Professional photographer, party maniac, official RVCA artist and (mt) Media Temple partner, The Cobrasnake, stopped by the (mt) outpost in Hawaii en route to Asia. (mt) Community Director Jason McVearry caught up with him at his fashion yard sale and later at Steve Aoki’s Show in Honolulu.

(mt): Judging by the fans you and Steve Aoki brought out in Hawaii, it’s clear you and your brand have achieved “celebrity status” internationally. Would you say this is true and how has it affected your perspective on things in general?

CS: Its really exciting that in just a few years I have been able to reach so many people. When i think about it, I get chills thinking that people are following me and I am inspiring people all around the world.
Steve is amazing as well, his Dj set is world renowned and gets the crowd excited!! We are both so lucky to have the support that we do.

(mt): How does it feel being a living, breathing brand?

CS: Its hard work, and not as glamourous as it seems. I work all the time, I don’t sleep much and am constantly traveling and generally overwhelmed with life. But, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I get to experience so many amazing things, meet cool people and get paid at the same time! I want to work as hard as possible as I feel there is tons more for me to do.

(mt): Mark, party and live music photography has been a serious genre since the 60s. How do you feel you’ve changed the game?

CS: When i started shooting nightlife it was funny because people were not used to having their photo taken by someone that wasn’t their friend. Now most people want as many people as possible to take their photo. I’m most excited to have this amazing archive of images in 20 years when we are all fat and old!

(mt): How do you think the modern “hip” party and music scene compares with the underground scenes of past decades?

CS: I think that on an international level, it’s way more united. You can go to Paris and hear the same music you hear in Hawaii and in Australia. Everything is less localized

(mt): How do you feel about other sites that have been inspired by the cobrasnake? Heck, we host party sites now from NYC to Hawaii.

CS: Its really cool that my site has inspired others to shoot in their towns.
For me its all about respect: I try my best to respect everyone and they should do the same.

(mt): A popular question I encounter when describing your gig is, “So how does he make money?” If you can say, how do you pull in revenue? Has any standard online/offline revenue model worked for you and is your site still the central focus of your business?

CS: That is the funny part. Its all over the place from selling t-shirts, to getting hired to shoot events, to shooting for magazines, to shooting advertising. I’m a renaissance man and i take $$$ any where I can

(mt): How is your site running these days?

CS: The site is running great. (mt) Media Temple is the godfather of the internet.
I tell everyone I know to host with you guys.

(mt): You are a bit of a fashion icon in the hipster world. Do you plan on expanding or developing your fashion medium beyond your t-shirts?

CS: Hell yes!
I can’t wait to make shorts, fun sweatshirts, shoes, sunglasses, hats,and of course a Cobrasnake energy drink! Holy crap..too many things to make.

(mt): What’s playing on your ipod?

CS: Juno Soundtrack, mgmt, Phantom Planet, Radiohead, Justice, Wilco, Spoon.

(mt): Do you have any advice for those trying to make it in exploitainment?

CS: RESPECT is key.
When you are shooting you need to respect everyone from the people you take photos of, to the bar tenders and security. Thats really important.

(mt): If you can reveal it, what does the future hold for The Cobrasnake brand?

CS: I’m like one of those sponge dinosaurs you put in water and watch it get bigger. I want to build the brand in the right way and make smart decisions and make an impact on the world.

You can check out tons more of the Cobrasnake’s work at thecobrasnake.com

In it’s 7th year, the May 1 Reboot is going strong, providing inspiration and a new generation of web eye candy for the discerning design enthusiast. The Judges have made their decisions and the results are in! Their rightful prize, beyond the obvious glory of victory, is (mt) Media Temple hosting for life.

And the Winners ARE!…

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The Art Directors Club Annual Awards competition is accepting entries for several categories of creative work. Submission deadline is next Friday, January 19. Get your submission in TODAY and win a “Big Cube”.

A recent host traffic comparison done by Isabel Wang shows (mt) Media Temple gained more ground in terms of popularity/web traffic than any other popular consumer hosting company according to Alexa numbers.

Isabel used data from Compete, Alexa, Quantcast and MS Ad Center Labs to create this handy chart showing the results of her host traffic comparison.

A quick note for our design industry related customers… one of (mt) Media Temple’s venture companies, Vantageous/QBN, recently launched a new web service that may be useful to you. Krop.com, a creative jobs marketplace helps companies advertise job openings in the Internet’s top design communities. What we found interesting is that Krop also features an affiliate system which many (mt) customers may be interested in as a way to further monetize their site traffic. Also, it seems because Krop is acutely targeted toward creative professionals, job seekers will be able to reduce the cost and time required to find top creative talent. Nice! Our favorite feature was their innovative search tool which helps you quickly find jobs based on title or location without having to leave a single interface. All in all, it looks like Krop will benefit the (mt) Media Temple customers from many perspectives. Great work guys! The best feature by far however was the simplicity of the affiliate kit. In well under an hour we were able to put a fully branded job board directly on the (mt) site. Check it out.

(mt) Media Temple brings you an exclusive discount to the Web Directions North Conference in Vancouver this February. (mt) Media Temple clients receive $100 (CDN) off the two day conference registration price.

To claim your discount, register here and apply the promotional code:

mtwdn07

Web Directions North is a two day conference featuring some of the hottest names in web development and design. To top it off, they’re organizing a ski and snowboard weekend as well!! We’ll see you there.

We are only as strong as our clients, and here is some client news.

Our partners and friends in Georgia, Motionographer, are helping organize the motion graphics conference, Inspire organized by the Savannah College of Art and Design.  Some speakers include Psyop, Shilo and (mt) client, Exopolis.  We just might have to pop on down to Georgia for some sweet tea and blazing hot pixels.

 (mt) Media Temple is proud to host the latest group project from renowned design School, Hyper Island.  Check out Crew 12.  Hyper Island consistently produces solid design stars.

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Friend and (mt) partner Nick Finck at Digital-Web is throwing a Snowboard Design Comp in conjunction with Web Directions North, an uber hot Design and Web Application conference in Vancouver put on by Dave Shea and associates. Stay tuned for secret (mt) party news at this conference ;-), we’re going to be there with bells on!

Our buddies down-unda’, the Australian Infront crew is also holding an inspirational design competition, their 20th “Visual Response” comp in which Studios create designs based on one word . Check it out and submit your work!

The Pixel Awards have completed the 2006 season and have relaunched the site. Check out the winners from 2006 and stay tuned for the 2007 competition.

Stay tuned for more updates.  There’s tons going on in the (mt) community!