⚡️ By Kevin Huynh ⚡️
I Like To Meet People I’m Never Going To See Again
November 19th, 2011
There’s something magical about talking to someone you’re never going to meet again.
I was boarding this bus getting ready for a return trip from Boston to New York. Settled in my window seat, tucking my water bottle into that crevice between the chair and wall, I childishly spied on my fellow bus-goers as they attempted to fend off other passengers from picking the seat next to them. You know the dance, you place your bag on the aisle seat, spread out your legs an absurd amount, or just blatantly stare people down, shamelessly praying that no one will claim your precious personal space and you may be so lucky to escape victorious without a seat-mate for the ride.
I admit, even I was guilty that day as I placed the box of cheap Chinese food that I planned to eventually gulp down mid-trip directly on the seat next to me. Of course, by no surprise probably the very last woman to hop aboard the Megabus that fateful day miraculously looked around and tersely asked as she gestured towards my Beef and Broccoli, “This seat taken?”
Naturally, I smiled amidst admitting defeat through my teeth and replied with a short, “Of course.” And that was that, we were locked in.
Little did I know, I would soon spend a good lot of the next four hours getting to know Asal, an Iranian girl my age with twice my ambition and 10 times the street smarts, currently serving as Director of Business Development for a luxury fragrance company. She told me about her company, her long commute, her not-so-stimulating MBA program, and that one guy back home who she should probably marry. Hell, I even quickly photoshopped an image for one of her presentations.
I like talking to people I’ll never meet again.
I like talking to people I’ll never meet again. Don’t get me wrong, I also enjoy talking to friends I plan to see often, but there’s something uniquely genuine about a conversation between two people that have no expectation of the future between them. I think we often put a lot of pressure on the people we interact with, and that’s fine. We trade favors, field emotions, and work intimately. We have goals and sometimes you need to meet someone specifically to make something happen. That’s natural, that’s expected, that’s what you do to build depth whether it’s with a business partner, a love interest, or a best pal.
But when you intersect with someone else on a train, you’re isolated with that person for sometimes a hefty amount of time, and I believe you have the magical opportunity to enter a conversation with no agenda but to learn about their life out of pure curiosity. Because soon enough, you will part ways and leave with only what you’ve learned.
My boss, friend and mentor, Jerri, started a project called Subway Friends. It involves meeting someone new on the subway every day and handing them a small card with an invitation to a “Subway Friends Get-together” at a public place at the end of the month. Whenever I’m surrounded by unfamiliar people, I think about Jerri talking about her frustration with how a train packed full of folks can be deathly silent, all staring at the floor sheepishly avoiding contact via their iPhones, earbuds, and books.
Who knows where your random encounter might go. You may never get their name, you may trade business cards, you might find the girl of your dreams (part of why I take a lot of buses). But even amidst all that, I still think the majority of the time these serendipitous conversations go one of two ways: either you don’t get past the “how are you” phase or you meet, learn and leave. It’s that simple.
Someone did once tell me, “You meet everyone twice,” which, who knows, may be true in a poetic, Lion King Circle of Life, unquantifiable karma sort of way. But whether you’re meeting Asal the 24 year-old fragrance prodigy, Dan the love-struck upcoming sophomore at Rutgers, or that psychology student on the subway reading the book about why men cheat, I think you have the most to gain by not only welcoming but embracing that interaction just for what is, two people getting to know each other.
The N Line Is The Most Powerful NYC Subway Train Of All Time
November 13th, 2011
Let’s begin by getting one thing straight, the N line may very well be the most powerful NYC subway train of all time. It jumps from the heart of Brooklyn to Canal St. in Manhattan within a single stop. It zooms past the silly local R train which crawls through downtown Brooklyn and pitifully, painfully drags its sad, screeching metal shell as it lumbers into the city. To put it another way, if Vin Diesel was reincarnated in subway train form, he would probably be the N. And moreover, he would likely smoke the crap out of the other underglowing Honda Civic subway train street racer wannabes.
But on top of all of that and maybe most importantly, the N runs across the Manhattan Bridge above the East River while many other cross-river trains use those underwater magical tunnels I don’t understand.
