Eva Pascoe - "Social Space in a Virtual World: The First Ten Years of the Internet Cafe"

VIEW THE LIVE STREAM HERE (14th December 2004, 7-9pm)

CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISCUSSION BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE EVENT BY VISITING THE 'XMAS LECTURE' WIKI HERE.

PUT QUESTIONS TO EVA VIA EMAIL IN ADVANCE OF AND DURING THE EVENT <questions@cybersalon.org>.

About Eva Pascoe

Ms Pascoe first came to prominence in 1994 when she founded the world's first cybercafé. Her company, the highly successful Cyberia Group was responsible for the development of the high street cybercafe concept model and rolled it out worldwide.

In 1996 she co-founded the first cybercafé in Paris, the success of which has been applauded by the French Retail Council leading to a very special award, the Gold Medal of Madame de Commerce, sponsored by Madame Chirac.

Her journey into "cyberland" started in Poland, where she studied linguistics and worked on the early computer-based speech simulation models. She then moved to London to study Cognitive Psychology at London University where she worked on computer-based risk management.   She was involved in the development and design of interfaces and her research focused on designing computer interfaces for use in nuclear power stations as well as in the emergency services.

Since 1997 she has been contributing to The Independent and Guardian commenting on the lastest trends in IT and global technology. She has been awarded both the Grand Award and the Design Award by The Sunday Times for her contribution to the Information Superhighway A regular guest on Newsnight and The Midnight Hour, she has survived a number of verbal battles with Jeremy Paxman, and has been invited to contribute to the debate on the future shape of the BBC On-line.

In 1998 she co-founded Zoom.co.uk, bringing the first fashion shops on line, amongst them Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and many other high street fashion chains. As Managing Director of Zoom she worked on a number of innovative on-line e-commerce solutions for Philip Green and Stuart Rose (CEO of M&S).   Recently she has set up a new venture, combining her human-computer interface and e-commerce expertise in the new area of
m-commerce.

About The Xmas Lecture

This will be the fourth NMK/Cybersalon Christmas Lecture. The lecture was established in 2001 as an opportunity for leading members of the UK new media industry to talk freely about their work and speculate about how media and communications technologies are interacting and impacting on society, economics, politics and culture. Lectures are attended by a mixture of new media professionals, academics, commentators, journalists and policy makers.

In previous lectures, Professor Jonathan Briggs has discussed the role of Internet technologies in helping to rebuild war-torn Kosova, journalist Bill Thompson has wondered if big business is destroying the Internet and Dr Richard Barbrook has pondered the shape of nets to come. You can find reports on all of these at <www.nmk.co.uk> or <www.cybersalon.org>.

About NMK and Cybersalon

New Media Knowledge <www.nmk.co.uk> is a not-for-profit body owned by the University of Westminster, one of the country's leading educational institutions for digital media. Established in 1998, NMK has worked to support and develop the UK's emerging digital media industries, through a programme of events, seminars, courses, research projects and publications. Over the course of this period, NMK has worked extensively with digital media businesses, policy makers and public sector agencies to deliver support, advice and learning, and encourage best business practice.

Cybersalon <www.cybersalon.org> is a "community of interest" - a network of new media practitioners, artists, academics, commentators and entrepreneurs motivated by the liberating and creative potential of the new Internet and communication technologies. Cybersalon has built a strong reputation for pioneering critical debate and platforming developments in new media and digital art.   The organisation has a well-established track record of activities over the past 7 years having hosted regular discussion forums, devised innovative digital arts projects, developed technology based communication products and organised larger festivals such as Cybersonica - the International Festival of Music, Sound & Technology.