Jared Ficklin

Visions From the Man Cave
Five Influences for Digital Partying

"I think social situations benefit from lasers, RFID, sensors, hacked Kinects, even fire.  Because of this I am no longer permitted to work on my projects in the house so I had to build a special space in order to prepare for events.  That space is known as my Man Cave, where my inspiration comes from the cluttered shelving below a vintage Coors Colorado Cool Aid lamp shade. In my presentation I'll be sharing examples of party tech and interactive art."

Jared has spent the last decade doing User Experience and Interaction Design as Principal Technologist for frog design. His love of music, technology and performance has led him to become an amateur party producer and a regular guest at conferences around the world. He is also the Co-Director of the Austin Public Skatepark Action Committee and lived as a cowboy in 1867.

Every March in Austin TX Jared organizes the frog party, a collective social experiment for a few thousand people, with music, an open bar and always an examination of some facet of technology in social situations. Driven by a passion for sound visualization and physical computing, he has developed a number of interactive installations for various events.