The view from the N train is beautiful, and I feel like I’m the only one who notices it.
The view from the N train is beautiful, and I feel like I’m the only one who notices it. It doesn’t matter if it’s day or night, as the train emerges from the labyrinth of dark tunnels, the world peeks in, and for a maybe a minute or so, the hustle of the subway, that I’m-busy-and-need-to-walk-faster mentality, the iPhone-checking, cyclically-caffeinated, eating-lunch-over-your-laptop, too-tired-for-the-gym, I-need-wifi-while-underground, never-get-enough-done weight in your lungs… seems to pause.
I like to sit on the West side of the train. That’s because as you look over your adjacent train-mates the windows of the N frame the Brooklyn Bridge perfectly as it spans the two cities.
I never see anyone else peering out the windows. It’s as if the view is no different than the cracking, gray, moist tunnels that seem to wire the city. I don’t get it.
I’m not sure if my fellow ear-bud wearing passengers look at me thinking, “Man is it this guy’s first time in New York or something? Why’s he gawking out the window as if he just spotted Jay Z?” I’m not sure if it’s indeed a product of just being a 4 month New Yorker, or if I just have a weird engineering fetish for bridges.
But I have to say, I really think those other kids are crazy.
The N line is the most powerful NYC subway train of all time. It quantum leaps you from the Target at Atlantic Terminal to the bottom of the fancy, shmancy SoHo stores in a blink of an eye. It puts the tortoise-paced local R, the Snorlax of Brooklyn-bound subway trains to embarrassing shame. And it takes you over the bridge… over the bridge, out of the depths of the blackhole tunnels where I still childishly ponder if underground people actually live down there. The N train breaks up your day. It stops time. It’s the fucking Stargate of subway cars as it glides along the Manhattan Bridge like a beautiful, metal phoenix-like time portal of public transportation. It takes the world out of context and lets you see. It moves. It pauses. It’s magic. And yet, it’s still just a train.
What I Learned From Spying On A Wedding
October 12th, 2011
I recently witnessed the *very* end of a wedding. I was just another Park Slope passerby until I unwittingly sauntered by this open church door. To my surprise, a newly minted bride and groom walked straight down the aisle towards me as if I had just called them over after they had finished their ceremony. The crowd was cheering, the music was playing and their bridal party would soon follow in the traditional procession as a flury of hugs, handshakes, highfives, and fistbumps celebrating the recent newly weds would ensue right before me.
Too cute.
Parris Whittingham wrote this lovely quick read over at revolution.is a little while back entitled “I believe that remarkable love stories change the world.” Parris, a phenomenal photographer, touches on what he’s learned from photographing and meeting countless inspiring couples. It really must be something to capture that many quintessential special moments.
I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for weddings. I think weddings are awesome because they’re often so celebratory and optimistic. It’s like a birthday party is somewhat of a routine while a wedding–yes, even amidst all of those heavy divorce stats–is an honest occasion with a reason that people come together for. Not to mention the dancing…
When on a periodic self-improvement binge, I often look for lessons in books, talks, and articles. Especially in a creative bubble it sometimes feels like the internet must hold the answer to all, and it’s seemingly easy to ignore the lessons that witnessing a human relationship can afford.
About a month ago, I had the lovely honor of “best-manning” the wedding of a dear highschool friend. The mental snapshot of my buddy on edge before starting the ceremony combined with sitting at the same table as a beloved crew of friends (usually spread across the U.S.) was warming. Luke’s wedding was a grand reminder for me about the magic of having passionate people in the same room. Nothing really seems to compare. Nothing.
Especially as a twenty-something who grew up with a mouse in hand and a screen name at the age of 9, it may sound silly, but I think it’s easy to forget the energy and raw soulful “umph” that comes from both connecting with people face to face and learning about the links between others.
This all reminds me of a talk I used to give in high school speech and debate. I was a scrawny, shy freshman, and I had this heavily rehearsed ten minute speech about how relationships (of all types) “need to be nurtured.” I really can’t believe how I performed that sappy talk literally over a hundred times, but I’d touch on everything from health benefits of a companion to the concept of humans as social beings.
