Hendrik Speck - Biography

Hendrik Speck is a media theorist, designer, internet expert and tenured professor of Digital Interactive Media at the University of Applied Sciences in Kaiserslautern / Germany , where he is heading the Information Architecture and Search Engine Laboratory. Hendrik Speck was born on October 7, 1963 in Dresden, Germany. Professor Speck is a consultant and advisor of social media and search engine strategies for academic institutions and businesses. Professor Speck has taught and lectured at the University of Oxford, Columbia University, The New School for Social Research, Humboldt University of Berlin, Stuttgart Media University, the University of Hamburg, the University of Bremen, and the International School of New Media in Lübeck.

Hendrik Speck is known for his Media Theory, Media Management and Marketing seminars where he offers a broad orientation for understanding the basic elements of media, management and planning as well as teaching students the necessary skills to complete complex projects across various media. Students learn to handle typical problems of media management and marketing with a special focus on intellectual property, media technologies, communication, distribution, competition, team organization, and project management. Students gain experience in open source media production, management and leadership theories, as well as techniques and paradigms, including those which encourage a sense of social responsibility.

Hendrik Speck has worked as an e-commerce consultant and was appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Assistant Director of the Media and Communications department at the European Graduate School. This position included the responsibility for the development of all web activities, policies and associations.

Hendrik Speck has designed distance and e-learning systems, developed online/viral marketing strategies, and worked on information architecture projects for governments, corporate clients, and academic institutions. Professor Speck is a consultant for Quaero, a leading marketing services provider in Europe, advising companies on the use of customer insight and strategy to make informed business decisions. He is also a consultant for Theseus, an innovation center for internet services. More specifically, Hendrik Speck’s work as consultant consists of exploring the next generation of intelligent search, information retrieval, and visualization systems for the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

Hendrik Speck was a Fulbright and DAAD Scholar as well as the recipient of several other scholarships from the Heinrich Böll Stiftung ("The Green Political Foundation"), the New School University, and the European Graduate School. He obtained a Diploma (Master's of Art) from Burg Giebichenstein, University of Art and Design, as well as a Master's degree from the New School University's Media Studies/ Communications/ Media Management and Leadership program.

Hendrik Speck’s research in media theory focuses on a wide array of computer science issues including information operations, marketing, media management, intellectual property, open source practices, e-learning, cyberwar, netwar, as well as the ethical, social, legal implications and limitations which touch these issues. Hendrik Speck is known as an eloquent and relevant speaker. For example, he has been an early critical voice on Google's practices and the power which Google yields. His work has underscored the relationship between business models, the collection of user data, advertising and religious beliefs.

Professor Speck has remarked that, in comparison to what Google now knows about individuals, many intelligence agencies begin to look like birdwatchers.

Discussions around security, user expectations, consumer trust, social networks, and Google, are still ongoing in Europe. Theoretically, Google can trace a query for pregnancy tests, then nine months later show advertising for diapers; six years later, show ads for after-school tutors. Google and other search engines are starting to realize that consumers around the world are placing an increasing value on privacy, which could have business consequences. Privacy is becoming a value; it is gaining value in itself, thus changing corporate, commercial and business landscapes significantly.

Hendrik Speck is a regular speaker and conference panelist, as well as author of many articles including: "Propaganda and Education. Landscapes and Battlefields for Social Media" at Helmut Schmidt University. University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg. 7th Distance Training Convention of the Federal Armed Forces 2010 (September 7 - 9, 2010). "The Revolution of Social Media - Chances and Risks for the Insurance Industry" at the Munich Re. Annual Meeting (June 17, 2010). "The Body of the Social. Online Media in the Corporate Culture" at the Social Media Conference (June 2nd, 2010). "How does the Internet affect our Thinking?" at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Round Table (May 27, 2010). "Magna Carta for the Internet" at the Medientreffpunkt Mitteldeutschland Round Table (May 3, 2010). "The Evolution of Business Models - Social Landscapes in Competitive Environments" at the 7th Empolis Executive Forum on "Open the Enterprise. How to Repond to the Flood of Unstructured Data" (April 29 - 30, 2010). "Actors, Actions and Software in Social Landscapes. Social Media and the Music Industry" in Popakademie Mannheim (April 26, 2010). "Social Media and Social Television. Industrie- und Handelskammer Karlsruhe. Revolution in the Internet. New Challenges for Media and Communication. Workshop. (March 26, 2010). "Social Media, Privacy and Television" in Südwestrundfunk. Dreistufentest Ausschuss. (February 26th, 2010). "Aggregation des Schwarmwesens. Hören im Zeitalter des Digitalen" which can translate as "Aggregation of the swarm system. Listening in the Digital Age" in epd Medien (February, 10 2010). "Der gläserne Mensch: Wer hat meine Daten und wie sicher ist meine Privatsphäre" which can translate as "The man of glass: Who has my data and how safe is my privacy" in Überparteiliche und Überkonfessionelle Bildungseinrichtung (January 19, 2010). "Privacy, Identity and Media Literacy" for the Stuttgart Regional Government (2009).

Hendrik Speck has co-authored several books, including: Medien auf Abruf – Folgen der Individualisierung für die Kommunikationsgesellschaft (2007); Die Macht der Suchmaschinen / The Power of Search Engines (2007); Suchen und Finden im Internet (Springer Verlag, 2007); and Die Google Gesellschaft (Transcript, 2005). He is also the author of the following chapters in books: "Inhalte suchen, Werbung finden. Effektivität und Tücken der Suchmaschinenwerbung," which translates as Website: search and advertising. Effectiveness and pitfalls of search engine advertising in: Medien auf Abruf - Folgen der Individualisierung für die Kommunikationsgesellschaft, which translates as Media on demand - effects of individualization for the Communication Society (2007).

Hendrik Speck is co- author of the following book chapters, in both English and German: "Playing The Search Engines or Hacking The Box: Möglichkeiten und Gefahren von Suchmaschinen - Hacking am Beispiel von Google" in Die Macht der Suchmaschinen / The Power of Search Engines (Halem Verlag, 2007). Professor Speck co-authored chapters in books in German only also: "Google, Gossip, PR-ostitution. Das Geschäft einer Suchmaschine" which translates as "Google, Gossip, PR-ostitution. The business of search engine" in Die Google-Gesellschaft which translates as The Google Society (2005). "Suchmaschinen als Gralshüter" which translates as "Search Engines as Guardians" in Suchen und Finden im Internet which translates as Search and find on the web (2007).