Sexy technology, elegant UX, and savvy media buys are all of secondary importance when it comes to crafting engaging, social experiences. The most valuable digital currency for creating participatory content, is in fact good old fashioned human connection. Drawing from his experience creating viral hits Selfless Portraits and Snail Mail My Email, Interactive Artist Ivan Cash explains why people's universal desire for real, meaningful moments leads them to enthusiastically jump past hurdles and engage in ways that research and testing can’t possibly predict. Cash goes on to assert that people are capable of so much more than 'share,' 'like,' and 'tweet' (they just need to be empowered) by using these projects as case studies. Author of Snail Mail My Email, Cash's work has exhibited internationally and been featured in CNN, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, and Fast Company. He was recently recognized as an ADC Young Gun X.