It’s Geek to You, but Not to Them: Meet the Early Adopters

Matthew Caldecutt’s first cell phone was the size of a brick. During the mid-’90s, as a teenager in Rego Park, Queens, he bought an Audiovox model from Verizon—a clunker of a phone that could make calls and send text messages. Most of his friends didn’t have mobile phones yet, but they did have computers, so he’d duck in and out of Internet cafes around the city to fire up the earliest messaging programs, like ICQ (have you heard of that one?), and chat online to arrange plans. Even back then, text was Mr. Caldecutt’s preferred method of communication; he anticipated that, like him, most of us would hardly ever actually talk on our fancy mobile phones, and choose to communicate almost solely through text messages, emails and chatting services. “I still barely use my cell phone as a cell phone,” Mr. Caldecutt, now 31, told the Observer from his midtown office.

Mr. Caldecutt sports thin-framed spectacles and a sparse red beard and currently works as a publicist for Trylon SMR, a public relations firm that specializes in representing technology, media and telecommunications companies. He practically made a career out of testing and trying out new online communication systems, Web applications and trendy mobile phones. Like his fellow “early adopters”—the passionate Web nerds who try out the latest Internet tools and wacky gadgets—he has helped to shape our future with technology. We might think they are regular geeks, clamoring for beta invites publicized on blogs like TechCrunch and Mashable, itching to test out Internet platforms and programs while they’re still in the embryonic stage. But early adopters not only help spread the word about a new product—like a army of nerdy PR agents for the Internet—they also help develop it by offering feedback to its creators. They were the ones flashing their new iPhone long before it became the hottest tech toy on the market, and emailing Apple that the map function had inaccurate information. They bugged you to join Facebook ages before everyone from grandma to the president was signing up for it, and told its developers to make the “is” in status updates optional. “As soon as it becomes available, I’ll try it,” Mr. Caldecutt said. He has used hundreds of Web services you’ve probably never heard of, like Dodgeball, a mobile social networking software founded by two New York University students that will text your friends your exact location.

Yet more and more people in their teens, 20s and even 30s seem to be making early adoption a new, cheap hobby (most beta invites for Web products are free). “Some of the training wheels are off,” Mr. Caldecutt said. “There’s still a long way to go. [Some Web products] are complicated to use and, in many ways, they are very geeky. But among the younger, hip segment of the population, the bracket has gotten wider.” And they are communicating about these new Internet tools through social networking sites—Twittering away their complaints about Twitter—to help get the rest of us on the bandwagon.

Seth Godin, the best-selling author and self-described “agent of change” whose latest book is titled Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, is a kind of evangelist for early adopters. “Today the people who got made fun of in high school—they are the ones who matter so much. They’re the ones shaping new technology that diffuses to the masses,” he told The Observer in a phone interview from his Westchester County office. “The reason you need to care about early adopters, even if you aren’t one, is because this small group of people are going to change your world.”

Of course, there are all kinds of early adopters; Mr. Godin explained that you can find them in every industry, from environmentalists to fashion fetishists. “Women who read Vogue are early adopters,” he told The Observer. “They are the ones who wait in line at Bergdorf’s to buy the new Manolos. And those same women might be early adopters in that they bought cell phones at 6 years old.”

According to a theory called Diffusion of Innovations, formulated by Everett Rogers in his 1962 book of the same name, early adopters make up 13.5 percent of the population. “Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system,” he wrote. Now that these social systems are online, and more young people are joining them, the word gets around a little faster than it did back in the ’60s, when we relied on newspapers and advertisers to tell us about the most exciting new innovations. No one has estimated what the percentage of population might be considered early adopters now, but it’s growing all the time.

“Because there are so many more online communities and social networking programs and everything, it’s probably a lot easier for a typical, mainstream, everyday technology user to know someone who is an early adopter,” said Whitney Hess, a user experience designer who helps companies make their product more friendly for the mainstream. “They’re hearing about the evolution of early products much more than they used to. Everyone wants to know about the latest and greatest.”

