London

Writer, consultant and entrepreneur, Matt Mason is an expert on how youth culture drives innovation and is changing the way the world works. He is the author of The Pirate's Dilemma: How Youth Culture Reinvented Capitalism, on the problems and opportunities created by the rise of piracy and its potential as a business model.

Trends emerging from youth culture are blurring long-established boundaries between right and wrong and unraveling some of our most basic assumptions about business, society and our collective future. Ideas that started within punk, disco, hip-hop, rave, graffiti and gaming have been combined with new technologies and taken to new heights by the generations that grew up under their influence. When piracy is just another business model, the remix is our most powerful marketing tool, and anyone with a computer is capable of reaching more people than a multi-national corporation, what do you do?

Matt Mason has the answer. He's explored the problems these new trends pose to business and the opportunities they represent. When pirates create value for society and society gets behind their creations, it doesn't matter how many lawsuits you throw at the problem—you are assaulting your own potential future. This reality positions piracy as a new business model. Matt speaks on how this model works and how it applies to your business. The Pirate's Dilemma was awarded Best Pirate in its list of Best and Worst of Everything 2008 by BusinessWeek.