On the Internet, Everyone Knows You're a Dog
As former Representative Anthony Weiner discovered the hard way, remaining anonymous in this hyper-social world is becoming nearlyimpossible. But what sucks for Anthony Wiener has been great for conversations on the Web – with the rise of authenticated platforms, anonymous comments and posts are giving way to real dialogs between authors and their audiences.
For example, when comments on popular sites like TechCrunch became tied to real Facebook profiles, the experience went from a juvenile insult-fest to a civil value-add information exchange. There’s undoubtedly progress to be made, but authentication and social platforms are giving us a glimpse of what the future holds: low friction ways to connect your opinion to a piece of content, easier ways to see what your friends care about, and better ways to insert your POV.
For better or worse, it’s becoming harder to remain anonymous online. In this panel discussion, we will discuss how technology is changing online self-expression.
Presenters
Christopher "moot" Poole is the founder of 4chan.org, a simple image-based bulletin board, which has grown from a niche site targeting anime fans to one of the most influential communities on the 'Net. With over 12 million unique visitors per month, many popular viral videos, Internet phenomena, and memes get their start on 4chan. In 2010 Poole was a featured speaker at the TED Conference, and he has been profiled by TIME, CNN, The Washington Post, and Technology Review. Recently he started a new project called Canvas, which is working on new and better ways for people to hang out and collaborate online.
In addition to 4chan and Canvas, Chris advises Lerer Ventures, a seed stage venture capital fund, and hackNY, a non-profit dedicated to strengthening the New York student hacker scene. He is also a member of the Free Art and Technology Lab.
Sunday, March 11