Internet companies pay attention to early adopters because they basically operate as free developers, helping to make their product better. Some early adopters will champion a shiny new Web product on their blog or Twitter accounts, only to abandon it and take the mainstream folks along with them. (Remember Friendster? Buh-bye!) So companies need to keep early adopters interested by staying relative and innovative—and maybe offering discounts or rebates once the product officially launches, too. (Think of when Steve Jobs offered a $200 refund to all those early adopters who bought the first, very expensive version of the iPhone.)

Ms. Hess is currently working for Boxee, the multimedia software with social networking features that has the early adopters in a frenzy. She has been interviewing Boxee users, from the 20-something, high-tech savants to moms in rural New York about why they use Boxee and how it can be tailored to suit wider audiences. “Mainstream users aren’t that different from early adopters in that they can be equally tech savvy,” Ms. Hess explained. “It’s a difference in patience, maybe, an interest in wading through the early flaws and kinks. Some people don’t have that level of tolerance or ability to commit that time.”

They may be a little nerdy, scheming behind their glowing screens, but we should all pay attention to these tech freaks who are shaping the goodies we’ll be wanting for Christmas next year. Bijan Sabet, general partner at early stage investment company Spark Capital in Boston, said that “the early adopter group drives everything.” His company has invested in products that excite early adopters, including Boxee and blogging platforms Twitter and Tumblr.

Mr. Sabet said early adopters can be a prickly group—attacking company owners with venomous emails and blog posts, criticizing their programs when they are in their earliest, most fragile stages. But some offer helpful advice, submit user-generated content and even develop additional applications to help show companies their product’s potential. Mr. Sabet brought up Jacob Bijani, a young graduate of the Art Institute of California in San Diego, who started building layout themes for Tumblr for free, just because he liked the blogging platform. Mr. Bijani’s work was so impressive that the company hired him as their new creative director last December.

He also mentioned a blog post written in March by New York–based venture capitalist Fred Wilson titled “Ten Things I’d Like FriendFeed to Do.” Mr. Wilson suggested some changes to the Web service, which aggregates photos, music and other content submitted by friends from other networking sites into a simple feed. He wanted photo thumbnails, playable mp3s and easier comment management. Bret Taylor, who co-founded FriendFeed along with three other former Google employees, wrote in the comments section of the post, “I agree with you on almost every single request,” and some of the changes were implemented soon thereafter.

Clearly, early adopters are important. But companies also have to worry about losing sight of the moms, pops and great aunts of the Internet world. We don’t all think like our geeky IT guy, so how do we get what we want out of these gadgets and Web sites? Can we be early adopters, too?

We can, but it’s still up to the industry to keep users—all of us—satisfied. “It’s really tough to take the company over that seemingly unsurmountable chasm and going to the other side,” said Ken Berger, president of LogX Technologies, who consults investors and entreprenuers in Web-based start-up companies. He put Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft, and Steve Jobs, current CEO of Apple, on the short list of company leaders who ushered early adopter products into the mainstream. They were successful because they had a two-pronged approach—they wooed the early adopters and kept them happy with inventive innovations while also appealing to the mainstream by making their products user-friendly for everyone (and pretty, too).

President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign team had a similar plan, using traditional campaign tactics like town hall speeches, handshaking and baby holding. But they also used Twitter, iPhone applications and their own social networking Web site to mobilize early adopters and spread support for Mr. Obama. He had the best of both worlds.

Still, Mr. Berger said, despite all the advancements, “the vast majority of people out there are afraid of the technology. It could just be too esoteric or too exotic for general use, but the majority of people push away at that.”

But what are we so afraid of?

Meghan Asha, 28, of Soho, an early adopter who blogs as a “geekette” under the NonSociety network (where Julia Allison also dispatches her dating advice), said signing on to new technology is essential to modern life. “It’s survival of the fittest, actually, we’re learning to change our brains,” she said, somewhat disturbingly, calling in from Las Vegas at the International Consumer Electronics Show, the gadget convention for tech fetishists. “People that haven’t been in this generation, who grew up with new technology all around them, they need to keep up.”

Let that be a warning call. And if it’s still too scary for you, at least start following your techie friend’s Twitter. How cool would it be to watch her shape the next TiVo?

greagan@observer.com

Alana Taylor’s Interview

Shiny Shiny Interview

Last week, we showed you TMI Weekly, a new project from Julia Allison, Meghan Asha and Mary Rambin producing three minute films on subjects as diverse as green gadgets and ‘adult proms’. Now we’ve managed to grab a few minutes of Head Geek Meghan Asha’s time, posing her all our NonSociety and TMI-related questions. Read on for her thoughts on putting your life on the internet, how CES changed her life and why it all began with a scrapbook.

