By Jordan Valinsky 5/01 1:48pm

Kickstart It

Welcome to New York. (Photo: YouTube)

Thrillist Has Hired Jannic Nielssen​, That Kid With the Kickstarter-Like Resume

Here’s a lesson for all the soon-to-be college graduates out there looking for work: get off your ass and create some ~viral content~. It just might work! Take Jannic Nielssen, a rather lively young professional who launched a Kickstarter-esque campaign, fit with an elevator pitch promoting his skills, that he created to get him a job.

Mr. Nielssen was looking to get his foot in the door in either social media or advertising (who isn’t?), but needed an employment offer letter by May 1, or else the half-Jamaican, half-Norwegian citizen faced deportation due to his visa expiring. Read More

By Jessica Roy 2/26 5:13pm

Going Viral

(Photo: Tumblr)

Rick Perry’s Office Says Viral Photo of Him Playing Guitar Hero Is Real (But From 3 Years Ago)

A photo was posted to Tumblr today showing former Presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry shredding some sweet tunes on a Guitar Hero game guitar. “My friend lives next door to Rick Perry and invited him over for a Guitar Hero battle,” read the post. Betabeat was skeptical. Governor Perry’s hand looked like it was at a weird angle, and his face appeared to be a different shade than his neck. Read More

By Jessica Roy 6/21/12 11:39am

Crowd Power

Video

Ms. Klein (Photo: Pulse2)

Indiegogo Campaign for Bullied Bus Monitor Karen Klein Quickly Gives Way to Self-Promotion

On June 19th, just before a heat wave clutched New York in its punishing grip, a YouTube user named CapitalTrigga uploaded a video to YouTube entitled “Making the Bus Monitor Cry.” The video shows a gaggle of middle schoolers from Greece, New York hurling vicious insults at a senior citizen bus monitor named Karen Klein, who is forced to don her sunglasses to hide the fact that she’s crying. The cruelty drags on for a painful 10 minutes and 9 seconds. Anyone who was bullied as a kid will certainly find it difficult to watch.

The local school district quickly moved into damage control mode and held a press conference about the video, but several enterprising Internet denizens decided to take matters into their own hands. A Ukranian nutritionist named Max Sidorov started an Indiegogo campaign with a goal of $5,000 for Ms. Klein to help raise money for a much-needed vacation following the incident. As of this writing, the campaign had raised over $175,000. Read More

By Ben Popper 12/16/10 4:05pm

Ad-Tech

Look at us. Now look at your investors. Now look at us. Fantastic!

First Round Capital Has The Best Holiday Card

Earlier this year Old Spice premiered an ad campaign in which their spokesman replied in real time to users Twitter comments.

The partners and portfolio companies from First Round Capital, which has a strong presence in New York, are recreating that act to send out their holiday greetings.

“Hello Internet denizens, how are you this Read More