GUEST-EDITED BY ASHTON KUTCHER
Magazines are not dying—they are experiencing a revolution that’s putting them at the forefront of technologically driven socialization. We’ve featured many of the companies and platforms that are responsible for democratizing their various industries, but it is your curiosity, curation, and demand for transparency that are powering these shifts. I invite you to digitally tear this magazine apart, critique it, discuss it, share it, plagiarize it, and make it your own. This is a collection of ideas that now belong to you. A Social Magazine. —Enjoy, Ashton.
THE ACTOR, INVESTOR, TECH GURU, AND GUEST EDITOR OF DETAILS’ FIRST SOCIAL ISSUE DELIVERS HIS VERDICT ON POWER-TWEETING, OVERSHARING, AND THE FUTURE OF FACEBOOK. INTERVIEW BY JONAH WEINER More than any other star around, Ashton Kutcher grasps the ways in which emerging technologies are reshaping our lives. He’s become an in-demand guru for his insights into social media and the future of the Internet, evangelizing about paradigm-busting new brands like the location-based networking service Foursquare, the cutting-edge travel-bookings site Hipmunk, and the user-curated product platform Fancy. And as an investor, he puts his money where his mouth is, backing many of the companies he champions here, both on his own and with A Grade Investments, which he founded with Maverick Records’ Guy Oseary and the supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle. Consider this Ashton’s guided tour of the coolest stuff happening online right now.
WITH ASHTON KUTCHER
MOST PEOPLE KNOW YOU AS AN ACTOR. HOW’D YOU BECOME SUCH A TECH NERD? After Punk’d, my company Katalyst did a deal with AOL to produce short-form content for the Web. At that time it was a different game. If you got front-page coverage on any popular website, you could probably get a push. But about three years ago I started playing around with Facebook and Twitter, and I realized what could be done inside real-time shared media, where you didn’t have to be connected to a big portal or big media outlet to get your story out. I thought that was pretty powerful.
THE LINE BETWEEN ONLINE LIFE AND REAL LIFE IS GETTING BLURRIER. IS THAT A GOOD THING? I wouldn’t bifurcate the two. I wouldn’t say you have an online life and a real life. I think technology is just mapping and organizing what already exists. If you’re an asshole offline, you’re probably an asshole online.
AS A CELEBRITY, YOU’RE USED TO MANAGING THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN YOUR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SELVES. IS THAT SOMETHING WE ALL HAVE TO DO NOW? You have to learn to negotiate it, or you can choose not to participate. It’s almost like a manifestation of God. People used to behave morally because they thought God was always watching—in some ways God today is the collective, and the collective is watching.
Photographs by Matthias Vriens-McGrath. Styling by Samantha McMillen. Grooming by Diana Schmidtke at the Wall Group. Sweater and belt by Louis Vuitton.
SOUNDS KIND OF CREEPY. DO YOU THINK PRIVACY IS OVERRATED? I think privacy is valuable. You don’t have to share everything, and it’s healthy to occasionally hit the pause button and ask yourself if you’re oversharing. But at the end of the day, if you’re not doing anything wrong you don’t have anything to hide.
FOR A WHILE YOUR TWITTER ACCOUNT WAS THE MOST POPULAR IN THE WORLD, AND YOU’RE STILL IN THE TOP 10. WHAT’S YOUR SECRET? A lot of people use social media to share mundane things or for self-glorification. I try to use it to share interesting things with people. Tony Hsieh, who created Zappos.com, said to me, “Everything I post on the Web has to be ICEE”—it has to inspire, connect, entertain, or educate. The other important thing about social media is that it’s not about what you post but what you listen to. It’s about sharing the valuable ideas that you hear. You don’t want to be the source of everything, you want to be the pipe for everything.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS COMING THAT WILL BLOW OUR MINDS FIVE OR TEN YEARS FROM NOW?
I think the big next wave will be wearable technologies. Your phone will be your true PC, and these technologies will act as your mouse and keyboard. You’ll have a highfashion bracelet that will perform functions for you—it’ll track your health, your movement, your sleep, your activity—and by wearing a couple of rings, you’ll be able to type in the air or take pictures with your fingers. There’ll be a device that will track your eye movement, whether it’s an earpiece with a camera or a necklace that can project and record. That Tom Cruise movie, Minority Report, got a lot of it right from what I’ve seen.
YOU CONSULT WITH A LOT OF THE TECH COMPANIES YOU INVEST IN. IF MARK ZUCKERBERG ASKED YOU FOR ADVICE, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL HIM? I’d ask him a lot of questions rather than tell him anything. That’s generally how I enter the room with all of these guys.
THERE’S CHATTER ABOUT FACEBOOK HITTING A PLATEAU. IS IT IN ANY DANGER OF GOING THE WAY OF MYSPACE? I actually think Twitter has a greater danger of becoming Myspace-y. Myspace was this open platform, and Twitter has the same dynamic: You can have millions of people within your social network, so it goes outside your weak-tie relationships. There’s a danger of it becoming spammy, and that’s what really hurt Myspace. There was more noise than signal. I have people hit my @reply feed every day with garbage, and if Twitter doesn’t apply the proper filters, it’ll be harder to find the information you want. With Facebook, I’m probably not going to get spammed from my aunt or my best friend.
YOUR AUNT MIGHT SPAM YOU WITH CAT PHOTOS.
That’s right. And that’s okay.
“Racing past Lenin’s Tomb on Red Square in Moscow at 3 a.m. on a run. It was about 5 degrees.”
EXCLUSIVE: ASHTON”S PERSONAL PHOTO ALBUM
HIT THE ROAD WITH ASHTON FOR A TOUR OF HIS LIFE—AS CAPTURED THROUGH THE LENS OF HIS CAMERA.
“On the safari tour at Masai Mara National Reserve, our Samburu warrior found a holder for his new iPod headphones!”
“A shot in L.A. We spent the day pasting the piece in the background called ‘The Wrinkles of the City,’ which is a commentary on beauty in a city that is obsessed with it.” “A cemetery.”
“Flying over the Grand Canyon. If you’re going to see this many places, you end up spending a lot of time on planes.”
“A prop plane flying by a mountain.”
“A chicken.”
“I invited my entire office to come for a night of skating at this roller rink in Los Angeles.”
“This party in Paris made me think of when you’re a little kid and you blow bubbles.” “A slightly typical shot of L.A., but I thought it was beautiful nonetheless.”
“Demi kissing the Sphinx in Giza, Egypt.”
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GENERATION NEXT FOR
A NEW BREED OF APPLICATIONS DO MORE THAN JUST PROVIDE SERVICES— THEY NURTURE A COMPLETE SOCIAL EXPERIENCE THAT COMBINES THE BEST OF THE REAL AND DIGITAL WORLDS. HERE, A GUIDE TO THE EMERGING TOOLS TRANSFORMING THE WAY YOU LIVE.
YOU’RE USING
YOU WILL BE USING
WHY IT’S BETTER
COOLEST FEATURE
Search
Blekko
Searches only trusted sites preselected by editors and supplements requests with something it calls slashtags—categories like recipes, gossip, and sports—to further refine results.
