4 May 2008
0 CommentsTweets from #TLC Twitterverse
Ever since I attended AlwaysOn OnMedia NYC conference in January 2007, where I witnessed the unfolding of a parallel conference on large side-mounted LCD panels, I’ve been intrigued by the power of social media to enhance the traditional conference experience. That conference pioneered a new delivery approach, which attempts to exploit peer-to-peer discussions and even involve those outside the conference in the event itself. I’m convinced that, in the context of conferences at least, much of the power of the social media lies in creating a whole new back channel of discussion. In that way, conference attendees can network, take notes and make the conference as personal to their needs as they desire.
The same thing was happening at the recent Communitech Tech Leadership Conference (TLC) in Waterloo on May 1st. In fact, when I made the suggestion to Iain Klugman (Communitech President) to consider installing those monitors for the next event, he was most enthusiastic. Nonetheless, while reflecting on the important, high level lessons from this conference, (which I plan to cover in a later blog posting), I did a quick mash-up of the main Twitter posts from TLC. I dug around and herein include a representative sampling, with apologies to anyone missed or anyone not wanting to be so immortalized, which paints an interesting picture of this back channel, including:
- most Twitters were from attendees, but surprisingly people outside the conference, both local and some as far away as the UK, got into the conversation.
- some speakers (e.g. sacca and markevans) were in also involved in the dialogue – is the back-channel “on message” with carefully prepared presentations?
- on that point, follow the link in markevans Twitter for some commentary on perceived “tension” between the “old school” and new style of funding models
- sometimes the comments reinforced the points, sometimes they challenged them. Is it true that perhaps, in contrast to the famous Mark Zuckerberg/Sarah Lacy SXSW encounter, people in Waterloo are too polite to mock the speakers?
- my Twieets were an attempt to use Twitter for digital note taking. By capturing some key thoughts and ideas, a later Tweetscan could retrieve them easily
- and, lastly, is Waterloo as Web 2.0 and social media savvy as we like to think? With around 6 Twitters out of 500 attendees, it’s a question worth asking.
I would suggest that the social media “web” as seen in Twitter, may well be as transformational to the conference as the advent of the web (Web 1.0) was to print media. And, of course, Twitter is really just Social 1.0.
So, enjoy this reverse-chronological peek into the back-channel dialogue from TLC on May 1st.
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jimmurphy:Jeff Taylor (founder of Monster.com) rocked the closing keynote #TLC 2008-05-01 16:21:31
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lborsato:Now he has people taking their shoes off. I’m very concerned what is next.2008-05-01 16:09:50
- lborsato:Jeff Taylor is engaging the audience in some old school evangelism.2008-05-01 15:44:53
- cubicgarden: “the end of control….” I like it, but chris anderson says it should all be free? 2008-05-01 14:01:43
- jimmurphy:@Google 20% free time frees resources for different groups. Avoids VP-to-VP fiefdom bargaining for resources and makes things happen. #TLC 2008-05-01 14:00:56
- jimmurphy: Good Google Culture Dump from @sacca at #TLC2008-05-01 13:57:33
- jimmurphy: @sacca Showing the Omid Kordistani email that reduced poor perfroming ads to value attention of users. Put 60% of revenue at risk. #TLC2008-05-01 13:35:53
- jimmurphy:@sacca Working with the republican FCC was possible. Saw eye-to-eye on wireless competitiveness #TLC2008-05-01 13:22:57
- randallh: How to get out of “the dark ages of the mobile environment” 2008-05-01 13:22:43
- randallh: Chris Sacca, crusader to open up mobile platforms 2008-05-01 13:20:15
- garywill: @sacca talking Irv Weinstein and Uncle Bobby … two of the region’s icons 2008-05-01 13:16:10
- markevans: If Panel Moderating Was Always This Easy http://tinyurl.com/6d5jgl 01:13 PM May 01, 2008
- garywill: Finished lunch … tasted like chicken … almost 2008-05-01 13:08:19
- sacca: I had a really good time in Waterloo and am psyched my dad came to drive me back over the border to Lockport. 12:32 PM May 01, 2008
- garywill: Rick Segal has left the building 2008-05-01 12:13:27
- stevepulver: great debate on stage at the TechLeadership conference 12:05 PM May 01, 2008 from fring
- lborsato: Chris Anderson says that he builds companies that are distributed because that’s where the best people are.2008-05-01 12:03:02
- garywill: Old guys don’t have Twitter … according to Rick 2008-05-01 12:02:50
- lborsato: Somebody else is Twittering here after all.2008-05-01 12:01:12
- randallh: More people 55+ than 18-34 on the internet #TLC 2008-05-01 11:58:44
- garywill: @sacca says the number of Twitter users has doubled in 45 days 2008-05-01 11:48:15
- melledotca: Kinda wish I was @ TLC. Ahh well, the tweets help.2008-05-01 11:43:33
- garywill: @sacca says Twitter has no marketing budget 2008-05-01 11:43:16
- garywill: Rick Segal countering with examples of money being needed 2008-05-01
