News about DIP and news generated by DIP

Below is a list of recent news about and by Dancing Ink Productions. A catalog of speaking appearances is available here. Please contact us for speaking invitations.

For current news, information, commentary and analysis, DIP publishes The Imagination Age, blog, an ongoing report of findings and observations and exploration of the Imagination Age through technology, art, innovation, business enterprise efforts and virtual worlds.

Recent Press about Dancing Ink Productions & The Imagination Age

2011

• March 19, 2011, Fox & Friends, on Fox News. Rita J. King appeared on a panel of nuclear experts discussing the fate of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.
• March 18, 2011, Kilmeade and Friends. Rita J. King was interviewed on this Fox radio show about the situation surrounding the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
• March 17, 2011, America’s Newsroom on Fox News. Rita J. King was interviewed about the ongoing concerns about the dangers surrounding the failing Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
• March 16, 2011, Rita J. King was interviewed by Fox News Radio in North Carolina about the nuclear crisis in Japan.
• March 16, 2011, The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News. Rita J. King discussed the danger and significance of the spent fuel rods at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
• March 16, 2011,
• March 14, 2011, The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News, “Could U.S. Nuclear Plants Withstand Natural Disaster?“ Rita J. King was interviewed by Bill O’Reilly about the possibility of earthquake-related nuclear reactor failures similar to the ones in Japan.
• March 14, 2011, Russia’s RT America, Rita J. King was interviewed about  nuclear reactor safety in the US.
• March 14, 2011, FOX News, Could an Earthquake Cause a Nuclear Disaster in America?. Rita J. King is interviewed about nuclear power plant safety in the United States.
• March 12, 2011, Scientific American, Failure of Imagination Can Be Deadly: Fukushima is a Warning. Rita J. King writes an invited essay examining how reporting on nuclear reactors intersects with industry philosophy and scientific concerns, relevant to the March 10, 2011 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Japan, which caused a tsunami, massive blackouts and destabilized two nuclear power plants.
• March 10, 2011, Business Innovation Factory, Exploring Hybrid Realities. Rita J. King and Joshua Fouts spoke about Hybrid Realities at the Business Innovation Factory explaining how new forms of creative collaboration can help organizations work better.
• February 25, 2011, The Wall Street Journal, Culture City Online: Maps for Artistic Cheapskates, JetSetters, by Pia Catton. Highlights the work DIP did telling the cultural relations story of Battery Dance Company.
• February 18, 2011, Continent, “Technologies of the Imagination.” An invited essay by Rita J. King and Joshua Fouts in the inaugural issue of a Continent new journal “devoted to mapping a topology of unstable confluences and ranges across new thinking, traversing interstices and alternate directions in culture, theory, biopolitics and art.”
• February 17, 2011, Justnotes.ru, Почему виртуальные миры играют важную роль в изменении арабского мира, Russian profile of the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project.
• February 8, 2011, Benevolent Media, “The Great Debate: Tweeting the Revolution“. Addresses Rita J. King’s February 8 Mashable article.
• February 8, 2011, Mashable, Why Virtual Worlds Play an Important Role in the Changing Arab World, by Rita J. King.
• January 19, 2011, Marketplace Radio, “China tries to polish image in U.S. with TV ads,” by Scott Tong. Joshua Fouts was interviewed about China’s new branding outreach effort in the United States during the State visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao.
• January 10, 2011, The Atlantic Magazine, “Finding Time: A Response to Rob Walker on Digital Afterlife” by Rita J. King. Rita J. King writes an essay in The Atlantic Magazine in response to The New York Times Magazine article “Cyberspace When You’re Dead” by Rob Walker.
• January 5, 2011, The New York Times Magazine, “Cyberspace When You’re Dead” by Rob Walker. This expansive article explores what happens to one’s digital remains after they die. It includes a lengthy interview with Rita J. King about digital identity, excerpts of which can also be found on The Imagination Age blog.

