Maverick at large, WIRED Magazine
Kevin Kelly has been a participant of, and reporter on, the information technology revolution for more than 30 years. Based in his studio in Pacifica, California, he immerses himself in the long-term trends of technology, tools and cultural behavior. He writes about the ripple effects and social consequences surrounding the culture of technology. His latest book, a New York Times bestseller, is called “The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future” (Viking, June 2016). It is about the deep trends in the next 20 years that will shape our lives. Kevin suggests we embrace these changes, including ubiquitous tracking, accessible artificial intelligence, constant sharing, getting paid to watch ads, VR in your home, etc. Kelly’s previous book, “What Technology Wants” (Viking, 2010), presents a refreshing view of technology as a nearly living force in the world that affects society in an overall positive way. His other recent works include the graphic novel “The Silver Cord” (2015) and “Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities“ (Cool Tools Lab, 2013), a large-format, highly curated guide to the best of technology, tools and resources for modern self-sufficient living, which has already been compared to “The Whole Earth Catalog” of a generation ago.
Kelly is currently Senior Maverick at WIRED magazine. He helped launch WIRED in 1993, and served as its executive editor until January 1999. During Kelly’s tenure as editor at WIRED, the magazine won two National Magazine Awards (the industry’s equivalent of two Oscars). He is also currently editor and publisher of the Cool Tools website, which gets 1 million visitors per month. From 1984-1990, Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a journal of unorthodox technical news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers’ Conference and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. He authored the best-selling “New Rules for the New Economy” (Penguin Books, 1999) and the classic book on decentralized emergent systems, “Out of Control” (Basic Books, 1995), called “required reading for all executives” by Fortune. In addition, he writes for prominent publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Time, Harpers, Science, GQ, and Esquire. Earlier in life, Kelly was a photographer in remote parts of Asia (instead of going to college), publishing his photographs in national magazines and recently in the photo art book “Asia Grace” (Taschen, 2002).