Q: Nonsociety and TMI look like interesting projects. Could you explain to us a bit about what they’re about, and what you hope to achieve?

A: NonSociety is the next version of an online personality driven magazine, we employ every piece of technology available to make it engaging to our readers (i.e. mobile posting, photos, videos, live streaming, text, quotes, audio files, and links). Eventually, we will do the same with other contributors with various interests (i.e. a Ballerina, a Comedian, a Travel Expert, etc.). They will write from their perspective giving our audience a more in-depth idea into their lives. TMI Weekly has been called a well-packaged chat show (at three minutes an episode, calling it a “talk show” seems like a stretch) - it’s the next iteration of talk shows for a new online generation.

We’re hoping with both these platforms we will entertain, inform, and inspire our readers to ‘Live Differently’. In that we mean, do what makes you happy, create a career and life without the boundaries of conventional thinking. The way we as a society now communicate with the development of the Internet, vastly differs to how our parents used to communicate. We now defy society’s boundaries, hence creating an alternate society that has limitless possibilities, in essence what we like to call NonSociety.

Q: You’re billed as ‘the geeky one’. We’re all self-proclaimed geeks here at Shiny Shiny, so you’re obviously a girl after our own heart. What’s your geeky background?

A: I come from a Geek FILLED family! My father is an engineer, so most of my youth was spent with him bonding at the tech and aerospace museums. Coming from Silicon Valley, I grew up around weekend soapbox car spectacles where all the tech companies in our area would have races to see which one could make the fastest car using their knowledge of physics. That being said, I resisted technology in college, setting my sites on a career in finance. After working for a small hedge fund in Beverly Hills, I landed a prestigious spot at one of the best tech-focused hedge funds in Manhattan.

It was a fascinating time, but my real love was interacting with people rather than spreadsheets, so on a whim in January, I busted out of cubical life and followed my passion for gadgets by attending the Consumer Electronics Show. It was at that point, I knew, I could never go back to finance; I had a perpetual smile on my face that weekend learning about different companies and products. Thank goodness for Julia, she was the one that gave me the courage to take the plunge and do what I love. For me there’s nothing more exhilarating than new ideas and innovation.


Q: How will people be able to interact with you through NonSociety and TMI?

A: Nonsociety recently launched community pages (Question of the Day and Advice Box) to make sure that there is a place for our readers to comment and ask questions. Our readers not only have the ability to comment in text form, but also post responses with videos, photos, links, and music. Being able to post in various forms, will hopefully employ more interaction within the NonSociety community. As for TMI we will address the posted comments at the beginning of the show and respond to them in within the comment threads.

Q: Exactly how much of your life will you be putting online? Are there areas that are off limits or is it all fair game?

A: I’m the most private out of all three of girls. I’ve struggled and still struggle with putting so much of myself out there for others to dissect. I doubt that anyone would look particularly balanced if they blogged their life on a day-to-day basis. In a way, this is a social experiment; I’ve pondered the question of what amount/ type of information is acceptable to put on the web. When I get uncomfortable with the amount of personal information I have on my blog, I focus on writing about gadgets and new websites that could benefit (or at least) entertain my readers. Julia and Mary put more of themselves online because their comfort with net exposure is different than mine. It vacillates, some days I feel everything is fair game, other days I want to remain completely anonymous and do straight product reviews. Obviously, I will never specifically name people that wish to remain anonymous, but there still needs to be a level of transparency offered to our audience. Our goal is to make TMI and NonSociety as authentic and relatable as possible.

Q: Are you worried about putting your life online - for instance, the lack of privacy, or the potential for ‘flaming’ from Internet trolls?

A: Obviously there’s a hesitation when exposing your private life to people you don’t know. But, we’ve gotten such a positive response from our personal perspectives that it’s worth the risk. Nowadays, there is so much personal information being transmitted over the Internet that it’s just as easy to track down someone with a social networking profile, as it is to track me.

