The man behind the site that crowds Facebook feeds with whimsical quizzes and listicles is coming to UF.
The Accent Speaker’s Bureau is bringing Jonah Peretti to the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on March 20. Peretti is the founder and CEO of BuzzFeed as well as co-founder of the Huffington Post.
Daniel Landesberg, the chairman of Accent Speaker’s Bureau, said Peretti will discuss the new age of social media, entrepreneurship and news.
“Most college students would agree BuzzFeed, which is mixing social media with news and popular Internet content, is really popular right now,” Landesberg said.
Landesberg said a lot of students don’t take the time to read long-form news articles, so BuzzFeed’s easy-to-read style lets students stay informed in an entertaining way.
Tickets will be available at the Phillips Center Box Office for students March 19 at noon and March 20 at 5 p.m. for the general public. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Accent paid Peretti $40,000 to speak.
Fernando Caffoll, a 22-year-old UF mechanical and aerospace engineering senior, said BuzzFeed articles don’t seem appealing, but seeing Peretti speak would be interesting.
“I probably wouldn’t go for funsies,” Caffoll said. “But if I have time, I’d go.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 2/27/2014 under the headline "Quiz: Which Florida School Will Soon Host BuzzFeed’s CEO?"]