2010

• November 4, 2010, TEDxNASA, “Creative Collaboration.” video of Rita J. King’s speech at TEDxNASA
• November 4, 2010, The Newport News Daily Press, covered Rita J. King’s speech at TEDxNASA.
• November 1, 2010, Grid Wrap, Rita J. King and Joshua Fouts were interviewed in the virtual world of Second Life about the possibility for virtual worlds to empower international peace.
• October 29, 2010, Virtually Speaking, Rita J. King and Joshua Fouts were interviewed by Education Technologist, Andrew Wheeler, inside the virtual world of Second Life about cultural relations in virtual worlds.
• October 21, 2010, Stay Out Of School, The Artist Interviews: Rita J. King, Writer. Elizabeth King (no relation to Rita J. King) interviews Rita J. King about education, work, art and writing.
• September 17, 2010, Tummelvision, “Diplomacy, politics and virtual worlds.” Rita J. King and Joshua Fouts were interviewed in this hour-long episode about virtual worlds and their potential for improving cultural relations.
• September 2010, Business Innovation Factory, video of Rita J. King’s speech on digital identity and creative collaboration.
• September 2010, Business Innovation Factory, Rita J. King: The Muse of the New Digital Reality.
• September 10, 2010, The Christian Science Monitor, A Virtual World that breaks Real World Barriers. Journalist and author Ethan Gilsdorf, goes inside the virtual world of Second Life to further explore our 2008 project, Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds and the potential of virtual worlds for intercultural dialogue.
• September 1, 2010, PhiloSufi.com, The Ornament of the (Virtual) World: Second Life’s Al-Andalus.
• August 3, 2010 The New York Times, “Wringing Art out of Rubble in Detroit” reporter Melena Ryzik profiles surviving artists in Detroit, including Loveland creator and DIP collaborator Jerry Paffendorf.
• July 2010, RESET Magazine (print only, in Italian), “Islam digitale, nuova frontiera per l’integrazione” writer Elisa Pierandrei interviews Joshua Fouts about digital Islam. Read an excerpt here.
• June/July 2010 Saudi Aramco World “Al Andalus 2.0” Joshua Fouts tells the story about a community in the virtual world of Second Life exploring new ways to co-exist.
• June 2010 Bioneers Radio “From Soap Operas to Avatars: Digital Diplomacy and Making Fiction into Fact.” Rita J. King, Joshua Fouts and William Ryerson were interviewed about the power of storytelling for cultural relations and cultural education. Download the complete audio file here.
• March 4, 2010 National Public Radio Inchvesting In Detroit: A Virtual Realty by Sarah Hulett. Hulett interviews Jerry Paffendorf and DIP’s Rita J. King about Loveland.
• January 11, 2010 The Detroit News Detroit plot sells for $1 per square inch by Louis Aguilar.  Rita J. King is interviewed about her work with Jerry Paffendorf on his loveland project. Rita J. King is the largest investor in Loveland. She is chronicling her work on the Augmented Reality art project 1000 Inches in Loveland.

2009

• August 24, 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Berkeley, Iran and Diplomacy 2.0 by Matthew Stannard. Joshua Fouts is interviewed about the impact of social media on diplomacy.
• August 1, 2009 SocialMedia.biz The Ethics of Cultural Collaboration, by JD Lasica. Rita J. King is interviewed at the impact of social media on media, policy and cultural collaboration.
• July 21, 2009 IslamOnline.net The Future of Virtual Worlds: At the Crossroads Between Real and Sci-Fi, by Mohammed Yahia. Rita J. King is interviewed about the evolving image of virtual worlds.
• July 13, 2009 Virtual Worlds News “Louisiana to VirtualWorldsNews: Don’t Count Us Out.”
• May 9, 2009 Press TV “The Autograph,” Rita J. King and Joshua S. Fouts are interviewed by host Susan Modaress discussing Digital Diplomacy and their project “Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds.”
• May 5, 2009 Policy Innovations Magazine, “Digital Workforce Initiative Transforms Gulf Coast Job Prospects,” by Rita J. King. Rita wrote an op-ed about Louisiana non-profit 3D Squared and their efforts to restore Louisiana’s economy.
• April 17, 2009 VentureBeat Magazine, “How I became a Virtual World Believer,” by Rita J. King. Rita writes a guest column for VentureBeat about the ROI of Virtual Worlds.
• April 14, 2009 BBC Radio, “Pods & Blogs,” host Jamillah Knowles interviews Rita J. King and Joshua Fouts about the virtual newsroom project (the interview begins about 20 minutes in).
• April 13, 2009 The Chronicle of Higher Education, “American U. in Cairo Presents a Documentary About Second-Life Journalism,” by Steve Kolowich
• April 9, 2009 The Yale Globalist, “The Business of Brand America,” by Alex Soble.
• March 20, 2009 Inside Islam, “The Imagination Age and Digital Diplomacy,” by Kait Foley.
• March 16, 2009 Media Rights, “What is Machinima,” by Kathy Craven. The article explores the nuances of virtual world video and highlights DIP’s Rita J. King and the work of our collaborators, Ill Clan Animation Studios.
• February 27 – March 12, 2009 The Layalina Review, “The Elusive Undersecretary.” Joshua S. Fouts is quoted discussing candidates for US Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy.
• 13-26, 2009 The Layalina Review, “New Media Redefines Public Diplomacy,” Joshua S. Fouts is quoted in article reviewing how Internet technologies are changing the stakes and terms in public diplomacy.
• February 16, 2009 — New World Notes, “Understanding Islam in Second Life, the Mixed Reality Report,” by Wagner James Au. Au describes the findings as, “A fascinating clash of best intentions and actual spiritual desires, transplanted into the virtual realm.”
• February 16, 2009 — Abu Dhabi’s The National, “A ‘second life’ for public diplomacy in the Middle East,” by Dr. Muhammad Ayish, a professor of communication at the University of Sharjah. Professor Ayish offers this observation on Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds: “The project’s use of Second Life virtual experiences, where internet users can interact with each other through avatars to engage in intercultural dialogue, is indeed a pioneering initiative.”
• February 13, 2009 — Religion Dispatches, “Dreaming Cyborg Dreams: Virtual Identity and Religious Experience,” by Rachel Wagner. This article explores how games, television and virtual worlds open up new areas of study for the role of virtual identity. Article cites research done in the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project.
• February 11, 2009 — National Journal Online, “Clinton State Department Looks To Boost Online Presence,” by Amy Harder. Harder interviews Joshua Fouts about how well the State Department is using technology.
• February 10, 2009 — Abu Dhabi’s The National, “Call for greater online cultural dialogue,” by Roland Hughes. The article reports on the development of the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project.
• February 6, 2009 — Radio Islam, “Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds” (archive) Joshua Fouts was interviewed by RadioIslam.com host Tuba Mujahid about the findings of the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project.
• February 5, 2009 — SL Talk, “Kulturelle Emergenz in SL – Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds,” by Michael Wald.
• February 4, 2009 — Softer Power, “An Ideal Word (On Screen),” by David Earl.  Earl reviews the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds report.
• February 2, 2009 — Soft Power Beacon, “Understanding Islam, Digitally,” by Paul Kretkowski.
• January 30, 2009 — TishShute.com, “Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds,” Tish Shute reports on the release of the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project.
• January 26, 2009 — IslamOnline.net, “Welcome to War 2.0” by Mohammed Yahia. Joshua S. Fouts was interviewed on the use of social media tools in and around the conflict in Gaza.
• January 23, 2009 — Religion Dispatches, “Virtual Islam: Peace, Love and Some Understanding?” by Bill Berkowitz.  Joshua Fouts interviewed about the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project. This article was syndicated and also appeared on New Zealand’s Scoop and FreeDetainees.org among others.
• January 22, 2009 — United Press International/UPI.com, “Israel Tweets Gaza Conflict,” by Aram Zucker-Scharff. Joshua Fouts interviewed about the use of social media tools in the conflict in Gaza.
• January 15, 2009 — BBC Radio, “Gaza, Gadgets, women and tech,” hosted by Jamillah Knowles.  Joshua S. Fouts was interviewed by the BBC Radio 5 about the role of new technology and the conflict in Gaza.
• January 13, 2009 — TIME Magazine, “Facebook Users Go to War over Gaza,” by Deena Gudzer.  Article interviews Rita J. King about the power of social networking sites for political activism.
• January 5, 2009 — Press TV‘s “Hearts & Minds” program.  Rita J. King appeared discussing the “US and the Latest Middle East Crisis.”
• January 5, 2009 — BoingBoing.net, Cory Doctorow spotlights the January 29, 2009 release of the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds report.

