Washington, DC - Feb 2, 2009 - Digital media research scientist Mimi Ito will keynote the NAB Show Technology Luncheon, exploring how people use new digital media and mobile technologies in their everyday lives. The Luncheon will be held April 22 in Las Vegas.

As a research scientist and cultural anthropologist, Ito primarily focuses on how children and young adults use communications technologies to establish and build relationships. She has studied a wide range of new media practices, from the production, distribution and marketing practices of children's software to the cultural effects of online gaming, social communities and other forms of digital media.

Ito has worked on a variety of research projects, including the recently completed study titled Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media, a three-year project examining how new media and digital technologies change the way children learn, play, socialize and participate in everyday life. She also coordinated 24/7: A DIY Video Summit, an Internet video event that taught amateur video makers about digital and online video production and Internet distribution.

As an author, Ito co-edited Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life and co-wrote Networked Publics, a study of how social networking technologies transform the way people interact in day-to-day situations. She holds two doctorates from Stanford University in education and anthropology, and is currently a research scientist at the Institute for Multimedia Literacy (University of Southern California). Prior to this position, Ito worked for the Institute for Research and Learning, Xerox PARC, Tokyo University, the National Institute for Educational Research in Japan and Apple Computer.