Entity > Person > US > New York City New York > John Seward Johnson Iii

About John Seward Johnson III

John Seward Johnson III is an American filmmaker, philanthropist and entrepreneur. He is a great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson) and the son of American artist John Seward Johnson II.

John Founded An Arts and Technology Center: John founded Eyebeam in 1997, and in 2003 Johnson hired Jonah Peretti as Director of Research and Development with the goal of establishing the internet as a place for art experimentation. They produced "Contagious Media Showdown," the first online series of public experiments with viral media. Eyebeam also produced the first geocoding of public campaign finance data, later published on the website Fundrace and hosted by the Huffington Post.

In 2006, John Co-Founded Buzzfeed With Entrepreneur Jonah Peretti: BuzzFeed is an online media company that tracks breaking news and entertainment and accelerates its distribution. It was originally conceived as a media analytics company to track viral content.

John Founded Harmony Labs in 2008: Harmony Institute is an applied research lab that explores how media and society interact and experiments with using media to support an open, inclusive and democratic society. Working with private foundations, advocacy organizations, and media publishers, it has produced peer-reviewed publications, white papers, and interactive tools, and contributed to many prominent media projects and social impact campaigns.

In 2017, the Harmony Institute became Harmony Labs and refocused on understanding how influence works within media systems and experimenting with media approaches that optimize positive social impact. Harmony Labs also operates an accelerator that supports early-stage startups building media technologies and developing data-driven approaches and tools for understanding and leveraging media influence.

Nosara, Costa Rica Hotels: In 2004, Johnson and his wife, Susan Short, purchased an old hotel in the Pacific surf village of Nosara, Costa Rica, and renovated it to save it from being purchased and turned into a large international chain. Harmony Hotel is a boutique hotel focused on health and wellness. They are the current owners of the hotel and have since acquired two other hotels in Nosara, the Sunset Shack and the Harbor Reef Hotel.

La Voz de Guanacaste: In 2006, Johnson purchased a local weekly newspaper in Nosara, La Voz de Guanacaste, and in 2015 made it Costa Rica's first nonprofit investigative newspaper.

Industry: Arts & Entertainment

More information about John Seward Johnson III