Oblong Online: Michael Slaby: "For All The People," in conversation with Beth Comstock

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Michael Slaby, a leader in digital communication and grassroots political campaigns, talks with corporate marketing and media expert, innovator and author, Beth Comstock about his new book FOR ALL THE PEOPLE which examines how the internet and modern media have undermined America and how we can reclaim our voices for the good of civic life.

Built on a diversity of voices, our online freedom was supposed to spark a democratic transformation. But our platforms don’t work for us—we’re the inventory and our outrage fuels a tech revolution optimized for profit, not civic life. In FOR ALL THE PEOPLE, Slaby presents the four core areas which can be reclaimed to work better for all of us: platforms, government institutions, corporations, and even the users ourselves. He breaks down how we got here, and how we, the users, can work toward a better democracy through tech.

Michael Slaby was a fellow at the Shorenstein Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and served as deputy digital director and chief technology officer for the Obama for America campaign in 2008, and as Chief Integration and Innovation Officer in 2012 where he oversaw all of technology and analytics for the campaign. As a world leader in digital strategy and technology, Slaby has devoted his career to repairing our broken information systems. He currently serves as Chief Strategist at Harmony Labs where he works on accelerating media reform and transformation. Michael is a graduate of Brown University and now lives with his wife, author Lydia Hill Slaby, and family in Rhinebeck.

Beth Comstock is driven to understand what's next, navigate change and help others do the same. She spent nearly three decades at GE, as Chief Marketing Officer and then Vice-Chair of Innovation, and has consistently led efforts to accelerate new growth, develop digital and clean-energy futures, seed new businesses, and enhance brand value.  As President of Integrated Media at NBCUniversal, she oversaw TV ad revenue and digital media efforts, including the early development of hulu.com. She is also the author of Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change (2018).