The Importance of Connecting in Person

For many of us, the internet has two faces. It can be a place where we’re bombarded by disinformation and polarized viewpoints, subjected to rage and frustration. But it can also be where people with different interests, ideas, and life experiences come together to find common ground. Share jokes. Build things together. This hopeful version of the internet is the focus of a new digital community that Forum’s creating on the platform Discord. We’ll talk about what our new community is, what we hope it will become, how to escape social media’s nasty decline, and how to foster conversations on the internet that aren’t awful.

Guests:

Eli Pariser, author, "The Filter Bubble: What the internet is hiding from you;" founder, New Public

Marina Gorbis, executive director, Institute for the Future

Grace Ling, founder, Design Buddies, Discord community

Francesca Fenzi, digital community manager, KQED's Forum

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