Webstock speaker Regine Debatty is a blogger and a new media art curator, who lectures internationally and writes about the intersection between art, design and technology on we-make- money-not-art.com.

She is also involved in the Resist project, a cross-media platform effecting change through progressive participation across borders.

Webstock 2010 is a two-day conference about all things web preceded by three days of workshops, from February 15 to 19 in Wellington.

How would a good friend describe your aesthetic or style?

Very personal I hope.

What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?

Having to answer an interview like this one?

How does your environment affect your work?

Very little. I think I can pretty well isolate from the environment.

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?

I start with the big picture then get lost in the details.

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

I leave anything related to business to other people.

Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?

I'm never entirely satisfied of anything I do but I guess that the blog and all the activities that have emerged around it have made me pretty happy.

Tell us a bit about your background

I studied Classics (Latin and Ancient Greek) at the university then forgot all about it and worked in cinema and TV for several years.

Tell us a bit about your blog we-make-money-not-art.com (how long has it been going, how did the idea come about, the title?)

I started blogging in March 2004 and totally by chance. I was bored at work. I worked in an office in Italy and I was paid to pretend I was working on my computer. In November 2003, I met an artist who was doing art performances with mobile phones. To me, at the time, mobile phones were merely a tool to work and nothing more. I found the work of that artist so interesting I started to scan the web to find more information about this mix of art and technology. At first, I was printing everything I could find online. My office table quickly became a huge mess with big files full of paper and stickers that attempted to put some order in the sea of information I was accumulating.

At some point, a friend (actually it's the artist I mentioned above, his name is Max and he's my wonderful boyfriend) told me I should archive everything on a blog. I was a bit reluctant at first but after a few days, I became totally passionate about it. Blogging was just something I was doing for myself, I never thought people would find the blog and read it. But they did and blogging ended up being my main job.

Tell us a bit about the Resist project.

"Resist is a cross-media platform effecting change through progressive participation across borders.

The website will ask people to share their stories and their skills to work together to change social conditions, through a volunteering, donation and co-creation platform.

Resist identifies issues and proposes actions through the mechanism of storytelling – sourcing stories primarily from ground-level beneficiary communities, listening to their needs and connecting up to the larger network. From these stories feature length documentaries will be made. Then, scenes from the films will be streamed on the website, connected directly to a toolkit used to spur direct action.

The first film to emerge from this process -- dealing with systemic poverty issues along the US/Mexico border-- will feature the international star Gael Garcia Bernal."

It's the project of film director Marc Silver. My role is minimal, I mostly follow how artists are engaging with the theme of borders, economical apartheid, social resistance, etc.

What are you talking about at Webstock in New Zealand? 

How I lost my appetite for interactivity.

In what ways and why have you had enough of ‘interactivity’?

Long long story. In a nutshell, I think there's a lot of misunderstanding around about what 'interacting' actually means and involves.

Who or what has inspired you recently?

Vivienne Westwood.

If you could choose a completely different career path to the one you've chosen, what would it be?

I'd work in fashion.

What place is always with you, wherever you go?

My bathroom or at least the content of its 'beauty cabinet'. It monopolizes a ridiculously vast space in my suitcase.

What's the best way to listen to music, and why?

I don't think there's a 'best' way to listen to music.

You are given a piece of string, a stick and some fabric. What do you make?

A puzzled face?

What's the best stress relief advice you've ever been given?

I tend not to be stressed

What's great about today?

They've upgraded me on the flight Paris-Tokyo this morning. I had never flown business on a transcontinental trip.