Allows you to create your own slashtags and share them with the community.
Travel
Expedia
Hipmunk
A simple landing page emphasizes the basics, while results appear, color-coded by airline, in an intuitive grid that looks like a day planner. Plus, tabbed browsing lets you conduct multiple searches in the same window.
You can search by “Agony” factor, which combines a flight’s price, duration, and number of stops.
Video Chat
Skype
Tinychat
An incredibly simple Web-based setup allows you to organize and invite chat participants within a single browser window—no downloads required.
Features celebrity chats with the likes of Bruno Mars, Eliza Dushku, and John Legend.
Dating
AOL Chatrooms
LikeALittle
You can send SMS-like messages to people nearby who share your interests, background, and friends—e.g., you’re both Bears fans or UCLA alums.
Location sharing, which alerts you when another LALer is close by and lets you chat them up.
Dining
OpenTable
Grubwithus
Instead of reserving your own table, opt for a social dining experience by buying a ticket (usually around $30) for a family-style prix fixe meal with friends or strangers.
Pick an interest— wine, basketball, rock music—to be alerted when there’s a table for like-minded diners.
Blogging
Tumblr
Posterous
Uses e-mail to make mobile blogging effortless: The subject line is your title, and the e-mail body is your post. You can even add tags by using parentheses.
Includes an array of tools for exporting posts to social sites like Twitter and Flickr.
Texting
BlackBerry Messenger
GroupMe
Offers collective messaging (a feature formerly available only to BlackBerry users), which lets you conference with a group via text or phone call—all free of charge.
TV shows are using GroupMe texts to offer exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
Apps
iTunes Genius service
Chomp
This free app is the most comprehensive resource for recommendations and downloads of all the other apps out there—including Android and Apple—and features a fluid, easy-to-navigate interface.
To dislike an app, you click on a broken-heart icon.
Photos
Flickr
Path
This photo-sharing network goes against today’s share-everything-with-everyone ethos by limiting you to 50 friends and offering a more private environment that filters out external noise.
Commenting is also limited to a selection of emoticons, making feedback visual and direct.
Textbooks
Amazon
Chegg
Buy and sell expensive university textbooks—or even rent them for the length of your term at around half the retail price.
The CourseRank feature displays fellow students’ reviews of the classes the books are assigned for.
Shopping
eBay
Zaarly
Instead of searching, write a brief description of what you want—a laptop, a suit—to be connected with a seller who can fulfill your need.
A leaderboard that tracks the members with the highest number of transactions, arcade-style.
Tickets
StubHub
SeatGeek
Aggregates available tickets across a range of sites (including StubHub and eBay) and uses a predictive algorithm to tell you when to buy before prices rise.
A referral system earns you $10 for every friend who joins and buys a ticket.
Alfred Dunhill Ltd.
CLICK HERE FOR FILM
TRAVEL ESSENTIALS FOR THE SOPHISTICATED GLOBE-TROTTER
7. BRIGHT V-NECK T-SHIRT
17. LIGHTWEIGHT SCARF
8. DOPP KIT
18. KNIT CAP
9. CASUAL SHORTS
INSIDE THE DOPP KIT Hair Wax Kiehl’s, $16; kiehls.com
LNA, $54; lnaclothing.com
CLICK HERE FOR OUR VIDEO GUIDE TO PACKING
Jack Spade, $155; jackspade.com
Life/after/denim, $88; needsupply.com
10. CANVAS BELT
Prada, $190; prada.com for stores
1. GRAY SUIT
Prada, $2,290; prada.com for stores
2. PATTERNED TIE
Simon Spurr, $175; spurr.tv
WE’VE PACKED THE ULTIMATE CARRYALL WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO STAY SHARP, WHETHER YOU’RE TAKING MEETINGS IN SILICON VALLEY OR CATCHING A SHOW AT SXSW.
3. WHITE DRESS SHIRT
Maison Martin Margiela, $350; at Maison Martin Margiela, Los Angeles, 310-284-8093
4. GRAY DRESS SHIRT
Bally, $295; bally.com for stores
5. PLAID FLANNEL SHIRT GANT Rugger, $135; gant.com for stores
6. CHARCOAL T-SHIRT
T by Alexander Wang, $92; alexanderwang.com for stores
11. DARK-WASH JEANS
Acne, $230; acnestudios.com for stores
12. SHAWL-COLLAR SWEATER
Dsquared, $770; at Mi Place Boutique, Newport Beach, Calif., 949-2199919
13. WHITE SNEAKERS Converse, $46; converse.com
14. LEATHER WEEKENDER
Prada, $2,550; prada.com
15. LEATHER ZIP POUCH
A.P.C., $195; available at A.P.C. Mercer St., New York City, 212-966-9685
Oliver Spencer, $108; oliverspencer.co.uk
Vince, $95; vince.com
Sunscreen Lab Series, $37.50; labseries.com Moisturizer Sisleÿum for Men, $265; neimanmarcus.com Toothbrush Supersmile $9; supersmile.com Lip Balm Malin + Goetz, $12; malinandgoetz.com Toothpaste Marvis, $7; min.com Razor Grooming Lounge, $79; groominglounge.com Deodorant Menscience, $17; menscience.com Shave Gel Eshu, $18; eshu.com.au
16. IPAD AND CASE Hermès, $820; hermes.com
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8 10 9
11 Photograph by Plamen Petkov. Styling by Lisa Edsalv at ba-reps.com.
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© D.YURMAN 2011
HEALTH + FITNESS
CAN THIS BRACELET HELP YOU GET THESE ABS? A REVOLUTIONARY DEVICE CALLED UP CAN TRACK YOUR WELLNESS—AND SHOW YOU HOW TO ACHIEVE IT. WE’VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE: IF WE JUST GOT
more exercise, ate less, and slept better, we’d be fit and healthy. But we don’t. (Two other things we’ve heard before: Nearly 70 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, and diabetes rates are skyrocketing.) Enter Hosain Rahman, the CEO of Jawbone. Last year, the company won a Design of the Decade award from the Industrial Designers Society of America for its Bluetooth headsets, alongside the likes of Apple. Now Rahman has set his sights on revolutionizing the way we relate to our health. “I started thinking about this problem,” he says, “and I wondered why there couldn’t be something stylish that went with me everywhere that gathered information about all aspects of my life, and that could guide and coach me.” So Rahman focused on making a micro-size wearable gadget packed with some of the world’s most advanced sensors. The result is UP, a sleek bracelet that tracks all your body’s activities, from your movement to your sleep to what you eat, then offers a road map to living a healthier lifestyle, dispensing advice—such as what you should eat and your optimal time to work out—via smartphone (the device will come with a free app). UP also allows you to challenge your friends with fitness goals, so that getting healthier becomes more competitive and fun. Can a simple bracelet change how we think about health and wellness? We’ll find out for sure when UP is released this fall. But didn’t another wristworn device change the way we regard the passage of time? Tyler Graham
Photographs: Eric Ray Davidson; top, courtesy of Jawbone.