- randallh: Chris Anderson saying he wouldn’t know how to be a VC when you can start a company without maxing pith a credit card 2008-05-01 11:39:36
- lborsato:@garywill How many more people do you think are twittering in the audience? 2008-05-01 11:37:30
- randallh: Chris Sacca: “traditional VC funds haven’t fathomed how cheap it is now to build a software company” 2008-05-01 11:34:25
- lborsato:Chris Sacca, one of Twitter’s investors, is talking about what is happening on the web right now. He’s from Lockport, NY. 2008-05-01 11:32:12
- stevepulver: is watching Chris Sacca from twitter speak in Waterloo 2008-05-01 11:31:53
- randallh: Wow, only about 6 people of 500 at #TLC are on Twitter 2008-05-01 11:30:34
- randallh: Jeff Taylor of Eons: “consumer brands on the east coast are fleeting” #TLC 2008-05-01 11:29:26
- randall: watching Mark Evans panel with Chris*2, Rick and Jeff Taylor #TLC 2008-05-01 11:24:21
- garywill:Mark Evans starting a panel discussion at TLC 2008-05-01 11:22:00
- JeremyAuger:Just saw Chris Anderson, editor of WIRED, and author of The Long Tail present on his ideas, and the economics of ‘Free’. 2008-05-01 11:07:08
- sacca: Love how many Twitters from the audience I got while on stage. Should I take Q&A that way during keynote? 10:08 AM May 01, 2008
- randallh : “the curse of free – it’s a lot easier for small, new companies than incumbants” #TLC 2008-05-01 09:42:58
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randallh: “free is going to be the price of some version of any product” #TLC 2008-05-01 09:41:03
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randallh: Chris Anderson: in economics, “FREE is a weirdly under studied price” #TLC 2008-05-01 09:18:28
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randallh: The origins of Socialism & Communism in the Pareto curve-fascinating #TLC2008-05-01 09:11:53
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lborsato: Chris Anderson says that everyone is in a quest for the average consurmer – but there is no average consumer.2008-05-01 09:09:50
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randallh: No wonder Chris Anderson is so good – he started out at The Economist #TLC 2008-05-01 09:01:46
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randallh: Waterloo tech industry over 500 companies and revenues grew to $13 #TLC BN2008-05-01 08:52:15
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randallh: Enroute to #TLC by Communitech 2008-05-01 07:39:28
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jimmurphy: On my way to #TLC. Looking forward to meting Chris Anderson, Chris Sacca, Jeff Taylor and seeing Rick Segal again. http://is.gd/aRZ 2008-05-01 07:08:2
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randallh: Finishing up a great tech CEO roundtable at Charbries 2008-04-30 23:27:00
21 May 2008
0 CommentsIndigestion from “Half Baked” Mobile Web Browsing
Blackberry Pearl – Convergence of Network and Information
Yesterday, Chris Sacca (ex Googler extraordinaire, investor in the likes of Twitter and recent Tech Leadership Conference Keynote speaker) shot a provocative salvo across the bow of the Twittosphere. Many times Twitter is a true belwether, capturing the pulse of market dynamics. And, although saying this might not go down well in Waterloo, it struck a chord with me. Here’s Chris’s shot of wisdom:
In the mobile universe, aren’t we forever doomed to suffer a hopelessly limited and painful browsing experience? And, why is mobile browsing that important anyway?Whizzy gizmos like the accelerometer aside, the key breakthrough of last year’s Apple iPhone launch was to deliver mobile browsing that is every bit as rich as the equivalent desktop experience. The entire universe of websites accessible to the desktop user simply works in the iPhone browser. This is equally true on 2G EDGE networks, and doesn’t depend on the forthcoming release the iPhone 2 with its higher speed 3G HSDPA capabilities.In short, Apple has moved the bar a quantum leap higher for the entire mobile market. Constrast that with the Blackberry (Pearl or Curve) which so frustrates Chris Sacca. Many sites that work on my notebook give errors, render poorly on the Blackberry screen or use features which simply aren’t supported. On top of that, the browsing and rendering is unbelievably s-l-o-w. Nokia on the Symbian S60 phones, like the N95, is way ahead of Blackberry, but still needs to retool to catch Apple’s strong lead.But, most of all, this is so important because mobile browsing is becoming the only application mechanism that matters for mobile. The myriad hassles of operator locking and closed platforms has effectively rendered the market for downloaded mobile applications stillborn. 2008 is the year in which it has become crystal clear to all of us in the mobile space, that the application platform of choice is, in fact, the browser.The test of Blackberry’s ability to reassert some market leadership will be the new Blackberry Bold which is expected later in 2008. Most people in the know are keenly awaiting to see if it’s browsing experience can rise the the iPhone challenge, or will it merely close some of the gap with Nokia which is itself still an also ran? For me, this may well be the most important strategic market inflection point for Blackberrry over the next year or so. Thus, it would be great if someone in the RIM-plex would care to comment?