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Posts Tagged ‘Matt Marshall’

Six new products launch at MacWorld: DEMO

VentureBeat’s Matt Marshall just got off stage at the MacWorld conference in San Francisco, where six companies launched brand-new products in the MacWorld DEMO: Best in Show presentation.

The presentation is a new collaboration between MacWorld and technology launchpad conference DEMO. (Both conferences are owned by IDG; DEMO is co-produced by VentureBeat.)

Here’s a list of the six products:

Company: Quickoffice
Product: Quickoffice Connected Mobile Suite
Quickoffice Connected Mobile Suite allows users to view, create, edit and share Microsoft Office files directly from their iPhone/iPod Touch. Quickoffice Connect will also enable remote access and sharing to other cloud storage providers, such as Box.net, Google Docs, drop.io and Dropbox. The product also provides access to MobileMe iDisk accounts.

Company: Canson
Product: Papershow, Mac compatible version
You can write on Papershow paper and have the writing appear on your computer screen. The product combines a wireless Bluetooth pen, USB ley, and “interactive paper” to allow you, for example, to create a digital flip chart or annotate a PowerPoint Presentation live. After the meeting you can save your session, print and or email it to your team.

Company: Ten One Design
Product: Inklet
Inklet allows your multitouch trackpad to emulate a pen tablet. When you’re using a Ten One’s Pogo Sketch pen, the trackpad even becomes pressure sensitive. Inklet works with all major drawing programs, and is compatible with the handwriting recognition built into Mac OS X.

Company: SachManya
Product: Yapper
Yapper (Your APP makER) is an online self-service for bloggers, newspapers, pod casters and others to make their own native mobile apps in WYSIWYG fashion. It supports iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry, and the apps can be cached locally for offline reading, as well as location-enabled.

Company: Carina Software
Product: SkyFi & SkyVoyager
SkyFi is a battery-powered adapter that lets you control serial devices like telescopes, GPS recievers, internet routers/switches, etc. from your iPhone, iPod Touch, or any WiFi enabled computer. At MacWorld, Carina is showing off how ot use the SkyVoyager iPhone app to control a large telescope.

Company: Microvision
Product: Showwx
This is a laser-based pico projector. The project is supposed to deliver colorful, bright, vivid and detailed images, requiring no projection lenses or focus adjustment. It’s pocket-sized, can be blogged into media players, mobile phones, and more, and it can delivers images that range from 12 inches to 100 inches.

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DiscoveryBeat videos: The masters explain how to get your app noticed

We’re pleased to present the videos of our DiscoveryBeat panel sessions that took place on Dec. 8.

They’re a good way to learn from some of the smartest minds about how to get your application noticed in an age of noise. With more than 100,000 apps on the iPhone and 500,000 apps on Facebook, it’s a huge challenge.

To succeed, it might seem you have to schmooze Apple executives at private barbecues to get featured in the AppStore (something the guys at the successful game company SGN admitted was crucial for them), or that you have to spam Facebook users with game invites and ads (yep, and most people are doing this).

But this is an ecosystem with diverse voices, not a monoculture. It was fascinating to hear the variety of ways that companies are dealing with the problem of discovery.

At DiscoveryBeat, we got a taste of the full spectrum, from how Backflip Studios with just six employees has been able to get four top five iPhone hits, to Zynga, which has more than 232 million monthly active users on Facebook (AppData). They all face the common problem of how getting lucky with an app is, as our editor Matt Marshall put it, like getting struck by lightening. It’s hard to make it happen twice.

Yet these companies have managed to do it again and again. And they’re doing it with rapid-fire iteration, and trial and error. By quickly scrapping games or apps that don’t have quick traction, you reduce the risk of failure.

From Flurry to other experts on analytics and networks, we learned there are other, complex ways of promoting applications through friendship groups and like-minded users. Vijay Chattha, chief talker at AppLaunch PR, said that market research is cheap these days, ranging from $200 to $2,000 for focus groups. But many app developers don’t think of doing them.

