Spreadable Media at MiT8

Two sessions at MIT’s Media in Transition 8 conference at the beginning of May focused on the Spreadable Media project. First, Spreadable Media contributor Chris Weaver moderated a discussion with Spreadable Media co-author Sam Ford; fellow contributors  Whitney Phillips and Kevin Driscoll; and Harvard University’s Jonathan Zittrain and Microsoft NERD’s Kate Miltner, on “The Dark Side of Spreadability.” The discussion covered issues from disruption of people’s sense of privacy as content crosses from the private to the public domain. No video of the session exists, but thanks to Giovanni Boccia Artieri for a comprehensive Storify of the Twitter action from the session.

Meanwhile, Sam Ford also moderated a session, focused on “Transnational Dimensions of Spreadable Media,” with co-author Henry Jenkins and project contributors Nancy Baym, Ethan Zuckerman, and Aswin Punathambekar, discussing lessons from case studies ranging from Ghanan responses to “Gangnam Style” and participatory culture in digital India to emerging international business models for independent musical artists and the growing transmedia storytelling industry in Brazil. See a great recap from MIT Center for Civic Media’s Erhardt Graeff.