Maybe I was wise for my age or maybe I was desperate for a girlfriend, but in all it seems like 2011 Kevin could maybe learn a thing or two from high school hormone Kevin. If you peer through the world’s open church door, there are seven continents full of people out there and an exponential amount more connections that spark between them every day. Based on my extensive wedding spying experience, I’d say it’s worthwhile not to let ’em pass you by.
Photos by Jamie Marie
50 Moderately Wise Snippets of Wisdom for Incoming College Freshmen
June 13th, 2011
The campus at UC Berkeley
College isn’t like the movies…all the time. In fact, I think Hollywood tends to miss some of the best parts. Honestly, how often in your life are you surrounded in a bubble of potentially thousands of people your age tasting newfound freedoms? It’s seriously a silly environment when you really think about it.
I did a little dance across the stage at Berkeley’s graduation a few weeks ago. And thinking back, I had a phenomenal five-year stint where I nabbed a pretty sweet two-for-one deal on degrees and had my fair share of college-firsts. I led things, learned things, made things, and broke things.
While the taste of frat party basement grime and the euphoria of finishing Finals week is still fresh, I’d like to offer a little advice to the next batch of recruits and present 50 Moderately Wise Snippets of Wisdom for Incoming College Freshmen (Berkeley and beyond).
Bon appetit.
1. However you try to rationalize it, grades are important. (Just not the most important.)
2. Surround yourself with good people, the type that celebrate your victories, push you often, and laugh generously.
3. Find homework buddies. To be successful, you’ll need folks to have your back.
4. Yes, your body weight will fluctuate.
5. No matter how big your campus is it’ll become small incredibly fast. Your friends, major, involvements, etc. will create a bubble, and you’ll actually have to make an effort to break that cycle. Reach out and challenge yourself to find new environments every year.
6. Call home. It’ll mean more to your parents than you think.
7. Try many clubs and don’t trick yourself into thinking something’s awesome when it’s really not. There are gems out there, just gotta find’em.
8. Three hours of quality studying beats a draining, distracted all-nighter any day.
9. Drinking is cool, just not THAT cool. It has diminishing returns so spend it wisely.
10. Your freshmen dorm floor may or may not hold lifelong friends. I was lucky to find an amazing rag-tag group of buddies, but don’t sweat it if it doesn’t click.
People in your dorm will become more attractive over time due to extended proximity.
11. People in your dorm will become more attractive over time due to extended proximity. Use that knowledge however you like.
12. Play it cool in the coed bathroom. And guys, invest in socially acceptable underwear.
13. Wash your sheets.
14. Your RA is a college student too. They know all of the stupid things you and your floormates are going to do. Be easy on them.
15. Ask your parents for a small toolkit. Especially in the dorms, having the goods to fix things and assemble furniture is a great way to break the ice and makes you an immediately useful friend.
16. During the first few weeks, you’ll have free reign to meet new people anywhere. Hell, I still have good friends today that I met in the baked potato line during week one. But soon that changes and people seem to put their blinders on, especially in lectures. Contrary to popular belief, it’s still okay to meet people in classes any day of the week. Just sit down and say hello.
17. Pulling lots of all-nighters doesn’t make you look cool. Looking like you have infinite time to do all the things you do, now that’s cool.
18. Movies about college usually forget the 40+ hours a week you’ll spend in classes or studying. “Work hard, play hard” can definitely happen, just don’t forget that first part.
19. Don’t be alarmed. Random people will talk to you on midterm day because they’re nervous.
20. If you’re really lost in class, you should probably first try reading the book.
21. Some people don’t take notes while others transcribe at 100 wpm. Find what works for you.
22. Don’t move in with your boyfriend/girlfriend.
23. People have magically short memories. Some will avoid eye contact with you on campus even if you’ve met before. It’s an unexplainable phenomenon. Don’t let them get away with it. Say hello, and they’ll be grateful.
Apparently everyone is “bad with names.”
