The Evolution of the New York Times Brooklyn Trend Piece
December 3, 2010: Destination: LAPTOPISTAN
Summary: You know how people make fun of the Times treating Brooklyn like a mysterious, quirky foreign entity? Constantly? That is literally what goes on here, as one author explores the fraught world of working in cafes on your laptop in a world he has dubbed “Laptopistan.” If you listen closely, you can hear the angry tears of a thousand foreign war correspondents with each use of this newly made up word.
Representative Quote: “A quick glance around shows I have brought my laptop, a month-old MacBook Pro, to its nesting ground. Diversity here means the odd white MacBook or old black PowerBook scattered amid the silver MacBook Pros. Throughout the week I will see only a handful of PCs, each looking sadly out of place, like they have arrived at a black-tie affair in a corduroy blazer.”
Takeaway: Privileged people in even the most vaguely creative industries really like to use Apple products and drink coffee, and like it better when other people are around to watch them do it.