The diversity of creative thinking was manifest on the “Discovery 1.0: Starting from Scratch with a new app” panel (see video, courtesy of ForaTV). Ge Wang and the team at Smule looked at the iPhone’s hardware and software, and assessed what it was uniquely capable of doing. The microphone was sensitive enough so that when you blow into it, it could detect the nuances of your breath. The touchscreen could also detect your finger placement on musical instrument. Smule uses those features to create Ocarina, a musical app that faithfully reproduces the sound of a South American flute-like instrument. The natrual thing to do was to create YouTube videos of people using the app, Wang said. Some, like this one with Wang playing, have had more than a million views.

The answer has to do with creativity in development and in marketing as well, not just in putting a big budget behind a new app. Backflip saw that its paid app, Rag Doll Blaster, was lagging and that its free app, Paper Toss, was going strong. So it inserted AdMob ads into Paper Toss that directed players to the paid app, which then saw its sales take off. The free game became a distribution vehicle for the paid game. (But Flurry’s Peter Farago warned that it can cost $3 in advertising to get someone to buy a 99 cent app).

Randy Angle, director of design at SGN, has worked on 60 games, including eight iPhone games. The iPhone games take six weeks to eight weeks to build to the point where they can be tested. Speed is very important and it is one of the biggest differences between the new games and the traditional games. Yet his company is also wrapping games with social features, such as leaderboards, the ability to challenge friends via Facebook Connect (which links you to your real friends on Facebook), and more things in the future.

SGN is also thinking of creating games that tap into brands that are known among mainstream users. Angle said that sometimes you can get a brand owner to back and idea and get support for the game as a result. It’s worth noting that brands dominate the top games of 2009 on the iPhone, but Farrior’s small firm has two games on the top 30 list. Farago refers to the egalitarian nature of the iPhone’s top game rankings as “the rise of the middle class.”

“This is still a space where a smart, creative, talented team can make a difference,” Farrior said.

Angle said it matters to have a good relationship with Apple, which can feature iPhone games and draw huge attention to them. But Flurry started AppCircle, a platform to recommend apps based on a user’s actual tastes in playing games, on the assumption that the playing field can be leveled for smaller developers who don’t have such inside friendships. The power to buy an app lies in the consumer’s hands, not just the marketers or kingmakers. So recommendations, reviews, and ratings all make a big difference. So does having the right analytics about users, what they like, and removing the barriers that stand in the way of them using the app more.

I moderated the panel on “Discovery 2.0: Moving Your App to the Next Level” (see video, again courtesy of ForaTV).” Even the bigger companies have problems with discovery, said Neil Young chief executive of Ngmoco, an iPhone game publisher funded by Kleiner Perkins. Since the iPhone isn’t as much of a social platform as Facebook, developers big and small have to design games so they can create a “core compulsion loop” that keeps people playing, keeps them buying, and keeps them referring the game to their friends.

Roy Sehgal, general manager at Zynga in charge of the Cafe World game — which has gotten more than 32 million monthly active users since September — acknowledges that the meaning of a successful game has been reset with the huge audiences growing on Facebook. But he feels like the industry is just at the beginning. He noted that Zynga tests its games by putting them out into the wild without telling anyone by inserting the game’s name into a directory. It wants immediate feedback on whether a game can spread in a viral way on its own.

John Pleasants, chief executive of Playdom, has a big following on MySpace, with eight of the top 25 games. But on Facebook, Zynga is 10 times larger. So while his company is formidable, it has to play catch up. He is picking up the pace on game launches and then acquired two Facebook game studios to get a better position. Those acquisitions can get you a bigger audience on Facebook who can spread the word about your other games. Those deals can thus lower your customer acquisition costs, lessening the need for advertising.

These markets are still very young. Facebook opened up its platform in 2007, and Zynga launched its poker game on the social network in mid-2007. Now, with so many users, it Zynga, Playfish, and Playdom have huge momentum. Venture capitalist Tim Chang of Norwest Venture Partners has referred to them as “the Big Three.” Can anyone stop them?

