True North, which took place last week in Kitchener-Waterloo, was Communitech’s first attempt at an event series designed to discuss ‘tech for good’. As first attempts go, it was quite good (disclosure: BetaKit was a media partner for the event).
CanCon was able to interview two of True North’s big-name speakers, and the conversations below should be familiar and enticing to regular pod listeners.
First up was Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed’s Media Editor and ‘fake news’ expert. Silverman’s depressing take on the current state of digital media – which happened to recently win him a Silver prize Digital Publishing Award – was right at home with Douglas’ #darkesttimeline worldview. Enjoy as the two walk through how the commoditization of digital media has led to easy manipulation, with outrage as the product, before discussing the role of ‘media platforms’ (not technology companies) Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Fun stuff!
Next up is Sarah Lacy, Pando Media founder and CEO, as well as the founder of new startup Chairman Mom. Lacy first appeared in BetaKit last year for her Startupfest talk on why toxic masculinity pervades Silicon Valley. At True North this year, she expanded on that offering, providing historical context as to how bias and regret override data and common sense to fuel the ‘bro economy’. Oh, and she also has a few hot takes on Donald Trump, how advertising-based business models are causing so many of the problems tech finds itself in, and how Chairman Mom is built to avoid them.
If you enjoy CanCon’s event interview format, why not let us know in the comments? Better yet, leave a rating and review on iTunes.
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Special thanks to TWG for helping make the CanCon Podcast happen!
CanCon Podcast Episode 118
Craig is 100% #teamdarkesttimeline
This Is How Your Hyperpartisan Political News Gets Made
Sarah Lacy on toxic masculinity superceding data
Pando’s Sarah Lacy explains why “toxic masculinity” pervades Silicon Valley
A brief interlude to update you on the Wavefront story
Bankrupt accelerator Wavefront owes $2.1 million to creditors, documents reveal
Canadian Content music clip (under fair dealing): “I will remember you” by Sarah McLachlan
Ad music: “Dreams” by Joakim Karud
Feature image courtesy Harminder Phull, Communitech