Nicole Baptista

According to the journal I kept in second grade, I wanted to be one of two things when I grew up —
a journalist or a "well-educated singer." I have a really bad voice.

I'm an accomplished storyteller — journalist, technology and innovation writer, music reviewer — with a relentless curiosity about people. From spending two years covering an infamous murder trial in Marin County to interviewing innovation leaders from all over the globe, I continue to ask questions aimed at driving change, boosting business, and bettering the world.

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SF Sonic • 25th April 2019

Gang of Four Awaken Anarchist Spirit at The Chapel

“Gang of Four” projected just atop the red arch that mounts The Chapel’s stage in San Francisco. It was the only light illuminating the small room just before the band drenched the crowd in radiating guitar noise. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, fans jerked their knees as the drums crept in to renowned opening track, “Anthrax.”

VentureBeat • 2nd July 2015

Data scientists and lawyers: A marriage made in Silicon Valley

Data scientists can frequently run up against a wall from their legal department when they try to innovate based on sensitive customer data. It makes sense — after all, data science teams and legal teams are natural antagonists. Data scientists take risks and innovate with big data. Lawyers avoid risks at all cost and act as the letter of the law.

Shout! News • 21st February 2018

Shout! News Digital Marketing Strategy

Shout! News gives real people a real voice and generates discussion to change the world. Founder Flavius Mihaies traveled to Iraq in 2014, met Syrian refugees, and listened to their stories. He created Shout! News as a hub where refugees and other minorities could connect and share their stories with human rights advocates around the globe.

26th April 2019

UI/UX Design

An example of content design for one of the leading healthcare providers in the country. This site is dedicated to helping users learn about and order infrastructure services, including cloud servers, storage and networks.

Intuit Labs • 1st February 2016

Innovation is for Everyone

Ten teams of high school students proved that innovation is possible at any age when they created Minimal Viable Products (MVPs) that could potentially solve problems that plague society.

Say Yes • 16th October 2018

Music is Worth Living For: Andrew W.K. rocks the stage where it all began

It’s one of many spiritual bombs Andrew W.K. dropped on fans at The Fillmore Sept. 6. A pumped-up crowd began to shout as “The Power of Partying” started to play overhead — the sounds lured W.K. diehards closer to the stage, as if they were boarding the partiest spacecraft in all the galaxy.

Intuit • 1st October 2015

Paycheck to Paycheck

Tears trickled down Alicia’s cheeks as she recalled days that she went without food in order to pay her bills. Gently rubbing her eyes, she kept an unbroken smile, and told the story of a “bubbly” girl raised by hardworking Mexican and Tonga Island immigrants who instilled a fervent value in education. Though Alicia is more than $22,000 in credit card debt, she’s confident that she’ll earn her master’s degree, become an established attorney and send her best friend on the vacation of her dreams.

SF Sonic • 9th March 2018

Immigrant Punks Gogol Bordello Coax Crowd into the Chaos

Nobody puts on a show like Gogol Bordello. The gypsy punk band radiates an anarchist energy – they’re rebellious and revolutionary by nature. After dropping their latest record, Seekers & Finders late last year, the band hit the road, playing the first of two sold-out gigs at The Fillmore in San Francisco on Feb. 27. The crowd went absolutely nuts.

Medium • 9th December 2016

Holding space in Oakland

I’m struggling to understand how to feel after the Ghost Ship fire. Thirty-six people — just like me; just like those I love — died panicked and in pain. How does anyone process that hard truth? I felt guilty for showing deep sadness when I wasn’t personally tied to those who died and I wasn’t sure how to act, what to say or how to be. I can’t imagine what victims’ friends and families are going through. The thought is agonizing. What I came to realize is I didn’t need to understand their pain.

Medium • 3rd February 2018

Queens of the Stone Age drench crowd with unhinged, sexy goodness

Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme is a desperado of sorts — unapologetic and licentious. His American rock band oozes a forbidden sensuality that compels a crowd to let the fuck go. That charisma had the power to set 8,000 people free on Feb. 1 at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

26th April 2019

Innovation Leader Teaches Design Thinking to Help Impoverished Youth Prosper

A team of innovation catalysts took Intuit’s We Give and We Give Back program to heart. The Tucson group taught design thinking to a class of 10 Imago Dei Middle School eighth graders and facilitated the children’s Fruitful Organic Garden venture.

Medium • 26th October 2017

Nine Inch Nails strip it down, wake us up

Eerily setting the mood with a rendition of Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks track, “Fireman,” Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor kicked off the night with “Branches/Bones” and lit the crowd on fire. Sullenly shimmying and gripping his mic, Reznor's massive, black silhouette hovered over 50,000 people Oct. 21 at Monster Energy Aftershock Festival in Sacramento. And as each note synched with bursts of bright light, I reveled in a sweet dopamine high.