIEBE KATY WINTERFLOOD SHAYNA WIWIERSKI SARAH ZAHARIA THE LOVELY CHAPS ON POF.COM
Thanks to everybody who saw the vision behind the lipstick. We duckin’ love you.
“So one night I decided to walk home from the bar. I won’t lie, I got lost. Long story short, I woke up in a stranger’s garage. I got up early enough to get out without them noticing and was super embarrassed and thankful I didn’t end up getting arrested for trespassing. I realized I had lost my cellphone and thought I lost it in the garage. Later that night a friend and I had to break into the garage AGAIN to see if we could find it. Turns out it was in my friend’s car. I’m not signing my name to this. I’m dumb, but I’m not that dumb.” on_the_lam54 “My best friend Kate was dating this guy Tom that me and our entire group of friends thought was kind of lazy and didn’t treat her the best. One day, our group of friends had plans to go to lunch. We were all texting each other at the same time about plans, and Kate told me she couldn’t go anymore because she had to pick Tom up from work. Thinking I was texting someone else, I accidentally texted Kate saying ‘sounds like Kate’s going to have to bail, cause she has to pick up that deadbeat first’. Kate didn’t speak to me for months.” e-foot_in_e-mouth27
“My friends and I were goofing off after having a few glasses of wine one night, and decided to set up profiles on Plentyoffish. I thought nothing of it until the next morning, that was, until I opened up my laptop. I had 10 new inbox messages – that surprisingly weren’t spam. Now, I’m not really into online dating, but I thought – hell, I’d give it a go. The account was already up and running. So I started talking to this guy named Pat. His profile described him as a 5’9” brunette with a passion for ice fishing. Although his profile wasn’t quite enticing, I started chatting with him and he turned out to be a really sweet guy. After a little getting to know each other, we decided to meet for our first official date. We met as Bistro 7 ¼ for an early dinner. I was already seated at our reserved table, and suddenly a man, about 5’4” and pudgy, approached me. A horrifying realization dawned on me. This stranger was Pat. It just goes to show that you can’t completely rely on online profiles to give you all the deets. His sure was inaccurate, but I guess the ice fishing part could’ve been true. He sure smelled like it.” ihatefishing69
duckface.ca @duckfacemag duckface@duckface.ca
/SEVEN
The
Complete T Guide O
Online
Y
Dating
ou’ve heard a million horror stories, and about a handful of success stories. But despite the hype, you’re venturing into online dating. Fear not, reluctant e-fisherman. The cyber gods have sent this eager journalist to aid you in your quest for an online connection. No matter what your desired outcome, be it a casual fling or a lasting relationship, follow these steps, tried and true by e-warriors for love. And who knows, you might just find your cyber soul mate. By Katherine Dow @katherinedow
“ Be yourself and have a good time. At the end of the day,it’s just a date.”
Write A ProFile
Pick Your Prospects Wisely
You may notice an influx of interesting men that you get excited about. Don’t be shy about reaching out to them online, but also don’t go overboard. You wouldn’t approach every man who caught your eye when out at a bar. Pick one - the best one - and message him. Open the chat lines of communication with something nonthreatening and personal. For example, if you read on his profile that he has a dog, ask him some what kind of dog he has.
Whatever site you choose, be it Match.com, Lavalife, or Plentyoffish, the key to online dating success is representing yourself genuinely. For example, if you’re looking for a serious relationship, don’t beat around the bush about it. List on your profile that you are looking for a lasting connection. It’s okay if it scares certain men away; those are the guys who are not at the stage in their lives to be ready for that kind of commitment. Even if you’re just looking for casual dating, state it on your profile. It will weed out the men who are ready for a more serious commitment than you’re prepared for.
Start Off Slow – Talking
So you got a few nibbles – now what? The nice thing about online dating is that it can be non-intimidating. If you’re not ready to meet face to face after a few interactions, or even if you are, I suggest getting an online dialogue going before an in-person meet. Establish your relationship through your keyboard first, in order to make sure this is a person you want to get to know. That way, you can get an initial feel as to whether this is a relationship you’d be willing to pursue, all without sacrificing a night or a really good outfit.