24. Apparently everyone is “bad with names.” Just try harder. Nicknames and Facebook stalking can help.
25. However, being Facebook friends doesn’t mean you’re actually friends.
26. Being study buddies is a two way street. Don’t be the guy that just always asks for notes.
27. If an opportunity scares you, do it.
28. If you can, study abroad. I’ve never heard of a bad experience.
29. Beware of sketchy landlords.
30. It’s possible to furnish an entire apartment for free. It’s a magical world called Craigslist.
31. Experiment and try all that college stuff, because why the hell not. Just remember to keep your head on straight.
32. Mischief brings people together.
33. Chase, date, hook up, etc. It’s exciting and worthwhile. Do remember, however, that love interests can take up a considerable amount of brain space. So if you really need to focus on something, consider trimming the fat.
34. Crazy opportunities will arise if you’re just willing to ask.
35. Classes are great at teaching you what’s been done and how to do things. They can be not so great at getting you to actually do things. Find your passion and be willing to start small on your own time because making ideas happen is a whole different ball game.
Keep the embarrassing shit off of Facebook.
36. Keep the embarrassing shit off of Facebook. Your tolerance for your public image will shift over time, but just trust me; you’ll be better off.
37. Help friends move. They’ll do the same for you.
38. Some people will change more than others. I say try to be on the changing side. (for the better, of course)
39. Don’t take yourself too seriously; people will respect that.
40. Experiment in the dining commons. The Panini machine is a tool of infinite possibilities.
41. Try to eat a couple vegetables.
42. Singing happy birthday to friends at midnight is a thing. So be prepared for lots of late night cake.
43. Your professors are probably brilliant and teaching courses comparable to you teaching fractions. Give them some credit.
44. If you lend someone a pen, don’t assume you’ll be getting it back.
45. You don’t need to buy your books right away. Avoid those ridiculously long lines, not to mention try to buy used, online or better yet borrow.
46. You’re naturally going do things that peg you as a freshman (e.g. wear your ID around your neck on a lanyard). Embrace them and don’t sweat it, there’s plenty of time to grow up.
47. Seek advice from upper classmen. People love feeling wise. (*cough cough*)
48. Take time to reflect but don’t think that sitting around will help you figure things out. Chances are you have to do something about it.
49. Don’t leave your laptop unattended. Yeah, someone might steal it, but even worse someone might mess with your Facebook status.
50. Finally, not everyone knows what they’re doing in life. People just get better at sounding like it.
So there you have it—50 snippets of advice for the college-bound derived from many years of intensive, in-depth research. Best of luck to you and make sure to hit the ground running.
It’ll be great.
“If you like it, keep it to yourself.” Advice for Creatives via Kenna
June 11th, 2011
Friday night confession. Definitely have a dude crush. And you can’t blame me because Kenna is undeniably tight.
The Ethiopian born, Grammy nominated artist got his start in Virginia where he teamed up with Chad Hugo of the Neptunes and later the ever-dope Pharrell Williams. But funny enough, I didn’t discover Kenna’s unique sound by hearing him featured on a track or stumbling across his music video. I found out about Kenna while perusing vimeo for old talks from The Feast conference in New York.
Started by the lovely folks at all day buffet, The Feast has grown over the past three years into one of the premiere social innovation conferences that brings together creative do-gooders from around the world. And in 2009, Kenna (dude crush) gave a quick talk entitled “Nothing Is Greater Or Less Than Us.”
On the main stage at The Times Center, Kenna describes–with reference to his music–how he tells his fans, “If you like it, keep it to yourself,” an interesting approach that even Malcom Gladwell would eventually write about in Blink.
Building communities and getting “social” is a hot hot topic these days. But I think what Kenna brilliantly highlights is the qualitative difference between a mass base and an honest constituency, a quality that’s easily overlooked in creative work. Bottom line, there’s a stark difference between having 70,000 followers on Twitter and having 100 heavy-hitting, table-pounders who will go to battle for you.
