If You Attended the Forrester Consumer Forum...

I spoke on Friday to the Forrester Consumer Forum in Chicago and promised the crowd that I would use my blog to provide some links for further reading on some of the topics I presented. First, let me provide a pointer to our upcoming Futures of Entertainment conference. This event is run with a talk show format and is designed to bring together cutting edge thinking from across many different media sectors. Many of the issues I raised in my remarks -- including the discussion of how to value fan contributions or how to build communities around media properties -- will be discussed in depth at this event.

Second, I wanted to suggest that you check out our Convergence Culture Consortium blog. Every day, our students and staff share their thinking about the trends that are impacting the world of branded entertainment. For example, this week's posts analyze:

Soulja Boy and the Crank This phenomenon

Radiohead and the Digital Distribution of Music

New Metrics for Evaluating Audience Engagement

Television on the Web

For more information on the ideas presented in the talk:

Check out this podcast of a recent talk given at MIT by Andrew Slack of the Harry Potter Alliance.

This post deals with the connection between Robot Chicken and action figure fan cinema.

This post deals with the controversy surrounding FanLib and the conflict between user-generated content and the gift economy that shapes participatory culture.

This post deals with how Four Eyed Monsters has used new media to rally audience support.

This post deals with Wizard Rock and Harry Potter as niche media..

This post deals with Colbert and the politics of spreadable media.

The line from the talk which seems to be most reported by other bloggers was the suggestion that any technology which enables us to share cute cat pictures can also be used to bring down governments or corporations. I wish I had come up with the line, but I cited it back to Ethan Zuckerman's comments at a recent MIT Communications Forum on Civic Media. Here, you can find a podcast of the event.

Here are a few other posts that might interest you:

Nine Propositions Towards a Cultural Theory of YouTube

Transmedia Storytelling 101

Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape

Fan Activism in a Networked Culture

So What Happened to Star Wars Galaxies?

Oreos, "Wal-mart Time", and User-Generated Advertising

And of course, there is no substitute for reading my book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide.

Great meeting you all. I hope you stick around and enjoy our ongoing discussions of convergence and participatory culture.