Q: How will you be working with the other two women involved, Mary Rambin and Julia Allison?

A: Julia and Mary are my partners and best friends, we’re now like sisters: we fight, we makeup, we laugh, we work hard together. Each of us come from entirely different backgrounds and has VERY different perspectives. We’re equal partners in this, so we each focus on specific areas behind the scenes to keep NonSociety and TMI on track. One thing that is special about our relationship is that we’re EXTREMELY supportive of one another. My hope is that we can serve as a role model to other young woman, encouraging them to band together in business to achieve their dreams.

Q: Do you think you approach the potential of the Internet in a different way as a woman I.e. as a means of sharing your life and communicating?

A: Women are fundamentally drawn to communicating and the Internet is the newest innovation that allows us to do just that- COMMUNICATE. I introduced my girlfriends to both Skype and Twitter, and they now use these services more than I do. There are some aspects of NonSociety that read as an online journal. Both Julia and I were huge scrapbookers in high school; sometimes I like to equate what we’re doing as an online personal scrapbook for the world to see.

Posted by ScarlettSusi on October 7, 2008

CNET’s article on Ashton Kutcher’s 24Hours in Sundance.

Sundance Channel

1. What’s your favorite political movie?

One of my favorite movies is MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON because of it’s positive theme that an individual can make a difference. It shows the audience the importance of valuing the root one’s character, rather than judging one from the public polls.

Another movie that I also found compelling (and not just because of the love story- though it’s a really good one if you haven’t yet seen it) is Dr. Doctor Zhivago because it displayed all the different stages of communism is Russia. I thought it was incredibly educational to see the history of communism within the context of such a well-done film.

2. What role do you feel art plays in politics?

I think art plays a HUGE role in politics. Art is often used as an expression of one’s belief system, we see this in all forms whether it be art, music, poetry, or films. Recently, I hosted a political fundraiser with the main draw being the work of talented musicians, actors, and comedians. Both art and politics are sensitive subjects, they strike a core in all humans, making them examine different perspectives that they otherwise wouldn’t see. Art convey people’s beliefs, and politics (when used in the most honest sense) is about your beliefs, rather than power.

In my opinion another form of art is being a great orator. This to me makes, Obama an artist when it comes to speech. I’m always impressed to read interviews with him and compare Obama’s speech to others like Bush or McCain. In examining these interviews there is vast difference in Obama’s speech between our current President and Republican Presidential Candidate. For the past eight years, we’ve had a president that speaks only three word sentences. Bush speaks with a subject, a predicate, and an object. Now with McCain we have a candidate that speaks in four word sentences. McCain speaks with a subject, a predicate, an object, and EVEN an adjective or adverb. I hope you can get my sarcasm with this comment, but I believe that it should be noted how well spoken Obama is in comparison to the others in positions of power (There’s my grammatical joke for the interview).

3. What do you think is the biggest issue for the next generation of
Americans?

To bring the country together, we’ve let the past eight years of arrogance and deception segment the country and it’s belief system. We need to go back to the basics, back to humanity. Making sure that we don’t loose our humanity to popular culture. If we put humanity at the crux of our political objectives, all else will begin to follow. There will be peace in and outside of our country, the health of people in need, our environmental and economic concerns will dissipate. I know these sounds idealistic, but there’s something to be said about having a core thesis focused on the good of the people rather than individuals and institutions.

4. Who was the first political candidate you were excited to vote for
and why?

Obama was my favorite from the start. This is a guy whom brought in a vitality, youth, and change. In my experience in the tech industry, there is something about fresh perspectives from a younger generation that creates a positive change. Look at the founders of Google, PayPal, and YouTube, though they all started their companies relatively young, their alternative ideas have revolutionized how we use the Internet. I feel that Obama has that sort of mentality, not to mention a fantastic work ethic.

My 72- year old grandfather recently laughed about how we’ve become a nation of old fogies, he won’t elect McCain because he sees the difference of his own cognitive state as he gets older. “Do you think McCain will really take calls in the middle of the night, at my age the only thing I wake up for is having to pee three times in the middle of the night”. My grandfather likes to joke, but there is definitely some validity in that comment.

