I’ve just arrived in Jordan safely, and there’s a flattering piece in today’s New York Post about me! Give it a read and let me know what you think… “Josh Spear is living the slacker dream come true. A 24-year-old college dropout dressed in a T-shirt and sneakers, he’s the in-the-know guy corporate suits call into their boardrooms to answer the question: “How can we get young people to think we’re cool and buy our product?”
Interviews are funny. I certainly don’t feel like a slacker with this kind of travel schedule.
The Gift: A one year subscription to your favorite magazine about music, style, and general fabulousness as well as the last four limited-edition 7-inch singles.
The Rules: Lots of people gathered around a table one day (or so the legend goes) to come up with the name (the) FADER. If you had a magazine, what would you call it? Reply in the COMMENTS section for a chance to win. (Give Me A Free Subscription To FADER isn’t really a great title name, FYI) Only one entry per reader. Duplicate entries will be discarded.
The Deadline: The contest is open now through midnight on 12/11
JoshSpear.com friend Rickey Kim (aka Mr. Kim Says) dropped word on his newly redesigned Evil Monito site, which reins in recent stories with newer content for the 23rd issue of its online magazine. Resting on the haunches of the Get Fierce! theme are some hot interviews with Yoko Ono and Chris Burden, and even more thirst-inducing, the photos for the Estevan Oriol piece make spicy seem bland. I love the hand-drawn profile pictures; like Wall Street Journal stipple sketches but for our set. The site looks sophisticated and reads smart — a refreshing aesthetic and approach to the street and pop culture we know and love to read about.
I’ll spare you all the details of what a Skype conversation from Tokyo is like, but there’s a nice little article about me in this months issue of SOMA Magazine. The article is called “Building Brands One Tweet at a Time: Josh Spear’s Digital Crystal Ball.” I’m blushing. No really, I’m blushing. I’d tell you all to go to the newsstands and buy it, but SOMA actually offers a digital version of it (page 24)! Save money and trees, and read it online. The picture didn’t really come out as expected — meant to be way more bad ass under the Torii gates to the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. Damn art directors cropped out the top. Enjoy.
A few months ago a film crew, photographer, assistants of all types and literally dozens of people with color meters, cameras and lights descended on my NYC office and later at my home to shoot a spot and interview for the Yahoo! Start Wearing Purple campaign. A unique experience to say the least, and one of the most exhausting days of my life. Lights, camera, action. Not my world, but interesting to be a part of for a day.
The interview and photos turned out pretty well I think– but it’s always weird seeing yourself on screen and wondering what was going through your head, and how they chopped and edited you together in that way. For people that don’t know me very well, it might offer some better insight into where I work and what I do all day.
The campaign is what they refer to as a “call-to-action’ by Yahoo! for people to live life as an individual, and with an exclamation point. The campaign emphasizes (despite any economic situation) their roots through the color and spirit of purple — it means individuality, imagination and innovation.
The program features four main components. Technology (a set of pretty amazing bikes that take photos every 45 seconds around the world and stream them direct to Flickr), personalities (the pioneers of purple), some products, and the improvisation work done by Charlie Todd of Improv everywhere. There’s a ton of content over there so I encourage you to check it out– but be nice.
Nice shout out in Rob Walker’s Consumed Column in the Sunday NY Times Magazine, in an article entitled Timeless Object. Thanks Rob! The absurd-sounding Abacus watch with its little rolling ball might make you “miss appointments†but it's likely to “get some attention,†commented a writer on one such site, JoshSpear.com. “Sweet.†And really, if you're the alpha-consumer type who craves such a watch, surely you tote a mobile to tell the actual time — and to call whomever you're meeting to explain that you'll be late. Again.
Josh Spear, who writes about trends in technology, fashion and culture on JoshSpear.com, said he came to Pop!Tech on a friend’s recommendation as a way to meet other creative people.
Spear said what makes Pop!Tech exciting is the spreading and exchanging of ideas.
“Equally as good as the speakers are the people who attend the conference,” he said. “You can feel confident that anybody you bump shoulders with waiting for something will have something interesting to say
As promised my presentation last week at Google Zeitgeist is now online for your viewing pleasure– the fine group at Google did an extraordinary job editing and posting the video to YouTube. It was truly an honor to speak alongside such an incredible lineup of presenters, and a lot of fun talking about the work side of my life which I really keep out of this blog most of the time. Also be sure to check out the interview with Michael and Xochi Birch as I’m on the panel during that discussion as well. And of course, if you enjoy it feel free to leave a comment here and give me 5 stars on YouTube! I look forward to reactions!
LOOKING for a cool new way to wrap those boring Christmas presents? Then what you may need is rapping paper, which is imprinted with the lyrics of rap songs and is sure to be popular in avant-garde American households this year, writes Tony Allen-Mills. The latest trend in gift-giving was identified last week by Josh Spear, a 22-year-old Colorado student who has become one of America's leading “cool huntersâ€, a new breed of internet-based trendspotter whose job is to track down cool new products before everyone tries to copy them. Full article here, or after the jump READ MORE…
After growing tiresome of traditional academia and journalism's narrow view of the blogsphere, Josh Spear took it upon himself to create his own bog, Joshspear.com. In barely two years, his blog has become a daily destination for inspiration for industry execs and culture junkies alike. PSFK had the opportunity to chat with Josh and get his take on the current state of independent publishing and here more about his new consulting agency called Spear Creative Group and its digital marketing counterpart SparkMedium. Click here to read the full interview.