It’s also important to represent your interests well. List your main hobbies, your goals, and your interests, without over-doing it. The men reading your profile are looking for an introduction to you, not your life’s story. For example, it’s acceptable to say that you like romance novels and action movies. However, it’s not a good idea to list your 75 favorite Jodi Picoult reads or an inventory of your DVD collection: overkill.
Take The Plunge – Meeting
If you’re looking for a serious relationship, state your goals in life. Explain what you want in a partner. It will help the men reading your profile to know if you’d be a good match. If you’re looking for casual dating, explain what kind of dates you like, or what you like to do for fun. It will give your potential date a good idea of what kinds of things you can do together if you decide to meet.
Once you’ve found someone that you want to meet, it’s a good idea to start off with a casual meeting, an activity that is lowpressure enough to lower the stakes. Meeting for coffee may seem like an overplayed first date, but it’s tried and true. It’s a casual way to meet, and an interaction that is brief enough that if you’re not interested, you can easily duck out after a short time, but is still open to the possibility of continuing your date elsewhere. It’s okay to be nervous. Dating under other circumstances is nerve-wracking. Do whatever you can to make yourself feel more comfortable, be it wearing a dress that makes you feel like a goddess, or taking a Xanax before. Just kidding. I think.
Pick Your Photos Wisely
We’ve all heard a version of the story where a woman is sent a picture of an online prospect that looks nothing like the guy in real life. Don’t be that person! Be up front about your appearance. Pick a picture that you like of yourself, but still one that looks like yourself now.
Have Fun!
Many sites offer space to upload extra pictures in addition to your profile picture. This space can be used as a nice extension of your ‘About Me’ section. Add photos that represent your interests and your life well; if you like to act, include a picture of you in the last play you were in; if you like the outdoors, add a picture from your last hiking trip. These additional photos can give the reader a better sense of who you are, and also the chance to show off what a babe you are.
O J M
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The bottom line with online dating is that you want to open yourself up to meeting someone by being true to who you are. Be yourself and have a good time. At the end of the day, it’s just a date. If it doesn’t work out, if he doesn’t look like his picture, if he doesn’t call, or if you don’t call, there are thousands of others out there. It’s not rocket science. It’s just dating and by opening and preparing yourself to the new experience of online dating, you’re already on your way to meeting someone special.
? /
Find Love Shift
/NINE
Ruby_duck23 Fun-loving bird looking for a nice guywith great wings. Photo by Jackie Doming
Message Me Wink At Me Meet Me
Inbox
Do do tell someone close to you where and when you are going on your first face-to-face date with your new online prospect, and check in with them before and after. Safety is still a concern. Ultimately, you do not know this person that well. Let your person know roughly when to expect a call letting them know all is well. This is just good sense. DO put a hidden clue in your profile. It’s an excellent way to test if your prospect has just flickered through your pictures without taking the time to read your information. For example, in the middle of your profile, explain that if the person is going to message you, include the word ‘duckface’ somewhere in the message to show that he has taken the time to get to know you through your profile. That way, you can easily weed out the shallow guys based on whether they’ve included your hidden clue.
Do Not Do Not give out personal information too soon; this includes when you finally meet the person face-to-face. Withhold your work information and where you live until you’ve really gotten to know your new match. Do Not post or send pictures of yourself that are overtly racy. If you’re looking for a casual fling, it’s okay to post or send flirtatious pictures if you’re really comfortable with them. But just remember that the Internet is a wide-reaching medium, and a personal message doesn’t mean it won’t end up in front of a wider audience than you intended.
Testimonials
Ponder
There is one difficult question, posed infinitely as our iPhones get slimmer, our hard-drives get fuller, and our conversations consistently start and end with emoticons: is technology connecting human kind, or is it furthering the separation between us? Sure, we bank, shop, and now socialize online. But as it creeps into our love lives, some begin to draw the line.
Fairy Tale
Horror Story
“After a series of terrible experiences with online dating one being that I dated a guy for months who turned out to be married - I met Jay. We started just messaging, and then we started using Skype. I could tell he took the time to read my profile. He seemed interested in my hobbies. Then, casually one day, he suggested that we get lunch. We hit it off right away, and it really helped that we had talked a lot before. Trust me, there are a lot of guys I met that didn’t work out. This one just clicked.”
