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Pop stars and tech execs are best friends forever

Pop stars and tech execs are best friends forever

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Peek into friendships yet to blossom and find your own new pals

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Tumblr CEO David Karp met Taylor Swift at her San Francisco show last Friday, and it was an interaction that left both parties glowing. Swift signed a "no its becky" T-shirt and a poster for Karp — she called him the "creator of Tumblr, a.k.a. my world" — and she posted about the meeting on her Tumblr (where else?) a few days later: "I met David Karp tonight and he was wearing a ‘No it’s Becky’ t-shirt. It was everything I ever dreamed it would be."

It's a nice story, but it's not unprecedented. There's a proud tradition of pop stars and tech titans coming together in beautiful friendship, one that stretches at least as far back as the first time Steve Jobs and Bono came together to hawk iPods and digital singles. Alicia Keys and former BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins were thick as thieves, so close that she was named the company's "global creative director" in 2013; the role didn't last. (She wasn't the only musician with a side hustle doing creative direction: Lady Gaga ended a similar relationship with Polaroid last year.) Goth teen queen Lorde tweeted in defense of ousted Reddit employee Victoria Taylor as the site's management crisis was erupting into a full-fledged conflagration. Swift cajoled Apple into paying artists for plays accrued during Apple Music trial periods with an open letter, but I can only assume the deal was sealed over a long, boozy emergency lunch with Eddy Cue at Margaritaville. Even lesser stars like Christina Aguilera and Keith Urban have friends in technology's high places, as evidenced by their tight link with retired Cisco CEO John Chambers.

I'm happy that all of these prominent people have managed to forge totally genuine connections in this zany, hyperconnected world, but I don't think they should have all the fun. With that in mind, I've designed two tools that give us regular folk a window into the world of interdisciplinary friendship.

1. The psychic friendship generator

I have a hidden talent, one I've never shared with anyone before. I have the ability to tap into the universe's hidden rhythms, allowing me to determine beyond the shadow of a doubt when two people are going to become friends. Given the rapidly increasing number of musicians and tech elite coming together in unexpected ways, I've decided to share my special skill with the world at large. I've poured it into the tool below — keep clicking, and a galaxy of future friendships will be revealed.

2. The foolproof personal friendship algorithm

What if you're uninterested in the pop-tech friendships that have yet to bloom into glorious color? What if you're feeling... lonely, and looking for a friend yourself? What if you're specifically searching for a tech luminary or prominent businessperson, one with whom you can rent private karaoke rooms and meet for lunchtime Thai?

Don't fret: I've got you covered. If you can answer a series of four simple questions, my foolproof friendship algorithm will recommend a new best pal that's perfectly suited to your unique mix of likes and dislikes. I'll give you the name, and I'll guarantee the chemistry — all you have to do is reach out. Take a step into your friendship future: