Night Nomads.

The Night Nomads exist to facilitate bold, daring and sometimes uncomfortable conversations around the way in which digital technology is changing our lives... for better or for worse.

Run over three consecutive Wednesday evenings in March, the events feature outstanding digital legends who have a free license to engage, provoke and challenge us to think differently about our digital futures.

Straying from a normal business event format, the Night Nomads are a rare opportunity to tackle three modern digital dilemmas and their impact on society. How do we consciously design a positive digital future for us and our kids? 

2021 Events at a glance

Nomad 1: Eliminating hate speech online.

Imagine a world where online hate speech is non-existent. Where we can peacefully talk through the differences in opinions; where cyberbullying is eradicated and where social media is not used as a tool for violence.  

Date: Wed 3rd March 
Location: The Precinct, Fortitude Valley
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Nomad 2: RIP online advertising. Overhauling the internet’s business model.  

Welcome to an ad-free internet, one which reflects the ideals that created the internet in the first place. Now, how do we sell stuff? Who is paying for the internet and what happened to that company we once called Google? 

Date: Wed 10th March
Location: The Prince Consort, Fortitude Valley
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Nomad 3: Moving beyond our digital addictions into the promise of technology.

Technology was meant to make life better, to cut down our working hours, to make us productive, to help us. The reality is, it’s not. But what if we could reach a utopia ... where phones are friends; technology is supporting life and doomscrolling is dead.

Date: Wed 17th March
Location: Tipplers Tap, Fortitude Valley
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Our collection of digital experts

Sheryl Batchelor
Founder & Director Yiliyapinya Indigenous Corporation 
Kate Cook
Director + Forensic Marketing Consultant SPT Agency Pty. Ltd
Sam Daley
Head of Design Liquid Interactive 
David Douglas
Postdoctoral Fellow CSIRO
Katharine Gelber
Head of School, Professor of Politics & Public Policy The University of Queensland 
Philip Green
Privacy Commissioner Office of the Information Commissioner 
Justin Hendrix
CEO and Editor Tech Policy Press
Rob Hudson
Managing Director SpoutLogic
Jessie Hughes
New Media Artist and Technologist
Sue Johnson
Marketing Director Spicers Retreats
Fareed Kaviani
Doctoral Researcher, Monash Sustainable Development Institute Monash University 
Marek Kowalkiewicz
Founding Director QUT Centre for the Digital Economy 
Cat Matson
Manager, Economic & Community Development Ipswich City Council
Scott McDougall
Commissioner Queensland Human Rights Commission
Kathryn Modecki
Senior Lecturer Psychology Griffith University & Faculty Associate, Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society
Simone Vrabac
Director | Digital Platforms Branch ACCC
Jillian C. York
Director for International Freedom of Expression Electronic Frontier Foundation (Berlin)

2021 Theme: From a dystopian reality to a utopian digital future 

Our current reality reads like science fiction. We are characters in a dystopian novel, waiting for a hero to bring us back to our normal lives. 

Fiction has become reality. 

We’ve read the books (Atwood), watched the TV shows (Black Mirror) and debated the movies (the Matrix). We are constantly surrounded by stories about our potentially disturbing futures - we just never think they will become real.  

Whilst this pandemic was not brought on by technology, the next global apocalypse might be. There are plenty of stories based on the unintended consequences of the omnipresent technology we are creating. 

However, with every potential dystopian future there is an equally powerful utopian scenario. One which sees us healthy, peaceful, safe, sustainable - living happily ever after. 

What will happen if we reverse our fate, heed the warnings of authors, artists and filmmakers and consciously build a utopian digital future? 

This edition of the Night Nomads will use wit, trepidation, complexity and intelligence to tackle three modern digital dilemmas - online hate, digital addiction and an ad-free internet - to truly design a better future for us and future generations.  

Join us to explore the intended consequences of a positive digital future.

Past Night Nomads Series

2019: Rising above the darker side of digital
The darker side of digital is here, whether we like it or not. Something Digital’s inaugural Night Nomad series facilitated three frank and confronting conversations around the way in which digital technology is interfering with our lives. From data weaponisation to intimacy and our new robot servants, we asked tough questions found answers in all the dark places. Read More >>
2020: The internet and its humanity
The internet is a reflection of our humanity. It magnifies our ability to do good, to build communities, to create, to save lives; along with our dark side, the hate, fear, anger & frustrations of being human. The 2020 Night Nomad Series celebrated the internet whilst exploring the relationship between our real selves and our online personas. Read More >>
  • All Something Digital Night Nomads events will be run to an industry approved Covid-Safe plan.
  • This will include mandatory contact tracing and abiding by any other government restrictions in place at the time of the event.
  • We ask that you stay at home if you are unwell, have a cough, fever, sore throat, fatigue, shortness of breath, or have been in contact with a positive COVID-19 case.
  • In the lead up to the event, all registered attendees will receive communication about restrictions they may need to comply with (masks, vertical consumption etc).
  • It goes without saying that you should always do what feels right for you. Feel better wearing a mask, do that. Want to maintain a bit of extra distance whilst chatting, that's okay too. We are all in this together and encourage you to embrace the awkward.
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