
Thinking On Paper: A Technology Podcast For Curious Minds
Hosted by Mark and Jeremy, Thinking On Paper is a weekly conversation asking the big questions:
What kind of world are we building?
What does it mean to stay human in the age Of AI?
How do we raise kids who can think critically and stay curious?
Grab a front-row seat as CEOs, founders, outliers and artists unpack the “why” behind everything from AI and quantum computing to space manufacturing, bio-engineering and clean energy.
New conversations every Thursday • Book Club episodes every Monday
Follow now and slow down the future.
Latest episodes

Mar 18, 2024 • 52min
This Is How You Can Use A.I. To Make You Smarter, Starting Today: With Behavioural Scientist, Justin Germishuys
Disruptors and curious minds! Today's show is all about AI, education and behavioural design. What is behavioural design? Can AI help you learn, sharpen your reasoning, change your behaviours? Can AI boost your performance or analyse the cognitive processes needed to make decisions and solve problems?
Justin Germishuys is an experienced learning and behaviour designer using AI tools to enhance reasoning and decision-making. He’s the founder of Germinotion.
We’ll be talking about Ethical behaviour design, conceptual analysis and the AI tools people can use to reason, solve problems, and make decisions.
We'll unpack educational design and how you can use AI to augment your thinking.
Please Enjoy The Show!
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Quotes From The Show
"How do we design things that help people behave in desirable ways."
"The goal is to be ethical."
"People confuse behavioural design with nudging."
"Recognising someone has confirmation bias, it's useful to think about how framing effects influence how people receive messages."
"How do you chunk content for cognitive load?"
"AI reasoning support."
"Human Being are cognitively limited. We don't make good decisions."
"Ai Can help to supplement reasoning."
"AI Is good at divergent thinking and evaluations."
"Is ai creative? That's a semantic issue."
"AI expands our ontologies."
"Extended Mind Hypothesis means our minds are not contained in our skulls."
==============================
Timestamps
0:00 Disruptors and curious minds
2:04 Our Sponsors Wripple
2:44 Our Guest Justin Germishuys
3:26 What Is Behavioural Design?
6:04 Nudge Theory
8:15 How Can Behavioural Design Improve Education
11:53 Human Biases & Heuristics
16:16 How Important Is Environment In Design?
20:49 Affordances
21:34 Artificial Intelligence To Augment Behavioural Design
28:38 AI A A Reasoning Support Tool
31:34 Theory Of Mind
35:17 Human + AI
37:33 Resources For Behavioural Design
39:51 Natural Born Cyborgs & Extended Mind Hypothesis
43:20 Augmented Humans
44:34 How Should Children Be Using AI?
48:55 Final Thoughts
==============================
🎧 Listen Now & Enjoy the Show!
👉 Sponsors: www.wripple.com
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8WnnmT4wlM&t=1536s
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#behaviour #artificalintelligence #ai #aihacks #howtobesmarter #web3 #aitools #clearthinking

Mar 15, 2024 • 28min
Book Club: The Design Of Everyday Things (Part 7) - Why Brands Don't Care About You!
Welcome to the Thinking On Paper Book Club. This week we're reading chapter seven of The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman. And we ask: What Is Human Error In Design? And does it really kill people.
Buy on amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyda...
Timestamps
0:00 Welcome to Book Club
1:09 The realities of the world Stop Innovation
2:16 Tech For Tech's Sake And How Brands Innovate
5:18 Music Analogies For Better Design
8:18 Books Are The Best Technology
9:16 Distributors Are The Real Customers
11:30 How Long Does It Take To Develop a Product?
14:51 AI Will Change The Game
16:30 Clear Thinking
18:55 Product Teams
======================
Why are we reading this book?
Have you’ve ever wondered why your dishwasher won’t stop beeping? Or why your favourite website is so intuitive, yet Amazon is a clunky cesspit of UX?
Why do you walk into glass doors? Why do you love some of your technology, but can’t stand your new iPhone?
The answer is design.
Good design, and bad design.
And this is the book that explains the difference.
In a world saturated with AI created content, human thought is more important and powerful than ever. But reading books isn’t enough. You have to read the right books: books which have stood the test of time; books applicable across domains; books that are as relevant today as they will be in ten, fifty, a hundred years time.
At least that’s what we think.