Also, the idea that we now have a African American running for president is awe-inspiring. I think this kind of freedom is what American ideology is based off of. To me, it’s the best thing that’s happened to this country. In such a short time span after Martian Luther King fought for equality, we now have the opportunity to elect our first African American President. I’m ESTATIC!

Another impressive trait I found was in watching Obama run against Hilary. No matter how hard Clinton attacked Obama personally, Obama never once brought up the Monica Lewinsky scandal or attacked Hilary on issues other than the policies that matter to the election.

5. What factors are important to you in choosing a president?

My father has always taught me to NOT be affiliated with a party and instead look at the candidate’s intelligence, values, and leadership capabilities. There is something to be said about having an intelligent, confident president in office because they will hopefully elect other intelligent minds to work beside them. Another trait that I look at when examining a president is honesty. I want a candidate who will tell the country the truth whether it’s good or bad. We’ve had much deception and corruption from our last administration, so it’s imperative that we find someone that whom speaks the truth.

6. What issues would you like to see politicians focus more on?

Above all else, I think it’s important to examine each candidate’s plan on HOW exactly they are going to bring about change.

We have SO many issues to focus on, whether it is our environmental concerns, economic crisis, healthcare debacle, foreign relations, or current war abroad. The most important thing for each Presidential candidate to focus on is answering this key question:

What’s the plan and how is it going to affect the people?

7. Which issues would you like to see politicians focus less on?

I think personal attacks are absolutely useless. The media forever perpetuates and focuses on the salaciousness’ of people’s personal lives. I now see this in my own small way when people write or reblog my posts and attack me personally. All of that minutia stands in the way of the real issue at hand:

Our country is in need of a GREAT leader, which candidate will be able to lead America and regain unity in and out of the country for the good of humanity.

8. Which candidate’s initiatives do you feel better address environmental
concerns?

Obama has a much bolder plan than McCain when it comes to fighting Global Warming. Obama’s plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 and invest $150 billion for the next 10 years in clean energy. As opposed to McCain’s plan to spend only $2 billion a year on clean coal; developing nuclear power.

More worrisome is what’s happening to the environment. My relatives live in a rural area of Connecticut and have noticed a major decrease of wildlife in the past couple years. Something is happening to the earth, as all of these things in nature we take for granted (the birds, bees, even mosquitoes) are now disappearing. There is a deterioration happening that is now readily apparent to the naked eye.

To me it’s imperative that we focus on preserving the earth for generations to come. If we spend a fraction of the cost we put in the Iraq War into developing a new industry with alternative energy sources, we could become less dependant on oil. It would stimulate our currently devastated economy, create jobs, and help the environment. I’m interested in seeing a candidate that shares in these beliefs, therefore Obama seems to be the most aligned with my ideals.

9. This is your soapbox - shout it out! What do you need to get off
your chest?

TERM LIMITS

I would like to speak to the issue of term limits. I think it’s important that we reevaluate our current term limit legislation. The limits of those in the Senate, House of Representatives, and Congress should be capped at no more than 12 years. I know this is a controversial issue, but I believe there is NO good reason for a politician to serve more than 12 years in one position, this to me causes complacency and allows for corruption. There are congressmen out there who have served for over 40 years. I’m sorry to say, but with every administration we need to keep rotating a fair amount of fresh ideas and forward thinkers. Right now, I think our country is in desperate need for a change, this not only has to do with electing a President, but also relates to the other branches of government.

10. Do you have any recommended links, books or movies so people can learn more about the issues you care about?

Plan of Attack - about how and why President George W. Bush decided to go to war with Iraq (by Bob Woodward)

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (by Barack Obama)

Extra Credit: Fill in the blank. _________ for change.

OBAMA for a change

The New York Post’s Page Six Magazine

By David Sarno & Maria Russo

Over the last half-decade, enterprising Web auteurs have created — and we’re ballparking, but this feels right — hundreds of original Internet TV series. There are production companies that churn them out, websites that warehouse them, and vast armies of amateurs who own a camera and aren’t afraid to use it. But from that crowded landscape of Web TV shows, who among us can name more than, we don’t know, two? Even the standouts — “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” “Pink,” “You Suck at Photoshop” — fade quick: When an entire season of a Web show adds up to fewer minutes than one episode of “True Blood,” the chance to make a lasting impression is fleeting indeed.