“I was working all the time and had no free time to meet men. Someone suggested LavaLife, and I decided to try it. I met this guy and we started seeing each other. He seemed really nice and funny. However, a friend of mine, who was also using the same service, found out that he was messaging a lot of other girls while we were together. I later found out he was also married. The experience didn’t totally turn me off online dating. Now I just ask around about the guy first.”
-Jenny-Lynn LAscano
- Kaitlin Martens
Photos courtesy of Jenny-Lynn Lascano and Kaitlin Martens
“How weird is online dating? Like how desperate do you have to be?” said Clarissa Forbes, a 24-year-old executive assistant. “I just think it must be all creeps on those sites. It’s kind of like, what’s wrong with you if you’re hiding behind a computer screen?” said Leah Mailler, a 26-year-old bank teller. When speaking with other women, it became clear to me that a stigma exists – a bizarre one when you consider that many other facets of our existences are typed, processed, and projected through an online portal. So where’s the beef when it comes to online dating? How can we justify putting our friendships online, our financial information, our professional interactions, but not our romantic ones? I offer no solution to remove this stigmatization, or on how to make Match.com or Plentyyoffish as natural to single-folks as Facebook is to so many Internet users. All I suggest is that we think of why we’ve categorized online daters as desperate or socially awkward. Let us consider how we may make the Internet dating a social normalcy, as well as a pleasant experience in finding a special someone.
Photo by Terry Proveda
digital reality DRAWING THE LINE BETWEEN PHOTOGRAHY AND FANTASY
digital reality
by corinne rikkelman @rikkelmania
Abraham Lincoln, Hitler, and Taylor Swift all have something in common: they’ve all had their photos manipulated.
As of December 2011, Taylor Swift joined the ever-growing list of celebrities that have had an ad banned because of excessive editing. Giving a new meaning to false lashes, her mascara ad was pulled because it was deemed unrealistic and false advertising. An iconic photo of Abraham Lincoln took the President’s head and super imposed it onto a politician’s body. Hitler? For whatever reason he had Joseph Goebbels removed from the photo, leaving a patch of grass where one of his closest associates used to stand. Photo editing and manipulation are as old as darkrooms and self esteem issues. Superimposed heads, horses and fairies were all causing scandals far before Kate Winslet decried GQ for making her thighs look thinner. Today, photo editing has become an industry standard. This all started in 1987 when, looking for a way to make his one-colour monitor display a gray scale, Thomas Knoll wrote a program that would one day evolve into Photoshop. With some help from his brother and a trip to Silicon Valley, Adobe snapped the idea up. Photoshop 1.0 first hit the stands in 1990, and was released exclusively for Macintosh computers. Photoshop 1.0 took the photographer out of the darkroom and into the digital age. It gave anyone with a computer the ability to do what had, (until then), been limited strictly to photographers, and businesses were quick to see the possibilities. With the introduction of CMYK colour into Photoshop 2.0, it meant the face of the fashion magazine industry was about to change. Literally.
“Back in my day, you had to think about getting a nose job or plastic surgery if booking managers didn’t like your face. Now? You can just Photoshop it,” says Andrea Murray-Slinn, former model and booking manager for Harper’s Bazaar. She recalled the heavy editing done to the photos used in the magazine, and dismisses them as being edited to the point of fantasy. “I used to see all the supermodels, they look like us when they get the photos taken.” But when it comes to the finished product? “It’s impossible. Even supermodels don’t look like that,” says MurraySlinn. “It’s not even just the wrinkles that go, it’s the legs and the arms.” “I think that there is a fine line between photography and digital art, “ says Katy Winterflood, (katywinterflood.com), a freelance photographer and former photographer for SANDBOX magazine. “Photoshop is an amazing tool in terms of enhancing an image simply to bring out its features.“ Winterflood will spend anywhere between 30 seconds to 30 minutes retouching a photo, doing everything from adjusting the light to eliminating wayward hairs on the model. However, Winterflood prefers to keep it subtle, “just to enhance what is already there.” “I don’t change how that person looks, I just bring out their awesome traits,” says Winterflood. “I use Photoshop to aid me in making my photo as high quality as possible. It’s a business tool. “ Still, not everyone agrees with Winterflood. There has been a growing opposition to Photoshop in recent days, and advertisers are starting to catch on. Make Up For Ever launched an ad campaign based around the concept of having models “completely unretouched.” The campaign was so unique, news outlets like The Huffington Post, Teen Vogue and The Daily Mail picked it up and ran it online. We at duckface want you to be able to spot the ‘shop. Usually, you can tell from the pixels, but we’re going to give you a little look into some of the tools the pros use.
