The World Of Cool

www.pluggd.com

I have just recently arrived to the universe of blog.  Of course I am not an idiot.  I have heard of, clicked through, and mostly ignored blogs since their conception.  This is primarily due to the fact that I value aesthetics and have little patience for boredom.  I know what I like when I see it and if I'm not turned on within the first few glimpses I am off and running looking for something that captivates.  The mainstay of blogs that I have bumped into do not demand my attention.

Recently I have dived into this blogosphere minutia looking for something that excites my aesthetic taste buds.  What I have found is just a loud white noise.  Opinions and comments and ramblings that leave me wanting something else.  I can not exactly state what it is that I am seeking, but the four letter word cool keeps defining my approval ratings.  Of course cool is arbitrary, but it is also obvious.  Once one finds cool one knows cool.

My lack of belonging within the blogosphere offers great opportunity for my creative use of blog concepts and blog theory.  Maybe I am not the only one lost without a blog that mirrors my wants, my desires, and my aesthetics.  Is it possible that I am not alone? 

I do relish the possibilities held within the internet.  I want to create an online concept that engages my creativity and my voice - a digital engine fueled by inspiration that delivers me to a swanky but modest house on the hill with a heated pool, two car garage, and a sexy live in maid.  Of course I am not alone in these regards.  The internet is the wild west of big dreamers.  But I am a believer in possibilities and chance, and maybe just maybe my muddlings here within this blog will open vistas of creativity, excitement, and new directions on which to conjure a target audience upon which to stake a claim.

My recent research into blogs that appeal to my sense of cool have been daunting but I have been able to flush out a few examples of blog models from which I can gleam inspiration.

Coolhunting.com

Coolhunting.com really gets under my skin in a pleasurably irritating way.  It is not the typical blog format.  In fact I feel that if mirrors the print magazine model more accurately than it does a blog, but it does fulfill certain criteria upon which blogs are derived.  Coolhunting.com is multilayered with an array of contributors.  It is updated frequently utilizing a cross platform of online media and mediums including video, podcasts, and editorial writing.  It falls within the category of a filter blog offering insights into topics revolving around design, technology, art and culture.  As stated on their about us page, "Cool Hunting is synonymous with seeking inspiration."  I do agree.

imboycrazy.com

Boy Crazy Promo from alexi wasser on Vimeo.

Imboycrazy.com is a youth culture blog that randomly fell within my radar.  It is created, run, and revolves around it's creator Alexi Celine Wasser.  Alexi is an incredibly cute, funny, and talented personality that begs to be noticed.  Her frequent posts are guilty pleasures riddled with dry humor and wit.  She is all over the internet map as she utilizes all modes of internet connectivity from Facebook, Twitter, Buzznet, and her own internet radio show.  What hooked me on Iamboycrazy.com are the highly produced video promo episodes contained on the video page of the website.

thecobrasnake.com

Finally, thecobrasnake.com is a photo based scene trotting blog started in 1997 by Mark Hunter.  Thecobrasnake.com's niche is the glorification of hipster egos.  I first came aware of  thecobrasnake.com in Los Angeles where at every hip and cool party, bar, or happening, one of the cobra snake team members was there snapping photos of all the hot kids.  It was paparazzi for the wanabe celebrity.  These photos where then posted on the photo blog and linked to individuals MySpace accounts.  Eventually, you where not a scenester in L.A. in the late 90's if you were not regularly tagged and uploaded by thecobrasnake.com.  Currently the website has changed direction in that it utilizes sponsorships and allows for all audience members to become part of thecobrasnake.com team by submitting photo's and videos of hipness.   What interests me so much about their concept is that the originators utilized ingenuity and hype to establish a willing audience in which the blogs subject content was the blog's audience.

My direction for this blogging experience for which I have embarked is still on the hazy side of development, but I feel that each of these three example's of cool blogs charted the vary same waters I am navigating now.  With persistence and dedication I may contribute to this world of cool.