eTech – Danah Boyd

I’m not doing a great job at blogging the eTech conference in San Diego. I just had to prepare my talk, get used to the emptiness of the streets and to the food, the huge amount of food we’re being served five times a day. I’ve been to very few talks but i liked most of them. Ok, here’s my notes on a first one.

Danah Boyd, G/localization: When Global Information and Local Interaction Collide or The Ugliness That Ensues When You Shove the Global and the Local Together.

Glocalization is a grotesque word, it comes from various disciplines and for each discipline it gets a different meaning. What does it mean to connect global with local and how does it affect design? Most people do not live in a global environment, they are more concerned with their local values.

Culture is embedded into objects and frameworks. What’s important is what bounds people together (Jewish culture goes beyond geography, same goes for the “geek culture”.) Culture is made of values, and norms, and artefacts. Not just languages and nationalities.

Go on reading…