2008

• December 31, 2008 — Read, Write & View: “How the Israeli Consulate Brought the State to the People.” An interview with Joshua S. Fouts about the Israeli Consulate of New York’s use of Twitter as a foreign policy and public diplomacy outreach tool.
• December 24, 2008 — Press TV‘s “Hearts & Minds” program. Joshua S. Fouts appeared discussing, the “Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World” a National Intelligence Council report predicting global economic, social and political trends in 2025.
• Fall 2008 — Parabola Magazine: Endpoint.  Parabola Magazine‘s Fall 2008 “Man and Machine” issue features DIP’s Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project.
• July 21, 2008 — Metanomics.net: The Imagination Age. Rita J. King and Joshua S. Fouts appeared on Second Life’s business and economics program to discuss new projects at DIP, including “Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds.”
• July 14, 2008 — Metanomics.net: Manpower’s First Year in Second Life.  DIP hosted an event called the “Power of Collaboration” exploring lessons learned during Manpower’s first year in Second Life.  Second Life’s public affairs program, Metanomics.net in collaboration with SLCN.tv simulcast the event life on the web and in Second Life.
• May 13, 2008 — Wired.com: Project Explores Islam Through Virtual Worlds. Wired’s Earnest Cavalli reports on the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project.
• May 6, 2008 — RaphKoster.com: From the Fire Pit to the Forbidden City.  Legendary game designer, Raph Koster, head of virtual world company, Metaplace and former Creative Director for Sony Online Entertainment, comments on DIP’s report chronicling IBM’s entrance into virtual worlds.  According to Raph the report “gives interesting insight into IBM’s moves in the virtual worlds space. It’s a mix of forward-thinking (they have people who do nothing but machinima?) and catch-up (I particularly liked the moment where a few IBM staffers decided on a definition of “virtual universe” in 2006 — fortunately, it matches the one all the rest of us use!). It’s not very long, and it’s an interesting read.  The report can be downloaded on our Findings and Reports page.
• April 5, 2008 — Current TV: Live from the Doha Forum. Ben Stein of Current TV features DIP’s “Live from the Doha Forum” video.
• February 11, 2008 — New World Notes: “Muslims and the Metaverse: Can Second Life Improve US-Islamic Relations?“

2007

• September 16, 2007 — The New York Times:  Exploring the Vast Business Potential of the Metaverse. The New York Times report Cynthia Magriel Wetzler profiles Dancing Ink Productions.