About Us

In 2008, a group of aspiring writers got together to build a virtual space where creative people could share ideas and showcase their work. Their mission was to create a website that combined the best aspects of personal blogs, content aggregators, and commercial publications.

nonpretentious serves as a fan club for anyone who values a mix of opinions from different perspectives. Some of our contributors are college students, some are professors, some are professionals, and some are unsure how to define themselves. All of us value creative forms of expression.

Creative Philosophy

nonpretentious likes mix-tapes. What better way to explain nonpretentious than making a mix-tape for the occasion. This one I call “Songs that I Owe to Other People.”

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They say that in our socially networked world advertisers mean less and recommendations from connections mean more.

If that’s true, why don’t my friends earn money when I buy a new album because I saw it listed on their Facebook profile?

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Since he recommended that I buy an album by the eels, I’ve had company during my darkest moments.

Thanks to his recommendation to check out the Elephant 6 Collective, I found my soundtrack through law school.

I tell everyone to watch that show that she loves.

I’ve devoured stacks from Haruki Murakami and David Mitchell, thanks to trusted recommendations.

And, I constantly gush about that store that she told me about.

Wait, is that what they mean by going viral?

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I created nonpretentious as a stomping ground for those of us who barter sparks of creativity for songs worthy of repeat, those who approach making art as an interaction, and those who find learning and teaching to be one in the same.

[Plus points to those who call out my pathetic attempts to sound poetic. 'Cause, really, this site is for you.]

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Business Philosophy

You can assume when we name drop a product and link to it on Amazon, we used an affiliate link. If you click on the link and buy anything – the product we promoted or otherwise – we make a small referral fee at no higher cost to you. This is true whether its tongue-in-cheek product placement or authentic thumbs up on our behalf. So long as you see the Amazon link, assume you’re shopping for a good cause.

Similarly, we make a small referral fee if you buy an mp3 from iTunes off of one of our mix-tapes. (Not even our $0.05 can account for the $1.29 mp3s. We like to keep things legal around here so we’d like to say, “long live $0.99 digital downloads!”)

We have a few more products for which we earn a referral fee if – and only if – you make a purchase via our link. In addition to sprinkling them throughout the site, we list most of them on our links page. (They’re the ones with affiliate indicated in parentheses.) Truth be told, some of these products are awesome. For example, I sincerely recommend Moo, Mighty Leaf, any product by 37signals, design tools by Adobe, Central Desktop, and Newegg. However, there are some products about which are entirely neutral. (We would never recommend sub-par products.)

Switching it up, we have text-based Google ads on our site that we try to make pretty conspicuous. If they entice you, click by all means! (Yes, we get paid for your act of inhibition. i.e., pay-per-click.)

We’re trying to be honest. We don’t want to manipulate anyone.  That’s why we also refrain from airbrushing any pictures we publish.  However, if you respond better to guilt, how about this: We’re trying to be idealistic optimists – a rarity in this day-in-age. Until we’re in the black, we’re just a bunch of clichés. Save the world. Feed an artist.

Finally, we accept donations via PayPal. (See: Sidebar.)