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Austin, Writing

Curbed Austin is now live!

curbed austin

Awww hells yeah.

Curbed Austin is now live.

I’ve been a fan of the Curbed series for years, most notably Curbed Detroit under the helm of Sarah Cox. The Detroit edition of Curbed continues to perfectly capture the unprecedented rise and fall and rise of one of America’s most iconic cities.

I’m confident that Curbed Austin will be as equally intriguing as we continue to watch this city balloon into one of the leading metropolises in our country.

The site, which officially went live this morning, is (wo)manned by acclaimed Austin writer Cindy Widner (former managing editor of the Austin Chronicle and Austin-area freelancer writer for 20 years).

I asked Cindy what readers can expect from Curbed Austin:

“Austinites can expect stories about design, development, and real estate that are informative, timely, and, most of all, fun and interesting to read. Curbed is really good about covering the details about how cities develop for people who are genuinely interested in the (more…)

February 22, 2016 by
Hipstercrite Life, Writing

Hipstercrite was voted “Best Local Blog” in the Austin Chronicle!

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Guys, Hipstercrite was voted “Best Local Blog” in the Austin Chronicle’s Best of 2015.

I still can’t believe it.

I freaking love Austin and I love the Chronicle, and to be in such good company means so much to me.

When I first moved to Austin seven years ago, I remember thinking, “Shit. That would be so cool to win something like that,” but I never thought that was going to happen. It still surprises me that people even read this silly thing.

If you voted for my blog, thank you.

Check out all the other kick-butt winners.

This has been such an amazing journey and I love and appreciate all of you- except for the trolls. Trolls, you can kiss my butt.

 

September 11, 2015 by
Writing

Why Medium is Good For Your Writing Career

Medium

I joined Medium back in January.

Initially, I thought of it as an additional avenue to push original content and to repurpose Hipstercrite blog posts.

For the first six months, my articles got only a handful of eyes on them, which was ok since I enjoyed finding and reading diverse content on the platform. Despite having a fair amount of people following me thanks to Medium’s system of connecting individuals who are friends on other social media platforms, very few read my work. My first post had almost 100 recommendations, but ensuing posts only received a smattering of views.

In June, I republished my “Dear People Who Live in Fancy Tiny Houses” Hipstercrite blog post on Medium and it got less than ten recommendations in 30 days. The post died before ever being seen. Then one day, out of the blue, the Medium entry of “Dear People Who Live in Fancy Tiny Houses” took the f off like the Concorde. It got over 2,000,000 views in a couple of days and my social media and email inbox (more…)

August 25, 2015 by
Writing

Why we should ‘like’ experiences- not selfies

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The other day I came across a meme from Kid President imploring that “we need to live in a world with fewer selfies and more #otherpeoplies.”

This meme got me thinking about the word “peoplies”; it’s so damn fun to say. But then it got me thinking about my own photo-sharing experiences wherein the majority of my photos showcasing my mug perform better, meaning more ‘likes’ and comments, than the photos I take of other people, things I find interesting or places I travel to. I asked my boyfriend which of his photos perform well, and he echoed my experience. Think about your own pictures: Which photos do people respond to the best? Are they pictures featuring your sweet self or of something or someone you find interesting? Or take a look at your friends’ Facebook or Instagram feeds; do the people who fill their feeds with selfies have a higher following than others?

It makes sense that your friends and family would respond best to photos including you. Seeing your happy face is familiar, (more…)

August 18, 2015 by
Writing

How to Boost Your Blog Traffic: Have a Baby

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If you’re a blogger, you know how hard it can be to make your site stand out in the sea of personal blogs.

Well, after years of research spent on the subject of blogging, I’ve finally discovered the secret to making your blog both popular and successful.

Have a baby.

From my calculations, having a baby is proven to increase your blog traffic by 200%-1000%.

If you’re hoping to break free from the pain of obscurity, follow these easy steps and watch your site, and stomach, grow:

1.) Have sex with someone: Your spouse, partner, friend or a turkey baster with the $20 sperm of the young, cute guy who works at Urban Outfitters. Sure he’s 19 years old, but you know you two will most likely create a child that looks like Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. AND THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS.