As time drags on and the genre remains chronically hitless, it’s fair to ask if perhaps the bite-size Web show is media’s version of Australopithecus afarensis, the short-lived hominid species that died off 3 million years ago to make way for humans.

So in 30 years, when Google archaeologists are exploring the era when television mated with the Internet, maybe they’ll dig up the digital fossils of these shows and have a quick laugh. Which is not to say there’s nothing good in Web TV — only that the genre itself might have evolved a little awkwardly. Its stumpy three-minute duration may simply be too short for it to survive. Still, some of the webisodes’ best traits will be no doubt be passed along on to future generations of this theoretical Intervision. And other traits won’t.

…

Shoes, guys, gadgets

As a plugged-in tech world personality — she Twitters, she blogs, she gets photographed at industry functions — Julia Allison has come to symbolize “Internet microcelebrity,” the condition of being extremely well known within a limited group of people (in Allison’s case, her blog gets about 30,000 page views a day, and about 3,000 people have made the more serious commitment to following her moment-to-moment activities via her Twitter feed). When Wired did a cover story in August on Allison and how she’s engineered her singular kind of fame, some expressed outrage that the magazine was even paying attention. (“Julia Allison is a terrible example of self-promotion, a warning of the missteps of public relations … WIRED ought to be ashamed,” as one blog put it.)

And so the natural next step is her own Web series, which launches Wenesday and is called “TMI Weekly.” But before you accuse her of being a social media climber, Allison swears she’s not in the market for a TV deal. On the phone Monday, the New York-based Allison insisted that the three-minute, three-times-a-week talk show was not some kind of steppingstone to Hollywood. “I’ve done TV,” Allison said on a conference call with her co-hosts and friends Meghan Asha and Mary Rambin. “I did 400 segments over the last year and a half on every major network. But I get so much more out of this! I can say what I really think.”

As long as what she really thinks fits into the show’s three-minute format, that is. The show, produced by Web network NextNewNetworks is being marketed as “‘The View’ meets ‘Digg Nation,’” the influential technology focused talk show on rival Web network Revision3. Inevitably, all involved with “TMI Weekly” also refer to “Sex and the City” to describe the demographic they’re aiming at — but it’s an iPhone/Twitter era, post-television “Sex and the City” crowd. In Allison’s world, there are no moody Carrie Bradshaw-esque stabs at literary depth, no storytelling. She and her friends cut right to the chase: the shoes, the guys, the gadgets.

Or as Tim Shey, NextNewNetworks’ head of entertainment programming, described the audience, “We see it as an underserved community — young women who aren’t really reached by television. They’re watching a lot of YouTube. They care about style, tech, iPhones — how do they balance their career, their life and their relationship?”

Each episode has a topic (to text or not when you’re stood up for a date?; cool new iPhone apps; is this outfit working?) and the hosts each have an area of focus: dating (Allison), gadgets and tech culture (Asha) and fashion and style (Rambin). Viewers can chime in too, of course, as part of the show’s built-in community.

Unlike “The View,” there are no guests from the outside world, and no debating politics or the issues of the day. “We don’t pretend to be a talk show,” Allison said. “We are a new iteration of that.” Their goal is to be more “real” than traditional TV: “With us when the camera is on and off, you get the same conversation,” Allison said.

That conversation feels a bit airless, though. The three hosts don’t agree on everything, but they seem like slight variations on the same personality: flirty, confident, interested in their topics only to the extent that the topics affect them personally; upbeat and “positive” no matter what. “We want to inspire our demographic to really kind of go outside and create their own lives, create their own destiny, they don’t have to get the MRS degree or work at a job they hate, really the sky’s the limit,”  Asha said.

