Bill Wasik talked about his book And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture (Viking Adult; June 11, 2009). In the book he examines the cultural phenomenon of viral communication through new media and how it has changed American culture. He reflects on his own Internet experiments including creating flash mobs and trying to start or stop “buzz” about events. He talked about a term he coined, “nanostory,” which he called the fundamental unit of conversation that is obsessed over for a brief period of time before there is nothing more to say and it dies out. Mr. Wasik focused on the Internet’s takeover of traditional news. Mr. Wasik also read passages from his book and responded to questions from members of the audience.