Which is why our next book was first published in 1988.
It’s a story of how people interact with technology. The good, the bad and the ugly of UX and design. What works and what doesn’t. Why it works and the frameworks and mental models that will help you improve your own designs, whatever they may be.
Storytelling, design constraints, human error, culture, competitive forces, launching a new product, complexity, human-centred design. You’ll never look at your kettle or a web page in the same way again.
Reviews of this book
"The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman is a timeless classic that has been reshaping the way people think about design since its publication in 1988. The book is a fascinating exploration of the ways in which everyday objects are designed, and how those designs can either help or hinder the people who use them."
"The Design of Everyday Things" is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It explores the design of everyday things through the lens of human psychology. Not only that, ill-designed objects stir frustration into their users, but they can also lead to fatal errors."
Read more - https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/the...
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🎧 Listen Now & Enjoy the Show!
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3G4OQuNUZg&t=558s
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#bookclub #booktube #bookcommunity #books #thedesignofeverydaythings #emergingtechnologies #designbooks #booklovers #booktube #booktok

Mar 14, 2024 • 28min
Book Club: The Design Of Everyday Things (Part 6) - Why You Should Never Solve The Problem You Are Given
Disruptors and Curious minds! Welcome to the Thinking On Paper Book Club.
This week we're reading chapter six of The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman. And we ask: Why should you never solve the problem you are given...
Buy on amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyda...
===========================
Timestamps
0:00 Welcome to Book Club
1:07 Why Nasa Read This Book
1:31 Creativity And Divergent Thinking
5:46 The Convergent Button Of Design
9:00 Life As A Social Phenomenon
12:37 Cross-Cultural Design Skills
16:57 Testing Prototypes And Why
18:53 The Real Goals Of Design Aren't What You Think
22:37 Making Something From Nothing
26:08 The Next Book Club
=================================
Why are we reading this book in book club?
Have you’ve ever wondered why your dishwasher won’t stop beeping? Or why your favourite website is so intuitive, yet Amazon is a clunky cesspit of UX?
Why do you walk into glass doors? Why do you love some of your technology, but can’t stand your new iPhone?
The answer is design.
Good design, and bad design.
And this is the book that explains the difference.
In a world saturated with AI created content, human thought is more important and powerful than ever. But reading books isn’t enough. You have to read the right books: books which have stood the test of time; books applicable across domains; books that are as relevant today as they will be in ten, fifty, a hundred years time.
At least that’s what we think.
Which is why our next book was first published in 1988.
It’s a story of how people interact with technology. The good, the bad and the ugly of UX and design. What works and what doesn’t. Why it works and the frameworks and mental models that will help you improve your own designs, whatever they may be.
Storytelling, design constraints, human error, culture, competitive forces, launching a new product, complexity, human-centred design. You’ll never look at your kettle or a web page in the same way again.
Reviews of this book
"The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman is a timeless classic that has been reshaping the way people think about design since its publication in 1988. The book is a fascinating exploration of the ways in which everyday objects are designed, and how those designs can either help or hinder the people who use them."
"The Design of Everyday Things" is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It explores the design of everyday things through the lens of human psychology. Not only that, ill-designed objects stir frustration into their users, but they can also lead to fatal errors."
Read more - https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/the...
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👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2fvL4cvwpg&t=593s
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#bookclub #booktube #bookcommunity #books #thedesignofeverydaythings #emergingtechnologies #designbooks #booklovers #booktube #booktok

Mar 14, 2024 • 44min
#65 The Futurist Playbook: Why Futurist Alexandra Whittington Doesn't Make Predictions
Disruptors and curious minds! What is the future of artificial intelligence? How will it impact geoengineering, smart cities, and the next generation of digital natives? What about neural links, brain hacking, VR and blockchain? How are brands, fortune 500 companies and small business thinking, researching and strategizing for an uncertain future?
In this episode we talk with Alexandra Whittington, a futurist writer and speaker who explores the future of humanity and society. She is a member of the Future of Business team at TCS and a former Lecturer on Foresight at the University of Houston. Alexandra has co-authored and co-edited several books on the future, including A Very Human Future, Aftershocks and Opportunities, and The Future Reinvented.
Futurists (sometimes called futurologists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are all job descriptions for the thinkers, writers and researchers who question what our collective futures might be and the impact emerging technologies will have on business, culture and the human condition.
