𝓒ultural 𝓣heorist + 𝓢trategist + 𝓦riter explaining social shifts and our relationship to media to advise partners on the future —   

↳ 𝓟roviding foresight, sensemaking and strategy to brands, investors, journalists, philanthropies and the UN

Currently:

  • Head of Global Foresight, REDDIT

  • Resident Futurist, HANNAH GREY VC

  • Co-Founder & Sponsor, THE TINY AWARDS

  • Partner, COPENHAGEN INSTITUTE FOR FUTURES STUDIES

  • Creative Mentor, NEW MUSEUM

  • Contributor, PLAYBOY

  • Advisor, COMPONENTS

  • Speaking Internationally

  • Founder of ZINE

KLEIN

KLEIN

Black and white portrait of a smiling man wearing glasses, a checkered blazer, and a white shirt, against a plain background.
↪ Contact

Matt Klein has made a name for himself as an observer and theorist of online behaviours who is refusing to simply bow to the viral trends everyone is talking about and instead is asking the question no one else is ‘Why?’

— The Future Laboratory

One of the most critical voices in the trends industry. [Klein] investigates the present with almost obsessive attention.

— Fast Company

2025 EVENTS

Media & Insights Conference
Scottsdale, AR
February 2-5

SXSW
Austin, TX
March 7-12

HoBB
Hudson, NY
April 11-13

C2
Montréal, Canada
May 19-22

Cannes Lions
Cannes, FR
June 14-19

CIFS
Copenhagen, DK
June 19-21

Tilghman Interview
The Strand, NYC
August 11

KES Summit
Trancoso, Bahia BR
August 15-22

IPG Stand Against Bland
New York, NY
Sept 25

World Class by Diageo
Toronto, CA
Sept 28-29

The Market Research Event
Las Vegas, NV
October 27-30

Future of Communications
Austin, TX
November 12-13

ZINE is a cultural intelligence and sensemaking think tank, explaining the emergent and advising organizations on how to author tomorrow.

With +1M reads across +150 countries, ZINE publishes research on overlooked social shifts — how people relate to technology, media, institutions, and each other. We empower with data and perspectives for more human-centered strategies and publish openly to shape broader discourse.

Reach out to partner.

Black and white image of a world map with the word ZINE in bold letters over it.
A black and white award badge with a coiled spring icon in the center, surrounded by the years 2020 and 2023, and a ribbon banner at the bottom with the word "WINNER".

ADVISING:

A black and white screen displaying various corporate logos such as NBA, Columbia, American Airlines, UNICEF, Google, MetLife, ABInBev, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, Anheuser-Busch, and others. There is also a play button icon at the bottom right.

CONTRIBUTING:

A collage of various media outlet logos, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, D2, Vice, Style, Contagious, Rolling Stone, The Globe and Mail, Canvas 8, The Times, WARC, The Verge, ABC, and others, displayed on a black background.

SPEAKING:

A collage of various logos and text related to education, business, and brands, including NYU, McDonald's, House of Beautiful Business, IDEO, CAA, The New School, R&D, F&M, and the University of Michigan.

REEL:

Matt empowers us with perspective and agency to right the ship to our own likings.

— Dr. Marcus Collins
Author & Professor

Closest thing to Gen Z’s Marshall McLuhan.

— Elliot Aronow
Creative Director, ex-Playboy & GQ

One of the most thoughtful observers and critics of contemporary society that I know.

— Andrew McLuhan
Director of The McLuhan Institute

Original, clever, amazingly honest, and unfiltered.

— Faith Popcorn
Author & Futurist

A brilliant cultural analyst.

— Douglas Rushkoff
Media Theorist, Professor & Author

“𝕿he foremost published and trusted cultural theorist. An authority on the zeitgeist and rare blend of theory and practice.”

Matt Klein in a suit holding a Webby Award trophy, smiling and looking at the trophy.
Matt Klein in a light sweater and plaid pants standing on stage, smiling, with large letters behind him.
Matt Klein with glasses holding a microphone, wearing a light-colored shirt and a watch, making a gesture with his other hand while sitting in front of a perforated wall.
Matt Klein with glasses, wearing a floral patterned shirt, holding a microphone and speaking, with another person partially visible beside him.
Matt Klein wearing glasses, a suit, and a watch, sitting in a chair, holding a microphone, and speaking during a panel or interview.
Matt Klein giving a presentation on stage in a grand hall with a large screen behind him displaying slides. The slide shows a woman holding her head with a distressed expression and the words. The audience is seated and watching the speaker.
Matt Klein with glasses holding a microphone, smiling, standing near a laptop on a small desk, with a large plant on the right side.

A Webby-winning writer, global speaker and “Top Voice in Market Research,” Klein is a trusted advisor, empowering organizations to make sense of and stay ahead of cultural change.

Leveraging a decade of experience in trend forecasting, innovation research, and strategic comms, Klein partners with brands, investors, journalists, philanthropies, the UN to provide provocative explanations of the emergent and author future-proofing strategies.

Advising The Met to McDonald’s, Klein's decoded the cultural implications of fandom for the NBA, GLP-1s for Novo Nordisk, mental health crisis for UNICEF, and Gen AI for Google.

The founder of ZINE, a cultural intelligence and sensemaking think tank, Klein advises organizations on how to author tomorrow. With +1M reads across +150 countries, ✉️ ZINE publishes research on overlooked social shifts — how people relate to technology, media, institutions, and each other. ZINE provides executives, government officials and academics alike cultural intel, analyzing overlooked trends. He’s written about 👀 The War on Attention, 📖 The Decline of Higher Education, ⛪ Rise of Modern Religion, 👄Ethics of Virtual Influencers, 🎂 Modern Myth Making, 🎸 The Mindfulness of Mosh Pits, 🍑 Trends in Porn Viewership, 🔞 Online Censorship, 💻 Dashboard Culture, and 🐸 The Wisdom of our Memes.

Advancing the practice of foresight, he’s also written about 💡 The Radical Potential of Cultural Strategy, 🐢 How Trends Lost All Meaning, 📣 Foresight as Activism, 🔥 Self-Sabotage, 📊 How Data Lies and 🤝🏻 Why Marketing Won’t Save You. Your Consumers Will.

Effectively explaining emerging social change, he’s a relied upon 📰 source for the NYT, WSJ, DAZED, VICE and Playboy, and former contributor to Forbes where he served as a media critic. He’s also a 🎤speaker at SXSW, Fast Company, and MoMA, and guest lecturer at universities including NYU and The New School.

He’s the author of the 🔮 META Trends Report, an annual meta-analysis commenting on the zeitgeist, 🔬Audience Capture, a zine exploring the dangerous dynamics of audiences, co-founder of 🪴 The Tiny Awards, honors for the cozy web, and creator of 🎒 The Understanding Media Seminar Series in partnership with The McLuhan Institute.

Completing the first-ever joint degree in Psychology and Film & Media Studies from Franklin & Marshall College, Klein’s honors dissertation and concentration was in 📱 CyberPsychology: Online Sharing as Identity Creation & Self Presentation. He also holds certificates in network theory, crisis communications, post-growth entrepreneurship and foresight from the Institute for the Future, The Future Laboratory and Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.

Klein’s focus is to increase cultural fluency and digital literacy, empowering autonomy to author better futures.

He’s also a volunteer with Big Brothers, Big Sisters and lives in New York.