BMW i PRESENTS
i ON ART AND INNOVATION
BMW i announces the launch of its new digital art initiative celebrating cutting edge creativity. This groundbreaking movement includes a call for digital artwork submissions, a guide to digital art institutions, and tools to help develop your craft.
SHARE IT Let your creative energy loose and be a part of the digital art movement. Whether using technology to create, produce, or present your vision, submit your artwork for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue of DETAILS. Go to detailsinsider.com/bmwi to submit and to view others’ work.
MAKE IT ANIMATE Several apps allow you to easily create and edit looping animations. Sketch your ideas and bring them to life or string photos together to make stop-motion pieces using drawings, objects, and/or people.
TRY THESE: FlipBook, Gif Shop
SEE IT SHOOT Contemporary photography apps allow users to manipulate light and texture through a variety of lenses, film effects, and flash settings. Blur, oversaturate, play with light, and manipulate subjects to create photos that have their very own look and unique character.
TRY THESE: Hipstamatic, CameraBag
PAINT & DRAW Get technical with app tools that appeal to seasoned artists and doodlers alike. Expect high-quality brushes, pencils, erasers, and paint. Some apps allow you to trace subjects from photographs or add multiple layers to separate different parts of your work.
TRY THESE: Layers, Brushes
Some of our favorite institutions known for showcasing innovative art and design. LOS ANGELES CENTER FOR DIGITAL ART Los Angeles, CA | lacda.com NEW MUSEUM New York, NY | newmuseum.org MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN New York, NY | madmuseum.org ADOBE MUSEUM OF DIGITAL MEDIA adobemuseum.com DIGITAL ART MUSEUM dam.org CUT&PASTE DIGITAL DESIGN TOURNAMENT cutandpaste.com
© 2011
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
1
JAMES WILSON
CREATOR, SECRETFORTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
What social media will be like in five years: “I’d like to see the ‘antisocial media’ movement pioneered. That or FaceTime fight clubs.” Glasses: Fillmore
2
1
JOSE R. MEJIA
STRATEGY AND MARKETING MANAGER, LARGETAIL.COM
What I do (in 25 words or less): “Help agencies and brands do intelligent and fun things instead of stupid and boring things.” Glasses: Felton
3
ASHLEY GRANATA & BROOKE MORELAND
2
FOUNDERS, FASHISM.COM ASHLEY, LEFT
6
Coolest Internet discovery: “Svpply.com—it’s a great way to show your BF what to buy for you without having to ask for it. :)”
SOCIAL CLIMBERS
Glasses: Monroe BROOKE, RIGHT
Coolest Internet discovery: “4sq, because it gave me a social life.” Glasses: Roosevelt
3
4
CLAIRE MAZUR
COFOUNDER, OFAKIND.COM
Weirdest place I ever checked in on Foursquare: “buybuy BABY. My business partner Erica dragged me with her between meetings because she had to buy something for a baby shower. I was irate. I had nothing to do but stand in the formula aisle and protest about it on social media.”
4
Glasses: Tenley
6
5
JAKE DAVIS
FILMMAKER, JAKEDAVIS.TYPEPAD.COM
BIRDIE
Coolest Internet discovery: “Jake Davis Test Shots, duh! Why? Because I’m an arrogant prick who will use every opportunity he gets to self-promote his own shit.”
I AM A DOG, @BIRDIEPUP
Most annoying subject for a status update: “ ‘Blah blah blah, I’m a cat.’ Something like that—I hate it.” Glasses: Zagg
Photographs by Brad DeCecco. Hair and Makeup by Kristina Brown at Jed Root.
5
Glasses: Griffin
WE BROUGHT THE FUTURE INTO FOCUS BY STYLING 13 RISING DIGITAL STARS IN GLASSES FROM FELLOW INTERNET SENSATION WARBY PARKER.
9
SEAN MICHAEL SULLIVAN
CREATOR, THEIMPOSSIBLECOOL.COM
Favorite way to unplug from the world: “Jungles, deserted beaches, mountain roads, boats—they all usually have terrible cell/Internet reception, so I guess my answer is that . . . I leave.”
7
JULIEANNE SMOLINSKI
Glasses: Jasper
WRITER, @BOOBSRADLEY
What I do (in 25 words or less): “Huge, famous, important Internet celebrity.”
7
9
Glasses: Thatcher
10
COURTNEY LEWIS
8
PARTNER, HARDCANDYSHELL.COM
RICH TONG
FASHION DIRECTOR, TUMBLR
Dream job (other than current one): “Panda caretaker.”
Coolest Internet discovery: “Impossible to pick just one. I love what companies like Kickstarter, Svpply, Skillshare, Rock Health, Turntable.fm, and BuzzFeed are doing.”
10
Glasses: Huxley
Glasses: Beckett
11
8
GAURI MANGLIK
CEO AND COFOUNDER, SPOTON.COM
Most annoying status update: a big fan when people’s updates are really emo.”
“Not
Glasses: Spencer 11
12
MICHAEL S GALPERT
COFOUNDER, AVIARY.COM
Coolest Internet discovery: “Fancy Hands makes my life easier by allowing me to outsource a bunch of administrative stuff.”
MEET THE BRAINS BEHIND THE FRAMES HOW A SHARED PASSION FOR EYEGLASSES TURNED WARBY PARKER INTO ONE OF THE INTERNET’S BUZZIEST NEW VENTURES.
Last year four Wharton Business School graduates launched Warby Parker, an online eyewear store with a philanthropic bent: For each pair of glasses sold, another is donated to a person in need in Latin America, Asia, or Africa. Here, cofounder Neil Blumenthal shares his tips for how to start a business with friends.
Glasses: Winston 12
One word: communicate! “From Day 1 we committed to each other that we’d remain close friends, so we ensure a healthy working dynamic by creating mechanisms to help resolve disputes and setting up monthly feedback sessions between the four of us.”
Blumenthal, left, with cofounder Dave Gilboa.
Always be honest “Friends going into business together should be thoughtful and considerate to
each other but also speak openly. When hearing something critical, it’s important to presume positive intent—after all, you’re friends, which is why you went into business together in the first place.”
Andrew and Jeff, are on the board of directors, but they have other jobs. The distinction allows us to coordinate our efforts and be productive.”
Avoid stepping on one another’s toes “Having clear areas of responsibility is super-important. The two of us run the business dayto-day as co-CEOs, and our cofounders,
Don’t make it all about business “The four of us talk on the phone about work and have our board meetings, but we also hang out socially at least once a week.”
VISIT US ON FACEBOOK
The Roots: New York, NY Photographed by Danny Clinch, 2 011 SOHO
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MALIBU
Shop johnvar vatos . com
INTERVIEWS BY ERICA CERULO PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARCELO KRASILCIC STYLING BY EUGENE TONG
THE LATEST GENERATION OF WEB ENTREPRENEURS LOOK AND ACT NOTHING LIKE THEIR AWKWARD PREDECESSORS. WE STYLED THE MEN BEHIND FOUR OF TODAY’S HOTTEST START-UPS TO SHOW YOU THE NEW FACE OF TECHLAND. FORGET GEEK CHIC — THESE GUYS ARE JUST CHIC.
