NOTE DATE AND LOCATION
How people find information online is undergoing a fundamental shift. While the basic impulse to “reach for answers” remains the same, the sources consumers trust have changed dramatically. Instead of relying solely on traditional search engines, people increasingly turn to three modern discovery paths: private recommendations, community-driven platforms, and AI-powered tools. First, “Phone a Friend” now happens largely in private group chats and DMs—often referred to as dark social—where trusted recommendations spread invisibly to traditional analytics. Second, “Ask the Audience” has centralized around large communities like Reddit and Facebook Groups, where authentic, user-generated discussions shape opinions and purchasing decisions. Finally, “Ask the Expert” is increasingly mediated by large language models, which enable conversational, iterative search experiences that replace tab-hopping with dialogue. Together, these shifts fragment the discovery ecosystem and redefine visibility. For brands, success is no longer about ranking alone, but about being shareable, credible, and referenced across private conversations, public communities, and AI-generated answers. But this transformation extends far beyond marketing. The same digital ecosystems influencing which jeans you buy or what coffee you brew at home are also shaping how you interpret headlines, who you trust, and ultimately how you align politically and vote. Understanding where people get their information isn’t just a business imperative — it’s a lens into how modern life itself is being shaped.
About our speaker, Sian Riebe
A Senior Consultant at Slalom, Sian sits at the intersection of culture, data, and digital strategy. She started by scraping forums and mapping online subcultures to understand how communities form, fracture, and influence each other. Somewhere between College and a stint at Yeezy she went down enough Reddit rabbit holes, while watching the slow decline of social platforms, becoming obsessed with one question: how do people get their information now? Her work explores the microcosms that shape belief, buying behavior, and brand loyalty — from private group chats (“dark social”) to AI-powered discovery. She brings a rare mix of qualitative curiosity and quantitative rigor, translating cultural insight into actionable social and martech strategy for brands navigating an increasingly fragmented digital world. Sian speaks about digital anthropology, the future of search, algorithmic divides, and why the most powerful influence today often moves through channels you can’t see — but absolutely need to understand.
ZOOM OPTION MAY BE AVAILABLE - LINK TO APPEAR HERE IF AVAILABLE
