It has always been the case that all the action in the tech industry has been in the USA. Today in the screaming plasma1 suspended between Silicon Valley and San Fransisco this is more than ever the case.
Next month GigaOm has organised a conference in San Francisco that illustrates my point. Take a look at the schedule. The breadth of the content squeezed into one day is mind blowing. Am I alone in wondering how the brain can keep up with it all? There is a live stream which in my mind will be well worth tuning in to if you can though nothing can replace actually being there.
It dismays me somewhat that you can’t get this quality of event in the UK. Even if we tried we wouldn’t get the same speakers.
I’ve pasted the schedule below. Not particularly original of me but lets you have a quick glance at what’s going on.
1 white heat doesn’t adequately describe it.
In this ten minute briefing, you will be given an overview of the digital music and connected media sectors with key trends, indicators and opportunities to look out for.BROADBAND, THE MEDIA AND THE PEOPLE
Jim Lanzone oversees an operation that reaches 92% of all Americans online. When CBS Interactive innovates, the media industry changes. In this fireside chat, Om Malik talks to Lanzone about what he has learned from the hits and misses of the previous year and what direction he will be taking CBS Interactive over the next 18 months.
MI CASA, SU CASA (MY HOME IS YOUR HOME)
Need a place to stay? Why not crash at a stranger’s house? With their permission. Or maybe you need some extra cash. Put that spare room to work. Katie talks to Brian Chesky about the meteoric rise of Air B’N’B and what we can learn about the coming cultural change as we shop and re-sell at the same time. Get key insights from the people who are sharing their most valuable and personal purchase – their home.
DESIGN FOR SOCIAL, THINKING, PRODUCTS
In the age of connected devices, intelligent objects should not be lonely. That’s why designers must now think about how we create objects and more importantly the social and technology fabric that supports their contexts of use. Chris Albrecht talks to Mark Rolston about how designers will shape the bits that create exceptional and amazing next generation consumer products.
CREATIVITY, CONNECTIVITY AND CAPITAL: TOOLS FOR PREDICTING THE NEAR FUTURE
Think about some of the leading companies that have changed and continue to change our everyday experience – Apple, Cisco, Yahoo, PayPal, Google, YouTube, LinkedIn, Jive etc. Connectivity and creative thinking were critical to their innovation, their delivery, the very fabric of what they are. But what of the new kids on the block? The emerging innovations from the creative technologists, designers and rule breakers of the startup world? In this rare fireside chat with Sequioa Capital we explore the beautiful dynamic between connectivity and creativity and ask how technology and design entrepreneurs will continue to define our future experiences.
E*TRADE SPONSOR WORKSHOP – ROOM 1
The IPO Market: Recent Activity, Issuer Considerations and Liquidity Alternatives
E*TRADE’s panel will examine the IPO market with a focus on recent activity and market performance; key concerns and strategies for issuers and alternative mechanisms for enabling shareholder liquidity.
EQUINIX SPONSOR WORKSHOP – ROOM 2
Cloud Optimization and Migration Strategies for Content and Digital Media Companies
Standard operating procedure for digital media companies is to start in a public cloud. Can companies be more successful by implementing a mix of public, private cloud and co-location strategies? This session examines the benefits and pain points of utilizing public, private and hybrid solutions for media and content delivery.
HOW PEOPLE ARE DRIVING MUSIC’S CHANGE
Pandora is a great example of a product that is shaped by its consumers. Connecting, commenting, contributing and consuming. Pandora is also a great example of what is coming next for companies in tech media – their model is being innovated by their users. In this talk we look at the impact Pandora is having on consumer music and we learn how Pandora is being shaped by its users and how this might be applied to other businesses and industries.
GIGAOM PRO BRIEFING: CONNECTED HEALTH
In this ten minute briefing, you will be given an overview of the mobile and connected health sectors with key trends, indicators and opportunities to look out for.
REAL-TIME MEDICINE: CONNECTING THE BODY TO DATA
It’s time for a powershift in health care. The Internet has all but destroyed information access problems, but the inequality remains in how doctors, patients and communities collaborate. Frank Moss believes that regular people, working together in creative new ways, can succeed where the medical establishment is failing. In this session, we explore why we dramatically underestimate the power of ordinary people to transform the system, how new mobile technologies will empower them and what industry changes we might see emerging in the next 18 months.
