Comments on: She is your Virgil on the descent into L.A.

She is your Virgil on the descent into L.A.

Scram — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:07:32 -0800

Kristin's List. There are plenty of events guides in Los Angeles, but none has as personal a voice, as finely honed an aesthetic (the Neutra font is an inspired touch) or as discerning an eye as Kristin's. Her weekly emails and web listings are one woman's recommended sampling of the most interesting music, film, architecture, food, fashion, literary and unquantifiable events across the megalopolis. And so far, it's completely ad-free.

By: cherie72

cherie72 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:10:00 -0800

Very cool. Flavorpill has been my favorite, as well as Atelierzero by Fumiko Amano. But Kristen has some good stuff!

By: scody

scody — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:12:17 -0800

Nice. Thanks!

By: davebush

davebush — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:24:14 -0800

I'm impressed by the design. Not one superfluous pixel.

By: mogget

mogget — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:07:25 -0800

This is great; thanks for posting it.

By: mykescipark

mykescipark — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:13:19 -0800

Very nice indeed. I have a thousand Metro L.A. blogs in my reader already, but she has good taste, so why not.

By: turducken

turducken — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:29:36 -0800

First, let's give credit where it's due: The site was designed by Los Angeles graphic designer (and Calartian) Louise Sandhaus. "none has as personal a voice, as finely honed an aesthetic..." I love Neutra and unquantifiable events, too, but c'mon -- there's nothing personal about this site. The "About" section is as generic as it gets. (Plus a private GoDaddy domain, to boot.) I mean, who's Kristin? Is "her" site ad-free because it's advertorial? Why is Metafilter one of the few non-self-referential Google hits for the site? Inquiring minds want to know (before they take Kristin's advice).

By: Scram

Scram — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:38:28 -0800

I've met and talked with Kristin about her site, and it truly is a reflection of the things she finds fascinating and wants to share with others. There's no pay-to-play involved, and I like her wide ranging view of worthwhile happenings, and that she doesn't just reprint press release copy but researches and describes everything in fresh prose. As to "who's Kristin?" - it's kind of all there: she's the person who thinks all the things on her list are intriguing.

By: bz

bz — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:59:03 -0800

"Curated" is a valid word?

By: dyoneo

dyoneo — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:18:21 -0800

and that she doesn't just reprint press release copy but researches and describes everything in fresh prose This is just plain not true. This listing is cut and pasted from here. This listing is cut and pasted from here. This listing is cut and pasted from here. And those are just the first three listings I checked. "Kristin" appears to do nothing but reprint press release copy; either she misrepresented herself to you, or you're misrepresenting her to us.

By: Justinian

Justinian — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:39:07 -0800

I'm afraid to say that dyoneo appears to be correct. No ads and cut and pasted listings leads me to believe this is a pay-for-play site.

By: turducken

turducken — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:00:47 -0800

"she's the person who thinks all the things on her list are intriguing" C'mon, Scram. So far this looks like a case of reblogging or worse. I know those are fightin' words, and I'd be very happy to be proven wrong. Anything will do. So: Who's Kristin? What's she like? What's her motive in doing the site? And why doesn't she promote herself better? (Unless, of course, that's exactly what's happening here.)

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:18:50 -0800

Man, tough crowd.

By: Scram

Scram — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:44:34 -0800

No kidding. I feel like a louse because I told Kristin recently that it would probably not be the end of the world if, in addition to her original write ups (which she sends out in her email list), she increased the content on her site by cutting and pasting interesting press releases. Looks like she has started doing that already (two of the PR-quoting events listed are new; one is seven months old). It was not my intention to turn the dogs of Mefi onto someone who I think is doing good, if woefully unindexed-by-Google, work. She's not my PR client, if that's what's being suggested by the reblogging comment. But you guys are right about one thing: what her site needs is a better introduction to who Kristin is. I can't answer turducken's questions, but perhaps she can.

By: Justinian

Justinian — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:56:53 -0800

Scram: I think that would be great. The site needs to be personalized. When you have something like "Kristin's List" with no indication whatsoever who Kristin is or if she even exists, it smacks of corporate name-testing. Look at "Angie's List". There is no "Angie", so far as I know. My guess is they picked the name "Angie" to make it sounds homey and less corporate and to appeal to women. Sure, it's a faceless corporation that makes you pay for what you can get for free elsewhere, but it's name is ANGIE'S LIST so it must be cool and homey and woman-friendly. That's probably not fair to Kristin since it sounds like she's just a woman who likes cool stuff in L.A. But it's the world we live in.

