Perhaps you read last month about Day 1 of the Wired25 event in San Francisco. Many a newsmaker spoke, and it was an A-list event from a speaker and attendee POV. Less was written about Day 2 — “Culture & Fam” Day, Wired called it. The formula may become a brand-builder in the 2020s as the second digital generation comes of age.
Last week’s Techonomy NYC 19 event attracted a small, passionate audience that heard brilliant and inspirational speakers. Amid the topics of IoT, 5G and AI were appearances by social media pioneer Jeremiah Owyang, Bank of America chief operations and technology office Cathy Bessant, and two presidential candidates, Andrew Yang and John Delaney.
What makes Techonomy different? Founder and EIC David Kirkpatrick asks himself that every day. When David launched the brand in 2010, few event producers addressed how technology was transforming society. In 2010, President Obama finally got around to sending a Tweet. In 2016, candidate Donald Trump averaged 375 Tweets a month.
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FRIDGE NOTES
The average age of a WSJ reader is 59. That’s just one of many insights in this terrific piece from The Daily Beast, published this week in its gossip column. EIC Emma Tucker is said to be asking all WSJ reporters to contemplate these questions before proceeding with a story:
— Who is the target audience?
— What do they want to know?
— How can this piece broaden the WSJ audience?
— What format is best for telling this story?
Which musical artist, over the course of his still-active career, played sold out shows at both Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium? Sirius/XM is broadcasting a channel celebrating his music, for “a limited time.”
From today’s TC+ Newsletter: “No one I met said they were looking for ‘thought leadership’ or scorching hot takes,” wrote TC’s contributed content gatekeeper. “Almost everyone wanted actionable advice that would help them fundraise, build and scale.”
Good guidance indeed.
Somewhere along the line, Cambridge, Mass.-based Devo Technology rebranded as Devo. Warner Music Group apparently has no objection.
Here’s how Mike Isaac presents himself. A single perfunctory paragraph doesn’t cut it anymore in a world of disinformation and synthetic, AI-generated content where no one really knows the agenda. The NYT wants to get out in front of that, especially before the 2024 elections heat up. Read the background behind this in Vanity Fair.
Legendary journalist Louise Story reveals how the smartest edit shops are using AI. Here come the flexicles.