1860
We like to call it our ‘shopping list.
WAIT, WHAT? Lincoln’s rockin’ bod in this picture was actually that of John Calhoun, a Southern politician.
Photos from fourandsix.com
No one is sure why Hitler took Goebbels out of the picture. Maybe he wanted to look popular with the ladies?
1937
the 'shopping list BRUSH TOOL: The brush tool seems pretty self-
CLONE TOOL: This nifty tool allows you to select a
explanatory; it works kind of like paint brush, only on
spot on the image you like and make copies of it in
digital steroids. You can fully customize your brush’s
your image. You can add or remove information on
shape, colour, size and visibility. If you are feeling
the image, depending on what spot you originally
really ambitious, you can create your own brushes
selected. You can use this to remove things like zits
from photos or drawings and save them for use later,
or scars, remove a rock from a field, or to clone your
or share them with your friends.
cat Mr. Snookums into a small, digital army. Similar to this are the Spot Healing Tool and Content Aware Fill. They use the surrounding texture to create what they think should fill a selected spot. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes… they don’t. ERASER: This one is also basically what its reallife counterpart is, only this eraser has the power to completely erase pixels without any of the shavings. Between the eraser and the lasso tool, you have the power to completely eradicate that guy your friend brought to that party. You know, the guy who managed to photobomb half of your pictures? Yep. That guy. You can cut him out. DODGE/BURN: If you have no background in photography, these names will be confusing. Dodging is the process of increasing the exposure of the print, which makes the selected part of the image lighter. Burning is the opposite. So by decreasing exposure, the selected part of the image will get darker. It’s most commonly used to make models look extra lean, and is almost always applied to cheekbones. FILTERS: Filters have a deceiving name - they should be called “Magic-Buttons-That-Do-Awesomeor-Terrible-Things-To-Your-Picture.” They can do everything from a simple blur to a photographic negative effect. Filters don’t usually make it to professional print, but if you’re starting out in Photoshop they’re super fun to play with. They’re kind of like playing with lenses in Photo Booth, only instead of making you fat they can make you look like a stained glass window.
Photo by Terry Proveda
/THIRTEEN
“
IA D E M L A I C O S E TO M A N A E V A G OI NG D S A W I T A WH ST FOR THE PA S. FEW YEAR
Photo by Jackie Doming
”
#MOMPRENEURS
SOCIAL MEDIA SIREN SPECIALIZES IN MOMMY MARKETING
/FOURTEEN
BY JACKIE DOMING / @JACKIEDOMING
S
“My workshops range from how to set-up an account on any social networking site, to optimizing that profile, and then really learning how to leverage that social media presence with a distinct voice by creating a seamless online presence.”
In between building train tracks, singing nursery rhymes and preparing dinner, she manages to answer emails, write blog posts and update her Twitter feed.
One of her projects involved a Winnipeg-based online green boutique. Her client was inspired to open the store after her father passed away from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a disease often linked to carcinogens found in pesticides. The store features ecofriendly baby items, non-toxic paints and fair trade options.
usie Parker starts her day by getting her little ones dressed, fed and out the door to drive her six-year-old son to school. Her routine is followed by a trip to the supermarket, completing a list of errands and returning home with her 20-month-old daughter and four-year-old son in tow.