By: turducken

turducken — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:57:09 -0800

She's not my PR client, if that's what's being suggested by the reblogging comment. Like I said, I'm happy to be disabused of the notion. So you probably should have mentioned that you knew/advised Kristin in the gushy OP. (I'm no power user, but I'm pretty sure this is a Mefi maxim.) And crediting the font without crediting the designer is just gauche. Especially if you know the site owner. It's tough to make a living as a "creative" in LA. Give Louise some props! Unlike Kristin, she has a website that tells us a little about her and her work. (Full disclosure: I'm a fellow Calarts grad, but have never met her.)

By: ryanrs

ryanrs — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:06:45 -0800

Possible self-linkery? Is this Kristin a friend of yours, Scram?

By: uaudio

uaudio — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:35:01 -0800

"Are self-links ever okay on any part of the site?" "Sometimes, but rarely. It's against the rules to link to your own site, a site that you host or contribute to substantially or a site of someone who is a close friend or relative of yours. People who self-link in front page posts on MetaFilter will have their posts removed and their account banned. Transparency and honesty are important to the community and we rely on users to abide by the guidelines and participate honestly."

By: dyoneo

dyoneo — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:35:41 -0800

I feel like a louse because I told Kristin recently that it would probably not be the end of the world if, in addition to her original write ups (which she sends out in her email list), she increased the content on her site by cutting and pasting interesting press releases. Looks like she has started doing that already (two of the PR-quoting events listed are new; one is seven months old). The listing from March I just checked on at random is cut and pasted from here. The listing from April I just checked on at random is cut and pasted from here. Scram, I'm not accusing you of anything horribly nefarious, but I have yet to see any evidence that any of Kristin's write-ups are in fact written up by her, and being told repeatedly, in the face of that, that she has a "personal" "voice" and "fresh prose" and "original write ups" really pushes the limits of my trust.

By: uaudio

uaudio — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:37:52 -0800

FWIW, I don't think anyone should be banned, but this is probably a questionable FPP.

By: cmonkey

cmonkey — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:01:43 -0800

So why call it Kristin's List if the marketing and public relations agency that is behind it doesn't even make an effort to flesh out the Kristin character? That's what I don't get about this whole sad fiasco.

By: WestCoaster

WestCoaster — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:10:04 -0800

And yes, there is an "Angie" of "Angie's list".

By: Scram

Scram — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:30:06 -0800

Kristin is by no stretch a close friend, though I have spoken with her on two occasions. I subscribe to her list, and was interested enough in it to ask her about the project. I chose to share it with mefites, because, you know "best of the web" and all. That's it. (If this was corporate scammery, don't you think the site would be better indexed, and the Kristin persona illustrated with a photo of, say, this gal?)

By: Justinian

Justinian — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:01:46 -0800

Huh. So there really is an Angie. Weird.

By: turducken

turducken — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:52:08 -0800

Getting back to the site: Scram, since you've spoken with -- and met -- Kristen herself, I'd like to know why she sends out her list, and how she makes money from it. (Or plans to.) Daily Candy, for example, sells ads, but is not pay-for-play. Also, does she really look like this? (If so, she's kinda cute.)

By: sleepy pete

sleepy pete — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:16:41 -0800

Jesus Christ, I'm glad y'all found the cut and paste blogger, especially those who are so knowledgeable about FPPs. You should take it to metatalk if you are that aggrieved. Or, better yet, e-mail a mod. Also, my first FPP, I totally knew that guy. I should totally be banned. Totally. Someone ban me.

By: HotPatatta

HotPatatta — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:51:48 -0800

FWIW, Emily also has a list, as does some guy named Craig.

By: HotPatatta

HotPatatta — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:53:53 -0800

I prefer to be on Santa's list.

By: gregv

gregv — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:06:19 -0800

Hey, I've met Kristin too. She is the type of person who (apparently) throws everything into a project (including aforementioned expensive site designers) while having no practical idea how to turn it to her benefit. Nevertheless, I don't mind capitalizing on her impracticality: I've been getting her email list for a while and I like the unusual things she picks out.

By: Rashomon

Rashomon — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:18:01 -0800

"Kristin" appears to do nothing but reprint press release copy; So what? She has good listings. The information she has matters more [to me] than where she might have lifted it from.

By: Scram

Scram — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:04:56 -0800

Kristin has a new About page, with a photo. I believe the photographer asked for her "show the mefites what you're made of" pose.