Maekan It Up

Unexpected Connections was a conference hosted by Imprint and MAEKAN which happened November 7, 2018 in Long Beach, California. In this episode, Eugene and Charis discuss what went well, what could be improved on, and what lessons they’ve learned. Unexpected connections are the simplest way of describing creativity. In its most basic form, it’s pattern recognition, and at its most complex, it’s a tangled web that humans have become surprisingly great at deconstructing. The conference brought together people from disparate walks of life to speak in conversation with each other on stage. Speakers included John Maeda, Julia Huang, John C Jay, Jason Mayden, Jun Cha, Jennifer Ferro, Lindsay Jang, David Choe, James Bailey, Charis Poon, Eugene Kan, Jeff Staple, Karen Okonkwo, Madeleine Brand, Helen Zia, and Kenya Hara. Links https://unexpectedconnectionsevent.com https://www.instagram.com/unexpectedconnections https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/unexpectedconlb What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publi

Charis expresses interest in a McKinsey study that analyzed copious amounts of data over the past 5 years to determine what impact design decisions have on business performance. Eugene wants to talk about the algorithm IBM and Symrise, a major fragrance company, developed specifically for making new fragrances. 00:13:23 Design impact study 00:27:30 AI-created scents Links: https://www.fastcompany.com/90255363/this-mckinsey-study-of-300-companies-reveals-what-every-business-needs-to-know-about-design-for-2019 https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/24/18019918/ibm-artificial-intelligence-perfume-symrise-philyra What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking. Sign-Up Today If y

Eugene is interested in considering whether the new full version of Adobe Photoshop on the iPad with cloud syncing capabilities might change the ways people create. Charis wants to talk about the Chinese art market and how what it looks like on the surface isn’t a good indicator of what’s really happening. 00:23:19 Photoshop on the iPad 00:35:05 The Chinese art market Links: https://www.dpreview.com/news/0367513073/a-fully-featured-photoshop-is-finally-coming-to-the-ipad https://news.artnet.com/market/5-biggest-myths-chinese-art-market-1371619 What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking. Sign-Up Today If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what e

This week Eugene looks into the current state of fashion as described by 36 industry people in an article published by Elle. He and Charis dive into the perception of fashion as a superficial area of interest and discuss the possibilities of fashion with regards to identity and depth. Charis describes the competitions being organized by African governments that award money to entrepreneurs. These competitions are intended to encourage business innovation and to create jobs. 00:12:40 Fixing fashion 00:26:30 Money for entrepreneurs Links: https://www.elle.com/fashion/a23568834/how-to-fix-fashion https://qz.com/africa/1327833/kenya-is-following-nigeria-in-running-a-massive-business-plan-competition What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't h

Eugene is interested in talking about the efforts of Low-Tech Magazine to reduce the energy use required to access their content by building a low-tech, self-hosted, and solar-powered website for themselves. Charis comes to the podcast wanting to talk about Banksy trolling (or possibly being in complicity with) the art world by orchestrating the self-destruction of his painting right after it had been sold at auction by Sotheyby’s for $1.4 million USD. 00:12:40 Low-tech websites 00:26:30 Self-destructing Banksy Links: https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2018/09/how-to-build-a-lowtech-website https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/06/arts/design/uk-banksy-painting-sothebys.html What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but ou

This week Charis discusses the landscape of video games and how many more new games have come into being over the past four years. How has this affected the video game industry and what does the future of it look like? Eugene wants to talk about an opinion piece written by Tim Wu that praises the pursuit of mediocrity in certain areas of life and the practice of having hobbies. 00:12:28 Indiepocalypse 00:28:38 Hobbies and mediocrity Links: https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/28/17911372/there-are-too-many-video-games-what-now-indiepocalypse https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/opinion/sunday/in-praise-of-mediocrity.html What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking. Sign-Up Today

Eugene brings up the subject of the OSTRICH PILLOW HOOD Kickstarter as a way to talk about the use of products to perform individual pursuit of well-being. Charis discusses a report titled "The Diminishing Marginal Value of Aesthetics" published by Subpixel at length as a way to talk about visual culture and the challenges creators face. 00:20:00 Performative well-being 00:27:25 Diminishing marginal value of aesthetics Links: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studio-banana/ostrich-pillow-hood-shape-shifting-for-focus-and-c https://subpixel.space/entries/diminishing-marginal-aesthetic-value/ What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking. MAEKAN. --- Send in a voice m