This is an insightful and actionable episode for anyone interested in futurism and how futurists think and work.
Alexandra tells us how she became a futurist, how she researches and writes about the future, and what are the key trends and scenarios for 2024. She also shares her insights on how AI will affect geoengineering, smart cities, and the next generation of digital natives, and what are the challenges and opportunities for businesses and brands.
Please Enjoy The Show!
================================================
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Disruptors & Curious Minds
2:17 Our Sponsors Wripple
2:46 Futurist Alexandra Whittington
3:44 What Is A Futurist?
8:12 How To Become A Futurist
9:39 How Has Teaching Futurism Changed?
13:09 Futurists Don't Predict The Future
18:24 How To Research Emerging Technology
22:37 Macro V Micro Trends & Signals
28:52 How Futurists Help Companies
32:05 How Companies Can Start With Futurism
34:30 Our Business Is On The Ropes
36:04 How Do You Trust Technology?
39:56 A Question For Our Next Guest
41:00 Book Recommendations
👇👇👇
🔥 Check out Alexandra Whittington’s website and buy here books - https://fastfuture.com/FFP-authors/alexandra-whittington/
Alexandra's Book Recommendation - Guns, Germs and Steel - https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/guns-germs-and-steel/
==================================================
👉 Sponsors: www.wripple.com
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX7vCKDbIU8&t=891s
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#futurism #signals #emergingtechnologies #ai #web3 #technology #blockchainpodcast

Mar 13, 2024 • 29min
Book Club: The Design Of Everyday Things (Part 5) - How Human Error kills People
Disruptors and Curious minds! Welcome to the Thinking On Paper Book Club. This week we're reading chapter five of The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman. And we ask: What Is Human Error In Design? And does it really kill people.
Buy on amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654
Timestamps
0:00 Welcome to book club
1:01 Why Do Mistakes Happen?
2:48 Medical Error
5:15 Human Error
10:52 (Freudian) Slips And Mistakes
15:05 Social Pressure And How Brands Can Own Mistakes
18:14 Kids Want To Fucking Know
22:30 The Paradox Of Groups & Resilience
Why are we reading this book?
Have you’ve ever wondered why your dishwasher won’t stop beeping? Or why your favourite website is so intuitive, yet Amazon is a clunky cesspit of UX?
Why do you walk into glass doors? Why do you love some of your technology, but can’t stand your new iPhone?
The answer is design.
Good design, and bad design.
And this is the book that explains the difference.
In a world saturated with AI created content, human thought is more important and powerful than ever. But reading books isn’t enough. You have to read the right books: books which have stood the test of time; books applicable across domains; books that are as relevant today as they will be in ten, fifty, a hundred years time.
At least that’s what we think.
Which is why our next book was first published in 1988.
It’s a story of how people interact with technology. The good, the bad and the ugly of UX and design. What works and what doesn’t. Why it works and the frameworks and mental models that will help you improve your own designs, whatever they may be.
Storytelling, design constraints, human error, culture, competitive forces, launching a new product, complexity, human-centred design. You’ll never look at your kettle or a web page in the same way again.
Reviews of this book
"The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman is a timeless classic that has been reshaping the way people think about design since its publication in 1988. The book is a fascinating exploration of the ways in which everyday objects are designed, and how those designs can either help or hinder the people who use them."
"The Design of Everyday Things" is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It explores the design of everyday things through the lens of human psychology. Not only that, ill-designed objects stir frustration into their users, but they can also lead to fatal errors."
Read more - https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/the-design-of-everyday-things-en
- - - - - - - - - - - -
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGbcADq4x3o&t=1357s
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#bookclub #booktube #bookcommunity #books #thedesignofeverydaythings #emergingtechnologies #designbooks #booklovers #booktube #booktok

Mar 13, 2024 • 24min
Book Club: The Design of Everyday Things (Part 4) - When Is A Door Bad Design?
Disruptors and curious minds! Welcome to the Book Club. Where you read and think and expand your thinking together with us.
This week we're reading chapter four of 'The Design of Everyday Things', by Don Norman. Designers across the world call this book a design classic. We're not designers, we're readers, book lovers and curious minds, so much to learn.
In this week's book club we speak about:
📖 The Ikea affect and bad design.
