Kepler's was the first
bookstore in the South Bay that allowed
patrons to sit and read, drink coffee, hang out
or play music,
perfect for the budding bohemians who would
become San
Francisco's psychedelic rockers, and technologist of the Valley...
Nichloas Meriwether
Festival Founder and Producer
Benford Standley, introduces Len
Dell'Amico, Nicholas Meriwether,
Eric Christensen, and Fred Turner
A highlight of the Event was
the panel discussion on the link between the "counterculture"
and the "cyberculture" in the Silicon Valley. The panel
was kicked off with a Keynote Address from Stanford professor
Fred Turner giving a presentation on his great book COUNTERCULTURE TO
CYBERCULTURE. Len Dell'Amico's history as the
Grateful Dead "video guy", Nicholas Meriwether the
Archivist for the Dead, the
TRIPS FESTIVAL producer Eric
Christensen, and author/professor Fred Turner gave a very
clear insight into how the history of the Grateful Dead,
publisher of
the Whole Earth Catalogue Stewart Brand, Ken Kesey
and other characters and events of the sixties gave birth
The value ofFrom
Counterculture to Cyberculturegoes
beyond its contributions regarding the continuities between the two
movements. Turner shows how Brand and Co. were a driving force not only
in the embrace of libertarian ideals and the social construction of
digital technology, but also in the production of other, less obvious
features of today’s network society. For instance, the various forums
Brand and Kelly helped create, especially Wired, broke down some
modernist conceptions of journalistic practice: in the networked world,
persons may variously serve as sources, subjects and authors of stories.
In the conclusion to this book and elsewhere, Turner (2005; 2007) makes
the strong claim that such a breakdown of categories requires
adjustments to the way we do Journalism (and by extension Media)
Studies. The knowledge that this reorganization of roles is not purely a
technological feat, and that technologies must bemadeto
achieve such effects, will surely benefit work in new media studies
(e.g. as an adjunct to current understandings of blogs as ‘citizen
journalism’).
Eric, Len and Nicholas chat
and network during the inter-
mission after Eric's screening of TRIPS
FESTIVAL and the
Q & A...Eric and Nicholas will set on the
Counterculture Cyberculture History of Silicon Valley...
One of the key elements of
the festival is the networking...
author and panelist Gini Graham (San
Fran), Erin Murphey, (Hollywood) Max Gail (Hollywood) and
Pratik Khadloya
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