Exploring New Media through Conference Attendance

Innovation
Geschreven door Ihab Khiri

Table of Contents

In this article, I will share my experience at the Society of the Query and Moneylab academic conferences, exploring the relationship between new media and its audience. As a blogger, I had the opportunity to present my written work at two noteworthy conferences: the Society of the Query Conference [1] in 2013 and the Institute of Network Culture [2] in 2016. Both these conferences were organised by the Institute of Network Culture [3] (INC) in Amsterdam. To this day, I have been fascinated by topics related to media consumption. More importantly, the INC manages to be on top of emerging digital trends and brings the right people together to share their knowledge.

Activities of the INC

The INC organises debates on digital publishing, gaming culture, online education, media mobility, social media networks, blockchain (cryptocurrencies), and research activities. As well as a research focus, the INC is an essential platform for knowledge exchange. It organises events and conferences bringing together academics, journalists, artists, and entrepreneurs.

semantic web [4]. The interplay between AI and human intelligence (imagine in 2013!), power dynamics in web content governance, and the potential of peer-to-peer and open-source initiatives. [5]

Furthermore, thought-provoking discussions addressed more critical issues, such as digital civil rights[6], media literacy, [7] Google's pervasive influence, and the intersection of art and technology.

'Moneylab' Conference

Furthermore, thought-provoking discussions addressed more critical issues, such as digital civil rights[6], media literacy, [7] Google's pervasive influence, and the intersection of art and technology.

The 'MoneyLab' Conference is organised by and for a diverse network of artists and activists (geeks as they name themselves) experimenting with the digital economy and financial democratisation. It all started with a concept paper,[8] "The New Media of Exchange: Dialogues on the Internet, Monetisation, and Finance," by Geert Lovink and Nathaniel Tkacz, written during critical responses to the ongoing financial crisis in 2012. The paper conceptualises an event that seeks to initiate a dialogue between essential perspectives and pragmatic counter-strategies in finance. All in the context of budget cuts affecting the cultural sector in countries such as the Netherlands and the UK.

The MoneyLab Conference has hosted six editions since 2014, covering, among other topics, Crowdfunding, mobile money, financial activism, and blockchain. Several of these topics have been widely covered in several books they have published, providing insights into their digital economic interventions.

The conference connects the creative sector with digital business opportunities, alternative distribution, and intellectual property models. [9] 'Moneylab' offers solutions such as peer-to-peer insurance, art-music collaborations, and blockchain initiatives for decentralised distribution. Visit their website[11] for a philosophical exploration and discover the fascinating world of network cultures at the 'Society of the Query' conference.

Conclusion

The Society of the Query conference and 'Moneylab' are great platforms to learn and explore the intersection between technology, finance, and art. They bring together experts from diverse fields to share their ideas about how digital business opportunities can be combined to support creative projects. As an example, participants can gain a much better understanding of potential new distribution and intellectual property models through valuable insights. Whether looking for an inspirational workshop or a chance to network with like-minded people, the INC has something for everyone.

More on this subject

  1. European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, “Phishing gang behind several million euros worth of losses busted in Belgium and the Netherlands | Europol, 2013. Link to article↗︎ ↗︎
  2. H. Hu, P. Peng, and G. Wang, “Towards Understanding the Adoption of Anti-Spoofing Protocols in Email Systems,” IEEE Xplore, Sep. 01, 2018. Link to article↗︎↗︎
  3. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, “2,2 miljoen Nederlanders slachtoffer online criminaliteit in 2022,” , May 10, 2023. Link to article↗︎
  4. University of Oxford 2023, “Tim Berners-Lee,” Department of Computer Science, 2023. Link to article↗︎
  5. The Internet Engineering Task Force, or IETF, is an international organisation for Internet standards operations and developments.
  6. D. Crocker, A. Senior, T. Advisor, B. Internetworking, and T. Zink, “Message, Mobile and Malware Anti-Abuse Working Group M 3 AAWG Trust in Email Begins with Authentication,” Feb. 2008. ↗︎
  7. R. T. Braden, “RFC 1123: Requirements for Internet Hosts - Application and Support,” IETF Datatracker, Oct. 1989. Link to article↗︎↗︎
  8. Here, identifiers refer to the technical attributes of an email. This attribute indicates the source or origin of the email. Examples are the From field indicating the sender's address or thename field indicating its name. ↗︎
  9. RFC stands for Request for Comments and is an official document published by the IETF with internet and networking standards. ↗︎
  10. S. Kitterman, “RFC 7208 - Sender Policy Framework (SPF) for Authorising Use of Domains in Email, Version 1,” datatracker.ietf.org, Apr. 2014. Link to article↗︎
  11. IBM, “IBM Documentation,” Ibm.com, Mar. 04, 2021. Link to article↗︎↗︎
  12. “Best Practices for Managing SPF Records the Reference URL for This document: www.m3aawg.org/Managing-SPF-Records,” Aug. 2017. Link to article↗︎
  13. The + sign before MX indicates a "pass" qualifier. If the condition defined by the MX mechanism is met, the email should pass the SPF authentication. But since + is the default qualifier, it's often skipped. Link to article↗︎
  14. "MX DNS records": MX stands for "Mail Exchange." MX DNS records are in a domain's Domain Name System (DNS) settings. Their purpose is to redirect email messages sent to that domain to different email servers (mail exchanges). ↗︎
  15. Wikipedia, “Sender Policy Framework,” Wikipedia, Nov. 19, 2021. Link to article↗︎↗︎
  16. A "path registration" refers to pre-identifying and authorising specific routes (or paths) that an email can legitimately take from sender to recipient. ↗︎
  17. The 'MAIL FROM' command specifies the sender's email address, while 'HELO' and 'EHLO' are greeting commands email servers use to identify themselves during the SMTP communication process. ↗︎
  18. The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the Internet protocol used to facilitate 'Emailing'.↗︎
  19. Google, “Help prevent Spoofing and spam with SPF - Google Workspace Admin Help,” support.google.com. Link to article↗︎
  20. Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group, “M3AAWG Email Authentication Recommended Best Practices,” Sep. 2020. Link to article↗︎
  21. “2,2 miljoen Nederlanders slachtoffer online criminaliteit in 2022,” Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, May 10, 2023. (accessed Oct. 4, 2023) Link to article↗︎
  22. Wikipedia Contributors, “Email Spoofing,” Wikipedia, Oct. 29, 2023. (accessed Oct. 29, 2023) Link to article↗︎
  23. CSRC Content Editor, “Phishing - Glossary | CSRC,” Nist.gov, 2015. (accessed Oct. 29, 2023)Link to article↗︎
  24. Wikipedia Contributors, “Simple Mail Transfer Protocol,” Wikipedia, Oct. 08, 2023. (accessed Oct. 20, 2023).‌Link to article↗︎
  25. "2,5 miljoen Nederlanders in 2021 slachtoffer van online criminaliteit”, Mar 3, 2023. (accessed Oct. 20, 2023). Link to article↗︎