THE NEW TITANS OF TECH
From left, Blecharczyk, Gebbia, and Chesky, on the roof of Airbnb’s offices in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.
USER DATA HOW AIRBNB JOB TRAINING IS DIFFERENT
VITAL SIGNS YEAR FOUNDED:
2008
HOME BASE:
SAN FRANCISCO
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
130
NUMBER OF NIGHTS BOOKED:
MORE THAN 2 MILLION
ESTIMATED VALUATION:
$1.3 BILLION
FOUNDERS, AIRBNB
NATHAN BLECHARCZYK / 28 JOE GEBBIA / 29 BRIAN CHESKY / 29 Airbnb founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were just looking to make some quick cash when they turned their San Francisco apartment into an impromptu B&B for out-of-town conventioneers. But soon the two college friends, along with Nathan Blecharczyk, a former Microsoft employee, realized they were sitting on a legitimate business opportunity: a website that could pair savvy travelers with underutilized spaces. To help fund their start-up, they raised $30,000 by selling collectible breakfast cereals called Obama O’s and Cap’n McCain’s. Three years later, Airbnb has more than 100,000 listings—ranging from urban lofts to Yorkshire castles—in almost every country in the world, leading to new vacation experiences for travelers and new income streams for people with spare bedrooms. “We’ll probably have more rooms than Hilton by next year,” Chesky says.
“The place where we started is really important to our history, so we bring every new employee to the apartment to give him an hour-anda-half tour.” —CHESKY
THE CELEBRITIES YOU’LL FIND AT HQ
“We had an officewarming with, like, 500 people. Our DJ was none other than MC Hammer. He’s a huge fan of Airbnb. We actually had a dance-off. It was a little bit surreal.” —GEBBIA
WHAT IT’S LIKE TO GET THE CELEBRITY TREATMENT YOURSELF
FAVORITE AIRBNB STAY
“I had this one, like, a block from Dolores Park in San Francisco. It was beautifully furnished, and you could step out of the apartment and feel like a local.” —CHESKY
WHY WE LOVE WHAT WE DO
“We got an e-mail from a couple in New York City who lost their jobs. They decided, ‘Well, why don’t we just list our extra bedroom on Airbnb?’ Their listing became so successful that they ended up being able to acquire the apartment across the hall and list that on the site as well. That story is not unique.” —GEBBIA
“I have an extra bedroom that I rent out. I have a lot of young entrepreneurs from out of town stay with me. When they ask what do I do, I say I work for a start-up, and they say, ‘What start-up?’ I tell them Airbnb, and the reaction—it’s pretty awesome.” —BLECHARCZYK
Grooming by Soni Marron at Workgroup-LTD.com. From left: Suit by Gucci, shirt by Theory, tie by Alexander Olch, pocket square by J.M. Dickens, shoes by John Lobb. Suit and shirt by Simon Spurr, tie by Bottega Veneta, pocket square by Tallia Orange, shoes by Johnston & Murphy, glasses by Oliver Peoples. Suit by Calvin Klein Collection, shirt by Prada, tie by Ralph Lauren Purple Label, pocket square by Bottega Veneta, shoes by Church’s.
THE NEW TITANS OF TECH
Photographed on Astor Place, New York City, outside foursquare’s offices.
VITAL SIGNS YEAR FOUNDED:
2009
HOME BASE:
NEW YORK CITY
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
75 COFOUNDER AND CEO, FOURSQUARE
DENNIS CROWLEY / 34 You may think that collecting badges and striving to become the mayor of your local coffee shop is kids’ stuff, but Foursquare’s 10 million devoted users think otherwise. The service, which Dennis Crowley launched two years ago with partner Naveen Selvadurai, has brought social networking mobile by persuading people to tell friends where they’re eating, shopping, and hanging out via GPS-equipped smartphones. “We’re solving very hard technical problems,” Crowley says, “but the hardest thing for me personally is to figure out how to keep the company running efficiently as we get more people, more offices, and different personalities.” Then there’s the challenge posed by giants like Google and Facebook, both of which are eager to co-opt the check-in trend Foursquare started. But Crowley is holding strong: He has more experience in this realm than just about anybody, having launched his first location-based app, Dodgeball, seven years before the first iPhone—while still a student at NYU.
NUMBER OF USERS:
10 MILLION
USER DATA WHERE I DON’T CHECK IN
“My mom told me not to check in at church anymore. That’s a new rule since I dropped my phone at Christmas Mass.”
HOW DEMANDING MY JOB IS
“After we did the Series B round of financing, I went to the World Cup with my brother. That was the first time I took time off since starting Foursquare.”
HOW PEOPLE ARE USING FOURSQUARE
“In the early days, we saw people checking in 20 times a day and I’d be like, ‘You’re not supposed to do that.’ Whatever—people will check in however they want. The average user checks in, like, three times a day. I’d say I’m about that.”
WHY I’M BASED IN NEW YORK
“Tech is not the thing that defines New York—there’s also finance, publishing, media, fashion. Our beta testers worked in all different industries, and the product became more interesting.”
Grooming by Valery Gherman at De Facto for Dior Men. Shirt by Steven Alan. T-shirt and pants by Oliver Spencer.
ESTIMATED VALUATION:
$600 MILLION
THE NEW TITANS OF TECH
USER DATA AESTHETIC INSPIRATION
COFOUNDER, FLIPBOARD
MIKE MCCUE / 44
VITAL SIGNS YEAR FOUNDED:
2010
HOME BASE:
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: :
42
NUMBER OF USERS: :
3 MILLION
With the possible exception of Angry Birds, no iPad app has been more discussed than the media aggregator Flipboard, which was Apple’s 2010 iPad App of the Year. The service, conceived by Mike McCue, a longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and Evan Doll, a former iPhone engineer, emerges from a simple premise: iPad users value aesthetics, and most aggregators are ugly. So when Flipboard pulls from your Facebook, Twitter, and other social feeds, it reshapes the content to read like a magazine, with bold images, headlines that pop, and navigation that mimics page-flipping. Initially, the product generated more interest than the company could handle. “It was way more than we ever anticipated on launch night,” McCue explains, “which crashed our servers pretty quickly.” But as anyone who’s seen The Social Network knows, that’s an auspicious beginning. The next step toward world domination: Flipboard for iPhone, expected later this year.
“The front page of the Wall Street Journal. I think it’s a work of art. All the news of the entire world is boiled down to one page you can easily scan.”
HOW TO KEEP FLIPBOARD FEEDS COMPELLING
“I have a Facebook list called ‘Most interesting friends,’ which is basically a subset of all of those friends who tend to post really interesting things, not just pictures of their dogs.”
MOST OBNOXIOUS START-UP LINGO
“ ‘What’s your exit strategy?’ Anybody who goes into a start-up thinking about an exit plan isn’t likely to build something of durable value.”
BEST WAY TO BLOW OFF STEAM
“Actually, my wife and I just went to Alaska. To have four days where you’re totally, totally offline and all you’re worried about is not getting eaten by a bear—that was liberating.”
