Deanna Zandt
Deanna Zandt is a media technologist, the co-founder and partner of Lux Digital, and the author of Share This! How You Will Change the World with Social Networking (Berrett-Koehler, June 2010). She is a consultant to key progressive media organizations including AlterNet and Jim Hightower’s Hightower Lowdown, and is a Research Fellow at the Center for Social Media at American University. Zandt specializes in social media, is a leading expert in women and technology, and is a frequent guest on CNN International, BBC Radio, Fox News and more. She works with groups to create and implement effective web strategies toward organizational goals of civic engagement and empowerment, and uses her background in linguistics, advertising, telecommunications and finance to complement her technical expertise. She has spoken at a number of conferences, including Netroots Nation, SXSW Interactive, Personal Democracy Forum, the National Conference on Media Reform, Facing Race, Web 2.0 Expo, Bioneers, America’s Future Now (formerly “Take Back America,”) Women Action & The Media, and provides beginner and advanced workshops both online and in person.
In January 2009, Deanna was chosen as a fellow for the Progressive Women’s Voices program at the Women’s Media Center. She also serves as a technology advisor to a number of organizations, including Feministing, The Girls & Boys Projects and Women Action & The Media. She is on the board of the Applied Research Center, a racial justice think tank and home for media and activism.
Along with talking about the important why, how-to, and impacts of social media, Deanna is available to talk about such topics as:
- Wikileaks and the future of online civil disobedience: Activism online takes on many forms, but much of what we've seen up till now merely replicates what our traditional notions of activism already are. It's becoming increasingly important to expand our understanding, and Wikileaks has provided a wealth of experiences for us to use new lenses for politically-motivated action. From the leaked documents themselves to Anonymous' intervention and evolution, activists must start to truly answer the question: "How do I digitally throw myself in front of a tank?
- Can the Internet Fix Politics? Emerging media promise much when it comes to politics, and sharing our stories to effect social change has never been easier. Understanding the larger cultural impact that social technologies play in the political arena, as well as looking out for the pitfalls that threaten true innovation, are key to seeding large-scale evolution of electoral, cultural and legislative change.
- The Free-for-All Web, and The Secret Tyrants We All Are: The expanse of the Web has often set up a myth that, much like the American Dream, with just a little up-by-your-bootstraps work ethic and a little bit of elbow grease, anyone can succeed at whatever their goals may be. In reality, however, the openness of the Web can mean that quite the opposite happens. Despite the increasing presence of a diversity of voices and faces, the Internet isn’t fulfilling its disruptive potential; more often than not, it’s simply replicating and amplifying inequality and segregation.
You can view a list of her recent presentations here, as well as some videos of her talks and media appearances (Forum Network, CNN, Personal Democracy Forum, Thom Hartman Show, Web 2.0 Expo, Netroots Nation 2010)