Josh Spear: If you have a teenager in your house or a hip youngster in your life, this is THE site for you. Along with sites like Coolhunting, Josh Spear tracks trends for a living (which is really impressive considering he’s only 22) and even consults with brands like McDonalds to tell them what’s hot for the younger set. (Both sites can be a bit masculine so keep these in mind when shopping for a hip younger nephew or cousin in your life). Read the full article here.
If you are looking to successfully engage with the urban market, you have to consider how to position your brand in such a way that its consumption increases young adults’ status in youth culture. Brands that successfully enhance urban capital have to know not only what to communicate, but how. Knowledge: Don’t dismiss blogs as being the personal ramblings of extroverts. Visit sites like www.coolhunting.com, www.newstoday.com and www.joshspear.com. Full article at TheAge.com
On sneakerplay.com, men outnumber women by eight to one, creating an online fratmosphere thick with testosterone, egos and shoe rubber. Like sneaker peacocks, members from around the world flaunt their footwear in photo galleries and boast an inventory of friends on their personal profiles. Full Article Here
In an effort to reach the “creative class” online, GSD&M, which also handles media, is placing ads on sites such as www.theonion.com, www.gawker.com, www.joshspear.com, www.gothamist.com and www.weblogs.com. GSD&M won the $180 million account in November. Full Article Here
When Josh Spear talks trends, companies pay big bucks to hear what he has to say. Cool just isn't cool anymore. At least according to Josh Spear a 21-year-old college dropout and self-described “brand ambassador.†“Maybe it'll make a comeback in a few years,†Spear said. “For now I've basically eliminated the word from my site.†That Web site, or more specifically blog, is http://joshspear.com and is the product of one of the most pre-eminent trend spotters today. It's being watched closely by some of the biggest names in the business world who have a vested interest in the next big thing. Full Article Here
I’ve just arrived in Jordan safely, and there’s a flattering piece in today’s New York Post about me! Give it a read and let me know what you think… “Josh Spear is living the slacker dream come true. A 24-year-old college dropout dressed in a T-shirt and sneakers, he’s the in-the-know guy corporate suits call into their boardrooms to answer the question: “How can we get young people to think we’re cool and buy our product?”
I’ll spare you all the details of what a Skype conversation from Tokyo is like, but there’s a nice little article about me in this months issue of 
Nice shout out in 
LOOKING for a cool new way to wrap those boring Christmas presents? Then what you may need is rapping paper, which is imprinted with the lyrics of rap songs and is sure to be popular in avant-garde American households this year, writes Tony Allen-Mills. The latest trend in gift-giving was identified last week by Josh Spear, a 22-year-old Colorado student who has become one of America's leading “cool huntersâ€, a new breed of internet-based trendspotter whose job is to track down cool new products before everyone tries to copy them. 
After growing tiresome of traditional academia and journalism's narrow view of the blogsphere, Josh Spear took it upon himself to create his own bog, Joshspear.com. In barely two years, his blog has become a daily destination for inspiration for industry execs and culture junkies alike. PSFK had the opportunity to chat with Josh and get his take on the current state of independent publishing and here more about his new consulting agency called Spear Creative Group and its digital marketing counterpart SparkMedium. 
Josh Spear: If you have a teenager in your house or a hip youngster in your life, this is THE site for you. Along with sites like Coolhunting, Josh Spear tracks trends for a living (which is really impressive considering he’s only 22) and even consults with brands like McDonalds to tell them what’s hot for the younger set. (Both sites can be a bit masculine so keep these in mind when shopping for a hip younger nephew or cousin in your life). 
If you are looking to successfully engage with the urban market, you have to consider how to position your brand in such a way that its consumption increases young adults’ status in youth culture. Brands that successfully enhance urban capital have to know not only what to communicate, but how. Knowledge: Don’t dismiss blogs as being the personal ramblings of extroverts. Visit sites like www.coolhunting.com, www.newstoday.com and www.joshspear.com. Full article at 
In an effort to reach the “creative class” online, GSD&M, which also handles media, is placing ads on sites such as www.theonion.com, www.gawker.com, www.joshspear.com, www.gothamist.com and www.weblogs.com. GSD&M won the $180 million account in November. 
When Josh Spear talks trends, companies pay big bucks to hear what he has to say. Cool just isn't cool anymore. At least according to Josh Spear a 21-year-old college dropout and self-described “brand ambassador.†“Maybe it'll make a comeback in a few years,†Spear said. “For now I've basically eliminated the word from my site.†That Web site, or more specifically blog, is http://joshspear.com and is the product of one of the most pre-eminent trend spotters today. It's being watched closely by some of the biggest names in the business world who have a vested interest in the next big thing. 
