On May 11, 2011, leading executive officers and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley industry and Stanford University humanities faculty and doctoral students came together at an event called The Human Experience.
The goal was to have a groundbreaking discussion on the ways in which highly trained, skilled, and creative humanities doctoral students can play a role in Silicon Valley businesses. The idea is to enlist “humanities” in the role of innovation.
The list of topics and speakers below:
Session I: How the Right Brain Helped Me Make a Billion, Win a Basketball Game, and Land This Gig
Keynote Address: Vivek Ranadivé
Session II: Silicon Valley Entry Points for Humanities Ph.D.s: Google, Social Media, Marketing, Product Design, and More
Keynote Address: Marissa Mayer
Interlude: Why You Should Quit Your Technology Job and Get a Humanities Ph.D.
Keynote Address: Damon Horowitz
Lunch Session: The Power of Pull
Keynote Address: John Hagel III
Session III: Bringing Humanities Ph.D. Innovation to Silicon Valley: The Case for Humanities Ph.D.s
Keynote Address: Patrick Byrne
Session IV: Future Ventures: Making the Leap from a Humanities Ph.D. to Silicon Valley
Keynote Address: Michael Moritz
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