START-UPS ARE LIKE HAVING CHILDREN
“I have four kids. By the time you get to your second or third or fourth, you know what really matters and what doesn’t really matter. It’s very similar with a start-up.”
ESTIMATED VALUATION:
$200 MILLION
Photographed at Flipboard’s offices in Palo Alto, California.
Grooming by Soni Marron at Workgroup-LTD.com. Blazer and pants by Brunello Cucinelli. Sweater by Prada. Shirt by Dunhill. Pocket square by J.M. Dickens.
THE NEW TITANS OF TECH
Photographed at the Old Pro sports bar in Palo Alto, California.
USER DATA THE MOMENT I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO BE BIG
VITAL SIGNS YEAR FOUNDED:
2009
HOME BASE:
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
24
NUMBER OF TOPICS:
60,000+
ESTIMATED VALUATION:
$1 BILLION
COFOUNDER, QUORA
CHARLIE CHEEVER / 30 When you want to dig up some obscure fact, you probably head to Wikipedia. But you won’t get any sort of analysis or commentary there. That’s why two Facebook expats launched Quora, a question-and-answer network that lets users follow both individual topics and the experts who know the most about them. “There’s so much value to be unlocked from everyone in the world sharing everything they know with everyone else,” cofounder Charlie Cheever explains. He and partner Adam D’Angelo built a system that allows any registered user to ask or answer any question, a model that has drawn bold-face names like J.J. Abrams (who answers “How do directors conceive and think through monster and action scenes?”), Mark Cuban (“Should NCAA players be paid?”), and AOL cofounder Steve Case (“What factors led to the bursting of the Internet bubble of the late 1990s?”). Got a question for them? Ask away.
“One time, when I went to search for something on Google, the first result was on Quora—and it was a really good answer that I hadn’t even realized was on our site.”
WHAT I LEARNED FROM WORKING AT FACEBOOK
“Ten years ago, it was mostly just the nerds who were on the Internet. Now my grandmother can work an iPad. To make a competitive product, you have to put a ton of effort into designing a great user experience and simplifying things.”
THE APPS I’M INTO RIGHT NOW
“Photo-sharing apps like Instagram and Path. They’re really simple, but pictures are so powerful.”
Grooming by Soni Marron at Workgroup-LTD.com. Jacket by Save Khaki. Shirt by Oliver Spencer. Jeans by Polo by Ralph Lauren.
HOW QUORA CAN GET VERY, VERY PERSONAL
“There was a question about what it was like to be in the World Trade Center on 9/11, and a couple of people who were actually there chimed in. There’s no way that I could’ve found out what that was like without being connected to those people.”
ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPLIMENTS ABOUT QUORA
“A guy told me that he got a job through our site. He posted some stuff about a company that someone who works there saw. They reached out to him, met up, and eventually offered him a job.”
sperrytopsider.com
© Sperry Top-Sider ® A Passion For The Sea ™ 2011
The enduring style of the Shipyard collection
Q
+
A
THE NEW INVESTOR
JOSHUA KUSHNER
THE VENTURE CAPITALIST AND SOCIALGAMING ENTREPRENEUR ON DOT-COM TRENDS, BRIDGING THE GENERATION GAP, AND THE SOLO POWER BREAKFAST.
IF THE START-UP SPACE IS ONE big chess game, then 26-year-old Joshua Kushner is already a grand master. “There’s opportunity everywhere,” Kushner says. “You just have to understand the nature of all the moving pieces.” Four years ago, while an undergraduate at Harvard, Kushner cofounded the social-gaming platform Vostu out of his dorm room; now it’s the largest company of its kind in Latin America, with 35 million registered users and close to 600 employees. Having proved himself as an entrepreneur, Kushner—the youngest member of the wealthy clan that also includes his father, Charles, a New Jersey realestate magnate, and his brother, Jared, the owner of the New York Observer (and Donald Trump’s son-in-law)—turned his sights in 2009 to venture capitalism, founding the angel fund Thrive Capital. The company has since invested in nearly 25 start-ups, including the group-messaging service GroupMe, the online art emporium Art.sy, and the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. Kushner also recently attended Harvard Business School. Why? Because despite his rapid rise, he wanted to prepare himself for the road ahead. “We’re beginning to see what the Internet can do for our lives,” he says, “but it’s only the first inning.” Here, Kushner weighs in on power breakfasts, how to pick the best start-ups, and where he goes for advice. INTERVIEW BY LAURENCE LOWE
Q: WHAT MAKES A START-UP A SUCCESS? A: I’m a big believer in
entrepreneurs who are trying to either create or disrupt markets. For example, Art.sy— a company that I am actively involved in—is bringing art online, enabling consumers to view and purchase works outside of physical galleries. I believe that it has the potential to disrupt the art market in a very positive way.
Q: BEYOND THE INITIAL FUNDING STAGE, HOW DO YOU HELP THESE BUSINESSES GROW? A: I try to be actively
involved in helping entrepreneurs think creatively about challenges and how they can build their businesses in the most impactful way. With Art.sy, Carter [Cleveland] is the CEO running the business, and as lead investor and vice chair of the company, I try to be helpful behind the scenes.
Q: YOU LED QUITE A GROUP OF INVESTORS WITH ART.SY, INCLUDING ERIC SCHMIDT, JACK DORSEY, WENDI DENG MURDOCH, AND DASHA ZHUKOVA. HOW DO YOU MOVE BETWEEN ESTABLISHED PLAYERS AND THE NEW GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS? A: It’s seamless. I’m
the kind of person who enjoys learning from everyone. I enjoy getting the perspective of someone my age, but some of my closest friends are in their seventies. These are guys who’ve built huge businesses, and they can help me think more creatively about my roles.
Q: VOSTU’S SUCCESS SUGGESTS THAT YOU HAVE A KNACK FOR PREDICTING MACRO TRENDS. WHAT ELSE IS COMING DOWN THE PIKE? A: Given that many new
distribution platforms have emerged, I’m looking for products that can package content in a thoughtful, effective way. I am also fascinated with commerce and consumption online. In a two-year period Vostu went from 1 million users to capturing 30 percent of the Internet population of one of the fastest-growing-GDP Internet economies in the world. In this environment, capitalefficient commerce businesses can reach unbelievable scale pretty quickly.
Photograph by Marcelo Krasilcic. Styling by Eugene Tong. Grooming by Kristina Brown at Jed Root. Suit, his own, by Ralph Lauren Black Label. custom shirt, his own, by Astor & Black. Tie by John Varvatos. Pocket square by Brooks Brothers.
Q: POWER BREAKFASTS ARE POPULAR IN THE NEW YORK START-UP WORLD. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SPOT? A: I go to Maialino in
Gramercy every morning. Many tech and media people go to Coffee Shop or Balthazar, but I prefer to have breakfast by myself or with one other person. It isn’t about being secretive—I just love what I do and prefer to focus on my work.
Q: ASHTON KUTCHER SINGS YOUR PRAISES. HOW’D YOU MEET? A: Through my brother,
Jared. I think Ashton is one of the smartest people in this space, and I really like working with him. We invest in a lot of the same companies, and I ask him for feedback on projects all the time.