When you love and respect something–whether its a song or an idea–you’re moved to share it with people who you think will “get it” too. And as Kenna slyly comments on, if you tell someone, “Mmm…I don’t know if you’re gonna get this…I get it but I don’t know if you’re gonna get it,” their immediate reaction is “What are you talking about, give that to me.”
If you like it, keep it to yourself.
When talking about the Common Camera Project, (maybe i should send one to Kenna…) I hear the extremes. Some people assume every single traveling disposable cam will return to my humble PO Box, while others comment “you know, you’re not gonna get any cameras back, right?”
The way I see it, thanks to our fundraiser we were blessed to be able to start Common Cams with amazing people who seemed to get what we were trying to do. The instructions read “Pass the camera on to someone you trust” so each temporary owner is asked to re-pitch the project to someone they deem worthy.
And I have faith. I believe that the first owner’s initial energy is capable of being passed on 27 times from person to person before returning home. Don’t get me wrong. Not all of the cameras will get back by any stretch. But the ones that do will be in large part thanks to that contagious umph that transformed a seemingly innocuous object into something special.
Kenna’s music is refreshing. It’s a blend of urban beats, surprising constructions, smooth vocals, and expressive sounds. Who knows if he tricked me, but I feel like I “get it.” His work reminds me of how at the end of the day what we do is measured in human terms. There’s an attraction to everything from elegantly simple ideas to brilliantly inspiring people that can’t be faked or replaced by a number.
Whether or not Kenna incepted this dude crush within me is up for debate, but the truth remains that my fandom reaches beyond throwing his track on my Shuffle’s workout mix. I believe in his work and will defend it. As a creative, what more could you ask for?
3 Lessons Learned from a Successful Kickstarter Campaign
June 8th, 2011
Thinking back, Kickstarter was one of the main catalysts in pushing me to build out the Common Camera Project. As I thought about what I’d need in order to shape a shiny Kickstarter campaign for Common Cam, I found myself scoping out a website, storyboarding the promo video, and hammering out a mini marketing plan.
And for that productive kick-in-the-butt, I really am thankful for the crowdfunding platform. Kickstarter enables anyone to fundraise for a creative project by putting together a pitch page and a system of pledging levels and rewards with payments handled via Amazon. My campaign turned out successful, gaining 134 backers from around the world and reaching an initial 35 day fundraising goal in just over 24 hours–the team and I couldn’t be more grateful.
I’m amidst pondering what my next nifty Kickstarter project will entail, but if you’re thinking about starting your own, here are three quick lessons learned from my own experience to get you on your merry way.
1. Establish a level of Sh*t-togetherness
Your underlying goal when launching on Kickstarter is to convey 1) that you have a cool project and 2) you’re competent enough to carry it out. When we were putting together our campaign for Common Cam, it was definitely tempting to jump the gun and kick off the fundraiser immediately because, well, launching is super exciting (plus you get an email filled with exclamation points every time someone pledges which for some reason makes you really happy, over and over again).
I could cite one of those statistics about how people look at a website for an average of .000001 milliseconds, but just like any website, if the viewer isn’t drawn in by what you’re presenting they won’t be coming back. It’s a game of first impressions (kinda like MTV’s NEXT dating show but not worthless), so get all your ducks in a row and put your best foot forward from the moment you go public. For Common Cam that involved having a live website, a fun stop motion promo vid, a twitter account, a well proof-read body of text, etc. No matter who you are, show’em you mean business and you’re passionate enough about your project to pay attention to detail and get it prim and pressed for the first date.
Common Cam’s final push video update
2. Don’t underestimate the power of your personal network
As many rampantly successful projects as there are on the Kickstarter site, the platform itself isn’t a silver bullet. If your idea resonates with the viral masses and ends up getting funded 4000% with the help of FastCompany then power to you, but chances are you will have to rely on relevant communities and start with your own personal network to reach your fundraising goal.
Common Cam’s campaign was a live lesson straight out of Gladwell’s Tipping Point . Immediately after launch, there were a few first followers (which really is incredibly important, people don’t want to be the first to jump in the water, they want to join the pool party). Then, I could see the connectors in my life getting excited about the project and actively spreading the word in their offices, on their gchat statuses, and in their Facebook feeds. These amazing friends were really instrumental in getting the ball rolling, and sure eventually a number of random visitors from the Kickstarter community and beyond joined the family, but even looking back I think that most of Common Cam’s supporters could be tracked to three or four degrees of separation from myself.
