When Juliet Webster, a professor at the Open University of Catalunya, shared this cartoon with me, I couldn’t get over how well it captures the calculated, seductive power of the Internet. Like the most effective femme fatale, the Internet is increasingly optimized to give us what we want . . . even when we didn’t know we wanted it.
Oh what I’d give for an essay by Lacan on desire and recommendation engines . . .
I was thrilled to join Gail Berman, the first and only female executive to hold the top posts at both a major film studio and television network, and Jacqueline Hernandez, COO of Telemundo, to talk about the importance of diversity in media organizations. This event was co-sponsored by Ms. Magazine and USC Annenberg’s Center on Communication Leadership & Policy. Watch the video. Find out more.
I'm flattered to have been invited back again to be the featured speaker at another Women Empowered event sponsored by Cognizant, a global IT services company that is taking gender diversity in the workplace very seriously. I'll be talking about social media and the need to recruit women in technology industries at the Computer History Museum March 4. Joining me in the conversation will be UT Austin's Tricia Berry, Fizziology COO Jen Handley and Cognizant's Ben Pring. Find out more and register here.
On November 6 I'll be sharing the stage with a slough of CEOs, Nobel Laureates, artists, authors and entrepreneurs at the L2 Innovation Forum, a TED-style event at NYU geared toward execs in the luxury biz. They asked me to talk about social media and gender, but I'm kind of surprised they didn't want me to talk about fashion and IP - maybe next time! Here's a little profile they wrote up about me (which focuses on my fashion & IP research!).
OK, maybe they don't make the sexiest websites, but I love evaluation people and the important work they do making sure that stuff actually serves its purpose. I'm joining a panel with great people from the Gates Foundation, The Center for Evaluation Innovation and the Aspen Institute. October 25th. Minneapolis. Be there or be square! Find out more.
Check out the video of my panel (featuring a jovial Brett Ratner) on Films and Brands at the Tribeca Film Festival this year. Find out more.
I was on an amazing panel at the Seattle International Film Festival (the largest in the U.S., wouldn't you know). Folks from Vulcan Productions (Paul Allen's film company), the 10X10 campaign (you'll see it everywhere), and ProSocial joined me talk about the promise (and perils) of social impact campaigns centered around film. I talked about my recent research on Food, Inc. and its startling impact on viewers. Read the transcript.
Check out our latest video on how primetime TV depicts the War on Drugs. The findings might surprise you.
The University of Rhode Island holds a marvelous speaker series each year: I'm thrilled to be part of this year's line-up which includes TED speakers galore, including singularity evangelist Ray Kurzweil, cognitive scientist Deb Roy, organ creator Anthony Atala and neurobiologist Ed Boyden. My topic? Social media. Watch the video.
I had a wonderful time working with Barcelona-based DJ and pop culture scholar Eduard Minobis on our presentation about mash-ups in music, literature and fashion. Be sure to check out Eduard's inspiring video mix and my blog about the event which took place at Santa Monica Art Studios.
I've been wanting to go to the Media That Matters conference at American University for years - now I finally had my chance. On February 15, I spoke about about how to measure media impact (including my work on Food, Inc.) with the amazing Pat Aufderheide, director of the Center for Social Media; Katie Delahaye, co-author of Measuring the Networked Nonprofit, and Sheila Leddy, Executive Director of the Fledgling Fund. Find out more.
Anyone who knows me will realize immediately that I would not be able to resist an event called "Color Lust." I am thrilled to be the keynote speaker at the 50th anniversary summit of the Color Marketing Group, which, probably unbeknownst to you, plays a role in determining the color of your furniture, your car upholstery, your nail polish . . . you name it. I'll be speaking about fashion and the ownership of color on October 28 in luscious art deco Miami! Find out more.
Here's my most recent talk which is about how movies can have a measurable impact on people's knowledge and beliefs.
I was very proud to share the stage with Madeleine Albright, Eve Ensler, Donna Karan, Sheryl Sandberg and a slew of other impressive speakers at the inaugural TEDWomen. My topic here? Social Media & the End of Gender.
I was extremely proud when TED.com picked up this talk that I delivered at TEDxUSC, the site of the first TEDx in the world. My talk focuses on the fascinating culture of creativity in the fashion industry, where copying is actually legal.
I was very proud to be a part of TED's Ads Worth Spreading challenge - an effort to acknowledge the power of advertising and to encourage those who wield that power to do something good with it. I was teamed up with Kenzo Digital, a new media wunderkind (and an all around nice guy) to identify ad campaigns that touch a cultural nerve; ads that capture or catalyze a cultural movement, moment or event. You can check out the winners here!
It's a techie foodie delight! I'll be delivering the keynote presentation during Gastronomy & Technology Days in Barcelona, October 18. Sponsored by the most famous chef in the world, Ferran Adria, and Telefonica, the biggest telecom company in Spain, this event will bring together people exploring the intersection between new technology and food.
The Filmmakers Collaborative has asked me to speak about media-fueled impact at the Making Media Now conference at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design on June 8. My panel will discuss how cross-platform media and partnerships with NGOs, government and corporations can create measurable impact." Find out more.