Even mighty Electronic Arts had to throw in the towel. Early on, Hasbro and EA fought with the makers of Scrabbulous, a Scrabble knock-off that was killed off by the threat of litigation, only to be replaced by a dull version of Scrabble that went nowhere. EA tried repeatedly to create hit games on Facebook in an effort to derail Zynga’s steady rise. But it finally agreed to buy Playfish for as much as $400 million in October. Sebastien  DeHalleux, chief operating officer at Playfish, said on the panel that the acquisition was all about getting together a critical mass of talent and intellectual property.

As much as some companies are attempting to consolidate and dominate, it is interesting how circumstances can change things around and upset the balance of power.  Facebook is in the midst of shaking up the platform, and that is causing everyone to rethink how their games get discovered, said Roy Sehgal, general manager at Zynga.

DeHalleux accepts that Facebook thinks of itself not as a web site but an ever-changing service that has to continuously improve its relevance to users. Pleasants also agreed, saying removing spam from the system could help get users to play more games and to pay for more things inside them. The companies that understand the changes to the platform and jump on whatever is most relevant to discovery can pass up their slower rivals.

By comparison, Apple’s platform is even more nascent. The free-to-play model is just getting started, where you can give away an app and charge for a virtual good inside the app. In that sense, there is no dominant company now and everyone is in a free-for-all to gain traction quickly.

That may be why the brands are diving into the iPhone now. The last panel was moderated by Roy Bahat, president of IGN Entertainment, and it was entitled “Discovery 3.0 Bring in the Big Guys” (see video). This panel continued the discussion about the entry of brands, but in a more colorful way.

Michael Chang, chief executive of mobile marketing firm Greystripe, said that brands can help get the initial inertia moving behind an ap. He noted his company started a program where advertisers had to pay only if  a user downloaded an app being advertised. That kind of marketing is much more cost effective and makes it much more affordable to app makers that otherwise couldn’t afford a big marketing budget. He noted that brands are showing their power, like the Twilight movie-themed apps that have proven very popular. Jon Vlassopulos, chief executive of Moderati, echoed that, saying his company created a successful app around the Vitamin Water brand by tapping fan interest in the rap artist 50 Cent. The app moved to No. 9 on the AppStore and No. 1 in its music section.

But Alex St. John, president and chief operating officer of hi5, emphatically insisted that brands don’t work, especially in an environment where it’s easy to try out game play for free. In the console business, the branding may get someone to buy a Spider-Man game for $60 before they try it out. But on the web, players have to be turned on by the game play or they drop a game right away. A considerable argument ensued. St. John says “putting hot chicks” into ads works better than brands.

Lisa Marino, newly appointed as chief revenue officer at RockYou, said that brands have to be careful about how they enter the market, no matter how great their brands are in mother media. She noted it’s a good idea to insert a brand into an already successful app to give that app more juice and cred among certain kinds of users. Marino noted that Zynga spent millions of dollars promoting FarmVille at the outset to get the app off the ground.

St. John said he believes that the place for the brands to show up is in the ads around games. He believes half the money going into social games will come not just from virtual goods, but from brands advertising. Marino agreed with him.

“You think Zynga is making money now, wait until they get advertising right,” St. John said.

Vlassopulos closed with an interesting observation. Back in 1995, there were 100,000 or so web sites, just as there are iPhone apps now. People said there were too many and you would get lost. Now there are hundreds of millions of web sites, and there are three or four favorites for each person. So the idea that we have a saturated app market is not true. Marino noted that experimentation makes a huge difference in getting apps noticed. She said that RockYou does 120 code releases a week, with many of them testing ways to help apps spread.

Now that you’ve seen how easy it all is, you’re set, right?  :)

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Google’s Ed Lu declares PowerMeter a humanitarian mission

Google’s Ed Lu said today that his company’s entry into the energy network market doesn’t mean that utilities have to worry about the search giant generating or distributing electrical power.

Lu spoke at VentureBeat’s GreenBeat 09 event today. Discussing Google’s Powermeter with Matt Marshall, Venture Beat Editor In Chief and CEO, he seemed to be playing his cards close to his vest on some topics but was smilingly helpful on others.

