Hi,

Who’s going to decide what you watch, read and listen to in the future — humans or machines?

Both. And you don’t have to wait to see what that’s going to look like, because it’s happening right now: Media companies are increasingly relying on a mix of software and professional curators to serve you stuff they think you will want — even if you don’t think you want it.

Figuring out how to get this stuff right is big deal, which is why we want to talk about it at Code Media, February 12 and 13, in Southern California.

That’s why Kara Swisher and I have invited two CEOs with different takes on curation and content to join us onstage: Mike McCue, whose Flipboard platform asks users to tell it what they want to see, and then tries to create a personalized feed for them; and Yaron Galai, whose Outbrain modules — populated almost entirely by algorithms — are omnipresent on the Web.

These guys are working at scale — Flipboard says it makes personalized magazines for 100 million people around the world; Outbrain says it serves 200 billion personalized recommendations a month. We’re excited to hear from both of them, and from everyone else we’ve got scheduled for our signature red chair interviews.

And we’re excited to see you! Code Media works because it brings together the most interesting and dynamic leaders in tech and media, and lets them talk to each other, onstage and offstage. This is your annual chance to figure out how to help steer your company — and your career — through a landscape that only gets more complicated every year.

But wait, there’s more! All of this takes place at the breathtaking Paséa Hotel and Spa in Huntington Beach, a short drive south from Los Angeles. It’s a great place to spend two days this winter. Sign up here, and we’ll see you there.

See you in February!

Peter Kafka
Senior Editor, Media
Recode

Yaron Galai Co-Founder and CEO, Outbrain Yaron Galai is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Outbrain, a content discovery platform. Before founding Outbrain with Ori Lahav in 2006, when they were both officers in the Israeli Navy, Galai was co-founder and SVP of Quigo, a company that invented the market for contextual advertising alongside AdSense; Quigo was acquired by AOL in 2007. Previously, Galai founded adtech firm Ad4Ever (acquired by Atlas) and NetWorks, an SEO and web design firm. He studied industrial design at the Holon Technological Institute, and serves as a reserve lieutenant commander in the Israeli Navy.

Mike McCue Co-Founder and CEO, Flipboard Longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur Mike McCue founded Flipboard in 2010 with the belief that great stories move the world forward. Through the discovery and sharing of great content, Flipboard gives people a single place for all the things they are passionate about. Previously, McCue founded Tellme Networks, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2008 for $800 million, and Paper Software, which was acquired by Netscape. He was honored with a Kilby International Award as a Young Innovator.

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