Quintessentially Magazine - I Adore NY: Meghan Asha & Julia Allison On All the Skinny

JA: Is there anything more New York than the Four Seasons? I had one of my best ever dates here. He bought me the cotton candy- so romantic!
MA: Where else do you eat?
JA: The Waverly Inn. I’m obsessed with it, although I realize it’s not cool to be obsessed with something so trendy. Small, amazing West Village atmosphere. There’s an understated class and air about it. But its still homey. I go once every couple of weeks. The maitre’d there, Larry, is just so incredibly sweet.
MA: I love it too. Even the $50 macaroni and cheese - amazing. I love that you have to have the secret number to get a reservation. And that the front room’s not as good as the back room…
JA: No, no! The back room’s not as good as the front room.
MA: Sorry, right, right!
JA: Every New Yorker goes through a phase where you want to try every restaurant. I had an Excel spreadsheet when I first got here. But now I try to find a place where I’m comfortable. Like Perry Street.
MA: Love Perry Street. The food is outstanding. There’s a tuna appetizer there I can’t get enough of.
JA: I like a restaurant where you can be low profile. But if you want to be high profile…
MA: Then go to Downtown Cipriani where everybody looks you up and down and the women are dressed to the nines. You go there if you’re in the mood to wear something…Missoni.
JA: Yeah and hang out with Euros. I love the risotto there. What about people watching.
MA: Rooftop of Soho house
JA: You know that’s amazing for people watching on a Saturday morning? Pastis. I know that it’s trendy and been around forever, but it’s an institution. Going and sitting outside on a summer morning is divine.
MA: See, I’m more into the late night scene. Like karaoke at Winnie’s, or at one of those private places in Korea Town, with the disco balls and the soju. Or the show at the Box.
JA: That’s so New York- nowhere else would you see a stage show with great singer’s, with crazy drug and culture references and men who have, um, female parts. And it gets seedier as the night goes on.
MA: It’s a great date place for a bad date- you can go there and just sit and watch the show the whole time.
JA: But my favorite bar in New York is the Rose Bar at the Gramercy.
MA: Oh, agree! With the Warhol paintings on the walls…
JA: And they infuse it with wood scent- I think there’s crack in the scent because it makes me happy the second I walk in. It’s quiet enough that you can hear yourself talk- you could have a meeting there or you could have a deliciously romantic date. There’s something sultry about that place.
MA: The whole crew from Entourage was there the last time I went. The rooftop there is very cool, but it’s private. And of course there’s Beatrice and Milk and Honey still going strong.
JA: There’s a great bar in Tribeca- the Brandy Library. It looks like your very rich uncle’ study. Lovely atmosphere, perfect for closing the big deal.
MA: Whatever that big deal might be…
JA: Ha! Ok, ready? Lightning round. Best place for power coffee. Go.
MA: Um Balthazar. Now You. Power Lunch.
JA: Michael’s, obviously. All the media heavy hitters. Also Town in the Chambers Hotel. And of course, right here there’s the Four Seasons.
MA: Good ones. I’d add 11 Madison. Their new chef, Daniel Humm, is incredible.
JA: What about… cupcakes?
MA: Don’t do Magnolias, only tourists line up there. Two Little Red Hens on the Upper East Side- their blackout chocolate cupcake is the best.
JA: But the number one cupcake place in New York is Sugar Sweet Sunshine on Rivington.
MA: Ok, more the best health food place?
JA: Liquiteria on 11th Street and 2nd Avenue. I have a beet-juice smoothie there every single morning.
MA: Let’s do shopping.
JA: My favorite new handbag designer is Mary Rambin [JA Ed Note: HA! I always promote my girls]. Her Moe bags are ridiculously addictive. She has these beautiful bags that loop to your wrist. You can get them at Henri Bendels.
MA: If it’s shoes your after, it’s Barneys or Christian Louboutin. But generally I love going to the young designers’ market every Saturday and Sunday on Mott street in SoHo.
JA: Or the consignment stores on the Upper East Side because the ladies –who-lunch abandon their designer cast-offs there. They always have big labels for cheap- Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Oscar de la Renta. The Spence-Chapin Thrift Shop is a good one.  But of course, if your shopping with the rich boyfriend, the first place to go would be Jeffrey’s in Meatpacking.
MA: And don’t forget Bergdorf’s for handbags and dresses. For antique jewelry, you want to go to this little place on the Lower East Side, called Pippin.
JA: Ooh, speaking of vintage, Screaming Mimi’s on Lafayette. Incredible vintage clothing. Lots of designers and stylists go there.
MA: And what about if you’re buying for a man?
JA: Thomas Pink for shirts. Paul Smith for everything. And when you’re done there and want to buy something for yourself, pop into Diane von Furstenberg’s gorgeous new store.
MA: OK, we have to talk about gyms. The number one gym that everyone is talking about is the Equinox at Columbus Circle. They’re obsessed with it.
JA: That and the equinox in SoHo. And my metrosexual ex is obsessed with Clay on 14th. Exclusive. There is only one, and it’s totally exclusive. What about hair stylists?
MA: Ty Holbrook at John Frieda. Best haircut I’ve ever gotten.
JA: All the anchors and TV personalities go to the Ted Gibson Salon on 23rd and Fifth.  There’s a guy named Jason who does colour there who’s supposed to be just amazing. OK, hotels?
MA: I had a long-distant relationship last year so I know all the hotels. I like Gramercy, which is dark and bordello-esque. It’s the place to put your mistress, not your mom. And the Mercer. And I love the spa at the Mandarin in the Time Warner Center.
JA: But the best massage in the city is called Asian Tui-Na. If you like it rough, and I do, this is the place to go. Great acupuncture, too.
MA: And the best thing, period, to do in New York?
JA: Just walking around! The Battery Park Promenade, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, West Village.
MA: And if you’re talkative, go stand in line at the Shake Shack in Madison Park. Meeting people there is better than the burgers, and that’s really saying something!

