PERSONAL ESSAYS

Reader Feedback on "Nerve Beginnings"

rah rah Nerve, you guys are both a public service and a private service (seems like you are having a good time over there). keep it up, r
--meg
07/13

Mr. SBJ, earnest is one thing, self-satisfied and smug is another. I agree with ZC's criticism by and large, especially of the photography, which has a very conventional and derivative idea of what's sexy. The look could be taken from any number of cologne or jeans ads.
--JBK
08/04

Mr. ZC, below, should go out and create something better. Nerve is imperfect but one of the most interesting magazines i have encountered. A willingness to be earnest now and then is among it's strengths. Keep it comin !
--sbj
08/01

Since Nerve never hesitates to celebrate itself, perhaps I could offer a few suggestions. 1. Acquire sense of distance and irony when it comes to yourselves. Nerve comes across as far too satisfied, smug, and self-promoting. Your pose of pseudo-profundity and self-importance is all too easy to parody. 2. Expand your aesthetic. For all of your claims to be a place for women as well as men, the photos are tediously familiar. Your look is not as far from Maxim as you might thing. Perhaps that's why over 3/4 of your readers are male. Your definition of what's sexually desirable is essentially the same as Madison Avenue, i.e. what we're spoon fed by the advertizing industry. 3. Expand your content. After a while, the ersatz sexual chic thing gets very old. One gets the sense that you guys are providing a course in urban hipster 101 for people from the midwest or new denizens of the city. The overall impression is that Nerve is one second behind the trends but marketing them for a mainstream audience. No wonder HBO loves you. Maybe this is what you want, but it weighs heavily on your cachet. 4. Once again, get over yourselves. It will go a very long way.
--ZC
07/30

Discovered your site thru a series of unrelated book reviews by the same reviewer on Amazon this morning. It is a delight to find a website like yours with the unusual mixture of urbane intelligence, virtually scientific yet wryly humorous realism about things that are usually dealt with furtively or ribaldly but rarely with taste and accuracy (I'm thinking of the delighful article I read entitled something like "I Did In the Name of Science" in particular), and the very attractive photography. Although I too am poor at the moment due to ventures as dangerous as starting a magazine (called dotcoms), I wish you the very best. (And I hope you diet improves from the daily staple of split pea soup soon.)
--SE
07/26

Very interesting and entertaining. I wanted to read Rufus's "Sexual Healing" article, but, though I was able to log in, apparently I am not a subscriber (probably costs $?), and when I clicked the Subscribe button, I got an "unknown algorithm" message and no success (twice). Any thoughts? Thank you so much and keep up the good work. Cheers, Susan P.S.: Info on submissions would be great too.
--smr
07/21

One of the greatest websites out there...
--MS
07/16

You guys are great. I can't imagine not being able to get my Nerve fix every day! Keep up the good work. As a piece of constructive criticism though I do have to agree with the sentiment expressed by "ES" below. PLEASE make an effort to include more women with varying body types. Otherwise you're just imitating every other mainstream publication. Also more male nudes! The male body still has only a token presence on Nerve. Criticisms aside though I still think you guys wonderful!
--JAB
07/15

Congratulations guys. Nothing in vain.
--GC
07/15

Rufus Griscom is a complete hottie! WOW... I have to catch my breath.
--
07/15

I Love You ALL! I have been a nerve surfer since 1997. I was working on my undergrad degree back then, and would take time between classes everyday to swing by! I was raised a nudist by swingers, always been around the alt lifestyle. Along with that, I have always found it difficult to have a sense of belonging anywhere. Sure, work with workers, study with students, swing with swingers...I meant somewhere ALL of me belongs. From city to city, from one stage of life to another, Nerve has always been my community, my place to belong, the "Thoughtful Hedonist" as you so wonderfully put it. I often times don't know what I would do without you! I nearly lost my mind when the print magazine stopped, I was devistated, but you persist...THANK GOD! (or rather, to be PC, thank the primary care giver in the sky of your choice). This is just a big huge THANK YOU for all your hard work, for all your sacrifice, and a note to tell you that YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! Thank you for following your dreams, it happens to be a dream you had in common with so many people, your dream was just in better focus. Don't Stop...for our sake...we need Nerve.
--TRM
07/15

I am pleased to say that I share my birthday, July 26th, with Nerve. I'm that dreaded member that only happens upon the site twice a month, but I must say, I am always glad when I "come." Thanks for the stories, pictures, and all that other legal smut. Happy Birthday Nerve!
--KLF
07/15

