Mark Avnet

With over 25 years in media, technology, advertising, entertainment, marketing, psychology and education, Mark Avnet brings a unique focus to the study and use of technology and its impact on messaging, branding, and behavior.

Mark is a Media Psychologist, an expert on "why people behave as they do in a media-rich, mediated world," and is completing a Ph.D. in the subject. He maintains an ongoing practice in media psychology and media technology consulting through his company, Converging Arts.

Before founding Converging Arts, Mark served the dual roles of Chief Technology Officer of Lot21, an interactive marketing company, as well as Founder and Chief Developer of the Lot21 Development Lab, an internal R&D group focusing on emerging technologies. In this role, he was the author of a number of patent appiications targeting innovation in communication.

Prior to that, Mark was acting-CTO and Director of Production and Technology for APL Digital, a global interactive advertising agency. He led a team of producers, programmers, computer scientists and IT staff that was responsible for the execution of web strategies for Fortune 100 companies such as UPS, Ameritech, Iridium, Compaq, Lego, and others, as well as building groundbreaking enhanced TV applications.

Mark was previously Director of Production/Executive Producer of Hearst New Media/HomeArts Network, and founding Director of New Media/Executive Producer at @radical.media, a global commercial media production company.

His higher academic roles include adjunct faculty at NYU's Interactive Telecommunication Program, visiting professor of Multimedia and Communications at Marist College, and Chair of Communications and Information Design at The Sage Colleges.

Mark made his transition to interactive media from an award-winning career as an engineer and producer in the music business, and still maintains a serious interest in music, audio, and recording. He is also a clinical hypnotherapist, holding certifications from The American Council of Hypnotists and The National Guild of Hypnotists.

Interests: Emerging media and their impact on society and culture; Communication, Hypnotherapy, Music, Recording, and Digital Media.

Media Psychology

Media Psychology is the study of media effects on human thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. This new branch of psychology is revolutionizing the understanding of why people think what they think and do what they do in our media-rich world.

Every communication is mediated in some way. Whether through "traditional media" - TV, radio, film, print, billboards, telephone, and speech, or in other ways - the 'net, Blackberry, viral media, interactive media, architecture, iPod, email, texting, and others - every communication goes through something on the way from the content producer to the receiver.

And the people on the receiving end do their own interpretation, depending on the medium through which the message is delivered, and according to their own world-view - the way they've come to understand reality through exposure to culture, media, and personal experience.

As every media professional knows, it can be hit or miss when trying to understand or predict how people will behave when exposed to any particular message in any particular medium.

Media Psychology uses the social science tools of psychology to understand media interactions and subsequent behavior.

As Media Psychologists, we apply cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, existential, phenomenological, motivational and sometimes even spiritual points of view, building on centuries of human science and philosophy.

Media Psychology gives us insights into which medium is appropriate for which messages, and how information design affects persuasion and purchase. It helps us to understand what's really going on in people's minds - even when they themselves don't know.

 

I often feel like this:

But I look more like this:

And one time, at band camp: