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The AMC2014 Social Media Parallel Universe (our big round up of posts, blogs, video, and audio)

AMC2014 was four beautiful days in June: learning, building, exploring, and dancing in Detroit. But parallel to that universe another Allied Media Conference was taking place… on the Internet.

The Internet AMC lived in tens of thousands of tweets and Instagram posts, Facebook statuses and Tumbles. It was as lively and provocative and abundant as the physical version of the AMC, and in some instances, the worlds merged, bringing together online communities in physical space such as the Queer People of Color Tumblr Meet-up and the Black Femme Bloggers Meet-Up.

Search the #AMC2014 or the #AlliedMediaConference hashtags on Tumblr to see the expansive content from the weekend catalogued there – from fundraisers leading up to the AMC to art and writing inspired by the conference. On Instagram, the #AMC2014 hashtag revealed a view of the AMC’s beauty from the eyes of its beholders.

Of all the social media channels, Twitter was the most prolific, generating approximately 15,000 tweets under the #AMC2014 hashtag. We were able to archive 15,000 tweets, which formed a kind of AMC tweet-novel. “Reading” the AMC in this way lets us see how ideas bubble up in different sessions and resonate with one another, or how ideas that were germinated in one session were further develop in another session later in the weekend.

Three tweet stories

We have compiled below some “three tweet stories,” our attempt to share with you some of the fascinating patterns of the AMC. Bedazzled throughout are some visual gems from Instagram.

A Tinfoil Hat & a Hammer
Morning sessions at #AMC2014 are so fantastic – we are learning about podcasting, making murals, surveillance and #visonaryfiction – @OutburstM

I just learned you can set up a 1800 # w answering machine on Skype to collect stories in .wav. WHAT #MINDBLOWN lolz #raisingup #AMC2014
–@msjoyluckclub

I just made a video game that involved a tinfoil hat & hammer. I heart #AMC2014 http://t.co/dNJsH4ITDD – @Chad_A_Johnston

At the Intersections
Having a hard time knowin when to give my writer-self, organizer-self, internet-self or survivor-self priority this weekend. #AMC2014 – @ninsiana0

Luckily there’re intentional & also unexpected intersections, like Octavia’s Brood, or People’s Science ala the Maker Movement. #AMC2014 – ninsiana0

“So happy i got to be all of me, all of my identies. #moveupfightback #amc2014 #mufbmidwest http://t.co/qz9NX7wSuF” – @FIERCENYC

Heart Fragments Combine
#AMC2014 what is it about this conference that makes me feel so safe? #Decolonize – @pinchefatpocho

I never get as many hugs in one day than on day one of the AMC. #AMC2014 – @caydenmak

Every person is a fragment of your heart that allows you to heal that part of yourself. Sterling Toles #AMC2014 – @caydenmak

Building Our Own Images
“What happens when our imaginations are broken?” Lisa Marie Alarorre #amc2014 #tjlove @alliedmediaconf” – @squaresoda

“We cannot keep depicting the forces we are fighting. We need to show the world we are building lovexjustice #AMC2014 http://t.co/5DJkz1uuWe” – @farrah_khan

Nothing happens in the “real” world unless it happens 1st in the images in our head #amc2014 #borderland – @whimzmc

Diverse Leadership
This is probably the most diverse group of people I have ever been amongst (and I live in Oakland). #AMC2014 – @ArtActivistNia

roomfuls of ppl who were taught to abhor themselves and people like them having respectful & constructive conversations #amc2014 – @neotenomie

One thing that I love love love about #amc2014 thus far is that so many sessions are led by women, queers, and people of color. – @onekade

Languages of the Future
humans think and understand in stories not facts. #amc2014 – @DSKinsel

Visionary fiction can be a technology for possibility…time traveling to a future we can relate to. #AMC2014 #octaviasbrood – EchoingIda

Symbols transform into visual and cultural language. the meanings change depending on the “speakers” of said language #futuredesign #amc2014 – @rubayyai

Place-keeping: Visioning, Researching, Building
Gentrification is a system. It is a feeling and it is a collective loss of community/places. – ash #specccity #amc2014 – @hannahsassaman

Data collected outside our communities tells us we’ll fail, but #researchjustice shares info horizontally #AMC2014 http://t.co/UA1voOED5o – @aliciamwalters

We need to have a vision of our city and build our organizations, our stories, our lives to get there – @drewphilp #AMC2014 #placerace – @Monika_Dutt

Strength in Vulnerability
Inspired and moved by all the beautiful fat folks who shared their experiences during the last session. #AMC2014 #FATSPEAKS – @ladabeth

There is a strength in vulnerability #AMC2014 – @Nasma_Ahmed

#AMC2014 #fatspeaks! If that wasn’t the most moving 90 minutes of my recent memory, I will have to be on guard for what’s next. – @Nasma_Ahmed

Human Tech
Refuse to trustfall into future of tech. Tools won’t serve every1 until we change who’s involved not just in production, but design #amc2014 – @elle_mccann

A #makerspace is people and community, not just tools and technology #AMC2014 –@lounovak

we are the mediums #amc2014 – @arsabsurdia

Idea Explosion
Underground. Resistance. I legit can’t breathe. We are watching the godfathers of Detroit techno and it’s beautiful! #amc2014 – @tundeolaniran

The AMC embraces idea explosion as a constant state. Divergent not convergent. #AMC2014 #borderland – @joshdotfm

The past, present, and future are all existing right now. #AMC2014 – @DarkMatterRage

More AMC2014 documentation and reflections

The electricity of conversation continues to pulse online in blog posts reflecting on the experience of the AMC:

Many session presenters and content coordinators have also posted awesome documentation and reflections on their sessions:

AMC workshops generated some incredible audio and video:

This AMC Anthem was made in a music production workshop for kids led by BangTown Studios of Flint, MI. One of the featured performers has been attending the AMC since she was in utero.

This is a compilation of short videos, all shot and edited on mobile devices, from a workshop led by youth leaders from the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network:

Here is four hours of radio from the Detroit Freq Radio Station, which had a table in the AMC exhibition area attracting ciphers and good conversation throughout the weekend.

“Swiping New Art Into Reality! A short video from the AMC Future Design Lab. Based on a future where all people have access to mesh networking queer AI supaphones that can make your dreams of liberation real.”

Watch highlights from the Really Rad Radio & TV Station that was broadcasting live throughout the weekend:

See also: the MAG Net #mediajustice show and a recording of the AMC2014 Opening Ceremony.

And this year, we made our own video about the AMC. We think its pretty rad. Check it out and share!

We know there is more out there! Please contact us with any other links that should be added to this social media round-up. Save the date for 17th annual AMC: June 18 – 21, 2015.

The AMC is a year-round organizing process. Help us continue building and organizing towards next year by becoming a sustainer.