Know Your Meme: Reporting For Duty

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Tim Hwang
Categories: Getting People, ROFLCon II, Tim, Triumph

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Rambling on as promised — good news coming out today as I’m happy to officially announce that our friends Ellie Rountree, Jamie Wilkinson, and Kenyatta Cheese, from the Rocketboom Institute for Internet Studies project Know Your Meme, will be attending and featured at ROFLCon II this spring!

Know Your Meme, in addition to their by-now extensive series of shows, is the current home of the Internet Meme Database, a web culture resource online only rivaled in size and scope by the batshit insane (though remarkably informative and comprehensive) shadowy counterpart Dramatica. It’s absolutely worth checking out the jam-packed site, if you haven’t seen it yet (including their surreally awesome recent episode on autotune with special guest Weird Al).

In any case, we’re pumped to have them aboard for the ride, sharing their experiences, thoughts, and adventures in becoming mega-famous. Welcome!

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Today’s Featured Guest: Jonathan Zittrain for ROFLCon!

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Tim Hwang
Categories: Getting People, ROFLCon II, Tim, Triumph

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For those who don’t know, this dapper looking dude is Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard Law School professor, an internetz technology and innovation scholar, all around international man of mystery, and (most importantly) a former Compuserve sysop. We’ve conferred with him recently, and I’m glad to announce today that he will be taking a break from his usual clandestine missions around the world to be a featured guest and moderate the festivities at ROFLCon!

Zittrain is, arguably, one of the most thoughtful and articulate ninja-level moderators and speakers this side of the Atlantic (and on the other side as well), and we’re proud to have him on board rocking and rolling with us.

As promised, more guest announcements rolling out tomorrow — stay tuned.

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Despair, Inc. at ROFLCon!

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Tim Hwang
Categories: Getting People, ROFLCon II, Tim, Triumph

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In the annals of internet culture, perhaps no form of communication has been as ubiquitous or as persistent or as remarkably versatile as the demotivator. Honestly, we’re kind of embarrassed that we haven’t yet had it represented in one form or another in one of our previous events.

To rectify that huge oversight, we went straight to the source and I am very glad to officially announce today that the ROFLCon team has officially confirmed co-founders Jef Sewell and Dr. E.L. Kersten, the folks behind Despair, Inc., to appear and speak at ROFLCon!

The Despair folks have been up to alot since they booted up their company back in 1998. Notably, the company is currently the proud owners of the trademark on all uses of the emoticon “:-(“. And, most recently, they’ve uncovered and are re-releasing The Rise of Charles Ponzi, which is (no kid), the actual memoirs of Mr. Charlie-P, his scheme, and his battle against the Boston banks. Looking to be fairly incredible, definitely check it out.

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