People and Publications: How do in-person events build connection and community?

Listen to the episode on all good podcast providers: it can be found here on Apple.

While we once enjoyed community and literature in person, perhaps through a book club, now, with online platforms, people are finding more like-minded individuals online, as shown by the popularity of 'BookTok' on TikTok. However, can you form a real bond with someone on a shared passion online?

To help us explore this, I went on the road to speak to Richard Kilgariff. Richard is a former television journalist, producer and television executive. He then moved into the world of books, running a series of initiatives (Books For Breakfast, bookomi., Author Insights) that discuss wide-ranging topics in a collaborative conversation with the author and the audience.

We discuss the beginnings of digital television (long before YouTube), social media regulation, the attention economy and the magic of in-person events for connecting and sharing insights. Books and programmes we referenced during the conversation include: The Social Dilemma, Tiny Experiments, Love Factually, and Why Information Grows.

Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.