With the launch of their brand new e-commerce website only a few weeks away, Twelve Bar have announced that they will also start releasing a series of music-based online features called the Twelve Bar Sessions. Starring some of today’s top musical talent including the emcee Blu, jazz musician Mark de Clive-Lowe and DJs Rhettmatic from the World Famous Beat Junkies and Paserock to name but a few, the Twelve Bar Sessions will showcase the brand’s love for music which has always been at its core and which is a huge inspiration and influence. Expect to see many of your favorite artists making an appearance where the emphasis is on live performance, soul and just good music. For more visit: twelvebar.com

Running is back in full force again, as the trend towards personal fitness is on everyone’s minds and what is more easier than to simply put on a pair of runners and start running. Nike has been pushing the new running movement forward by instigating events that promote running culture. The latest attempt at running is the RUN Fwd: campaign. It is based on ekiden, a Japanese term for an event involving long distance relay with multiple runners.

However this is not a real relay as such but a virtual one, where teams can be formed around the world. Each team member will need to run at least 3 km using Nike+ in order to pass the relay onto the next runner. It is a competition to see who can make the longest continuous distance with the most amount of runners by the midnight of Monday, February 28th. If you are up for the challenge, then strap on your runners and join in the race.

In the introduction to his 1996 book, Style and the Man, designer Alan Flusser wrote, “…the most expensive clothes a man will ever buy are those that he rarely wears…” Though the quote was made more than a decade ago, Flusser’s notation holds true today, if not more so.  With jargon like “hipster” to “dandyism”, merchandisers and marketers made attempts to corral men’s styles into refined categories.  However, with the abundances of selection, plethora of labels & designers, and expanse of price ranges, there is a democratization of personal styles, more than ever.  On the streets of New York and other major urban centers around the world, you would see stylish man rocking pairs of Visvim’s, the tried and true Levi’s 501s, the nifty plaid shirts from J.Crew with a shawl collar sweaters from Nom de Guerre over it.  And to top off the outfit, a down puffer from Aether.   They don’t fall into any demographics, focus groups, and etc…   Instead, they are of their own styles.  And so, on this crossroad of ideals and interests, of trends and values, of individualism and pluralism, we introduce Juncture Magazine, our new endeavor which gives a curated look at contemporary style of men.

Melbourne based sneaker publication Sneaker Freaker is not playing around at all with their latest web venture, The Sneaker Freaker Museum. Their slogan is “Every Sneaker! Every Colour! Ever Made!” and if that is an indication of their goal, they are off to a great start with 7,145 sneakers archived into their website already. The interactive platform showcases the sneakers by brands, Top 10 voted and randomized to filter through the archive for efficient searching functionality. It has taken the Sneaker Freaker crew two hard years of scanning catalogs and taking photos, and finally it is up for the public to see. Best of all the site is welcoming contribution from the public so that the online museum will be the most thorough archive available for sneaker heads.

Last night in London, Sneakerpedia held a launch party to celebrate what will become “The Greatest Sneaker Archiving Project.” A small group of the world’s top collectors were in attendance, who are also the first ‘founding’ members of Sneakerpedia, pre-populating the site with selections from their collection. The launch also brought out two people who are not only among the biggest sneaker personalities in the world, but also two of the best DJ’s in the game: Bobbito Garcia and DJ Clark Kent. For set one, Bobbito set down the tone for the night, for set two, each took turns playing records, and DJ Clark Kent closed the night off with a long set. To quote an attendee at the event, who best summed up the energy of the party: “DJ Clark Kent murdered London….” Some of London’s most serious sneaker enthusiasts were also in attendance, and entry to the event was also an invite into the beta club. But not to worry, we will have a number of invites for our Freshness fans. Stay tuned for that, and for now, check out the photos from the event last night.

In a massive dragnet over the Internet, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) branch of U.S. Department of Homeland Security seized website domains of some 80 websites with illicit file-sharing, copyright infringements, and sales of counterfeit goods.  Within the 82 sites shuttered during the raid last Friday, sneaker blog CounterKicks counted 12 dealing with sneakers and/or footwears, ranging from Nike to Timberland.  Caveat Emptor! via: SN//CK

This Holiday season, Burton is giving more than just a fantastic wishlist ideas for riders, but it is bringing back the Burton Web Presents series by popular demand. For those who are familiar, Burton Web Presents is a month long blizzard of giveaways, snowboard stoke and good times.

Sure, we might have posted that 5% of Google’s total revenue actually come from sources beyond its search (so that should efficiently include everything from Google Earth to Google Talk and the recently discarded Google Wave), but that doesn’t mean Google is not attempting to expand that 5% and tap into other markets. As such, Google has recently laid eyes on the building blocks of America– materialism, and will be venturing into fashion with a new website, thus-far named boutiques.com, set to launch on Wednesday.

Earlier today at 1pm EST, Mark Zuckerberg announced a new messaging system for one of the most viewed sites in the world, Facebook. While many blogs and tech reporters were speculating a new email service from the social networking giant, the announcement today showed that email is just a component of the new communication system on Facebook.

The new communication tool not only allows users to get new email addresses, but also streamline the user’s communication in email, instant and text messages onto one comprehensive all-in-one platform. The new messaging system allows users to send instant and text messages in addition to standard email and Facebook notes.

To find out about a pair of sneakers, there is no more annotating your search in question with “wiki” in your Google search bar. Now, there is a specialized user-generated wealth of sneaker information created by sneakerheads for sneakerheads, thanks to those who sell sneakers, Footlocker. The new Sneakerpedia is an online database built by those who care, live, eat, breathe and dream about sneakers. Follow a few simple steps and contribute to the greatest encyclopedia to come by sharing your best conquests online, and telling those who share your passion about the kicks you came to possess. For those who want more information, you can search for relevant kicks via a few unique phrases pertaining only to sneakerheads– search by celebrity, by colorway, by brand or more. So, gather up your sneakers, rally, and join in the largest force of sneakers and contribute to the wealth of information, and be a part of a movement!

This coming Monday, facebook will be holding an invite-only Web 2.0 Summit, and speculation is that it is related to the upcoming facebook email, set to launch on Monday as well. According to Business Insider and the folks from ZDNet, facebook will be offering a full-fledged email service to its users, thus allowing for users to not just communicate with fellow facebook users, but also link up with the outside world as well.

Probably the biggest man in hip-hop at the moment, mogul/entrepreneur/rapper/industry dictator, Jay-Z has returned to what brought him his cult of believers, his music through the years, and will be releasing a reprisal compilation, “The Hits Collection: Volume One”. Along with the release of the new album, Jigga had also debuted a new website for the collection today. The new website divides Jay-Z’s career into four periods, “The Beginning”, “Marcy To Madison Square”, “Corporate Takeover” and “I Run The Map”. The first portion of “The Hits Collection” are all available for order now, and will ship out on November 18. Aside from vinyl and CD, there is also a special limited autographed edition box set which comes with the Skullcandy x Roc Nation Aviator headphones. Check out the new site here.