Marshall comments that PG&E might be getting nervous with Google’s entry into energy networks. After all, the startup that took years to reach profitability has now launched browsers, word processing software, email with integrated calendars, even an operating system coming soon. Google came out of nowhere and is now a clear and present danger to Microsoft. When David grows into a Goliath himself, giants everywhere begin to worry.

According to Lu, though, these fears are unfounded. He says “…clearly, we aren’t going to generate or distribute power.  Utilities are good at that. We are good at reaching lots of customers and we think this is where we can help — we can help utilities reach customers and customers to monitor their energy usage.”

Of course, this is a similar line to what Google said about the Android mobile phone software two years ago.  Today, many aren’t even sure who manufactures the Droid, but everyone knows it’s a Google phone. Google is reportedly planning its own Google-branded Android phone. Goliaths everywhere wonder if their utilities are about to suffer a similar ignominous fate.

During the Q&A, though, an interesting fact: Google.com isn’t developing PowerMeter. Google.org is. That difference in domain name is three letters with a lot of meaning. Google.org is the philanthropic wing of the company, funded with 1 percent equity and 1 percent profit from Google corporate. The success or failure of PowerMeter won’t be measured in financial terms, Lu says, but in whether or not it helps save a “socially relevant amount of energy”.

He goes on to say that Google’s main play in energy is it’s ability to scale. The goal is to provide the interface from physical power meter to the consumer’s laptop or mobile phone, not to do the metering itself. With this in mind, he says, Google’s mission is to help the Tendril and Opowers of the world to grow in scale and reach more customers. Consumer data is to be the exclusive property of the consumer, who has the right to delete records and stop using PowerMeter whenever they choose.

Lu’s talk made Google appear uninterested in the business side of PowerMeter, saying google saw it’s mission as “helping” utilities.  Of course, they had the same mission with mobile phones vast profits are ensuing. We’ll have to wait and see if the same fate is in store for PowerMeter.

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Matt Marshall: Overcommunication is good. Do it in person

VentureBeat editor-in-chief Matt Marshall made the attached two-minute video for a UPS series on “seizing opportunities.” The chief is too modest to post it himself, so I’m sticking it up here while he’s at brunch.

Matt’s theme is one I browbeat Web 2.0 utopianists with at cocktail parties: It’s great that we have an Internet so I can stay in touch with my friends who’ve moved to New York, but there are interactions that only happen in person.

To make those happen, Matt says, you need to overcommunicate rather than striving for efficiency. It’s the way people are hardwired to work.

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ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, 20 September 2009

This is an exciting week for us here at ReadWriteWeb. We just recently announced the ReadWrite Real-Time Web Summit, which is gearing up to be an excellent event on the state of the real-time Web and the challenges ahead. See the details on it and all of the other great events lined up below. You can download the calendar in iCal format or import it into your Google Calendar. You can also import individual events using the link beside each entry. This events guide is a weekly feature here on ReadWriteWeb. We publish it every weekend, as good a time as any to review your conference plans.

Know of an event taking place that should appear here? Let us know in the comments below or contact us.

Sponsor

21 – 23 September: San Diego, California

DEMOfall 09 Conference

DEMOfall 09 promises to showcase the most comprehensive portfolio of credible emerging technologies, vetted by VentureBeat founder Matt Marshall and leading technology analyst Chris Shipley. Alpha Pitch, a new DEMO program, puts you in front of the most promising entrepreneurs with products in the alpha, prototype, and development stages of their life cycles. These are pre-revenue companies that have no more than one round of seed funding and are ready for your investment dollars.

DEMO is the launch pad of emerging technology and a true market performer for visionary investors, entrepreneurs, and industry influencers alike.

ReadWriteWeb readers pay only $1996. Save $500 off the standard fee by registering before August 15th.

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22 September 2009: London

Realising the Benefits of Web 2.0 in Financial Services

If you are responsible for marketing, compliance, e-business, customer communications, or internal communications at a financial institution, you won’t want to miss this series of events:

The UK’s first conference focusing specifically on Web 2.0 in Financial Services:

• What is happening now? Current applications and experiences of social media in the financial services market;
• Hear how social networking is changing the approach of firms to marketing, PR, and customer interaction;
• Explore opportunities to enhance internal communications, process improvement, and compliance;
• Understand the developing legal and regulatory framework for Web 2.0;
• Identify the next steps for social media in financial services.

