Archive for the ‘Events and Conferences’ Category
The Office 2.0 Conference is Coming Up Next Week
Author: Mark Alvarez25 Aug
The third annual Office 2.0 conference will take place at San Francisco’s St. Regis Hotel from September 3-5.
The conference, “a unique gathering of visionaries, thought leaders, and customers using innovative online services for getting things done at the office, at home, and on the go,” will focus this year on large-enterprise adoption of office 2.0 tools.
“Office 2.0 Conference 2008 attendees will be treated to some amazing studies and insights from many, large end user organizations,” said Ismael Ghalimi, producer of the Office 2.0 Conference. “Executives from Stanford University, Sony, Tesla, Xerox, and other organizations will be speaking at the conference, sharing their personal experiences of adopting Office 2.0 technologies in an enterprise environment.”
Book Release: The Second Life of Networks, by Didier Lombard and Georges Nahon
Author: Mathieu Ramage17 Jul
Didier Lomdard, CEO and Chairman of France Telecom-Orange Group, just released the english edition of his new book, entitled “The Second Life of Networks”, along with co-author Georges Nahon and Gabriel Sidhom. Dominique and I were at the release of the book. Didier Lombard flew directly from Paris to hold his book signing in San Francisco (pictures), “the anchor for technological innovation in Silicon Valley.”
The Book Explains How Upcoming Technologies Will Bring New and Exceptional Opportunities for Human and Social Progress But Calls For Specific Changes and Reforms. (more…)
The Nuances of Today’s Multi-Network-based Society
Author: Deborah Stokol18 Jun
“Networks are everywhere. Yet how much do we really understand about them? This session will link the research of networks and other complex systems with business and cultural impacts,” read one of Supernova 2008’s mission statements.More than a 100 professionals from the world’s technology and information industries congregated at the first session of day two at the conference in order to explore decentralization in the fields of communications and how best to approach the question.
Growth Resources Shows the Right Ingredients to be Successful CEO
Author: Atelier18 Jun
Growth Resources,Inc. offers insight into the skills and tools needed to become and remain CEO of VC-backed companies through seminars and videos.Web 2.0 is birthing many start-ups with many qualified management leading the way, but getting VC investments does not necessarily mean success. GrowthResources hopes to instill the right qualities in the business hierarchy to make sure these companies not only stay afloat, but that they also have the tools to grow.
Contributor Regis Vincent shares his take on the WWDC 2008
Author: Atelier11 Jun
The Apple World Wide Developer Conference 2008 (WWDC08) started Monday at 10am with a keynote from Steve Jobs. If you have not heard his announcement of the new iPhone 3G for $199 (to be released on July 11th), you must be living on a remote island (I’m wondering how you get this newsletter then).I’m pretty sure that this will be the most reported news from WWDC. Aside from the iPhone 3G, I was impressed by the new direction taken by Apple.
They now view the iPhone as a business device, and it took several steps to make it corporate-friendly.
iPhones have entered the corporate world through the "backdoor," as employees have been replacing their Blackberrys or Treos with their own iPhones. Coming in July, the second generation of iPhone OS will let you connect seamlessly to Exchange and view Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents in your emails. It even has native VPN support and push-email capability. It converts the coolest phone of all time into the ultimate mobile business device. With the SDK (Software Development Kit) it will allow companies to develop their own custom applications.
If you don’t believe me, watch the keynote, and look at the demo from MIMvista (48min in the keynote), they have been using an iPhone for medical applications, and it’s just mind-blowing.
I would not be surprised to see delivery drivers outfitted soon with iPhone 3G; their routes and deliveries will be pushed to them in real-time and they can be tracked using the GPS so the home base can know which truck to reroute to pick a new, urgent package.
The other aspect I did not consider was the iPhone as a game console, but again, the new OS and SDK has enabled the developers to run wild.
They are using every feature to bring a unique game experience—something like a Wii in your pocket. You can now play in the subway, on the train, and at the coffee shop while waiting for your latte.
The commercial aspect of these developments is the new AppStore, where developers can post their new iPhone software for everyone to download.
Apple is handling all the details and security to let you have a great experience, but it also provides new independent developers with instant access to the 5 million iPhones users!
This is quite a marketplace that will drive the innovation because smart and talented developers can now easily produce the smartest, most useful applications and be compensated for them, giving them more incentive to develop new ones.
All these developments do not seem that hard or important, but remember that the iPhone is not even one year old and this shows that Apple has listened to its customers and has focused its engineering team to deliver a serious blow to RIM and Windows Mobile.
By Regis Vincent, a valued contributor
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N2Y3 Mashup Challenge Winners
Author: Atelier29 May
NetSquared announced the top winners of the 21 Featured Projects that demonstrate the highest potential for impacting social change.Day two of the third annual NetSquared Conference (N2Y3) included the announcement of the best three of the event’s 21 Featured Projects. This year marks only the second time NetSquared has accepted submissions from developers in the public and private sectors to release Mashups, or web application hybrids, created for the purpose of building awareness of social issues in global communities.