Eugene and Charis discuss what "authenticity" means. They take a look at authenticity in food culture specifically and then expand on the subject to look at authenticity more broadly. Charis and Eugene also discuss the social credit system being adopted in China and the implications of it on real people. 00:11:49 Authentically What? 00:26:00 China's social credit system Links: https://www.thecleaverquarterly.com/stories/hybridized-chinese-food http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-18/china-social-credit-a-model-citizen-in-a-digital-dictatorship/10200278 What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking. Sign-Up Today If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see

Another long intro in part because Charis is moving to London. Feel free to skip ahead to the middle point of this episode when Eugene discusses the importance of analytical media in connection to an op-ed written by Lawrence Ware about The Source magazine. Charis' topic this week is about the online museum called Conserve the Sound which carefully catalogs images and audio snippets of analog items. This topic leads into a larger discussion about what is conceptually lost when new technology replaces older items. 00:19:22 Analytical media 00:31:24 Conserve the Sound Links: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/opinion/what-the-source-taught-me.html https://www.conservethesound.de/en/ What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the ans

An eventful week of news leads to an eventful (and long) series of discussions. This episode covers three things that happened: The Outline’s most recent round of layoffs leads to a freelancer boycott of the publication, The New Yorker announces Steve Bannon as a speaker at their upcoming Festival and then rescinds their invite after Twitter outrage, and Colin Kaepernick is revealed as the face of the 30th Anniversary “Just Do It” Nike campaign. 00:03:11 Recent The Outline layoffs 00:16:48 Steve Bannon uninvited from The New Yorker Festival 00:26:00 Colin Kaepernick in 30th Anniversary Nike Campaign Links: https://observer.com/2018/09/media-layoffs-the-outline-freelancers-study-hall/ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/opinion/bannon-new-yorker-festival-remnick.html https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/09/04/the-open-future-festival-and-steve-bannon https://qz.com/1378192/a-nike-boycott-over-colin-kaepernick-is-unlikely-to-hurt-the-swoosh/ https://youtu.be/Fq2CvmgoO7I What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a memb

This week’s intro is a long one and covers Kindles, reflections on death, and some discussion of what’s recently been published on MAEKAN. The main topics for discussion are the purpose of art in space and ways for companies to incentivize better cybersecurity. 00:16:48 Art in space 00:26:00 Fortnite encourages cybersecurity Links: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/orbital-reflector-trevor-paglen-space-art-humanity-star/568858/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/23/epic-games-just-gave-a-perk-for-folks-to-turn-on-2fa-every-other-big-company-should-too/ What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking. Sign-Up Today If you've enjoyed this story from the archive

This week Eugene and Charis talk about reckoning with luck, the circumstances we have no control over, in our lives and how that affects our perception of others. In relation to this first topic, the second half of their conversation discusses the origins of different parts of language and how the way we speak is both uncontrollable and can result in differing opinions on us. 00:10:05 Nike balaclava controversy 00:15:12 Acknowledging luck 00:35:37 Linguistic heritage Links: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/nike-balaclava-gang-culture https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/8/21/17687402/kylie-jenner-luck-human-life-moral-privilege https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/08/17/606002607/ready-for-a-linguistic-controversy-say-mhmm What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining t

Charis and Eugene discuss whether a time-tracking feature utilized by Upwork that takes screenshots of a freelancer's screen and logs keystrokes is too intrusive and what leads to healthy freelancer client relationships. The also talk about a t-shirt released by Advisory Board Crystals that raises funds to support the Wikimedia Foundation 00:11:12 Intrusive Upwork feature 00:27:06 Advisory Board Crystals x Wikipedia Links: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolineodonovan/upwork-freelancers-work-diary-keystrokes-screenshot https://www.advisoryboardcrystals.com/wikipedia/abc-x-wikipedia What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking. Sign-Up Today If you've enjoyed this

This week Eugene and Charis go live on Hong Kong Community Radio. They talk about the misperception of narcissism being newly on the rise in Western culture and the handling of Alex Jones and Infowars by various companies and publishing platforms. 00:14:12 Narcissism in the West 00:24:40 Censoring fake news Links: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/7/19/17518086/selfie-will-storr-book-psychology-west https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/technology/tech-companies-online-speech.html What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking. Sign-Up Today If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MA