ReadWriteWeb readers get a 20% discount. Use the code KM6298RRWEB.

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22 – 23 September 2009: Singapore

Social Networking World Forum — Asia

This two-day conference hosted by the Social Networking World Forum – Asia features key speakers from social networking publishers, advertising agencies, industry analysts, software developers and equipment manufacturers, pay-TV and network service providers, mobile operators, and more.

• Joint exhibition combining social networking and mobile social networking formats
• Evening networking reception
• Discount for early booking (expires August 21st)
• Free pass for exhibition only

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22 – 23 September 2009: Melbourne, Australia

Marketing Now!

On September 22-23 a movement of highly engaged, passionate thought leaders and professionals will gather in Melbourne to demonstrate the power of social media for business today. Marketing Now! brings together the best of the best in new marketing innovation in two intensive days of interactive training designed to empower a new generation of change agents and business leaders. Marketing Now! will change the way you think about communications by equipping you with the tools and insight to foster advocacy and community for your business.

Follow Marketing Now on Twitter for conference updates.

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30 September 2009: on Twitter

Twittamentary

Update: Call for submissions of stories and videos is now open. In this documentary, filmmaker Tan Siok Siok peels away the hype and explores the human dimensions of how lives connect and intersect, and then are affected and changed, as result of encounters on Twitter.

Twittamentary is created in the open spirit of the Web. Twitter users are invite to contribute ideas and videos to the film. When the film is completed, it will be released online under a creative commons license. In other words, you are both the contributor and the audience.

The 24-hour storytelling event on 30 September 2009 shares the videos submitted up till then in a round-the-clock marathon in which participants get to watch the videos online, rate and comment on them, and tweet about them.

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2 October 2009: Seattle, Washington

ExpressionEngine Roadshow

The ExpressionEngine Roadshow is a traveling conference designed to bring together experts and users to learn ExpressionEngine techniques and share insider tips. Now in its second year, and second city, the 2009 conference will be a full day event. The show runs from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, with breakfast before, a party after, and lunch in between, all included in the price of admission. Follow @eeroadshow on Twitter for the latest details.

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2 October 2009: New York City

Hadoop World

Facebook, Google, and Yahoo! introduced the world to Hadoop, the open-source technology that simultaneously combines storage and processing for large-scale data. Now, all sorts of companies in a number of different verticals are using Hadoop.

And they’re all going to be in New York City on October 2nd for Hadoop World. All the Hadoop rock stars will be there, including Hadoop project creator Doug Cutting. Amazon, Facebook, IBM, and Yahoo!, to name a few companies, are sponsoring the event. In addition to the above listed, Visa, JPMorganChase, China Mobile, and many others will be giving talks about their use of Hadoop.

ReadWriteWeb readers get 25% off the regular ticket price. Register here.

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8 October 2009: San Diego

Mobile Application Stores conference

As a partner seminar of Intenational CTIA WIRELESS I.T. and Entertainment, the Mobile Application Stores conference will focus on the tremendous opportunities in the mobile apps stores eco-system. The event is designed to give a complete understanding of how to capitalize on this exploding market.

Participants will discuss strategy and deployment in application stores such as Apple (iPhone), Google (Android), RIM (Blackberry), Nokia (Ovi), Palm Pre, and Microsoft, as well as other emerging application stores. To learn more, visit www.mobileapplicationstores.com or write to events@nextvisionmedia.com.

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15 October 2009: Mountain View, California

The ReadWrite Real-Time Web Summit

Our month of special coverage on the real-time Web culminates with ReadWriteWeb’s very first event: the ReadWrite Real-Time Web Summit, a day-long event of conversations about the real-time Web, including its current state and its pressing challenges and greatest opportunities.