Dinner table shenanigans. Now in 3D. Turn mealtime into a homemade 3D adventure. Introducing America’s first 3D phone, the Android™ powered HTC EVO™ 3D. It’s everything you loved about the original EVO, plus now you can watch and shoot 3D videos on a brilliant 4.3-inch qHD screen. No glasses required. Only from Sprint, America’s Favorite 4G Network.
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sprint.com/EVO3D 800-SPRINT-1
Requires a new-line activation (or an eligible upgrade) on an Everything plan with data, a Premium Data add-on and a two-year Agreement.
800-777-4681 Or visit any Sprint Store.
Screen images simulated. May require up to a $36 activation fee/line, credit approval and deposit. Up to a $200 early termination fee/line applies. Phone Offer: Offer ends 9/10/11 or while supplies last. Taxes and service charges are excluded. No cash back. Requires activation at the time of purchase. Upgrade: Existing customers in good standing with service on the same device for more than 22 consecutive months currently activated on a service plan of $39.99 or higher may be eligible. See in-store rebate form or sprint.com/upgrade for details. 3D Content: Capture and record in 3D, available with a rear-facing camera only. 3D features are compatible only with 3D content. America’s Favorite 4G Network Claim: Based on the number of Sprint 4G subscribers vs. those on other wireless 4G (WiMAX and LTE) networks in the U.S. Other Terms: Coverage is not available everywhere. The Nationwide Sprint Network reaches over 278 million people. The Sprint 4G Network reaches over 70 markets and counting, on select devices. The Sprint 3G Network reaches over 274 million people. Offers are not available in all markets/retail locations or for all phones/networks. Pricing, offer terms, fees and features may vary for existing customers not eligible for upgrade. Other restrictions apply. See store or sprint.com for details. ©2011 Sprint. All rights reserved. Sprint and the logo are trademarks of Sprint. The HTC logo and HTC EVO are trademarks of HTC Corporation. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Other marks are the property of their respective owners.
NEW YORK | TOKYO | HONG KONG | LONDON | GENEVA | DUSSELDORF | BOSTON | VICTORINOX.COM
1
SHIRT
ALWAYS ROLL UP THE SLEEVES ON YOUR SHIRT. IT GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU’RE WORKING EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT.
2
JEWELRY
BE CAREFUL WITH THE MAN JEWELRY. A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY.
3
FEVERYL AOUTFIT I R SHOULD HAVE A LITTLE CLOWN IN IT.
SOCKS, HAT, UNDERWEAR—PICK ONE (AND ONLY ONE) PIECE OF FLAIR FOR YOUR OUTFIT.
4
SA PAIRH OOFRSHORTS T S COUNTS AS FLAIR.
THAT MEANS YOU DON’T GET TO SHOW YOUR KNEES AND WEAR A BOW TIE.
5
HUNLESS A L YOU’RE F T UIN CA SUIT,K NEVER ROCK A FULL TUCK. IT’S TOO STUFFY. GO FOR A HALF-TUCK INSTEAD.
6
LOGOS
LOGOS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL. SERIOUSLY. THEY’RE NEVER OKAY.
8
T- S H I R T
WHEN IN DOUBT, PUT ON A GRAY OR WHITE T-SHIRT. NOT A SEE-THROUGH UNDERSHIRT— A NICE, THICK COTTON ONE.
9
BEARD
THE SCRUFFIER YOUR BEARD, THE SHARPER YOU NEED TO DRESS.
1 0
FASHION IS PERSONAL AND SUBJECTIVE, SO YOU’RE FREE TO DO WHAT FEELS RIGHT— AS LONG AS YOU FOLLOW THESE RULES.
7
ASHTON’S TEN COMMANDMENTS OF STYLE
SHOES
DO NOT WEAR COLORED SHOES.* THIS IS IMPORTANT: EARTH TONES AND BLACKS ONLY. (*IF YOU DO, THEY COUNT AS YOUR ONE PIECE OF FLAIR.)
B E LT
WEAR A BELT! IT’S AN EASY WAY TO PULL TOGETHER YOUR OUTFIT. JUST BE SURE TO MATCH IT TO YOUR SHOES.
SHOP & EXPERIENCE DKNY MEN
!!!"#$%%&$'($)*+",'./011/223/4232
IS SPOTIFY THE ITUNES KILLER?
HOW THE STREAMING SOCIAL SERVICE IS REVOLUTIONIZING THE WAY WE LISTEN TO MUSIC.
DETAILS’ EDITORS CURATED FOUR PLAYLISTS FROM SPOTIFY’S VAST CATALOG—ONE FOR EACH ESSENTIAL SOUNDTRACK-WORTHY OCCASION.
COCKTAIL HOUR —
—
WORKOUT —
Two parts funk, one part jazz, a dash of French pop—stir and sip.
Let Iggy Pop and Justice unleash the beast in you.
FORD MUSTANG SERGE GAINSBOURG
SIGNATUNE (THOMAS BANGALTER EDIT) DJ MEHDI
NEW BEAT TORO Y MOI
TIGHTROPE (FEAT. BIG BOI) JANELLE MONÁE
DORALICE STAN GETZ
FUCKIN’ IN THE BUSHES OASIS
SHOOTING HOLES TWIN SHADOW
ONE LIFE STAND HOT CHIP
AFRO-HARPING DOROTHY ASHBY
CIVILIZATION JUSTICE
100 DAYS, 100 NIGHTS SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS
SEARCH AND DESTROY IGGY POP
33:36
PLAY TIME
PLAY TIME
—
After trenchant negotiations with record companies and much hand-wringing from impatient audiophiles, the Swedish music-streaming service Spotify launched in the U.S. last month. With more than 13 million immediately accessible on-demand songs, mobile capability on most smartphones, a no-charge honeymoon period, and seamless fusion with Facebook, Spotify has been heralded as the “iTunes killer” and might just be the thing that lifts American listeners up into the cloud. “The response has been overwhelming,” says CEO Daniel Ek, who helped launch Spotify in 2008. An early adopter of Napster, Ek realized that BitTorrent, subscription, and piracy sites overlooked the fundamental fact that listening to music is both a personal and a collective experience. “Music is the most social thing there is,” says Ek. “We wanted to set it free and see what happens.” Supplanting the need for a recommendation engine like iTunes or Pandora, Spotify displays what people in your social network are listening to, shares playlists instantly, and offers offline access. An “inbox” feature even allows you to send specific songs to a friend or, say, a significant other, as one European man did to propose (his chosen song titles spelled out “Will you marry me?”). “It’s been interesting watching people wrap their heads around Spotify,” says Ek. “They’re still discovering new ways to use it.” Christopher Ross
HOT PANTS, PARTS 1 & 2 JAMES BROWN
I’M GOOD, I’M GONE LYKKE LI
CAN’T HEAR MY EYES ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI
HAMMERTIME (HOME DEPOT) (FEAT. BIG FREEDIA) MONSTA WIT DA FADE
32:54
I FALL IN LOVE TOO EASILY CHET BAKER
PLAY
—
PLAY
ROAD TRIP —
When Spank Rock, David Bowie, and the Beastie Boys tell you to get up—you get up.