📖 Why bad design exists all around you.
📖 The 4 kinds of design constraint.
📖 Legacy problems.
📖 People's response to change.
📖 Sound and signifiers.
📖 And much more design chaos and templates and UX wonderings.
Please enjoy the show! And tell your friends! And click subscribe!
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Timestamps
0:00 Disruptors and curious minds
0:42 Doors & mapping = bad design
1:44 Design constraints
3:54 The Ikea Effect
7:24 Physical, cultural, semantic & logical
11:03 We're baffled, man
13:55 Skeuomorphic - wtf?
17:12 When sound is quicker than light
20:07 What did we learn today?
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Check out these other episodes from the book club:
The design of everyday things chapter 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcZJqtxGrmw&ab_channel=ThinkingOnPaper
The Nexus, chapter 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFu2RtlE80o&t=472s&ab_channel=ThinkingOnPaper
The Nexus, chapter 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmoDWgDkZW8&t=58s&ab_channel=ThinkingOnPaper
Why this book, you ask?
In a world saturated with AI created content, human thought is more important and powerful than ever. But reading books isn’t enough. You have to read the right books: books which have stood the test of time; books applicable across domains; books that are as relevant today as they will be in ten, fifty, a hundred years time.
At least that’s what we think.
Which is why our next book was first published in 1988.
It’s a story of how people interact with technology. The good, the bad and the ugly of UX and design. What works and what doesn’t. Why it works and the frameworks and mental models that will help you improve your own designs, whatever they may be.
Storytelling, design constraints, human error, culture, competitive forces, launching a new product, complexity, human-centred design. You’ll never look at your kettle or a web page in the same way again.
Here’s a quote:
‘If I were placed in the cockpit of a modern jet airliner, my inability to perform well would neither surprise nor bother me. But why should I have trouble with doors and light switches, water faucets and stoves?”
And here’s another:
“Good design requires good communication, especially from machine to person, indicating what actions are possible, what is happening, and what is about to happen.”
Drop your comments below!
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About:
We are two writers trying to understand emerging technology via the written word. Having a book club where we could share ideas and improve our thinking together with the TOP community was always part of the plan.
Jeremy is a futurist, writer, and nexus thinker with a near twenty year history at the intersection of technology, entertainment and brand. He is the co-founder of Tunewelders and SoundObjects and creator of the Write To Know You program.
Mark is a creative writer, futurist thinker and trainee Nexus thinker. He writes, researches and thinks about web3 and emerging technology for LVMH and Culture3.
Links To The Show:
Sign up to the book club - http://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/bookclub
Connect With Mark - https://linktr.ee/markfielding
Connect With Jeremy - https://www.jeremygilbertson.com/
#bookclub #bookcommunity #emergingtechnologies #uxdesign

Mar 12, 2024 • 55min
Jaime Schwarz: Can You Live In A Parallel World In The Spatial Transformation Era?
This week we're introducing you to 2 new WEB3 terms - KYP and Spatial transformation!
The episode is called Parallel Worlds, launching the spatial transformation era because our guest is doing just that.
After a 15 year career as an award winning copywriter and creative director for NYC ad agencies, Jaime Schwarz starting building a brand-centric system for company betterment around product-market fit.
He launched https://brandtherapy.coach/ to train companies to see from their brand's perspective while filing the world's first NFT patents to empower branded digital products.
Last year, he started teaching brands to literally speak for themselves with TheBrandTherapistGPT and building on his now-granted patents with MRKD, a fundamentally new kind of NFT.
Today he is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Parallel Worlds (https://www.parallelworlds.us/), a consortium of web3 companies working together to offer the first, full stack, spatial transformation studio.
Please Enjoy The Show!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This episode is brought to you by Wripple - Marketing’s On-demand talent platform.
- Get your company matched with vetted freelancers in real time.
- If you’re talent, get qualified opportunities with top brands.
- Now featuring AI, Web3 and blockchain talent across verticals.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jeremy is a futurist, writer, and nexus thinker working at the intersection of technology, entertainment and brand. He is the co-founder of Tunewelders and SoundObjects and creator of the Write To Know You program.
Mark is a creative writer, futurist thinker and trainee Nexus thinker. He writes, researches and thinks about web3 and emerging technology for LVMH and Culture3.