Topics will include:

• The potential and pitfalls of real-time for social networking, media, financial services, humanitarian work and political advocacy.
• How will ubiquitous real-time information delivery change the web in the future? What will it make possible? How will it change user expectations?
• How can real-time information overload be dealt with, technically and culturally?
• How can small organizations use the real-time web to challenge market incumbents? How can market incumbents continue to thrive in a real-time environment?

Early-bird registration ends this Tuesday!

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22 October 2009: London, England

Cloud Computing World Forum

The Cloud Computing World Forum is the perfect event for professionals to learn and discuss the future development and integration of cloud services. This one-day conference will provide a focused platform for the global cloud computing industry.

The Cloud Computing World Forum is the place to meet all the key decision makers from all of the cloud service providers in one place. Show highlights include:

• Hear from leading case studies on how to integrate cloud computing into working practices,
• Learn from the key players offering services in the cloud,
• Benefit from pre-show online meeting planner,
• Evening networking reception.

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23 October 2009: Durham, North Carolina

The Social Media Business Forum

The Social Media Business Forum will feature national and local speakers from marketing companies, technology companies, and social networks discussing ways in which business communications have changed because of social media. Sessions will look at internal and external communications methods for both B2B and B2C companies and provide actionable takeaway items for attendees to immediately implement in their businesses. The forum targets business owners, executives, business communicators, key organizational stake holders, and anyone interested in gaining practical knowledge about social media.

Early bird registration is $125 until September 18, and $250 thereafter.

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4 – 5 November 2009: Raleigh, North Carolina

Internet Summit 2009

Internet Summit ‘09 will feature over 75 speakers, including representatives of major Internet brands such as Twitter, Pandora, Google, Salesforce.com, Digg, Technorati, CBS Interactive, Huffington Post, Blogger, Tree.com, and many more.

Topics will include social media, blogging, real time, mobile, video, search, online advertising, e-commerce, analytics, the cloud, and more.

Join over 1200 entrepreneurs, senior marketers, and executives in the conversation about the future of the industry and how to capitalize on the shifting dynamics of the Internet and tap into its unlimited business potential.

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9 – 10 November 2009: Santa Clara, California

Social Networking World Forum — California

This event taking place at the Santa Clara Convention Center actually consists of three conferences: two days dedicated to social networking, one day dedicated to enterprise social media, and one day dedicated to social TV. Key speakers include social networking publishers, advertising agencies, industry analysts, software developers and equipment manufacturers, pay-TV and network service providers, mobile operators, and more.

• Joint exhibition combining social networking and enterprise social media formats
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Discount for early booking (expires September 25th)
• Free pass for exhibition only

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10 – 13 November 2009: Las Vegas

PubCon Vegas

PubCon Las Vegas is a multi-track educational conference hosted by SearchEngineWorld & WebmasterWorld. PubCon events are for thought leaders and professionals in search engine and Internet marketing to gather and to share best practices in the design, development, promotion and marketing of their Internet businesses and brands. PubCon London 2009 is a social networking event.

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11 – 12 November 2009: Denver, Colorado

Defrag 2009 Conference

As online data is growing and fragmenting at an exponential pace, individuals, groups and organizations are struggling to discover, assemble, organize, act on and gather feedback from that data. In the largest sense, we’re all looking to augment the pace at which we achieve insights on raw data — to accelerate the “A-ha” moment.

Defrag explores the intersection of topics like:

• Business intelligence
• Business process management
• Social computing and analytics
• Next-level discovery
• Enterprise 2.0
• Next-gen email
• The semantic Web

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1 – 3 December 2009: London, England

Online Information & IMS 2009

Online Information and IMS together create the largest event dedicated to the information industry. Consisting of an exhibition delivering over 9,000 visitors from 70 countries, a conference and a show-floor seminar program, the event provides an annual meeting place for the global information industry.

Online Information is once again set to play host to thousands of information professionals, information end-users and publishers from around the globe, meeting suppliers of online content, e-publishing, and library management solutions. IMS provides a forum for IT, business, and information management professionals to find unlimited, relevant advice, educational content and compare solutions under one roof. Attend IMS and meet suppliers of content management, search solutions, and Web 2.0 technologies.

