NERVE (WEBSITE)

'Nerve' is an American online hipster magazine dedicated to sex, relationships and culture. Founded by Rufus Griscom and Genevieve Field, it publishes articles, fiction and photography devoted to sex and relationships, and interviews and criticism regarding film, music, books and television. It also hosts blogs, forums, and a section for personal advertisements. Nerve's CEO is Rufus Griscom. Nerve's editor-in-chief is Michael Martin. Regular and past contributors include Rick Moody, Mary Gaitskill, Lisa Carver, Steve Almond, Neil LaBute, and Neal Pollack.
Nerve Media has produced several books, including ''The Big Bang: Nerve's Guide to the New Sexual Universe'', ''Sex Etiquette'', ''Full Frontal Fiction'' and ''The New Nude''. The company's latest book, ''Sex Advice From...'', was published in spring 2006.

Contents

History

Mission statement

Website features

Notable contributors

Writers

Photographers

Filmmakers

Other media

Books

Television

Print magazine

Films

Nerve personals

Audio CD

Other websites

Slogans

Awards

External links

History

The site was founded in 1997 by Rufus Griscom and Genevieve Field with the goal of creating a smart sex magazine that men and women could enjoy. Nerve publishes new original content daily, including articles, personal essays, photography, short fiction, celebrity interviews and film reviews, in addition to hosting blogs, videos and an online personals network. Nerve is often cited as one of the few Silicon Alley success stories.

Mission statement

:"Nerve is a fearless and intelligent magazine about sex, relationships and pop culture. With cliché-shattering personal essays, interviews, reporting and criticism, we explore the predominant concerns of young men and women with peerless honesty and wit. Our mission is to apply the highest editorial standards of the print magazine world with the best online innovation to deliver (1) an editorial voice that doesn't exist anywhere else, online or offline, and (2) an interactive online experience that harnesses the creativity of our exceptionally clever readership."
The original mission statement by Nerve's founders can be read here.

Website features

Nerve content is divided into five sections.
The Features section includes: personal essays, fiction, dispatches (reported pieces) and “regulars” (recurring columns). Current “regulars” include: Sex Advice From…, Horoscopes, The Henry Miller Awards, I Did It For Science, Bad Sex, The First Time, Raw Nerve, The Naughty Crossword, Quickies and A Life’s Work.
The A&E Lounge includes film, music, books and television coverage.
The Photography section includes all photo galleries and photoblogs, plus the Amateur Photo Contest.
The Blogs section includes the Blog-a-Log (Nerve Personals users blogging about their love lives), Scanner (daily pop culture coverage) and the Nerve photoblogs: The Daily Siege, Kate and Camilla, and The Prowl.
The Video Section, hosted on Nervevideo.com, includes 3 original series (Annie Mated, Young American Bodies and Neal Medlyn’s Land of Make Believe) plus video contests and viral video, as well as The Nerve Video Blog.

Notable contributors

Writers

★ Camille Paglia

★ Spalding Gray

★ Elizabeth Wurtzel

★ Neal Labute

★ Naomi Wolf

★ Jonathan Lethem

★ Chuck Palahniuk

★ Joyce Carol Oates

★ Nan Goldin

★ Erica Jong

★ Daphne Merkin

★ William T. Vollman

★ Joycelyn Elders

★ Jay McInerney

★ JT Leroy

★ Tao Lin

★ Mary Gaitskill

★ Robert Olen Butler

★ Sylvia Plachy

★ Charles Simic

★ Sallie Tisdale

★ Yusef Komunyakaa

★ Norman Mailer

★ Jonathan Safran Foer

★ Rick Moody

★ Andres Serrano

★ Mary Karr

★ A.M. Homes

★ Michael Medved

★ Amy Bloom

★ Marge Piercy

★ Alice Sebold

Photographers

★ Helmut Newton

★ Marc Baptiste

★ Andres Serrano

Filmmakers

★ Joe Swanberg

Other media

Nerve has expanded into books, print, television, films, a video website and a personal advertisement network.

Books

★ Sex Advice From... (2006)

★ Position of the Day (2003)

★ The Big Bang (2003)

★ Classic Nasty: More Naughty Bits (2003)

★ The Lisa Diaries (2002)

★ The Naughty Bits (2001)

★ Full Frontal Fiction (2000)

★ The New Nude (2000)

★ Nerve: Literate Smut (1998)

Television

An HBO special called “Nerve.com: Downloading Sex” premiered in 2001 and still airs periodically on HBO.

Print magazine

Nerve published a bimonthly print magazine from 2000 to 2001 (six issues total). The magazine attracted a large subscriber base but suffered from low newsstand sales.

Films

Variety reports that Nerve is involved in the production of several upcoming films. Nerve co-produced the 1999 film "The Lifestyle" and regularly hosts premieres.

Nerve personals

Nerve Personals is widely recognized as the site that made online dating cool. Although they originated on Nerve, the personals are now part of a larger network of over 100 websites and print publications.

Audio CD

Nerve released a spoken word CD in 2000 called "Sweet and Vicious." It featured Nerve content being read by authors and actors, including Parker Posey.

Other websites

In 2006, Nerve launched Nerve Video, an online video network that hosts original and found video.

Slogans

"Literary Smut"
"Screw with Your Mind"
"Hot Culture"

Awards

★ 2006 Webby Award Nominee, Best Copy/Writing

★ 2005 National Magazine Award Finalist, General Excellence Online

★ 2005 American Photography 20 Award (2)

★ 2004 Forbes "Best of the Web" Selection

★ 2004 American Photography 20 Award (2)

★ 2001 GLAAD "Outstanding Digital Journalism" Award

★ 2001 Webby Judge's Award, Print and Zine

★ 2000 Webby People's Voice Award, Print and Zine

★ 2000 National Magazine Award Nominee, Online Design

★ 1999 Entertainment Weekly’s "30 Most Beautiful Sites" Selection

External links

★ Nerve

★ Nerve Video

★ Nerve Personals