As overheard by Brian Farnham, editor-in-chief of Time Out New York
Meghan Asha is a socialite and former model who works in hedge funds.
Julia Allison is the dating columnist for Time Out New York and  an editor-at-large for Star magazine.

Eat & Drink & Dance

Balthazar
80 Spring St. between Broadway and Crosby Sts
212.965.1414

Beatrice Inn [SHUT DOWN!]
285 W 12th St
212.243.4626

The Box
189 Chrystie St between Rivington and Stanton Sts
212.982.9301

The Brandy Library
25 N. Moore St at Varick St
212.226.5545

Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave at 24th St
212.889.0905

The Four Seasons
99 E 52nd St
212.754.9494

Liquiteria
170 2nd Ave
212.358.0300

Michael’s
24 W 55th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves
212.767.0555

Milk and Honey
134 Eldridge St between Broome and Delancey Sts
unlisted

Pastis
9 Ninth Ave at Little W 12th St
212.929.4844

The Rose Bar at the Gramercy
2 Lexington Ave
212.920.3300

SoHo House
29-35 Ninth Ave between 13th and 14th Sts
212.627.9800

Sugar Sweet Sunshine
126 Rivington St
212.995.1960

Town in the Chambers Hotel
15 W 56th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves
212.582.4445

Two Little Red Hens
1652 Second Ave at 86th
212.452.0476

The Waverley Inn
16 Bank St
212.243.7900

Winnie’s
104 Bayard St between Baxter and Mulberry Sts
212.732.2364

Shop & Sleep & Health

Asian Tui-Na
327 E 28th St
212.686.8082

Bergdorf’s
754 Fifth Ave
212-753-7300 

Clay
25 W. 14th St, 2nd floor
212-206-9200 

Christian Louboutin
59 Horatio St
212-255-1910 

Diane von Furstenberg
874 Washington St
646-486-4800 

Equinox (multiple locations)
895 Broadway (corporate address)
212-774-6363 

Gramercy Hotel
2 Lexington Ave
212-475-4320 

Henri Bendels
712 Fifth Ave between 55th & 56th Sts
212-582-8283 

John Frieda
797 Madison Ave
212-879-1000

The Mandarin Hotel Spa
80 Columbus Circle
212-805-8880 

The Mercer Hotel
147 Mercer St
212-966-6060 

Paul Smith
108 Fifth Ave at 16th St
212-627-9770 

Pippin
72 Orchard St
212-505-5159 

Screaming Mimi’s
382 Lafayette St
212-677-6464 

Spence-Chapin Thrift Shop
1473 Third Ave, 212-737-8448 
1850 Second Ave, 212-426-7643 

Ted Gibson Salon
184 Fifth Ave, 2nd floor
212-633-6333 

Thomas Pink
10 Columbus Circle at 60th St,
212-826-9650 

Young Designer’s Market on Mott
St, 268 Mulberry St
212-580-8995