You remember I told you about the full interview with me I was so anxiously waiting to see published? It’s now out and available on newstands!

The postman surprised me this morning when he dropped off some copies of DIGITALIC Magazine , which I must say has a really, really cool 3D cover!

I put together this GIF for you to get the idea, it’s been printed using lenticular technology, are you kidding me? total awesomeness.

The interview is in Italian…I know, boohoo…but I hope you non-Italian speakers can make an effort to Google translate try and get the gist of it. It was a rather lighthearted interview which allowed me to be myself. Superstar journalist and Digitalic founder, Francesco Marino interviewed me as we talked about anything and everything technology and Web-related. From my very first pair of shoes bought online back in 1999 (a pair black and yellow suede Puma Sparco) and the ICQ Messenger with it’s infamous *Oho* sound, to my experience working at new media agency 77Agency, not to mention my attempt to become a professional soccer player in my early teen years and launching my very own magazine in Venezuela which gave me the opportunity to interview personalities of the caliber of Bret Easton Ellis.

You wonder what all this has to do with technology. Well, it does. It paved the way for me to become the internet junkie that I am today. Everything I do nowadays is Internet-related. My iPhone has become my favorite go-to social network, it’s all I need. And I’m pretty sure I speak for a lot of you when I say this.

If you’re curious, and I hope you are (wink), here’s a link to the full magazine, viewable via Issuu.

Find me on Page 16! 

The above is a sneak preview of my interview for DIGITALIC- a prominent Italian magazine which covers the full spectrum of technology, web and innovation news worldwide.

I was psyched to see myself on the homepage!

They asked about how I went from digital marketing into fashion.

Two words: human.contact.

Also, the classic- when you were little, what did you dream of becoming as an adult? (but I’m still littleeeee!!) Yeah, not a classic answer to that one. I said I wanted to be an astronaut. Then I guess I came in touch with my realistic self and decided that I wanted to become a professional soccer player instead. Yeah, one word- meniscus.

This was definitely a fun interview! In just a few answers I was able to express the degree of my online junkiness and how I would barely be able to survive without Internet in my life.

Unfortunately for my English-speaking readers, the interview is all in Italian. boo-hoo. But if this is not an issue, you can click here to read about some of the other questions I was asked.

As for my Italian readers, make sure you pick a copy at your nearest edicola, the print issue will be out in a few days, and I won’t give it away, but the cover is going to be very cool.

As you can see, I’ve used some of the images from my previous photoshoot in Kuwait and also from the one before in Lebanon.

Huge THANK YOU to star journalist and Digitalic founder- Francesco Marino for this incredible feature! I wish you and your team all the best in this great venture with DIGITALIC!

As for you, do what you’ve gotta do, share, link, read, comment, share again….  Needless to say, I’ll be posting images of the full interview once I get my hands on a print copy.

ps- I think I found a translated version of the article, Google translated version that is, which seems to be convinced of the fact that I’m a he and not a she. But you can still get the idea. click here.

I just attended a very insightful conference at Bocconi University here in Milan discussing Diesel’s Be Stupid (for a Successful Living) triumphant advertising campaign, where the panel was composed of three really down-to-earth, brilliant and simple individuals whom I’m really glad I got to hear speak.

The personalities were Lorenzo Jovanotti Cherubini*- Italian singer, Renzo Rosso- Diesel Jeans founder and Alessandro Profumo- UniCredit Bank ex CEO.

These guys were great. I just quickly want to quote what some of them said, statements which stuck to mind and which I find very useful and wise.

First off, Jovanotti made it clear that the tagline Be Stupid is nothing without the ‘Be’. The keyword here is ‘Be’. Stupid alone is an insult period. Be Stupid, however, is a state of being, it’s what makes the difference, it’s what takes guts to do.

I totally agree. To me, Be Stupid is like following your instincts, being spontaneous, not taking yourself so seriously and going with your initial gut feeling. I can think of a gazillion reasons why I have actually Been Stupid many times in my life…all for a good cause of course…and the results? beyond excellent.

The cool thing about the conference was the mash-up of backgrounds the panelists had: a singer/composer/artist, a designer/entrepreneur and a banker/manager and still the synergy between the three characters was so unique and unpretentious.

Despite his managerial and rather conservative mindset, Profumo from UniCredit had some handy insights to share with us. He said young people are not stirring things up as much as they should be. That’s their role…to mess things up so that managers keep up with today’s fast-paced world and not miss out. Then he added that people shouldn’t work to build a CV, instead people should do what they want, what they’re passionate about because that’s exactly what they will do best in life. His comment was regarding Rosso’s passion for design, for the Diesel brand and how he once had contemplated quitting, but never got through with it due to his devotion for it all.

The communication aspect was also quite relevant in that technology has (of course) played an extremely important role in leading this campaign to such success. Internet, as Jovanotti explained, gives you the opportunity to be real, to be sincere, to show your real face, to be active, to be present and to be able to interact and govern every new technological tool for the benefit of your product. He also added that Diesel has always managed to involve consumers in the mood of their ads. They’ve always managed to make consumers feel as accomplices, as characters in their stories without making anyone feel awkward, cause big things usually tend to do that.

In Diesel’s case however, it’s the opposite, Diesel has made a difference by making people feel better about themselves, feel cool, feel engaged and part of the ‘Diesel community’.

What does Stupid do when he encounters Smart? Renzo Rosso’s advice to his audience…Smarts are the majority, Stupid needs to be clear with them, Smarts try to fool and screw people all the time, so it’s necessary to be clear and communicate well so that Smart doesn’t outsmart Stupid.

I’m definitely with Stupid, you?

* Before becoming famous Jovanotti was hired by Diesel Clothing Company to be the DJ for one of their launch parties back in 1986.

You cannot outsmart Stupid. So don’t even try.                                                                   -Renzo Rosso for Diesel

me after the event this morning

It’s been said this will be the year in which businesses will be investing the most in social media. It seems they’re finally grasping these channels and understanding how to engage with audiences and utilizing them to create what the market wants, what the market wants to hear.

Check out this infographic recently posted on Mashable created by Postling on how small businesses are using social media.