Ushahidi, a website that maps violence in post-election Kenya received top honor and will be awarded $25,000. Ushahidi maps violence on a Google map as reported by Kenyan citizens and verified by local Kenyan non-government organizations. The reports are considered real-time as they arrive via SMS, email, or the web.
The second cash prize of $15,000 will go to KnowMore.org, a Firefox extension allowing Web users to be alerted of corporate abuses when visiting a company, brand, or product website. The goal is to highlight corporate abuses that provoke consumers to use their purchase power for social change. While the KnowMore community recognizes unethical companies, principled companies are acknowledged as well.
Social Actions, a Mashup of over 29 social action platforms, will receive a cash prize of $10,000. The company aims to promote peer-to-peer social change by being an aggregator for active campaigns from the 29+ platforms and showcasing the data in one searchable location.
The nearly 350 attendees of N2Y3 voted for the winners of the $100,000 Technology Innovation Fund acquired by NetSquared, a TechSoup initiative.
The other $50,000 in prize money will be divided up and awarded to the remaining18 featured projects.
The idea behind N2Y3 and the Mashup challenge is to raise awareness of social concerns and to create new approaches that empower citizens and community-based groups to take action.
By Kathleen Clark
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Google IO Conference Unveils Company’s Look to Development Future
Author: Atelier29 May
The Google I/O 2008 in San Francisco outlined the company’s plan to improve the Internet through better offerings for Web developers and a keen eye on evolving mobile platform technologies.Google’s largest developers event focused on several of objectives from the search engine giant, but a few stood out as top priorities.
Looking to the future of Internet technology, the company discussed its Google Android platform for mobile phones. As smart phones like RIM’s Blackberry and Apple’s iPhone become more common, their Internet capabilities need to be improved, and Android is the way in which Google aims to do it.
It is an open-source mobile platform that, through a very impressive demonstration with the iPhone, can make a cell phone extremely personalized and, in the process, precisely functional for each person.
The goal of Google Android is to raise the bar of mobile functionality. It comes with a web kit browser and maps view platform upon which developers can build their own versions of a browser or map application.
It gives developers the foundation to create mobile browsers and maps that they see will benefit the consumer, taking most of the complications out of the development process for the developers, as they have an already-proven functional base from which to create.
One of the examples in the demonstration was a custom phone lock on the iPhone. Google Android enabled developers to create a digital grid on the iPhone. In order to unlock the phone, a precise design needs to be traced across the grid—in the presentation it was a “G.”
Google Android makes customization of the smart phone much easier for developers. The phone lock demonstrates the ever-changing touch screen technology that is making smart phones like the iPhone easier to handle.Short cuts on the smart phone will enable users to customize the look and functionality of the phones’ desktops. Favorite contacts, calendar reminders, and Web page bookmarks can all be added as short cuts to make the most-used features of the phone easy to access.
User-friendly was the running theme for mobile technology as well as cloud computing.
Google’s App Engine enables developers to run their applications within the Google cloud. Again, Google provides a foundation developers can use as they see fit.
Application development is constantly changing, even day to day, as evidenced in social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook. The App Engine recently played a large part in information sharing in the China earthquake disaster.
It was initially difficult for rescue data to be sent from the scene, but through application development using App Engine, the problem was fixed. Rescue workers can now upload information easily, enabling family members to look up that information just as well.
Although user-friendly seemed to be a running theme, it was definitely absent in the beginning of the conference.
The seemingly easy check in/registration process took much longer than expected, pushing back the starting time by an hour or so. Hundreds of people stagnant in line showed a lack of efficiency and planning on Google’s part, but the problem was worked out. Also, good food is a good apology.
By Danny Scuderi
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The Web 2.0 Way to ‘Use’ Your Community in the Non-Profit World
Author: Atelier29 May
Non-profit attendees at NetSquared’s third annual conference learned Web 2.0 best practices for building an online community and getting the community to work for them.Day one of the NetSquared Conference at the Cisco headquarters in San Jose, CA featured introductions to the top 21 mashup projects aimed at social change and showcased useful advice and pointers from experts in the field.
One session, “How to Use Your Community” featured social Web tool specialists, Vinnie Lauria of free forum hosting site lefora.com and Kristine Molnar of wiki hosting site pbwiki.com.
Though only an hour, the presentation focused on existing free social tools, including wikis, blogs, forums, widgets and more, that can better connect NPOs and NGOs with their community members (donors and project participants). Not only do NPOs and NGOs need to increase donations and build their community, but it’s equally as important to establish a relationship with those who donate and participate in projects. Fortunately, the social networking world has made connecting and relationship building faster, easier and cheaper.
Wikis, for one, are a simple way to instantly collaborate with other activists or community participants. Since they are a Web page with easy edit features, any community member can add valuable information to the page serving to educate others on a topic. And, no technical skills are needed.