By the time the afternoon rolls around, Parker prepares her children for a nap before switching gears into communications virtuoso mode. As the owner and consultant of her own marketing and communications company, she spends this time meeting with clients, writing copy and helping brainstorm ideas for social media campaigns. Late afternoon rolls around and it’s time for Parker to pick up her oldest. Her husband makes it home just before dinner and they spent the evening reading and playing with their children. Together, they prepared the little ones for bed. Once the children are tucked in, she settles in the living room with her hubby. Parker continues working until midnight or later, mashing away at her keyboard until both she and her screen black out. This is just another day on Parker’s calendar, but she doesn’t consider herself to be a supermom by any means. “Sacrifices must be made, and I knew what I was getting into.” Like Parker, more and more women are feeling empowered to start their own businesses. Statistics Canada reported in 2008, about one third of all self-employed individuals were female. Between 1998 to 2008, the number of entrepreneurial women grew by over six per cent. Seeing the need to facilitate communications for this flourishing demographic of entrepreneurial women and “mompreneurs,” Parker started SPARKER Strategy Group last June. She wanted to help these business owners understand how to promote their brands through traditional and online media. Parker has always been passionate about online interaction. She was introduced to web-based communications in 1999, when chat rooms and a chat client called ICQ were all the rage. After ICQ blew up, other chat clients including Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger and AIM attracted average users to the Internet to share information in real time. “Social media gave a name to what I was doing for the past few years.” The concept of social interaction through chat clients eventually led to the popularization of the social media tools used today. Twitter reported last August their website generates more than 200 million tweets worldwide each day, up from 65 million tweets the year before. Facebook has more than 640 million users – with over 50 per cent of them actively checking their profiles everyday. Part of Parker’s job includes writing and producing website copy, press releases, brochures and pitching her clients to traditional media, such as radio, television and print. She also conducts workshops to help people become more familiar with popular social media tools.
By promoting the company through a blog, Facebook and Twitter, Parker’s client was able to tell her audience why being green was so important. By reducing exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins, the campaign was able to identify the small steps needed to make a big difference in the environment. “It’s all about authenticity. She tells the story about her dad and you can’t help but be moved by that story. As a mom, daughter, sister, whatever - it all really resonates with you.” Social media allows for immediate and honest conversation, from people all around the globe. Parker loves that it “democratizes the conversation” and helps people connect in so many different ways, whether they’re updating their Twitter feed, posting a status on Facebook or checking in on Foursquare. “There’s always something to discuss on social media. Trends are always happening and they don’t just break from nine to five.” Parker isn’t the only lady in Winnipeg using social media to propel an already successful career. Take Sarah Zaharia, the market access officer at New Media Manitoba, who uses social media to help her clients network across North America. Her role is to help creative professionals like video game designers establish contacts in other cities, showcasing what Manitoba has to offer. Zaharia appreciates how easy it is to communicate online, whether a client is many miles or a few blocks away. “You have this incredibly personal insight about who they are and what they’re about, so when you do meet face to face, I think you can fastforward some of the parts you knew before.” Although Parker and Zaharia are avid fans of online tools, not every woman in the media welcomed them with open arms. Lindsey Wiebe, the social media reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press, spends most of her day online updating the news outlet’s Facebook and Twitter feeds. And although she uses it all the time, Twitter didn’t leave the best first impression in her mind. “When I first joined Twitter, I thought it was really dumb. I was one of those people that tweeted once about my breakfast and didn’t use it for months.” Now, Wiebe uses social media to find information about breaking news happening all over the city. Her favourite part is the immediacy. “There’s a community that’s constantly humming and is omnipresent around you. There are people who, like you, are online and will check and immediately respond.” Parker’s best advice for any woman using social media professionally is to “speak from the heart.” And although social media has helped shape one of her passions into a career, she still thinks it’s important to sometimes take the conversation offline to meet the person behind the avatar. “Nothing will ever replace face to face, not even Skype.”
it's all about authenticity.