This week Eugene and Charis talk about the controversy surrounding the new Netflix Originals show Insatiable and discuss whether it promotes fat-shaming. The show’s creators state that their intention is to deconstruct unhealthy thinking and behaviors. Also discussed on this episode is the way the perception of expensive food for rich people has changed. 00:12:45 Netflix Originals Insatiable controversy 00:24:40 Rich people food Links: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/08/insatiable-netflix-controversy-fatty-patty-petition-creator-lauren-gussis https://qz.com/quartzy/1335095/the-expensive-food-that-rich-people-eat-has-evolved-over-the-years/ What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures

Eugene brings up a New York Times article that looks into the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% to see if the shoe really does improve running times. Eugene considers the wider affects of the rise in technical performance apparel and footwear. Charis talks about a Jonah Hill interview published in 52 Insights that connected with her recent thinking about the idea of origin stories. 00:11:05 Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% 00:27:36 Jonah Hill and origin stories Links: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/18/upshot/nike-vaporfly-shoe-strava.html https://www.52-insights.com/interview-film-jonah-hill-its-not-like-i-enjoy-being-famous-very-much/ What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Charis Poon is joined by MAEKAN summer apprentice Alek Rose while Eugene Kan is out of town. Alek is interested in discussing the aftermath of a viral series of screenshots comparing a Russian AI assistant and the Google assistant. The article from Aeon on the subject suggests that the increasing reliance of humans on AI and technology for help with emotional health issues is something to be cautious about. Charis wants to talk about the new Nike App at Retail and whether there are better ways to merge digital technology and physical spaces. 00:05:43 Emotional help from AI 00:22:45 Nike App at Retail Links: https://aeon.co/essays/can-emotion-regulating-tech-translate-across-cultures https://news.nike.com/news/nike-app-at-retail-shopping-experience What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’

Alek Rose, MAEKAN summer apprentice, discusses the news of the death of 3 Canadian vloggers in connection to how social media has warped our perception of others. Charis brings up the subject of increasingly advanced surveillance technology and how this impacts privacy and societal norms. 00:13:26 Social media’s erosion of empathy 00:22:40 Surveillance technology Instagram’s Facade of the Perfect Life Has Made Us Lose Our Empathy by Dan Ginn https://petapixel.com/2018/07/09/instagrams-facade-of-the-perfect-life-has-made-us-lose-our-empathy/ ‘Big Brother’ surveillance state? As facial recognition use grows, so do privacy fears by Rob Lever https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/07/08/big-brother-surveillance-state-facial-recognition-use-grows-privacy-fears/ Inside China’s Dystopian Dreams: A.I., Shame and Lots of Cameras by Paul Mozur https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/business/china-surveillance-technology.html What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sou

Charis discusses her disappointment in the fashion industry’s inconsistent attitude towards the #MeToo movement by talking through the issues brought up by Julie Zerbo in a recent The Fashion Law article. Eugene brings up the subject of the Michelin Guide having recently covered Guangzhou and how the mission of the guide doesn’t include reviewing street food. Alek Rose, MAEKAN summer apprentice, joins as a guest on this episode. 00:11:42 Fashion industry and #MeToo 00:31:53 Michelin Guide Paris Fashion Week's Front Rows Speak to Fashion's Complicated Stance on #MeToo by Julie Zerbo http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/paris-fashion-weeks-front-rows-speak-to-fashions-stance-on-metoo How Would the Michelin Guide Understand Chinese Street Food? by Echo Huang https://quartzy.qz.com/1317909/how-would-the-micheline-guide-understand-chinese-street-food What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, an

MAEKAN It Up — #050: The potential challenges for Grailed and what makes a good CV Eugene has some concerns as to the future of Grailed in light of their recent investment round of $15 million. Charis wants to talk about what makes a good CV, but it turns out that the answer to that question is very context-dependent. 00:11:42 Grailed 00:31:53 Good CVs Missed the Latest Supreme Drop? Head to Grailed by Matthew Schneier https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/style/grailed-ebay-for-hypebeasts.html “Even if you cover a shit in glitter it’s still a shit”: top creatives show us their CVs by Lucy Bourton Lecture in Progress https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/the-graduates-2018-2018-cv-advice-210618 What is MAEKAN? MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture. We don't have