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If Alexis Ohanian (not Alex or Al) (@kn0thing) were to be compared to a superhero, he’d be a modern day Superman (sans super powers). By day he’d be working at Breadpig and Hipmunk, and by night he’d be “trying to make the world suck less”, which would include working with Kiva.
For those of you who don’t know, Reddit is a news aggregate where the users (Redditors) vote user-submitted articles up or down on a list. Conde Nast Digital acquired Reddit from Alexis and co-founder Steve Huffman in 2006.
If it weren’t for Michael Tao, I would have no idea who Alexis (or Reddit for that matter) was, depriving me of his tweets about his charity work in Laos (through Breadpig) and his fellowship with Kiva. And I would certainly have no idea that Masuka is a Redditor.
How do you choose what projects to get involved in?
I choose projects based mostly on gut. I don’t do much research ahead of time, which seems pretty absurd, I’m sure. But I’ll undertake these projects with the understanding that they’ll be as simple & fast to try as possible — if they work, I’ll iterate and grow them and if they fail, I cut my losses and move on.
I’m really lucky to love the work that I do, so I do a lot of it. It’s incredibly satisfying.
What inspires you?
It’s cliche, but my parents certainly inspire me. I’m regularly inspired by stories I read from all over the world of people fighting all sorts of injustices. I know how comfortable my life is thanks to a life lottery ticket I didn’t do anything to deserve, so it’s easy to find inspiration.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I should ask my dad. Like many children, I know I wanted to be a paleontologist for quite some time. But as I grew up, I learned that they spend most of their time outside digging up bones (not playing with dinosaurs) and discarded that life goal.
Who would you recommend to Follow Friday?
I see you’re into fashion at DefineMag. Well, my friends started a cool clothing line for male geeks to start looking classy
http://saboteurman.com/
Will you see The Social Network? Why/Why not?
Yes. I read the book, Accidental Billionaires, and while I didn’t think it was a terribly accurate portrayal, it was a great read. Likewise, I’ve heard such great things about the writing & directing of the film (which I believe I loosely based on the book, which was already loosely based on reality) that I’m absolutely going to see it.
I mean, I saw Predators in theaters. Granted, I’ve been a fanboy of the Aliens & Predator universe since I was a kid, but I really could’ve just waited, Netflixed it, and had those pot brownies in the comfort of my own home.
Photos provided by Alexis Ohanian.
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Coming from a strong sporting background, Erin Gee is one of the most competitive people you will ever meet. She can turn everything into a competition, giving her all until the she crosses the finish line. With a BA in Criminology, Erin criminological interests lie on the international level. Her other passions are fashion, softball and travel.
Thank you very much, Erin! (And @DefineMag)