Five Reasons Why Monocle Magazine Kicks Ass!

Five reasons why Monocle magazine kicks ass!

A recent Business Week article reminded me why Monocle Magazine kicks so much ass!  Like many great organizations – it starts at the top.  That person at the top of Monocle Magazine is Tyler Brûlé.  Why should you care?  He founded the ground breaking Wallpaper* magazine in the 90s and started up Monocole three years ago in an era where the print medium is dying and digital media is taking over.  Don’t mention that to Tyler though – he’s expanding his media platform one forward-thinking-international-editorial at a time.

  1. You get a global perspective in every issue of Monocole Magazine. It’s like going on an amazing virtual tour around the world and finding out how other cultures and countries are approaching modern lifestyle.
  2. Monocle’s editorial is all about the ABCs, the content in the magazine is broken up by Affairs, Business, Culture, Design, and Edits categories.  Simple and executed brilliantly.
  3. Content is always-always quality.  Some of the best editors and correspondents from NY Times, Independent in the U.K., the BBC and more contribute to Monocle magazine.
  4. Each article has fast facts and interviews within many of the editorial pieces.  Providing various forms of content digestion so if you are on the go or on a flight – it doesn’t matter – you still can learn what’s the movement in San Paulo, Brazil or why Beirut is reemerging as a gem of the middle east.
  5. At the very least – this magazine is so fresh – if you have copies in your living room – folks are bound to think you’re the most interesting person in the world.

Go. Buy. A. Copy. Thank. Me. Later.

@MitchKapler

Five Reasons Why 48 Hour Magazine F#*$ing Rocks

Five reasons why 48 Hour Magazine f#*$ing rocks

1. It’s about time some savvy journalist step it up and take the journalism game to the next level by doing a “a raucous experiment in using new tools to erase media’s old limits.” The past few years I often find myself flipping through magazines saying to myself “old news, old news, old news.”  Then thinking, “geez, print media is in trouble.”  Maybe this is the model of the future?

2. It’s crowd-sourcing, wisdom of crowds, or whatever you want to call it at it’s best!  In 10 days before the kick off, over 6,000 people signed up to take part in the 48 Hour Magazine experiment and they received 1,502 submissions for articles.  That’s awesome.

3. The team is a bunch of free-wheeling-forward-thinking-street-savvy-hippies from San Francisco.  San Fran cats might tilt “towards the left” but you can never deny that they are revolutionaries up there in northern California, always willing and able to define the new rules of the new school.

4. They leveraged social media platforms such as Twitter, Ustream, and their blog to invite people to participate in the action with them!  Smart, smart, and smart.  Forget the velvet rope that old media loves to put up – 48 hours magazine wants to and struck an immediate bond with their new fan base.

5.  Their first issue is all about something WE ALL can legitimately relate to at the moment.  “Hustle. Whether you’re employed, not employed, a student, parent, child, or even a lazy bum.  Living in America requires you to have some form of hustle to get what you need.  A decent education, decent medical coverage, a modest income, long walks on the beach – whatever it is – it all requires hustle.  Not only did 48 Hours come up with a brilliant idea and a savvy execution – they created a relatable product.  Bravo ladies and gents – bravo!

http://magcloud.com/browse/Issue/81528

@mitchkapler

Ebert- Two Thumbs Up

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT -

This is a fantastic profile on Roger Ebert.  He has lost his ability to talk – and it has brought wondrous results to his writing and his demeanor.  It’s a man rediscovering  joy in his passions and wringing out all the precious moments in a life that he senses is coming to an end.  Ebert seems to have found an enlightened state of being.  It’s a portrait of happiness.  It’s sad and touching in the most beautiful way possible.   A must read.

Culture Mash Ups

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT -

Just as the music industry has been sampling and mixing styles, beats and genres – the cross over is now happening in TV, film and culture as well.  Here is a hilarious rap parody by Aziz Ansari that mixes several streams of culture.

A mixing of characters, real and fake seems commonplace but truly is kinda a new deal.  NYMag does a good job describing. While there are spin offs al the time – mixing reality, fake characters and social media is its own genre.  It requires hyper acuity to the cultural landscape but its really sweet.