19. Ian Jennings, 23
Hacker
Most of us are lucky if we can even afford to buy the latest techno-gadget. But Williamsburg-based hacker Ian Jennings is actually the one inventing them. He cofounded (along with fellow Rutgers students Mike Swift and Abe Stanway) Hacker League, a site devoted to simplifying the organization of intensely collaborative tech events known as “hackathons.” Jennings recently pretty much guaranteed that he’ll always be able to keep himself stocked up on techno-gadgets with the sale of Hacker League to Intel’s Mashery subdivision for the price of more than a few PCs. But he’s not done. In fact, his latest invention, Mote.io, is a remote that connects your web browser with various music platforms like Pandora, Youtube, and Rdio, and has gotten raves on tech sites like GigaOM; he’s also in the midst of developing the Reddit app for the uber-hyped tech accessory Google Glass. So when Brooklyn is in dire need of a Marty Markowitz hologram? We’ll know just who to call.
20. Allen Ying, 30
Editor-in-Chief
Skateboarders put ideas into action. Skateboard photographers document it. But what about 43 magazine’s Allen Ying? As founder and editor of the only independent skateboard publication in the city, Ying straddles both worlds and concentrates on one thing: thinking differently. From his use of an unorthodox square format to the employment of ecofriendly paper and vegetable-based inks, 43 embodies this ethos. “If you do something that’s actually different, and do it well” Ying says, “it will be noticed.”
21. Walter Green, 24
Art Director
Print is dead, right? Don’t tell Walter Green, who (at 24!) is the art director at the food magazine started by punk rock chef David Chang. Lucky Peach (called “a reminder of print’s true wingspan” by the New York Times) is no ordinary food magazine, and it benefits greatly from having Green’s insight. “I think there was interest in creating a magazine that tries new things,” Ying says, “even if it sometimes ends up looking a little bad.” Green is being a bit humble here: while Lucky Peach has become renowned for trying new things, no one could ever say it looks bad doing so.
Where’s Kirstin Iversen and Virginia K. Smith?
@JOR It’d be sorta poor form to make a list of cool, successful people and just pick ourselves, but thank you anyway!
I feel like this is a list that is hyper focused on people who do ‘cool’ things that are self promoting or ‘artistic’. Where is the space for people who do science research, work on non-profits, or do other volunteer initiatives? Are individuals pursuing other careers not interesting enough to be interviewed for this publication?
Not sure if the pictures are supposed to make these somewhat accomplished young artists look angry, angsty, or artsy, but I don’t envy any of them. You can have your artists, I’ll take my family and non-artistic contributions to society any day.
I see white people.
Where are the BLACK people? Brooklyn? More bullshit!
@Allison this is an arts magazine