RIPPING OUT THE PAGES FROM THE PUBLISHING PLAYBOOK
Books that are connected, readers that are connected, content that is easily copied and transmitted. The age of getting your words to anyone who wants to read them is here. The last two decades have witnessed a revolution in publishing and the last 36 months even more so as e-readers and consumers are redefining the publishing industry. So what comes next? In this fireside chat we have two of the leading voices in the industry discuss what the next opportunities and upsets may be.
INNOVATING THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
In 15 countries under 55 names, Walmart generates over $1billion dollars in revenue a day. They address a sizeable chunk of this planets purchasing population. As consumers become more connected through their mobile devices and integrate the web into their shopping patterns the opportunity to better their bricks and mortar shopping experience is manifest: Payments, comparisons, peer recommendations etc. In this chat we talk with Venky Harinarayan about the areas in which he plans to innovate and the impact the new experiences will have on the way consumers shop.
GIGAOM PRO BRIEFING: DIGITAL PUBLISHING
In this ten minute briefing, you will be given an overview of the digital publishing industry with key trends, indicators and opportunities to look out for.
MONEY, MESSAGING AND MORE
What does Jack Dorsey think about the future? He created Twitter, disrupting the messaging space and ushering in the realtime web. He then turned his attention to credit cards and mobile phones and the arcane experience that was biased to the bank. He empowers the small business owner with Square. Messaging, money, what will he pay attention to next?
GIGAOM PRO BRIEFING: CONNECTED CONSUMERS
In this ten minute briefing, you will be given an overview of the trends with connected consumers with indicators and opportunities to look out for.
THE FUTURE FOR OPEN SOURCE
Matt Mullenweg Created WordPress and open sourced it in 2003. Its success is legendary, becoming one of the most popular CMS tools ever. How many sustainable businesses can claim that their customers willingly work on the core proposition for free? What elements of the open source world can you apply to your business model? Join us for this conversation and learn how your customers will want to have a say in your product’s future.
CHANNELING TELEVISIONS INNOVATION
If you are watching a piece of digital video from a major broadcaster there is a good chance that it is handled by thePlatform. From humble beginnings, the company has grown to be a major industry player in the traditional broadcast market. In this talk, learn about how the new platforms with which broadcasters’ work will dictate their innovation in the future. Understand how the new platforms will affect the way you consume video.
THE GAME TREATMENT: CREATING ENGAGING PERSONAL HEALTHCARE
The developed nations of the world are barreling towards a public health apocalypse. Obesity, heart disease, diabetes and lifestyle factors are bloating public health demands. What can we do about it? Treat our health as a big game! Adam Bosworth led the health group at Google and then left to form Keas which promises to change forever the way that people deal with their health. By introducing game mechanics into a person’s daily health regimen, these games may end up changing forever the $1.6 Trillion Dollar US Healthcare market. New opportunity abounds for the playful.
WHEN DREAMMAKERS MEET TECHNOLOGISTS
Cinema has a long history of innovating the storytelling process with technology. We talk with the Chief Technology officer of one of the giants in the world of Cinema – DreamWorks – about how they see the evolution of cinema forever intermingled with the DNA of Silicon Valley. We explore how their expanding relationships with Silicon Valley will shape cinematic storytelling for consumers everywhere.
BASEBALL’S DESIGNATED HITTER
MLB.com innovated the baseball fan’s experience of the game.It also innovated an industry in the way that online media can monetize. We talk to the man behind MLB.com, it’s rise, it’s role in connecting fans everywhere and where he will take the sports fan experience next. Not to be missed.
UNSTOPPABLE: 45 MILLION USERS AND RISING
Dropbox is one of the quickest growing online propositions ever. Based upon the excellent execution of a simple idea – to store your files in the cloud. From humble Y-Combinator beginnings to turning down Steve Jobs to recently closing 250 Million dollars in funding the company appears unstoppable. What insights can we get into the secret of their success?