STUDIO CITY, CALIF. --- The Biola Media Conference welcomes one of the most influential voices in the digital revolution, co-founder of Wired Magazine and futurist Kevin Kelly, as keynote speaker at the 16th annual Biola Media Conference to be held at the CBS Studio Center lot in Studio City, Calif. on Sat., April 30, 2011. 
 
Kelly is a leading voice on technology and its cultural consequences.  In his recently released book, What Technology Wants, Kelly explores how technology is an “evolving organism that has its own unconscious needs and tendencies.” Using examples from the past, Kelly traces technology’s course to project where it is headed.  

With the music industry being radically transformed, book publishing following suit, and social media changing how we connect with an audience, entertainment and media industries agree that disruption has become the “new normal.”  As a result, this year’s Biola Media Conference will focus on priorities for the future.  The world has gone digital, but in that world, what matters now?

“The theme of the 2011 conference — "Beyond Digital:  What Matters Now" — will feature an in-depth look at the future of the entertainment industry at the 30,000 foot level and how that critically effects us now,” states Jack Hafer, producer of To End All Wars and chairman of Biola’s acclaimed Cinema and Media Arts Department. 

Kelly is also editor and publisher of the Cool Tools website, which gets half a million unique visitors per month. From 1984-1990, Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a journal of unorthodox technical news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers Conference, and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service.  He authored the best-selling books New Rules for the New Economy and Out of Control and just released his latest book, What Technology Wants. He remains a popularcontributor to the famed online lecture series "Ted Talks."

He will be joined by a supporting cast of workshop leaders including writer/producer and international story lecturer Bobette Buster, film consultant Thomas Ethan Harris, and more than a dozen other media professionals.

The Biola Media Conference, sponsored in part by Biola University’s Cinema and Media Arts Department, attracts more than 600 attendees – making it the largest event in the nation for people of faith working in the entertainment industry.  It is known for its intimate and practical conversations with Hollywood leaders, and professional training and instruction from some of the most influential individuals in film, TV, PR, media marketing, management and digital media. Conference topics cover every aspect of media related careers, technologies, and ministries from the creative, to the financial, to the production process.

For more information or to register online, visit www.biolamedia.com and take advantage of the early admission price of $135 until Jan. 31, 2011; $150 general admission from Feb. 1–April 24, 2010; and $180 at the door.  Lunch and coffee bar provided.