This has got to be the greatest conference in the history of conferences, and probably the only “-Con” I would ever attend.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you: ROFLCon.
Held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA, it’s a group dissection of internet culture: what makes it work, why it works, how it works, where internet culture has been and where it’s going. Doesn’t that sound like all sorts of awesome? If it didn’t start today, I’d most definitely be there. And I’ve always wanted to go to Boston.
A couple of the panels I’d make sure to hit up include:
- LOLCATS: I CAN HAZ CASE STUDY?
- How do you see the development of the LOLCat? What do you think people will think of the LOLCat when they look back in 30 years?
- PWNING FOR GOOD OF MANKIND
- How did you start doing what you do? What motivated you to use internet culture against established forces? What allowed you to mobilize attention against the non-internet world?
- BEFORE THE LOL with Jason Scott
- As ROFLCon celebrates the recent explosion of Internet memes, a bit of history is in order. Starting over 100 years ago, computer historian Jason Scott walks through a couple dozen examples of the roots of memes, their effects, and even a few early net-based memes now obscured by the sands of time.
- WORK IT, MOVE IT, BANG IT, BUMP IT with Kevin Driscoll
- Why are all these people dancing in front of their computers? How does it change the way that dance crazes move around the world? Join us to explore the culture of the online dance craze. We’ll be analyzing several recent trends, and, for anyone interested, making a video of our own!
- SURVIVING INTERNET FAME
We all know I’m going to be famous via the Internet someday. Just you wait and see! And maybe I can learn some sweet dance moves from the “work it, bump it” session.
Some of the names of attendees that you might recognize include Homestar Runner, Tron Guy, I Can Has Cheezburger and Chuck Norris Facts.
The best part: you can watch it ONLINE! If you need me, I’ll be in front of my computer.