Internet Culture

Kevin Allocca - Anatomy of Virality

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 18:30:29 GMT

"The ones that are really good are the ones that are rewriting the rules."

Kevin Allocca, Head of Culture and Trends at YouTube, breaks down the concept of virality with the help of phenomenons such as the Harlem Shake and the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Kevin describes how technology has brought a more open form of distribution, resulting in decentralization and participation. But is there a secret to what works? Or can it be so, that the things that make it work actually cannot be measured at all?

An Xiao Mina - How Visual Media Affect Culture and Identity Globally

Wed, 04 Sep 2013 15:02:04 GMT

An Xiao Mina is an American artist, designer, writer and technologist. She explores the disruptive power of networked, creative communities in civic life. Dubbing memes the "street art of the internet", she looks at the growing role of meme culture and humor in addressing social and political issues in countries like China, Uganda and the United States.

The shift to imagery and animation as a primary mode of communication on the web is a fun, creative shift from the primacy of text online. It is also having numerous effects on identity, civic engagement and creative expression. In this session we want to look at the broader implications of this shift, and what it can mean for brands, governments, organizations and anyone else working in this space.

An Xiao would like to thank Arda Ibikolgu (Bogazici University) and David Banks (Cyborgology) for sharing their research on memes during the Gezi Park protests and Rosebell Kagumire (rosebellkagumire.com) for her writing on #UgandaIsNotSpain. Source images can be found at www.thecivicbeat.com.

Alexis Ohanian - Lagom is not enough

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 18:08:31 GMT

Alexis Ohanian is an entrepreneur and investor from Brooklyn, NY, best known as the co-founder of the social news site reddit.

With a proven record of making something people love as the model for success, he will come to The Conference to talk about the importance of giving a damn about the people who are about to use and consume what you create.

Emily Best - Beyond Crowdfunding

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 17:34:02 GMT

Emily Best, Founder and CEO of Seed&Spark, will share insights on building social capital, practical tips for crowdfunding, and a vision of the future in which creators, in collaboration with their audiences, can make a living and push their art form further than they ever thought possible.

This session is about how you as a creator can build audiences gradually and thoughtfully throughout your career – to stop thinking about what you make as little siloes but as part of a bigger picture. Learn about how you can build a sustainable relationship with fans that last over a long period of time. Crowdfunding is just one piece of that.

Julia Nunes - Beyond Crowdfunding

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 17:33:53 GMT

Julia Nunes, Musician, will talk about how she works to connect with her fans and how she uses contemporary crowdfunding tools to ask them for money.

Tricia Wang - How Visual Media Affect Culture and Identity Globally

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 13:28:09 GMT

Tricia Wang is a global tech ethnographer who researches how technology makes us human. She advises organizations, corporations, and students on utilizing Digital Age ethnographic research methods to improve strategy, policy, services, and products.

Kenyatta Cheese - How Visual Media Affect Culture and Identity Globally

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 13:23:06 GMT

Prepare to fall in love with .gif!

The shift to imagery and animation as a primary mode of communication on the web is a fun, creative shift from the primacy of text online. It is also having numerous effects on identity, civic engagement and creative expression. In this session we want to look at the broader implications of this shift, and what it can mean for brands, governments, organizations and anyone else working in this space.

Kenyatta Cheese is a professional internet enthusiast. He studies the ways that ideas spread through culture. Kenyatta is also the co-founder of Everybody at Once which develops audiences for television, media, and sports. In a past life Kenyatta co-created the internet meme database Know Your Meme.

Kate Miltner - Collaborative Innovation

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:02:28 GMT

Kate Miltner is the Lead Planner for Jam @ Engine. She made her master dissertation on LOLCats and will talk about the underlying factors behind when memes grow strong on the internet.

Sometimes it feels like we don’t have enough time to do things. But on the other hand it seems like a lot of people have some time to spare. And many small periods of time are potentially a lot of time. If you create a framework for people to work in, people might use it to help you with your venture. In this session you’ll learn how.

http://mediaevolution.se/theconference/

Kirby Ferguson - Creating with fans and build on other peoples work

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:48:37 GMT

Kirby Ferguson is a New York-based writer, producer, director and editor. He is currently at work on the fourth and final part of the popular web video series, Everything is a Remix. Kirby is taking us on a journey spanning back through centuries of western culture. He’ll illustrate how inventions are the products of copying, transforming and combining previous ones.

Kevin Lee - How China Creates and Consumes Media

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:07:54 GMT

Kevin Lee is COO for China Youthology, a research and consulting firm specializing in China youth culture trends and marketing insights.

At The Conference Kevin gave a holistic understanding of China’s youth, the world as they see it through their eyes, the major drivers that are impacting their experience and development, and the new identities, values and meanings they are developing that will inevitably define what they desire, consume and interpret from the world.