Links To The Show:
Join the book club - http://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/bookclub
Connect With Mark - https://linktr.ee/markfielding
Connect With Jeremy - https://www.jeremygilbertson.com/
#emergingtechnologies #ai #web3 #nftcommunity #nfts #kyc #kyp #virtualreality #ar #blockchain #ai

Mar 5, 2024 • 22min
Book Club: The Design Of Everyday Things (Part 3) - Is The Knowledge In Your Head Better Than The Knowledge In The World?
Disruptors and Curious minds! Welcome to the Thinking On Paper Book Club. This week we're reading chapter three of The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman.
Buy on amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654
Why are we reading this book?
Have you’ve ever wondered why your dishwasher won’t stop beeping? Or why your favourite website is so intuitive, yet Amazon is a clunky cesspit of UX?
Why do you walk into glass doors? Why do you love some of your technology, but can’t stand your new iPhone?
The answer is design.
Good design, and bad design.
And this is the book that explains the difference.
In a world saturated with AI created content, human thought is more important and powerful than ever. But reading books isn’t enough. You have to read the right books: books which have stood the test of time; books applicable across domains; books that are as relevant today as they will be in ten, fifty, a hundred years time.
At least that’s what we think.
Which is why our next book was first published in 1988.
It’s a story of how people interact with technology. The good, the bad and the ugly of UX and design. What works and what doesn’t. Why it works and the frameworks and mental models that will help you improve your own designs, whatever they may be.
Storytelling, design constraints, human error, culture, competitive forces, launching a new product, complexity, human-centred design. You’ll never look at your kettle or a web page in the same way again.
Reviews of this book
"The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman is a timeless classic that has been reshaping the way people think about design since its publication in 1988. The book is a fascinating exploration of the ways in which everyday objects are designed, and how those designs can either help or hinder the people who use them."
"The Design of Everyday Things" is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It explores the design of everyday things through the lens of human psychology. Not only that, ill-designed objects stir frustration into their users, but they can also lead to fatal errors."
Read more - https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/the-design-of-everyday-things-en
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - -
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdDfMZpNXV0&t=95s
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#books #bookclubs #bookcommunity #design #donnorman #thedesignofeverydaythings #designpodcasts #gooddesign #bookreviews
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Timestamps
0:00 Welcome to the book club
2:00 Knowledge in the head V Knowledge in the world
3:21 Cultural metaphors and design
5:33 How does this impact design?
7:10 Leave The World Behind
9:46 Admin - Spammin
12:58 Colour Your Memories
15:31 Write things down
17:55 Jeremy in the toilet
19:19 Horde mentality & mapping

Mar 5, 2024 • 49min
If XR is going to be what the world believes it can be, sound has to be a primary consideration and not an afterthought
Disruptors and curious minds!
This week, we explore the implications and effects of sound and music in digital experiences and ask what the internet of the future will sound like.
Sound hits the brain before visual information, and our brain is looking for reasons not to believe something is real. Have you ever jumped into XR experiences with beautiful visuals only to hear a very flat stereo audio complement? If XR is going to be what the world believes it can be, sound has to be a primary consideration and not an afterthought.
Jason Todd Shannon is a nexus thinker, interdisciplinary builder, producer and creative technologist. Jason’s work appears on Netflix, iHeartMedia and within campaigns for major brands like the Atlanta Hawks. His new company ECHODROME specializes in high-quality music production, scoring, immersive audio, sound design, audio post-production, and game engine audio, offering a seamless fusion of traditional artistry with state-of-the-art technology.
Please Enjoy The Show! And tell you friends! And click subscribe!
Check out these relevant videos:
Are children ever too young to learn blockchain? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnXxHHdjM64&ab_channel=ThinkingOnPaper
Art, science and tech at the Nexus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy5ou5aUhTA&t=3314s&ab_channel=ThinkingOnPaper
Quantum computing crash course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9TOUKv7e38&t=398s&ab_channel=ThinkingOnPaper
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Timestamps
0:00 Disruptors and Curious Minds
3:20 Jason Shannon!
4:22 Connecting domains In music
6:39 The challenges of playing live music on the internet
8:53 Why The Internet Suffers From Delay
12:00 Spatial audio game engines
12:50 What Are Ambisonics?