With that said, (and this may differ based on the scale of your project), your personal network can be your biggest asset. Make sure there are some people that will have your back from the onset and send out a heartfelt email to all sorts of friends, family, acquaintances, estranged roommates, long lost twins etc. just asking for their support. Let’em know what you’re trying to do and if they pledge that’s great, but helping spread the word and just listening is just as good (or maybe even better).
This might be the best Kickstarter promo vid known to man.
3. Simple, Creative, No-gimmicks Rewards
It seems like anything and everything is being offered up as a reward for pledging these days. From traveling backyard bbqs to launch party tickets to hugs, some organizers are cobbling together any and all mini rewards in hopes to attract more backers. The way I see it, don’t create more work for yourself unless you really think it’s going to compel your backers. Keep it simple but creative and put extra extra thought into these rewards (plus you can’t change them after someone has pledged at that level).
Read through tons of projects and especially successful ones with a similar feel and fundraising scale, do some digging and find out what seemed to work. At Common Cam we thought of all sorts of gimmicks from handwritten thank yous to mini photo albums, but in the end we did our best to settle on just what made sense: pledge for a cam, pledge for one for you and one for a friend, etc. Is that extra hand written thank you note with a spray of your perfume and a lipstick kiss on the seal really gonna help you reach critical mass? (Okay, maybe depending on the situation but you get my point).
Your rewards are the essence, the -ness, the va-va-voom, the sauce of your creative venture so spend an appropriate amount of time thinking through them.
So there you have it, three quick lessons learned from the Common Cam Kickstarter appearance. In the end, it’s about putting your best foot forward and flexing a little creative love when it comes to your campaign.
Best of luck and power to you for having the heart to put your project out there. That already says a lot.
Nothing New Under the Sun
April 10th, 2011
All ideas are combinations of old ideas. Hence, to create something innovative why not find the intersection between ideas in two highly unrelated fields. Connect the dots in a unique way.
Recently, I had the pleasure of listening to a remote “Skyped-in-Lecture” by Frans Johansson, author of the critically acclaimed book “The Medici Effect.” I had just finished reading his book literally an hour before I was surprised by a live-feed to the living room of none other than the author himself during my Wednesday night course on “Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneur” taught by Randy Haykin.
Frans is an incredibly passionate speaker, and his very visual love for the topic of innovation was refreshing. According to Frans, “All new ideas are combinations of old ideas.” There’s nothing new under the sun as even the most fresh concepts are the product of snippets of inspiration taken from other sources. And if you agree on this thermodynamic conservation view of the creative world, the most efficient path to innovation is to find the intersection of seemingly unrelated concepts.
Innovation—the useful application of a creative idea—is many times associated with the cutting-edge, something found buried very deep within a field of study. However, Frans offers an alternative approach. Rather than relying on digging very deep within a single field, we can attempt to find a useful overlap of concepts in two unrelated fields. We can connect the dots in a unique way. Yet the two sources cannot be too closely related, otherwise the intersection will not be innovative.
Frans continued with a showcase of examples: Sweden’s Ice Hotel, the Burqini, and biomimicry among the most salient. Furthermore, his theory rang true with some snippets of advice I’d heard before. In another speech a few years back, Auren Hoffman (CEO of Rapleaf) commented, “The best thing you can do is become an expert in two highly unrelated fields.” That’s because even if you aren’t necessarily the best in either of those fields, you are a relative expert when viewed from the opposite field. If you’re the bioengineer that loves dogs, in the bioengineering world you are the dog lady, and among dog-lovers you are the bioengineer.
Such wisdom also goes along with the talk around “T-shaped people.” We can strive to not only be deep within certain skill set but also broad like the top of the “T” so we are capable of communicating and connecting widely. As my breakdancing instructor recently said, “Life is a remix. You just take it in and flip it.”
