A free sports stream, a digital archive of growing up, and a conversation in which someone tries to “corner us” may not appear to have much in common. Still, each of these examples shows how valuable attention can be, whether we want to attract it, retain it, exploit it, or bring it back under our control.
These topics will be addressed by three speakers in the conference program of the 14th edition of SoMo Borac powered by Aleph, which will bring together the regional digital, marketing, and media industry on October 23 at Zagreb’s Tvornica kulture.
Miruna Herovanu, Executive Director of the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA), who is being brought to this year’s SoMo Borac by HUDI, will explore the less visible side of illegal sports broadcasts. Her presentation, The Underbelly of Piracy, will show how content that appears to be free entertainment can become a gateway to data theft, phishing, and the spread of malware.
A particular focus will be placed on the ways artificial intelligence is changing piracy operations. After shutdowns, domains and hosting infrastructure can be re-established more quickly, while phishing campaigns are becoming more convincing and effective. Sports content therefore often serves as bait for operations whose consequences extend far beyond unauthorized viewing of broadcasts.
A different relationship with attention will be presented by director, producer, and author Filip Filković Philatz. In the presentation 200 Million Reasons Not to Chase Attention, he will speak about nostalgia, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, as well as the kind of content audiences genuinely choose to stay with.
The starting point will be his Spomenar, a digital archive of everyday life in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s that has achieved a multimillion reach on social media. Using the project, which grew out of a personal creative experiment, Philatz will show how the recognizable experience of one generation can develop into content that finds a much broader audience, without relying on a constant search for new ways to capture attention.
The third part of the program shifts attention from content to direct communication. Psychologist, scientist, and police psychology expert Ivana Glavina Jelaš will deliver the presentation De-escalation: A Solution for Uncomfortable, Stressful, and Crisis Situations. She will discuss how to respond in conversations in which the other person humiliates, provokes, or attempts to take control, as well as how techniques used by police negotiators can be applied in professional and private situations.
SoMo Borac powered by Aleph will take place on October 23 at Tvornica kulture in Zagreb. Tardy Bird tickets are available until September 30, after which they will be sold at full price, while project submissions are open until September 29.
