Final Schedule

***This schedule (still) subject to change, though mostly it’ll be futzing with the questions/moderators and responding to guest requests***

Thursday, April 24th, 2008 — PRE-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

7 PM — Laughing Squid Pre-ROFLCon Drinkup! (The Asgard)

9:30 PM — “Second Skin” @ the Somerville Theater! (film site)

Friday, April 25th, 2008 — ROFLCON DAY ONE

10:00 AM: Registration Opens (W20: Sala del Puerto Rico)

12:30 PM: WELCOME & OPENING KEYNOTE (W20: Sala del Puerto Rico): David Weinberger — “Famous on the Web” (Sala) — Fame has been something done to us, a consequence of broadcast media’s chokehold on our attention. What happens when we’re all famous to fifteen people? What is fame like outside of mass culture?

1:00 PM: YOU CAN GET PAID FOR THIS?: MAKING SOME BUCKS (W20: Sala del Puerto Rico): How do you make money? Are you making lots of money? Has all that money corrupted you? How about now? Are you a fluke are you generalizable? What are some other ways the rest of us can make money? Please?

Moderator: David Weinberger

Panelists: Kyle Macdonald (One Red Paperclip), Joe Mathelete (Joe Mathelete Explains Marmaduke), Ian Spector (Chuck Norris Facts), Andy Ochiltree (JibJab.com), Andrew Baron (Rocketboom), Alex Tew (The Million Dollar Homepage)

2:00 PM: LUNCH BREAK

3:15 PM: BREAK OUT

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Track One: Room 34-101

3:30 PM: PANEL: LOLCATS: I CAN HAZ CASE STUDY?: How do you see the development of the LOLCat? What do you think people will think of the LOLCat when they look back in 30 years? (Room 34-101)

Moderator: Alexis Ohanian
Panelists: “Cheez” (I Can Has Cheezburger), Martin Grondin (LOLCat Bible), Ryan and Arija (LOLSecretz), Stephen Granades (LOLTrek), Adam Lindsay (LOLCode)

5:00: PWNING FOR GOOD OF MANKIND: How did you start doing what you do? What motivated you to use internet culture against established forces? What allowed you to mobilize attention against the non-internet world? Did it happen unintentionally? (Room 34-101)

Moderator: Lana Swartz, Comparative Media Studies, MIT

Panelists: Dino Ignacio (Bert Is Evil), Leslie Hall (Gem Sweater), Justine Ezarik (iJustine), Ji Lee (Bubble Project), Eric Schoenborn (ACLU)

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Track 2: Building E15: Bartos Theatre

3:30 – BEFORE THE LOL with Jason Scott

As ROFLCon celebrates the recent explosion of Internet memes, a bit of history is in order. Starting over 100 years ago, computer historian Jason Scott walks through a couple dozen examples of the roots of memes, their effects, and even a few early net-based memes now obscured by the sands of time. (Bartos Theater)

5:00 — SURVIVING INTERNET FAME with Jay Maynard and Matt Harding

Jay Maynard, the Tron Guy, and Matt Harding, of wherethehellismatt.com, discuss their experiences in surviving unexpected fame on the Internet and offer suggestions on dealing with the disruptions it can cause. (Bartos Theater)

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6:45 PM: “Second Skin” @ the Somerville Theater! (film site)

7:00 PM: BIRDS OF A FEATHER (BOF) Dinners

9:00 PM: THE MUSIC SHOW OF THE MEMES (The Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, MA)

Artists: Lemon Demon, Group X, Leslie Hall (Leslie and the LYs), Trocadero (Red vs. Blue), Denny Blaze (the Average Homeboy) and possibly a surprise guest.

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Saturday, April 26th, 2008 — ROFLCON DAY TWO

10:00 AM — KEYNOTE EVENT (26-100): Alice Marwick — “The Fabulous Life of Microcelebrities: The Cultural Logic of Internet Fame”

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TRACK ONE: Room 26-100

10:30 AM – MAKING IT BIG (26-100): Now that you’re a huge cultural force in your own right, what do you think of popular mainstream culture? Are you inspired by it? Repelled by it? What do you draw from? Listen to anything good lately? Any business models online that you admire? (26-100)
Moderator: JD Connor, Harvard University

Panelists: Rooster Teeth (Red vs. Blue), Brad Neely (Superdeluxe.com), The Brothers Chaps (Homestar Runner), Rob, Kris, Matt, Dave (Cyanide and Happiness)

12:00 PM: LUNCH BREAK

1:30 PM: INCUBATING THE MINDVIRUS: MEME INFRASTRUCTURES (26-100): How did your community form? What do you think is the ultimate positive outcome of your site? The most negative? Where do you think we go from here?