1800s
The Wooden Wall Telephone
Generation
Tech Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come so far and so has the technology that we use to communicate, interact, and live. Follow the fashionable evolution of technology, and its cultural metamorphosis through the eras. Written by Katherine Dow Photography by Terry Proveda Modeled by Samantha Hill Styling by Katherine Dow Hair and Makeup by Shayna Wiwierski
/sEVENTEEN
1960s The Electric Typewriter
We may look at a typewriter today and see nostalgia for another time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a technology totally out of date and obsolete. But the typewriter has become a cultural symbol fraught with the politics of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. When originally invented in the 1800s, the typewriter represented a beacon of hope for women who wanted emancipation from the home in favor of work as a typist. But by the 1960s, the typewriter represented the corporate sexist culture; women were finding positions in countless offices, but only to be chained to the typewriter as secretaries, with little gender wiggle room to move up the corporate ladder.
1990s
The Sony Walkman
In his now iconic sociological text “Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman”, Paul Du Gay said of Sony’s groundbreaking technology: “it is virtually an extension of the skin. It is fitted, molded, like so much else in modern consumer culture, to the body itself. It is designed for movement – for mobility, for people who are always out and about, for travelling light. It is part of the required equipment for the modern nomad.” Snaps for Sony.
2000s
The Apple iPad
The iPad has been hailed as a gamechanging product that has singlehandedly resuscitated the magazine and newspaper industry. Luke Hayman at Pentagram said “the iPad’s a new medium that will create a whole range of opportunities. Once people start exploiting what it can do, we may see the kind of creative renaissance that will deliver the next George Lois or Lee Clow.” We think it’s über chic, utterly sexy, and totally innovative. Good job, Steve.
DUCKFACE WEIGHS IN ON CURRENT TECH THROWDOWNS. SEE WHO’S K.O.’D HERE BY KATHERINE DOW & CORINNE RIKKELMAN
PINTEREST VS. GOOGLE+ You know that scene in a Western where the Lone Ranger walks into the town and is greeted by a lonely tumbleweed and wind whistles? Welcome to Google+. When Google first launched their social network it was supposed to take down Facebook. An invite was the hottest digital ticket in town and people were pining for a chance to get in. Fast forward to now. It’s the biggest boys club on the Internet, and it’s turned into a ghost town. Google waited too long after the buzz to go public, and people stopped caring.
IPHONE VS. BLACKBERRY This may seem like an obvious one, but we’re not ready to pull the battery on the Blackberry just yet. Through all of RIM’s troubles this year, be it system failures or their CEO shakeup, the original email empowered smartphone took quite a hit. Meanwhile, in Apple land, the iPhone 4S launched, offering apple fanatics a faster processor, a higher resolution camera, and the sultry-voiced personal assistant, Siri. Although RIM’s stock might be falling, literally and figuratively, Blackberry still stays firm as the texting friendly smartphone. Speaking from personal experience, chicks with long nails find texting on the iPhone touch screen a tough haul. Throw in some auto-correct to make the text super inappropriate, and Blackberry comes out the texting winner in this smartphone shakedown. However, the iPhone is still an Apple product. It’s like the Ferris Bueller of companies. Elusive, cool, sleek, and sexy - I’ll take a few messed up texts in favor of the iPhone’s “it” factor. iPhone takes this one.
Dante put his friends in circles. That went well for him. Pinterest is that annoying new club all your friends try to get you to go to. Once you’re in you marvel at the décor, but it’s kind of sensory overload. It’s a pretty, pretty site filled with pretty, pretty things. As a general rule the hottest club is the one with the women. Guys go where girls are, and with a almost 70% female user base Pinterest is pretty hot right now.
H
You don’t pine for chances to get in anymore- you pin for it.
/TWENTY-FOUR
T O ? N R O OT
NETFLIX VS. PVR Okay, let’s put aside the fact that Canadian Netflix isn’t as awesome as American Netflix and take an objective look at Netflix. Cable sucks. This is a well established fact. Between quality programs like Toddlers and Tiaras, The Virgin Diaries and oh, anything TLC related, we understand why so many people are fed up with television. Long commercials, loud commercials, commercials, commercials, commercials. It’s expensive and obnoxious and would be dead if it wasn’t for PVR. PVR is a Personal Video Recorder. By allowing users to bypass the commercials and letting people watch what they want, when they want, the PVR pretty much saved television. You get all the watercooler gossip (#watercooler?) with all the convenience of recorded video. Netflix is a little glimmer of the future of media. It still has some kinks in the user interface and after a long strenuous day has the occasional crash, but hey, who doesn’t? It’s affordable and offers a lot of different options. While the content isn’t as current as television it doesn’t take up any memory and is available on the computer. Netflix Roulette is a must-play at parties. Close your eyes, scroll and play. Whether the movie is really good, or really bad, the element of surprise has everyone guessing and everyone comes out a winner. This one is a tough call. We’re backing Netflix because you can watch it from your computer, but the PVR is a pretty strong contender. Oops, we “accidentally” recorded The Bachelor again. Might as well watch it.
