By Jessica Roy 6/27/12 6:30pm

Jersey Shore

(Photo: Zazzle)

Sorry, NYC: Hoboken has a ‘Hip and Young and Hungry’ Tech Scene of Its Own

“What’s a joke about Hoboken?” we mused aloud upon sitting down to write this post. “What isn’t a joke about Hoboken?” shot back our news editor, without missing a beat.

“Fast Company thinks Hoboken has its own tech scene on its hands,” we responded.

“When have they ever had anything on their hands?” retorted The Observer‘s real estate reporter.

“If I write this I’ll never be able to go to Hoboken,” we considered.

“As if you’d want to,” spat the same reporter.

We weren’t just soliciting jokes about Hoboken for the fun of it. In fact, we were doing so for a very important reason–namely, a Fast Company piece published recently that rallies around Hoboken as a burgeoning “hip and young and hungry” tech beacon. Read More

By Jessica Roy 6/14/12 6:18pm

Fun with GIFs

Hang on, we're popping popcorn.

Animated GIF Reactions to Fast Company’s “Meet the Drapers” Profile

“Can VCs be bred?” asks US Weekly Fast Company‘s recent feature on the Draper dynasty, an absurdly wealthy coterie of ski-loving venture capitalists who just so happen to share the same bloodline. The elder Drapers founded some of the most notable investment firms–perhaps you’ve heard of Draper Richards, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, or Sutter Hill Ventures? Now, the younger Drapers–Jesse, Adam and Bill, all in their 20s–are ready for their time in the spotlight, and this article serves as their coming out of sorts.

While reading the piece, we found we were at a loss for words. Several frenzied Skype messages were exchanged, each more convoluted than the last. It was best, we finally decided, to communicate in our native language in order to truly do this piece justice: it was best to communicate via GIFs. Read More

By Jessica Roy 6/06/12 6:12pm

Airbnb and Me

Mr. Dannen (airbnb.com)

Renting Your Room Through Airbnb Can Get You Kicked Out of Your Apartment

If you’re looking to make some extra cash, Airbnb can be an easy alternative to finding another weird Craigslist roommate or moonlighting as a rich dude’s arm candy. But if you’re going to go the room rental route, you probably want to make sure that doing so doesn’t violate your lease–or else you might just find yourself kicked to the curb (or at least served with a restraining order).

Consider the case of Chris Dannen, a Brooklyn resident who claims to have made upwards of $20,000 in nine months from renting out his two spare bedrooms on Airbnb. According to a missive he penned for Fast Company:

Read More

By Jessica Roy 4/20/12 2:50pm

Crowd Power

Mr. Mankins (Google+)

Crounty, a New Startup from Fast Company’s CTO, Lets You Offer Rewards for Successful Crowdsourcing

Crounty, a new venture from Fast Company CTO Matt Mankins that takes its name from a portmanteau of “Crowd” and “Bounty,” launched on Wednesday for one simple reason: Sometimes you need help from the crowd to locate talented programmers or trusted subletters, and sometimes the things you need help with are so important that you’re willing to pay a bounty for them. Crounty is a platform that lets you do just that. Read More