Hot List: Alt-Instagram, A Monthly Haven for Creatives

FLICK (iOS App)

Do you remember the last time Yahoo! had a product coup? It was in the days before Google. Now, in what may be the greatest bit of timing in the history of the company, the Marissa Mayer-headed Yahoo! has unleashed a new Flickr app just as Instagram is having a PR implosion. Sure, you still need to pay if you want to see more than your latest 200 photos, but the fees are negligible if you’re even remotely serious about photography. Irony: a lot more of us are, thanks to Instagram. The Flickr app has a good suite of editing tools as well as those now-ubiquitous filters. No tilt-shift yet, which gives me the sads. Still, Flickr is suddenly the hot spot to be. - Noah Nelson

The Cultural Explosion of First Fridays (Event)

For me, 2012 was the year of First Fridays, an event that’s become the San Francisco Bay Area’s new hot spot.
First Fridays in Downtown Oakland started off with gallery owners wanting to coordinate within their small community to create a one-day celebration of local art. It’s grown to become a full-blown street festival celebrating creativity, diversity, and everything “Oakland.” The tipping point for First Fridays was Occupy Oakland’s “May Day” bringing thousands of occupiers to the street, meshing perfectly with the already “artsy” scene. It got even bigger when it became an instant “trending” topic on social media networks. Festival goers began posting YouTube videos of the large crowds and spontaneous musical sideshows while the night was still in progress, to show those who weren’t there what they were missing out on. Now, with crowds as big as 20,000 people, the street festival goers can jam with musicians and DJs, support Oakland by eating from local food vendors and food trucks, and get inspired by the numerous galleries and interactive art spaces. On any given First Friday you might find a legendary Bay Area rapper, a Silicon Valley hot shot, trendy youngsters, and middle aged couples drinking wine, all within the same block. -Kenny Foster