HOT OFF THE PRESSES Winnipeg Free Press News Café is an online hub, a social meeting place, and a delicious eatery.
Photo by Katherine Dow
With a regional menu of tasty sandwiches, soups and baked goods, you can eat, Tweet, and meet at the Winnipeg Free Press News Café.
App Attack with Lana + Meghan
Photo by Terry Proveda
by Terry Proveda - @terry_pro
I
f you want to shop, take part in the latest social media buzz, or
“The blog started five years ago by an interest in fashion. It quickly
create mesmerizing photos, there’s an app for that. Apps
became popular, and we got followers from around the world. So
appeal to the average techie due to their simplicity. Hell, my sixyear-old nephew can scroll through and download new apps with ease. With help from Lana Belton and Meghan Tooley, two of Winnipeg’s baddest babes on the web, we will count down five of the hottest apps on the market.
we kept it goin’.” So let’s count down Tjejsajten’s top 5 apps:
5
“You think girls don’t game? Well that’s bullshit!” says Lana.
Taking the five spot is Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Words With
Friends, or any game your heart desires. If you are sitting on the bus
Apps, or for a more technical term, software applications are
on your way to school or an appointment, it is important to keep
simply watered down programs. Small in size and cheap in price,
busy. These little time waster apps will get you through the day.
they are easy to use and acquire for your phone. Initially apps were only available for the iPhone, but quickly became available for Blackberry and other smartphones.
4
“You got to know how to order a beer when you’re abroad,”
says Meghan as she puts Google Translate at number four. There were days when traveling meant you haul around a phrase
In July of 2008, Apple launched the Apple App Store, and now
book, but now you can keep the most advanced language translator
there have been more than 25 billion apps downloaded. In 2010,
for free on your phone. “I used to have this pocket translator, but I
the mobile app revenue was $5.2 billion dollars, with most of that,
threw it out,” says Meghan.
“You think girls don’t game, well that’s BULLSHIT!” -Lana Belton
3
(97%), coming from the Apple App Store. In 2011, the estimated
Twitter tweets its way into the third spot. With social media
revenue of apps was $15.1 billion dollars.
being such a huge part of generating buzz, it is no wonder
Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple was the man behind the Apple
the ladies send out hot tweets to attract followers.
App Store. He was initially reluctant to venture into the app
market, and dismissed many conversations with Apple board
2
music recognition program. If a song is playing, simply
member Art Levinson who needed to persuade Jobs to begin
hold up your phone and it will tell you what song is playing.
developing mobile apps. Luckily for Apple, Jobs jumped aboard
“Sometimes when you are in the club, and a song comes on that
and began to venture into one of the fastest growing trends in
you don’t know—you gotta figure it out,” says Lana. Sound Hound
technology.
has competition in Shazam, which is the more popular, better-
Winnipeg bloggers Lana Belton and Meghan Tooley are two girls
known app. But although these two apps do virtually the same
hooked on technology. They are often tweeting, Facebooking,
thing, Sound Hound is free with unlimited uses—which makes it a
blogging, Instagramming, and of course surfing the web all from
Tjejsajten favorite.
the palm of their hands.
Sound Hound roars into the third spot; this app is an instant
Lana and Meghan run a fashion and lifestyle blog,
1
tjejsajten.blogspot.com. It has been running since March of 2008.
over 27 million users. You can easily create stunning photos by
It caters to women and has posts ranging from fashion tips, to how
simply choosing one of the pre set filters, then slap it online for the
to pick up dudes.
world to drool over.
Instagram captures the top spot on the list. This photo-
sharing app is one of the most popular mobile apps with
/TWENTY-sEVEN
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