19:14 Sound triangulation in the metaverse
23:58 Designing the soundscape of the next internet
33:38 Iteration & VR adoption
36:06 Virtual concerts V IRL concerts
41:02 The brand audio angle
- - - - - - - - - --
This episode is brought to you by Wripple - Marketing’s On-demand talent platform.
- Get your company matched with vetted freelancers in real time.
- If you’re talent, get qualified opportunities with top brands.
- Now featuring AI, Web3 and blockchain talent across verticals.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jeremy is a futurist, writer, and nexus thinker working at the intersection of technology, entertainment and brand. He is the co-founder of Tunewelders and SoundObjects and creator of the Write To Know You program.
Mark is a creative writer, futurist thinker and trainee Nexus thinker. He writes, researches and thinks about web3 and emerging technology for LVMH and Culture3.
Links To The Show:
Join the book club - http://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/bookclub
Connect With Mark - https://linktr.ee/markfielding
Connect With Jeremy - https://www.jeremygilbertson.com/
#emergingtechnology #web3 #techandculture #emergingtechnologies #internetculture

Feb 13, 2024 • 28min
#61 Pentakill Rock League Of Legends: How Riot Games Created A World-Leading Computer Game Music Strategy
Disruptors and curious minds! Get your joypads out, load up your games, and hit start! Because we've got a barnstorming episode for you on music strategy for video games from League of legends and former head of music at Riot Games, Toa Dunn.
Let's unpack the box: You'll learn about:
🎮How do game companies like Riot Games think, build and execute their music strategy for games? How did League of Legends give you virtual bands like Pentakill and K/DA... and more importantly, why did they do it?
🎮 From Music, development, distribution and A&R, to marketing, storytelling. In-house musicians, DJs, bands, video games are the perfect example of interdisciplinary teams. And it is a complex and fine edge to get the balance and trust right, to get the strategy right. Without it there is no Pentakill, no e-sports, no Fortnite.
🎸 On this episode of Thinking on Paper, we speak to Toa Dunn, former head of music at riot games. For over a decade, Toa managed the music strategy and developed a new core business model around music experiences at Riot Games, helping to take #leagueoflegends - and the virtual bands created from characters in game - to 200 million monthly players.
Now he is taking that vast well of experience and focusing on generating meaningful impact across entertainment and technology as a music and gaming strategist.
Please Enjoy The Show.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Disruptors and curious minds
0:36 The Book Club
1:29 Tech V Music
2:09 Our Sponsors Wripple
2:36 Who Is Toa Dunn?
4:15 Music Strategy For Riot Games
7:28 Music In Lacrosse (wtf?)
8:19 Hiring The Right Partners At League Of Legends
10:23 Understanding Your Players
12:23 Decision Matrix: New Songs or Back Catalogues?
13:53 Virtual Bands - LOL & Pentakill
19:39 Building Teams At Riot Games
25:05 K/DA
27:46 Building Trust Between Teams
33:58 How Music Is Shaping Video Games
39:25 Video Games Shaping The Future
45:14 Old Men V The Next Generation
49:25 Jazz Lessons And Improvisation
52:02 Final Thoughts
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Quotes from the show
“For more narrative driven games music can have more of an upfront kind of role in that experience. So the #musicstrategy can be quite different.”
“We started off kind of trying to figure out what music's role could be in League of Legends.”
“I approached it from the lens of how music could add to the experience.”
“We had reached out to The Crystal Method and ended up producing a song to help launch and release this new character Lucian.”
“I used to be nervous because you never know if the players are actually going to like what you're about to deliver until they get it in their hands and they play.”
“Our first band was #Pentakill, a heavy metal band.”
“We treated them like a real band and that was kind of an Experiment. But it resonated really well with our players.”
“K/DA did not exist, there were many characters to select from so we went through this creative and strategic process to figure out the roles (and characters) of this band.”
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Jeremy is a futurist, writer, and nexus thinker working at the intersection of technology, entertainment and brand. He is the co-founder of Tunewelders and SoundObjects and creator of the Write To Know You program.
Mark is a creative writer, futurist thinker and trainee Nexus thinker. He writes, researches and thinks about web3 and emerging technology for LVMH and Culture3.
Links To The Show:
Join the book club - http://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/bookclub
Connect With Mark - https://linktr.ee/markfielding
Connect With Jeremy - https://www.jeremygilbertson.com/