2.) Once pregnancy is confirmed, announce it on your blog. There are only two ways to do this:
2a.) Take a photo of your shoes, your partner’s shoes (if he/she is part of the story you are creating) and (more…)

June 25, 2015 by
Pop Culture, Writing

Book Recommendations for Smart Ladies Who Like Smart Ladies

Lately I’ve been on a kick of reading non-fiction by female authors. I share this unextraordinary observation because for most of my life I’ve been a lousy lady supporter. I grew up idolizing male rock stars (I mean, who doesn’t want to be David Bowie?), I had more interest in male-driven cinema (like I had a lot of choice) and I romanticized being a Kerouac or Hemingway, drunk and bitter.

(Let it be said that I’ve been madly in love Stevie Nicks since I was 15 years old.)

I don’t know where my bro allegiance stemmed from, though I have theories that I was an old Jewish man in a former life. I guess I just couldn’t relate to a lot of famous ladies. The Madonnas and the Beyonces and the Gwen Stefanis and the Jennifer Anistons have been stripped of their womanhood; they’re now cartoon versions of themselves. They drip thousands of dollars worth of jewels and designer wear, detest being photographed in an imperfect state and they live a life that is totally unrecognizable to other human (more…)

May 12, 2015 by
Writing

Why you should have a blog

Hipstercrite

LinkedIn recently notified me that I was celebrating a work anniversary: Hipstercrite is six years old.

In truth, this blog is seven years of age; it was conceived from a volatile relationship between me and Los Angeles. Eight people read the site then. It was called PlasticLA, and I mostly wrote passive profiles on the men who dumped me (I’ll never forget that one asshole who thought he was James Joyce).

Six and half years ago is when I left my career in Los Angeles and moved to Austin to work on my writing. My first year in Austin I worked two jobs and a total of 60-70 hours a week, but I made sure to chronicle my adventures of being a stranger in a welcoming city. Everything about Austin inspired me; the local community helped revive my creativity, which had laid dormant for the five years I was in the City of Angels.

And I guess I’ve never stopped writing on this damn thing. Some months I’ve written multiple times a week; some months I’ve written only once a week (like (more…)

May 4, 2015 by
Austin, Film, Music, Pop Culture, Writing

A Comprehensive List of Austin’s Best Blogs

(Update: I wrote this blog post in 2012 and just updated as of April 28, 2015)

There are an ass-load of awesome blogs in Austin, Texas.

(I think) I read a statistic somewhere that Austin has more bloggers per capita than any place in the country.

Since I have zero proof that Austin has the most bloggers of any place in America, one fact I do know is that Men’s Health Magazine labeled Austin the #8 most socially networked city in America.

Since we boast such awesome blogging talent, I wanted to create a comprehensive list of Austin bloggers for those interested in the Austin scene. We have amazing writers who cover everything from lifestyle, music, food, humor, travel and dating. Take some time and get to know these great Austinites.

If you don’t see one of your favorite Austin blogs listed that may be because a.) I’m only listing blogs that have blogged within the past six month and blog more than once a month and b.) I’m a jackass, I didn’t know that the blog existed and (more…)

April 29, 2015 by
Austin, Pop Culture, Writing

Could you give up a shopping for 30 days?

Recently I “met,” in the wonderful way that the Internet allows us to virtually meet, some of the folks behind the San Francisco-based startup Yerdle. Yerdle is a free market-style app where users can easily upload photos of stuff they no longer want, “sell it” for Yerdle dollars, and then use those Yerdle dollars to purchase other items for sale. In other words, it’s Craigslist without using real money (the only money spent by the buyer is a $4, $5 or $6 flat rate for shipping).

I got really excited when I learned about Yerdle. Not only is it a avenue for purging items you no longer need, it also makes you reimagine the concept of money. Yerdle empowers the community to establish their own economy, and it’s already grown a large and fervent following.

It can be a little discouraging upon first thumbing through the goods people post, but don’t let that fool you. Once you get the hang of the app, you’ll discover some real gems. A handful of my favorite finds have been a 60s Playboy (more…)

April 23, 2015 by