SXSWORLD

Baratunde Th urston: Laughing in the Land of Bits, Bytes and Hashtags by Linda Laban in many ways. Loads of external speaking and media relations. But underlying that is digital strategy: fi guring out what Th e Onion experience is on Foursquare, or an eBook reader, or any- where that bits and bytes rule." As well as working a demanding though enjoyable "day job," and with a busy speaking schedule that includes being a keynote speaker at SXSW Interactive 2012, Th urston is a comedian and hosts a weekly standup show in Manhattan. "Comedy is a big part of my life, probably the center of it. know how to add circling to the franscollow," says Th urston. "Also, you don't circle at Google+, you add people, so is the verb add? I've got to rethink franscollow," he laughs. As satirical newspaper Th e Onion's Director of Digital, this is Th urston's world: fi guring out the latest developments in cyberspace and translating them to the everyday human experience. "Th e job is like being an ambassador to the tech community f there is one thing that Baratunde Th urston should be remembered for, it is for inventing the term "franscrollow." Th e word, which falls delightfully off the tongue, is a snappy amalgamation of friend, fan, subscribe and follow, and both honors and pokes fun at the very things that defi ne everyday technological interactivity for millions of people around the globe. "Th e problem is, Google+ has added 'circling,' and I don't I Baratunde Thurston She installed one in their home long before the machines became house- hold fi xtures. Th e Brooklyn-based, 34-year-old counts himself lucky for this early exposure. Still, there are times when the fast-paced, commer- cial driven tech world's constant upgrades and innovations overwhelm even him. "Innovation is actually quite annoying and there are times when I wish the brilliant people of the world would slow down and just let me get used to this phone before you push the other one. Let me use this protocol before you change the standard. When you are in the position of making decisions that involve things constantly changing, you have your work cut out for you and it's not all fun. It's not 'Yay, new iPhone!' It's 'Oh no, new iPhone ...' " Apps may come and go and platforms will wither and die, but Politics is very close to my heart; I often call it a heart problem," he quips. "Geeky tech things are a lot of fun. I've always been into gadgets and web things." Th urston credits his mom as initiating his early ease with computers. "Comedy is a big part of my life, probably the center of it. Politics is very close to my heart; I often call it a heart problem..." Th urston has no doubt that the infrastructure of social networking is here to stay. "We are returning to a level of interactivity we had lost. We are social beings; we need it biologically. But there was a glitch in time when we moved away from that. In the west, a lot of our progress has been avoiding that. Living alone is a huge accomplishment. In America, the self-made man – 'No one helped me, I did it all myself!' – is admired. We set up our homes to be alone. Suburbs are about getting away from people. But we are starting to see a return to community through tech tools. We are returning to something that's more in tune with our genetics." 18 SXSW ORLD / N OVEMBER 2011 Th ere are the distractions at your fi ngertips that waste time, just as much as there are the ones to avoid that. 'Ooh, look there's a tweet, I must write back,' " he mocks. "'Ooh look, there's a cat video, I love cats! I have to watch it.' But I keep it under control and use technology socially, in helping my intelligence, and solving the problems that machines are meant to solve." ■ Baratunde Thurston will deliver a keynote address at SXSW Interactive 2012. Th urston, a Washington D.C.-raised Harvard grad, is a quick and keen talker, something that caught the attention of an editor from HarperCollins, who promptly signed him up for his fi rst book, How to Be Black, which is due out in February 2012. "First book published by someone else. I've done some self-published works," Th urston adds, showing a fi erce independence in the process. It might come as no surprise that the idea for How to Be Black was generated in cyberspace from a simple Twitter hashtag. "It started from a tweet when I challenged a friend 'Well, how black are you?' It became a little meme. Some of it was philosophical, some of it was tacky. But that's okay, that's people isn't it? But for the book, how black are you seemed open to abuse, so we came up with How To Be Black." Th e book is not a series of tweets though; instead it is a memoir with humor and insight, and will be yet another project on Th urston's done list. All of this productivity is impressive; no doubt having a handle on the latest tech innovations and employing tools such as Tungle, Doodle and others help him be more organized and productive. Th urston laughs. "It has, but it also undermines productivity, too. MARYANNE VENTRICE

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