Fast Company (magazine)

Fast Company

October 2009 cover of Fast Company
Editor	Robert Safian
Categories	Business magazine
Frequency	10 times per year
Publisher	Fast Company, Inc
Total circulation (2011)	738,950
First issue	November 1995
Company	Mansueto Ventures
Country	USA
Language	English
Website	http://www.fastcompany.com
ISSN	1085-9241

Fast Company is an award-winning full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and focuses on technology, ethonomics, leadership, and design. Fast Company's current editor is Robert Safian, a veteran of Fortune, Time, and Money.

Origins and history

Fast Company was launched in November 1995 by Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, two former Harvard Business Review editors. Their goal was to expose the ways in which growing companies create and compete, to underline new business practices, and to spotlight the pioneers who are constantly inventing the future and reinventing business.

In 1997, Fast Company created an online social network, the "Company of Friends" which spawned a number of groups that began meeting in person.

In 2000, Fast Company was sold to Gruner + Jahr, majority owned by media giant Bertelsmann, for $350 million. At the time this was the second largest amount for any US magazine in history. G&J sold the magazine in 2005.

In 2011, Fast Company redesigned their website, and provided an online app that allows users with a subscription code to view both magazine articles and articles posted electronically. The site has a global rank of 1,769 (US: 728). The articles on the site are divided into four main groups: Technology, Co.Design, Co.Exist, and Leadership.

Current activity

Fast Company

Fast Company is owned by Mansueto Ventures, a private media company controlled by Joe Mansueto, the founder and CEO of mutual fund rating company Morningstar, Inc. Mansueto Ventures also owns Fast Company's sister publication, Inc. magazine.

Fast Company currently operates three different franchises: Most Innovative Companies, Most Creative People, and Masters of Design. For their Most Innovative Companies feature, Fast Company assesses thousands of businesses based on creativity, real-world impact, risk taking, and execution to create a list of just 50 companies . The Most Creative People is a list of 100 people from an array of industries and range from government officials to designers, and entrepreneurs to singers . The Masters of Design range from corporate giants to young startups, but they all push the boundaries of design as the world is evolving .

Online

FastCompany.com operates as a network of sites with Inc.com and is a member of the Online Publishers Association. It recently created three subsidiary sites: Co.Design, Co.Exist, and Co.Create. Co.Design came first, and is dedicated to all things business, innovation, and design . Co.Exist also archives the latest innovations, as well as other “world changing” ideas . Co.Create focuses on creativity, culture, and commerce .

Fast Company also operates 30 Second MBA, a site with an ongoing video "curriculum" of advice from the best in the business. The site features professionals ranging from educators to entrepreneurs, who answer business and leadership questions in 30 seconds .

Generation Flux

Robert Safian coined the term “Generation Flux.” The term refers to people who succeed in business by being flexible, adaptable, and unafraid. The "generation" neither refers to a specific age range nor industry; rather, it refers to the present and future age of uncertainty in business. Generation Flux-ers will survive by adapting to the changing times, even if it means several career switches. Safian did a special report on Generation Flux in the February 2012 issue of Fast Company, featuring Baratunde Thurston, Beth Comstock, Bob Greenberg, DJ Patil, danah boyd, Pete Cashmore, and Raina Kumra. .

Awards and Recognition

AdWeek Magazine

• 2008, 2009 & 2010 Hot Lists 10 Under 60
• 2009 Editor of the Year; Robert Safian

AdAge Magazine

• 2008 A-List

ASME National Magazine Awards*Winner; Co-Design, Digital Ellie, Online Department (2011)

• Finalist; General Excellence (2011)
• Finalist; The Influence Project; Digital Ellies, Multimedia Package (2011)
• Finalist; Magazine of the Year (2010)

Association of Food Journalists

• First Place; Best Magazine Food Feature; "Why America is Addicted to Olive Garden" (Jul/Aug 2009)

B2B

• 2008 Top Innovator; Editor, Robert Safian

Deadline Club Awards

• Winner; Business Feature; "A Modern Mess" (Dec 2009/Jan 2010)
• Finalist; Feature Reporting; "The Evolution of Amazon" (Jul/Aug 2009)

Education Writers Association

• Second Prize, Best Print Feature; "'A' Is for App" (Apr 2010)
• Second Prize, Best Print Feature; "Who Needs Harvard" (Sept 2009)

MIN Magazine

• 2009 21 Most Intriguing People; Publisher, Christine Osekoski

Mirror Awards

• Finalist; Best In-Depth Piece, Traditional Media; "The Evolution of Amazon" (Jul/Aug 2009)

New York Press Club

• Winner; Best Headline and Front Page; "Apple Nation" (Jul/Aug 2010)
• Winner; Entertainment News Award, Magazine Category; "Waving the Flag" (Nov 2010)

Society of American Business Editors and Writers

• General Excellence; Jun 2009/Aug 2009, and Dec 2009/Jan 2010

Society of Publication Designers

• Merit Award; Opening spread for "Bloody Shame" (Dec 2009/Jan 2010)
• Merit Award; Series of NOW opener illustrations (2010)

External links

• Fast Company website