SAN FRANCISCO--July 29, 2013: Boing Boing, the Internet's favorite technology/culture website, Federated Media Publishing, the conversational marketing pioneer, and Ford Motor Company, an automotive technology leader and the first automaker to open source the car, announced Boing Boing: Ingenuity today. This two-day celebration of innovation begins on Saturday, August 17th with a 12-hour hack day and continues on Sunday, August 18th, bringing leading voices in science, engineering, culture and art to the stage.
“As a publisher, Boing Boing was a natural fit for this campaign, particularly given our long-standing relationship working with them to deliver valuable content to their extensive and tight-knit community of tech enthusiasts.”
The hack day will take place at TechShop in San Francisco, where several dozen of the most forward-thinking experts on open source, innovation, big data and user experience will prototype applications and devices to enhance the driving experience. Co-organized by open science pioneer Ariel Waldman, recently named a White House Champion of Change, the hack day's theme is Ingenuity: Data Driven. Event participants will have the opportunity to experience the new 2013 C-MAX Hybrid from Ford, the makers of more plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles than any other auto manufacturer. Participants will have access to Ford's new OpenXC Platform, a compelling open-source hardware and software toolkit, to explore what can be accomplished with unprecedented access to live vehicle data.
The following day, hundreds of invited guests from the Boing Boing community will convene at the Regency Center's former Masonic Lodge for a series of provocative presentations from the realms of science, engineering, art, design and culture. Boing Boing co-editors/partners David Pescovitz, also a research director at Institute for the Future, and Mark Frauenfelder, founding editor of MAKE, will emcee the festivities. Presenters include:
- Adam Savage, co-host of Mythbusters
- Tom Vanderbilt, author of "How We Drive"
- Carol Reiley, robotics researcher
- Ferdinando Buscema, magic experience designer
- Trevor Paglen, experimental geographer, author of "The Last Pictures"
- Isaac "Shovelman" Frankle, junkyard beatnik musician
- Chris Noessel, interaction designer, co-author of "Make It So"
- Eri Gentry, co-founder, BioCurious, research manager, Institute for the Future
- Nate DiMeo, host, Memory Palace podcast, contributor, National Public Radio
- Barn Owl, experimental desert rock musicians
- Ariel Waldman, creator, Spacehack.org
- Megan Prelinger, co-founder Prelinger Library, author, "Another Science Fiction"
- Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute
Boing Boing will showcase the event, posts, videos, and real-time coverage on their website and social media channels beginning on July 18th. Throughout the campaign, content produced by Boing Boing will be distributed across the Federated Media Tech Federation of sites using the company's "native conversationalist" ad unit, in partnership with the 2013 Ford C-MAX.
For additional information on the event, please visit: Ingenuity
"We love partnering with brands like Ford who understand the true value of using content marketing to encourage real conversations with highly engaged audiences across the independent web," said Keith Long, VP of Sales for Federated Media Publishing. "As a publisher, Boing Boing was a natural fit for this campaign, particularly given our long-standing relationship working with them to deliver valuable content to their extensive and tight-knit community of tech enthusiasts."
"In an age of big data and open sourcing, Ford's OpenXC research platform aims to bridge the gap between cars and drivers so that ultimately, we can enhance the entire driving experience. It's an API for your car," said Venkatesh Prasad, Senior Technical Leader for Open Innovation of Ford Research & Innovation. "Choosing to partner with Federated Media and Boing Boing was a no brainer given Boing Boing's 'ingenuity' focused audience and Federated Media's expertise in content marketing."
"We are thrilled with this opportunity to celebrate the spirit of ingenuity with our community and bring Boing Boing's cabinet of curiosities off the screen and onto the stage," said Boing Boing co-editor/managing partner David Pescovitz. "Scientists, artists, makers, musicians, eccentrics. It's vaudeville for happy mutants!"