DESIRE BE DESIRE GO TAME IMPALA
SWEET TALK SPANK ROCK CALL YOUR GIRLFRIEND ROBYN BLACK AND YELLOW WIZ KHALIFA MAKE SOME NOISE BEASTIE BOYS ELECTRIC FEEL MGMT POWER KANYE WEST KIM & JESSIE M83 CE JEU YELLE LET’S MAKE LOVE AND LISTEN TO DEATH FROM ABOVE CSS LET’S DANCE DAVID BOWIE
TAKEN FOR A FOOL THE STROKES CALIFORNIA SOUL MARLENA SHAW COURTESY LAUGHS PHOENIX NOT IN LOVE CRYSTAL CASTLES PISS FACTORY PATTI SMITH GROUP MASTER OF NONE BEACH HOUSE GUT FEELING (SLAP YOUR MAMMY) DEVO
PLAY
NEED A SPOTIFY INVITE?
PLAY TIME
PLAY TIME
DANCE PARTY —
Rock and roll—fast or slow—was made to be heard on the road.
HOLD TIGHT! DAVE DEE, DOZY, BEAKY, MICK & TICH
33:22
—
PLAY
IF YOU AREN’T A MEMBER YET, SNAG AN EXCLUSIVE INVITATION FROM DETAILS HERE (WHILE SUPPLIES LAST) TO TRY OUT THE SOCIALLY DRIVEN MUSIC SERVICE.
40:53
DO YOU NEED A SOCIALMEDIA MAKEOVER? THIS GUY DID!
READY FOR AN UPGRADE: TODD SNYDER
Anthony Batt has made the art of generating online buzz into a science. As the founder and chief creative officer of the Web-publishing juggernaut Buzzmedia, he turned culture blogs like Idolator and Stereogum into must-reads for today’s influencers. So it’s no wonder that last December Ashton Kutcher tapped the 44-year-old Batt to become the president of Katalyst, where Batt coaches big-name companies such as Virgin Media, Intel, and GE on the best ways to expand their reach online. “The advice that I give to brands and individuals is very similar,” Batt says. “Be super-authentic to who you are. If there’s nothing else out there except what other people are saying about you, that’s the only way you’ll be perceived. It’s vital to actually design your digital presence.” Here, Batt gives Todd Snyder—an executive assistant at Katalyst, aspiring TV producer, and social-media naïf—a much-needed makeover of his Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles. Lindsey Weber FACEBOOK UPGRADE YOUR PROFILE PIC “People do judge a book by its cover. If Todd’s looking to get dates, that puppy-dog picture might work. But it doesn’t really translate as ‘I produce a TV show.’ ”
BEFORE
THE MISSING LINKS “Sign up for groups that are germane to either your personal position or your company’s position. Highlight articles that are important to those worlds, so that when people come to your feed, they see that you’re clearly clued in.”
DO MORE THAN “LIKE” “ ‘Liking’ is easy to do but doesn’t really say anything about you, so leave a comment. That’s a much more sophisticated vote. You’re developing a relationship between you and that content, and if you don’t say anything about it, that relationship is pretty weak. Be active!”
BREAK OUT OF THE PACK “Twitter comes with a default background, but that’s no good. Todd needs something polished, with a clean fit and finish. People want to see that he’s thinking in a manner that shows that he’s designed his digital look. He should use the same profile image that he uses on other sites. And in his blurb about himself, include links to his other content.”
FOLLOW THE “RIGHT” PEOPLE “Facebook is for people you actually know, whereas Twitter is a place to connect with people you don’t know but admire and find interesting. Todd should be following people who represent his aspirations and connecting with them through replies and retweets.”
GET AUTHENTIC ENDORSEMENTS “Don’t go fishing. Have someone who’s worked underneath you say you’re a great boss. Or ask someone to endorse a specific project you’ve done, rather than some general, platitude-filled statement about you, which no one really believes.”
CONNECT WITH COLLEAGUES “You’re not just representing yourself on LinkedIn. Having a good profile also reflects well on the company you’re working for. And if you’re at a really big company, LinkedIn is a perfect way to make connections.”
AFTER
TWITTER GET WITH THE PROGRAM “If you don’t use Twitter, get off it. So if Todd’s on there but not actually doing anything, he just looks like a tool.”
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE AFTER
BECOME A PRO USER “Sure, Todd’s on there, but his profile isn’t good, and that’s actually worse than not being there at all. This is where a lot of professionals do their recruiting. So if you’re all happy-go-lucky-I-justwanna-play-onlineand-do-social, then LinkedIn is not for you. This is a space for professionals, and it’s key.”
SIMON SPURR
DISCOVER THE SITE WITH THE COOLEST STUFF
FASHION DESIGNER
The menswear designer, 37, cut his teeth at Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren Purple Label before launching his own popular Spurr and Simon Spurr lines, which marry classic American sportswear with traditional English tailoring.
SURF. COVET. CLICK. SHARE . . . REPEAT. FROM CELEBS TO EARLY ADOPTERS, TODAY’S TASTEMAKERS SHARE THEIR OBSESSIONS WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD ON THEFANCY.COM. In a digital world where everyone and his cousin has a Tumblr devoted to his favorite things, TheFancy.com stands out—not just because it’s curated by readers, or because it offers discounts on featured products, or because it’s wired into nearly every social network. No, we keep coming back to this corner of the Web because it’s a highly addictive browsing experience. In the spirit of sharing, Details calls on some stylish names to create Fancy pages of their own.
THEFANCY.COM/ SIMONSPURR
Photo of the Beatles by Robert Whitaker
Mies van der Rohe Cane Armchair
Limited-Edition Simon Spurr Fifth-Anniversary Jeans
Hunter Original Tall Wellington Boots Photo of fashion editor Julia Sarr-Jamois
Nurse of Greenmeadow by Richard Prince
Vintage Parka
Photograph of Simon Spurr by Anna Bauer.
SURF. COVET. CLICK. SHARE. REPEAT. 60 Liter Aquascape
VITO SCHNABEL
1973 Rolex Air-King with “Bubblegum” Dial
ART DEALER
The 25-year-old son of the iconic painter Julian Schnabel has become a go-to art dealer, representing both established vets like Ron Gorchov and René Ricard and rising stars like Dustin Yellin and Terence Koh. THEFANCY.COM/ VITOSCHNABEL
Whatever by Dan Colen
The Bambu Pet Hammock
Tan Ship Crested Leather Boots by Alexander McQueen
In This Town You’re a One Eyed Jack by Julian Schnabel
Photograph of Vito Schnabel by Jason Schmidt.
Yellow Rosewood Vintage Wayfarer Glasses
SURF. COVET. CLICK. SHARE. REPEAT.
SKYLAR GREY SINGER-SONGWRITER
After winning universal praise for her collaborations with the likes of Eminem and Lupe Fiasco (not to mention a Grammy nomination for cowriting “Love the Way You Lie”), the sultry 25-year-old is releasing her solo debut, Invinsible, this fall.
