Speakers in the News »

2/24/06
danah boyd

Want to better understand how much impact MySpace is having on the way teenagers in America (and across the world) interact with each other? Read a transcript of "Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace" a recent speech from danah boyd, A graduate student at Cal Berkeley who is doing her PhD research on how young people develop a sense of individual and cultural identity in "public" online environments, boyd concludes that this website enables behavior that isn't altogether different than what teenagers have been doing for years and years and years: "Youth are not creating digital publics to scare parents - they are doing so because they need youth space, a place to gather and see and be seen by peers. Publics are critical to the coming-of-age narrative because they provide the framework for building cultural knowledge. Restricting youth to controlled spaces typically results in rebellion and the destruction of trust. Of course, for a parent, letting go and allowing youth to navigate risks is terrifying. Unfortunately, it's necessary for youth to mature. What we're seeing right now is a cultural shift due to the introduction of a new medium and the emergence of greater restrictions on youth mobility and access. The long-term implications of this are unclear. Regardless of what will come, youth are doing what they've always done - repurposing new mediums in order to learn about social culture. Technology will have an effect because the underlying architecture and the opportunities afforded are fundamentally different. But youth will continue to work out identity issues, hang out and create spaces that are their own, regardless of what technologies are available." At SXSW, boyd will be leading the "Designing for Global and Local Social Play" panel on Saturday, March 11.

12:16pm CST | +

2/23/06
CHRIS PIRILLO

What is "googlefasting"? This is the new word that Chris Pirillo has invented to describe his self-imposed dare to live a week without using the many, many useful services of this online giant: "I love a lot of things about Google (especially how they fund many of my advertising-based ventures). I use Google search every minute of every day -- or that's what it feels like. I don't like much of their software because of a poor design ethic, but I like what it does for users. I've been growing increasingly concerned over how Google is starting to do more... and the world is just letting it do more without asking questions (because most users trust the brand blindly). Google is everywhere. I want it to be everywhere, but I also don't want it to be everywhere -- because that's very scary. I trust that they will continue to 'do no evil' (as opposed to "do know evil?") -- but perhaps there's such a thing as 'too big?' I have to prepare for the worst. In a recent show, I challenged myself to live without Google for a week. Now, this doesn't include tearing down my AdSense blocks (that would be totally insane). So, I'm gonna have to take myself up on this self-inflicted dare." Rumor has it that Pirillo was originally proposing to give up sex for a week, but his girlfriend Ponzi Indharasophang suggested that he give up Google instead. The real question remains: which of these two basic necessities is more difficult to quit? Hear these two respond to that vexing question at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival, where this couple is scheduled to participate on the "Bloggers in Love: Intimacy, Technology and Mask-Making" panel.

10:30am CST | +

2/22/06
JASON KOTTKE

Jason Kottke reflects on his year as a professional blogger in a post on today's edition of his popular site: "One year ago today. I asked the readers of kottke.org to become micropatrons, and support my efforts in producing the site for a year. Over the course of three weeks, people generously sent in their financial support[1], giving me enough to pay my salary for the entire year[2] and not have to bug you about it every few daySo the year is up and I've been trying to think about what to say on this occasion for, oh, about six months now, but I'm undecided even now. I guess I'll start with the important bit. I'm not going to be asking for contributions again. Part of it has to do with the reasons outlined at the bottom of this post. I haven't grown traffic enough or developed a sufficient cult of personality to make the subscription model a sustainable one for kottke.org...those things just aren't interesting to me.The other big reason is that my life has changed a lot in the past year. Growing a new business with a novel (or at least challenging) business model requires lots of time and energy to build the necessary momentum...basically approaching it with a startup mentality: long hours, work on the weekends, less time to spend with family and friends, making work the #1 priority, etc. My (unstated) intention from the beginning was to approach the site as a startup, but along the way life intervened (in a good way) and I couldn't focus on it as much as I wanted to. The site became a normal job, a 9-to-5 affair, which meant that I could keep up with it, but growth was hard to come by." Hear more about the trials and triumphs of trying to make a living as a full-time blogger on March 11, when Kottke and Heather Armstrong of dooce.com engage in the keynote conversation at the SXSW Interactive Festival.

09:35am CST | +

2/21/06
JEREMY KEITH

"Dom Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model", the new book by Jeremy Keith, receives a glowing review by Simon Chappel on Slashdot: "For a book that is not aimed at programmers, it is a great introduction to programming in JavaScript. Every concept is introduced clearly and the reasoning behind each approach is explained and the justification for it provided. The book is very comfortable to read. The physical size, the typography, the design and the layout are all excellent. This is not surprising considering the target audience; excellent design is the minimum price of admission to the library of those in the design industry. What's to Consider? There is very little that I did not like in this book. Although, I think that that it would be useful to point out again, that this isn't specifically written for programmers . . This book deserves to be promoted to classic status immediately. It is written clearly, it uses only good principles of programming and adheres strictly to the appropriate standards. What a combination." Keith will lead the "How to Bluff Your Way in DOM Scripting" panel at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival. After this session concludes, he will sign copies of this new, critically-acclaimed book.

01:39am CST | +

2/20/06
EVAN WILLIAMS

Suddenly, everyone wants to be a web entrepreneur again. Think you have a good idea for a neat little application? Maybe you do and maybe you don't. According to Odeo founder Evan Williams, one of the keys to success is understanding what you don't understand -- and being able to change directions in mid-stride once this realization is achieved. As quoted in the February issue of Wired Magazine, Williams says. "There's an old saw about a plane being off course 99 percent of the time, but constantly correcting. Many dotcom-bubble companies that died could have been successful had they been able to change their plans. Pyra was started to build a project-management app, not Blogger. Flickr's company was building a game. eBay was going to sell auction software. Initial assumptions are almost always wrong." Williams will be a busy speaker at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival, as he is scheduled to speak on three panels: "Running Your New Media Business," "Sink or Swim: The Five Most Important Startup Decisions," and "Designing the Next Generation of Web Apps."