Beginnings? All i know is that my hair stylist told me that some girls in the shop had met some "cool, alterno-guys" (we live in the SF Bay Area, so such things tend to be at a premium) via the personals on Nerve. I'd never heard of you. A few months later i remembered, checked it out, wrote an ad, and the next day got a response from (among others) the man i am now engaged to. He was on "The Onion", but springstreet is springstreet . . . thanks for providing the forum!
--ziz
07/14

Hey there: I think I have said this before, but it would be really nice to have more variety of bodies (especially the female form) featured in your photography. There is a vicious cycle of the media constantly pushing an image of the very thin as acceptable/sexy, women alternately feeling like shit because they don't measure up and trying to reach this impossible standard, and men pursuing only women who look like what the media portrays as attractive. So much of the time, men can't seem to wrap their heads around something else that is beautiful because it's not what they are told beauty is supposed to look like. While you can't singlehandedly change the world, you are certainly in a position to make people think differently...but not if they never see it. I often read and enjoy your website, but if you are interested in truly pushing the envelope, maybe you should start with the premise that *all* women are beautiful and sexy. If you continue to present the same-old same-old under the guise of art, nothing is going to change. (I have a similar beef with suicidegirls...everybody thinks they are so different, but all the women on there are still skinny, albeit tattooed and pierced.) People believe and react to what they see. It might be nice to see something else (and not as the occasional "she's gorgeous *in spite* of her weight; i know you did one like that a while back) presented as normal, instead of an anomaly. Yep, I definitely have a personal axe to grind here, no doubt about it. But I would really love to see your website take a stand on this. Thanks for the consideration.
--ES
07/14

ya know, i am glad that someone (or more like 12 of you, it looks like) is out there chasing the dream, and putting out required reading and viewing for me every day. power to ya.
--sj
07/14

Poignant essay, excellent Zine. Keep up the great work and cultural revolution!! Here's to 6 more.
--YR
07/14

yo Ruf!, you rock! i loved reading your 6-year entry and find it fascinating and awe-inspiring that you are cranking away as you are. please keep up the hot work! "My family would be traumatized, any future in politics would be shot (not that I had any plans, but it's always nice to fantasize)" ha-haw! you crack me UP! rob rowsey "reviewerrob" 619-521-1133 editor@reviewermagazine.com
--rr
07/14

I had forgotten about the first "set" of the early nerve.com website until I deciphered the photograph in the article. When I first found Nerve in '97 I remember being so impressed that here was a really great, intelligent site that focused on uniquely personal writing and profound images based on my favorite subject, sex. I do miss the emphasis on the thought provoking and reflective literary and photography sections, which have certainly taken a backseat to the syndicated personals section and paid areas over the years. But six years later I am still a nerve junkie and still tell my friends about it, even though my budget doesn't let me indulge in the premium stuff as much as I would like. Keep up the great work, and by all means be as bold and groundbreaking as your vision takes you. Always--
--MLJ
07/13

thank god you guys are still around. keep kickin it nerve-style.
--sam
07/13

Whatever happened to Genevieve?
--TN
07/13

i signed up for nerve a year and a half ago during the winter holidays. it was 50 dollars well spent. having survived acute viral meningitis and encephalitis around memorial day weekend 2001, i had endured all the embarassing exercises of rehab including having to do over elementary mathematics and the like. somehow, i could still differentiate and integrate polynomials, i was a bit relieved. couldn't get an erection to save my life for a while. having ignored my personal life for a couple decades, i thought it was time to consider looking seriously for a good woman. nerve was there providing opportunity to think about issues that most people find more important. many of the women were far away. most seemed thoughtful. i went to breakfast with one. all in all it has been enjoyable. my erections are better, though still need some improvement. i enjoy reading profiles to see what people say they want and realize that we all have something in common. i still enjoy the articles. and yes, i look at the pictures and see the humanity. keep up the good work...
--tca
07/12

This goes to all Nerve staff, past and present. Your publication is so fantastic and unique ... I love Nerve! Entertaining, enlightening, sexy ... what can I say you have the holy trinity of qualities that continue to hold my interest! The only reason I did not apply for the IT position at your organization is I live in another state and can't relocate to the NYC area ... and believe me I entertained the idea many, many times! Kudos to all, and keep up the good work!
--EGM
07/12

hell yeah. thank you.
--ck
07/12

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