Moderator: Anil Dash (Six Apart)

Panelists: Matt Haughey (Metafilter), Josh Schacter (del.icio.us), Alexis Ohanian (Reddit), David Lloyd (OCRemix), Drew Curtis (Fark.com)

3:00 PM: KID, WE’RE GOING TO MAKE YOU A STAR (26-100): How has the commercialization of internet culture has affected the ecology of online community? How have community and participatory practices online affected commercial culture and how we understand the relationship between consumers and producers? (26-100)

Moderator: Xiaochang Li, Comparative Media Studies/Convergence Culture Consortium, MIT
Panelists: Benjamin Palmer (Barbarian Group), The Wexley School for Girls, Evan White, Brett Zaccardi (Street Attack), Fred Benenson (Creative Commons)

4:30 PM: THE INTERNET CULT LEADER (26-100): How do you see the relationship between yourself and the community around what you create? What was the best experience you’ve had founding that community? The worst? What’s your audience like?

Moderator: Chris Kelty, Rice University

Panelists: Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics), Randall Munroe (xkcd), moot (4chan)

6:00 PM: COMMENT THREAD: Internet celebrities (and you?) rant about things. (26-100)

Moderator: Just one giant bullhorn when you’re running over your time

Panelists: Everyone. No kidding. First person has to yell ‘first.’

6:30 — ENDING REMARKS/KEYNOTE: Tim Hwang

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TRACK 2: Room 34-101

10:30: Evan White with THE YOUTUBE STARS: Starring iJustine, What the Buck, Brookers, and Rhett & Link

12:00: LUNCH BREAK

1:30: SLEEPER HITS OF THE INTERNET: with Dean Jansen and Ji Lee (The Bubble Project) (Session Playlist)

Want to see some cool/weird/and/or/entertaining stuff you’ve probably never seen before? Our fearless presenters dredged the bottom of the internets for video awesomeness that hasn’t boiled up to the top top yet. Additionally, the program will open with some world premieres of videos from ROFLCon Guests — you’ll be the first audience.

3:00: WORK IT, MOVE IT, BANG IT, BUMP IT with Kevin Driscoll

Why are all these people dancing in front of their computers? How does it change the way that dance crazes move around the world? Join us to explore the culture of the online dance craze. We’ll be analyzing several recent trends, and, for anyone interested, making a video of our own!

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Track 3: Building E15: BARTOS THEATER

1:30 — FROM WORDPRESS TO THE NEW YORK TIMES with Christian Lander of “Stuff White People Like”

Dude, How Stuff White People Like went from just another blog to over 20 million page views in 3 months. What happened?

3:00 — ***MYSTERY EVENT*** — these guests have requested to remain off the online schedule until the event itself.
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Track 4: Room 56-162

1:30 — Martin Sargent Hosts A Live Taping of Internet Superstar

Be a part of the studio audience at a live taping of the hit Revision3 show Internet Superstar. Join Martin Sargent and his pal The Gator as they dissect Internet culture with the rusty scalpels of their wit. Interviews with online luminaries Leslie Hall, The Average Homeboy Denny Place, Tron Guy Jay Maynard, and more!

3:00 — TOO FULL: Exploring Participatory Systems with Josh Green (CMS)

What is the nature of YouTube? How much of it is cat videos, clips of Family Guy, or irate vloggers? This presentation discusses a three-month mapping of the site, examining the mix of content and the range of uses people make of YouTube. In short, what the flavor of YouTube might be. It looks at how we can study dynamic, participatory systems, and the implications this has for the way we understand participatory culture.

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7:00 — All-Ages Reception : Bartos Lobby.

10:00 — 21+ AFTER HOURS PARTY: Everyone at a club, rocking out, with a huge ass dance party. (Great Scott’s Allston)