Finsk Wedge Shoe Boot
THEFANCY.COM/ SKYLARGREY
Pallet Chandelier
Philippe Starck Aprilia Moto 6.5 Lizard Flip Tee
Pomsky = Pomeranian + Husky Leather Punching Bag
Audiowood Chipmunk Turntable
Photograph of Skylar Grey by Theo Wenner.
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
SURF. COVET. CLICK. SHARE. REPEAT. CARMELO ANTHONY NBA STAR
Whether he’s carving up an opposing team’s defense or attending runway shows in Milan, the 27-year-old New York Knicks superstar always displays flash and élan. THEFANCY.COM/ CARMELOANTHONY
Spiral Wine Cellar
Street Art
Mansory Bugatti Linea Vincerò d’Oro
Creativity Advice From Graphic Designer Paul Zii Leather Backgammon Set by Ameriken Joe Inc
76 Syntheseizer iPad App
Bravado Glasses by Dita Eyewear
Photograph of Carmelo Anthony: Getty Images.
Wherever you go, charge up. Chill out. Pop the cap. Prepare your taste buds for smooth delicious coffee.
CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK
Š 2011 North American Coffee Partnership. All rights reserved.
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#MASTERINGTHEDELICATEARTOFSOCIALMEDIAETIQUETTE COMEDIAN NICK KROLL’S FOOLPROOF GUIDE TO USING FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND MORE IN 20 EASY STEPS.
about it. Do not be a pic-tease.
13. IF YOU TAG ME ON
a Facebook group page that everyone “replies all” to for weeks, I will legit murder your parents. Same goes for group e-mails, y’all.
14. DON’T TAKE
SPOILER ALERT! We all spend a lot of time online. (Is that how spoiler alerts work?) It seems that we fill every waking moment on one social-media site or another. Waiting for an elevator? Send a tweet. On the toilet? Check Facebook. Avoiding actual work? Get sucked into a YouTube vortex of “Macho Man” Randy Savage videos. These socialmedia sites are like the 21st-century town square, so you need to behave accordingly. You wouldn’t choose to embarrass yourself by releasing your bowels in public, but things are a bit more complicated online. So by sharing my tips, I hope to help you avoid taking virtual dumps all over the social-media town square.
1. HAVE A REAL PICTURE
of yourself as a profile pic. I need to know what you look like. It’s only fair. If your Facebook photo includes a picture of your significant other, I know that you are seriously codependent. If it is a picture of your baby, I know I’ll have very little to say to you at a dinner party. Also, offer me a few options. If all of your pictures are from the same angle, I know that you are ugly and have figured out that one angle that makes you look less ugly.
2. DON’T GIVE ME
constant updates of where you are eating or shopping. The only person who cares about that is your stalker, and the real joy for him is the hunt.
3. IF I SEND YOU A TEXT
and you don’t respond and then I see you tweet something or post something on Facebook, I know that you are straight up ignoring me. Just remember that everyone on the Internet Photographs: Getty Images.
is taking note of your goings-on and judging you all the time. Isn’t that comforting?
4. BE AWARE OF
@Humblebrag, created by the very funny Harris Wittels. There is no better police for the bullshit way that we have chosen to boast about our lives with a totally false sense of humility than @Humblebrag. The economy is falling apart, nuclear reactors are prone to meltdowns, and the Chinese are taking over the planet, but the only thing I truly fear is @Humblebrag.
5. SIGN UP FOR MYSPACE
ter, etc. The only time it’s okay is if your post is really funny. Alternatively, nobody cares about your heartfelt “RIP” tweet. Truly, the only place I want to see “RIP” is on one of those foam-gravestone Halloween decorations from CVS.
7. I CAN’T STAND WHEN
people make plans on each other’s Facebook walls. Do that nonsense privately. Either I am not interested in what you are up to, or I am very interested in what you are up to and feel incredibly left out.
now because it’s gonna be cool and retro before you know it, like roller skating or having a Sega fucking Genesis.
8. IF YOU WRITE LOL IN A
6. WHEN SOMEONE DIES,
on a current event, please make sure it’s accurate, because at this point I get more than half of my news from piecing together the story from people’s Twitter jokes about it.
don’t immediately reduce his or her entire life down to 140 characters of snarky dismissal. Remember, they were someone’s son/ daughter, brother/sis-
tweet or status update unironically, I will immediately assume that I am smarter than you are.
9. WHEN YOU COMMENT
10. LET’S TAKE IT EASY
on the hashtags, folks. It’s fun to build on others’ ideas, but the long-hashtag-asa-punchline needs to be well thought out. And, BTW, capitalize the first letter of each new word. #AmIRightLadiesWhoAmIKiddingNoOneWillReadThisArticleImSoDeperatelyAloneWhatShouldITweetNext
11. IF YOU ARE POSTING
an event for a concert or show, give me the most basic information I need. I used to associate the word event with things like a wedding or an inauguration or the Oscars, not your improv class’s “graduation” at 3 p.m. on a Sunday.
12. DO NOT TAG ME IN
photos that I am not in to get me to look at them. This little game does not ingratiate you to me; it makes me hate you. All I do all day is look for photos of myself on the Internet, and when I am pic-teased, I get super-angry
pictures of your private parts and send them around willy-nilly, because they will end up on the Internet. Unless your boobs are really fantastic or your dick looks like fantastic boobs. In that case, send them around the Internet like a goddamn congressman.
15. THINK BEFORE YOU
ask someone to join hi5 or LinkedIn or whatever the next social-networking site is that will keep us from actually living our lives. And FYI: I WILL NOT JOIN LINKEDIN. The whole thing just reeks of guys with cell-phone belt holsters.
16. USE YELP. IT’S A
helpful reference (not the be-all and end-all) that’s pretty consistent about highlighting good restaurants reviewed by your peers. I tend to trust the reviews written by Asian women in their late twenties because I always see them taking pictures of their food, and they seem to take that shit pretty seriously. But when contributing to Yelp, keep it to a brief paragraph about whether or not you liked the food. I don’t need to
read about how it was your boyfriend’s birthday and the waiter didn’t blah blah blah. It’s a restaurant review, not The Canterbury Tales.
17. DON’T BOTHER
going on first dates anymore. Skip right to the second or third date. Why? Because if I have your full name, I will Google you, Facebook you, check you out on Tumblr, read your tweets, and see what your favorite YouTube videos are. The only thing you can learn about people on a first date is how good they are at pretending like they don’t already know everything about you.
18. IF I DON’T RETWEET
you or vote for you in your quest to win the best acoustic cover of a Chris Brown song contest, it’s because I don’t want to do it. Continuing to ask me to retweet will only ensure that I will never do anything to help you. Repeatedly bothering me to vote for you in a contest is a surefire way to get me to vote for anyone other than you.
19. DOES DIGG STILL
exist? Do I have to worry about it anymore? I never understood exactly what it did, and I’d be pleased if it just went away—unless it’s super-relevant, in which case I mean the opposite.
20. ABBREVIATIONS
r gr8 2 save space but use em sparingly othrwise dey just let us no dat u don no how 2 spell shit.
NICK KROLL is currently starring on The League on FX, and his one-hour stand-up special, Thank You Very Cool, will be released on DVD in September.
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