Other versatile social media tools, such as blogs and forums, if used in the right way, can get a community excited about an NPO’s mission and their recent activities. What’s more, they give users a reason to return to the site and inspire active participation.
Ever-popular widgets are an inexpensive way to spread a company brand and promote program involvement. Essentially, it’s free advertising.
Whatever the marketing and community growth strategy, social change organizations serve to benefit from implementing social web tools. In addition to growing members, social web engagement can result in support for existing programs and initiate the start of new programs. Seeking feedback from members will not only help an organization know what issues are important to their members, but will also encourage board approval for new projects that members support. And, staying in touch also makes your agenda less about money and more about relationship and communication. According to Lauria and Molnar, social web tools make it possible to move beyond the thank you letter.
By Kathleen Clark
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Video 2.0 - Special Web 2.0 Expo
Author: Atelier27 Apr
The Video 2.0 & Online Communities session gave us a peak into the direction online video is going and three Web sites that are helping take it there.
Seesmic.com, Playcafe and Ustream discussed the integration of on-demand and live video in the Web 2.0 world and the place advertisers have, as the Internet is quickly becoming a destination for traditional TV viewers.
Seesmic is a videoblog Web site that enables users to create video conversations with friends on a social network. It creates a more personal connection that text-only comments (like those on Facebook and Myspace) do not offer.
With one topic, a user’s video blog can elicit numerous responses within minutes, and we were lucky enough to witness this first-hand, as Seemic’s founder Loic Le Meur uploaded a greeting to his friends directly from his seat in the conference. In minutes, over 20 video responses from around the world were made, showing the popularity of on-demand video in social networking even in its infancy.
Ustream enables live video streaming where users can gather in one place and experience shows, conversations, and various interactions in real time. Not only does it bring together groups of people from around the world, but in doing so it also provides a viable means of advertising.
With television content rapidly making its way online, the Internet audience is primed for advertising being lost to on-demand television and Tivo. Pre-roll ads on such live streams can generate a lot of revenue for companies like Ustream.
Playcafe combines both live streaming and on-demand for an online game show that can be played live at designated times or on-demand like traditional Internet trivia. It creates an interactive social experience to game shows that TV leaves out, and could signal a new way of broadcasting such shows both online and on TV.
With on-demand and live video emerging in Web 2.0, look out for these three Web sites and others like them to help develop the Internet into a prime destination for videos.
By Danny Scuderi
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Guidelines for Fostering Innovation in any Business Environment
Author: Atelier25 Apr
Adaptive Path Strategy and design consultants conducted a workshop at the Web 2.0 Expo outlining ways to develop a creative and efficient work environment.Bryan Mason and Sarah Nelson, both from Adaptive Path, explored how stage managers, conductors, and screen writers build their work environments to be creative and efficient. Since technology is an emerging discipline that is constantly changing, it’s important to be innovative. So, how does a company stay on the forefront of innovation while focusing on business? Here’s what they learned from creative industries that work as a group, have hard deadlines, and need to constantly change up the creative process.
“Cross-train your employees” on different roles within a team to establish greater empathy for other team members. The cross pollination of skills will broaden a team member’s overall skill make up. Ultimately, the team becomes stronger.
“Rotate the creative leadership” to ensure a more dynamic team. Again, this will broaden skills and provide more opportunity for members to support each other. If need be, it’s easier to hand off certain points of a project, thereby improving project management.
When it comes to creating new ideas and putting them into place, Mason and Wilson suggest “actively turning the corner.” In other words, quickly move from the divergent phase to the convergent phase. It’s as important to collect the ideas as it is to effortlessly move to the phase deciding what has priority. Ideas will get implemented faster.
“Know your roles.” At a certain point, a hierarchy needs to be established and this can be done through effective communication. Team members should know what their role is on a project so that they can provide the necessary support.
“Practice as a team.” Practicing is not just about the self, but about how you work within a team, kind of like what any good sports team needs to succeed. When a team practices, a collective process forms and projects are managed better, especially under pressure. An entire team can suffer if even one member doesn’t know his or her part well.
“Make your mission explicit.” Google, for instance, has a knowable mission statement: “to organize the world’s information.” Knowing your company’s creative mission will further new ideas. It’s important to be clear about what you’re doing and how you communicate it to others.
“Kill your darlings softly.” Basically, this is a dependable and organized way of gently moving ideas out. If something doesn’t fit the mission, then push it aside and move on. Be affirmative without being negative.
“Remember that leadership is a service.” Whoever is in charge needs to make sure the creative people can do their jobs. Leadership is the primary service position, the one that brings the group together.
“Generate projects around creative interests.” Work from the bottom up rather than from the top down. Give employees projects that captivate and challenge them. Keeping staff engaged on an on-going basis will generate profitable ideas.
“Remember your audience.” The experience is not just about you, it’s also about your client. Think of new ways to bring them a new experience. What can you do better or differently?
Finally, “celebrate failure.” Failure can be a learning experience because taking risks inevitably leads to better ideas and a more solid vision.
By Kathleen Clark
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