BNC Speaker Series 2007

On Thursday, September 13, 2007
3:30pm - 6:15pm

Free-conomics: Free Culture and the Future of Creative Content

Alternately described as modern-day communism or true democracy, the idea of a 'sharing economy' in the arts inspires strong reactions on both sides. With amateur content sites like Wikipedia and YouTube becoming ubiquitous, the Free Culture debate is increasing in urgency. What happens to compensation for authors and publishers? Will there still be motivation to create? Will there be 'professionals' in the future? Join us to examine both the theory and application of the free culture model to address these questions and more.

Darren Wershler-Henry: The former senior editor at Coach House Books, Darren Wershler-Henry is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. Darren is the author of two books of poetry, NICHOLODEON: a book of lowerglyphs, and the tapeworm foundry, which was shortlisted for the Trillium Prize. He is also the author or co-author of five books about technology and culture, including the bestselling Internet Directory 2000, FREE as in speech and beer, and Commonspace: Beyond Virtual Community (with Mark Surman). His most recent books are The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting, and apostrophe (with Bill Kennedy), both published in 2006.

Gregg Taylor is the founder of Decoder Ring Theatre, an independent theatre company that has now fully migrated into cyberspace. Melding the styles and stories of a bygone era to cutting-edge distribution methods, Decoder Ring podcasts all-new full-cast audio drama in the style of Radio's Golden Age to listeners around the world. Available through decoderringtheatre.com the programs feature both the crimebusting exploits of The Red Panda, defender of 1930's Toronto, as well as Black Jack Justice, a hard-boiled detective series. Now entering their third season, the Decoder Ring Theatre shows have topped a quarter of a million downloads through their main feed and a subsequent re-release through Podiobooks.com.