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15 – 16 March 2010: London, England

2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum — London

The 2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum takes place at the Olympia Conference Centre in London. The two-day event features four dedicated conference streams:

1. Social Networking World Forum
2. Enterprise social media
3. Social TV World Forum
4. Mobile Social Networking Forum

The event features key speakers from global brands, organizations, social networking publishers and developers, pioneering social media leaders, top agencies, content producers, and more.

• Full workshop program within exhibition area
• Evening networking reception
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Free pass for exhibition only

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Download this entire events calendar in iCal format.

Discuss

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ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, 12 September 2009

Here we go with this week’s ReadWriteWeb events guide. Remember to download the calendar in iCal format or import it into your Google Calendar. You can also import individual events using the link beside each entry. This events guide is a weekly feature here on ReadWriteWeb. We publish it every weekend, as good a time as any to review your conference plans.

Know of an event taking place that should appear here? Let us know in the comments below or contact us.

Sponsor

12 September 2009: New York City

Twestival

Twestival, famous for harnessing the power of social media to bring people together for great causes, is hosting a star-studded event in New York City, in association with Brooklyn Bowl and Flavorpill, benefitting non-profit CampInteractive. CampInteractive is a local non-profit that empowers at-risk, inner-city youth through the inspiration of the outdoors and the creative power of technology.

100% of all money raised through ticket sales will go towards CampInteractive.

With stars in abundance, NYC’s “Celebrity Bowling” tournament represents a unique opportunity for Twestival-goers to bowl with entertainment elite. Participants are invited to purchase a special group package that will score them a lane to bowl with a star.

The night will be packed with live performances featuring some of New York’s most exciting emerging artists, including Twestival favorite, Eclectic Method.

Buy your tickets now!

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21 – 23 September: San Diego, California

DEMOfall 09 Conference

DEMOfall 09 promises to showcase the most comprehensive portfolio of credible emerging technologies, vetted by VentureBeat founder Matt Marshall and leading technology analyst Chris Shipley. Alpha Pitch, a new DEMO program, puts you in front of the most promising entrepreneurs with products in the alpha, prototype, and development stages of their life cycles. These are pre-revenue companies that have no more than one round of seed funding and are ready for your investment dollars.

DEMO is the launch pad of emerging technology and a true market performer for visionary investors, entrepreneurs, and industry influencers alike.

ReadWriteWeb readers pay only $1996. Save $500 off the standard fee by registering before August 15th.

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22 September 2009: London

Realising the Benefits of Web 2.0 in Financial Services

If you are responsible for marketing, compliance, e-business, customer communications, or internal communications at a financial institution, you won’t want to miss this series of events:

The UK’s first conference focusing specifically on Web 2.0 in Financial Services:

• What is happening now? Current applications and experiences of social media in the financial services market;
• Hear how social networking is changing the approach of firms to marketing, PR, and customer interaction;
• Explore opportunities to enhance internal communications, process improvement, and compliance;
• Understand the developing legal and regulatory framework for Web 2.0;
• Identify the next steps for social media in financial services.

ReadWriteWeb readers get a 20% discount. Use the code KM6298RRWEB.

---

22 – 23 September 2009: Singapore

Social Networking World Forum — Asia

This two-day conference hosted by the Social Networking World Forum – Asia features key speakers from social networking publishers, advertising agencies, industry analysts, software developers and equipment manufacturers, pay-TV and network service providers, mobile operators, and more.

• Joint exhibition combining social networking and mobile social networking formats
• Evening networking reception
• Discount for early booking (expires August 21st)
• Free pass for exhibition only

---

22 – 23 September 2009: Melbourne, Australia

Marketing Now!

On September 22-23 a movement of highly engaged, passionate thought leaders and professionals will gather in Melbourne to demonstrate the power of social media for business today. Marketing Now! brings together the best of the best in new marketing innovation in two intensive days of interactive training designed to empower a new generation of change agents and business leaders. Marketing Now! will change the way you think about communications by equipping you with the tools and insight to foster advocacy and community for your business.

Follow Marketing Now on Twitter for conference updates.

---

30 September 2009: on Twitter

Twittamentary

Update: Call for submissions of stories and videos is now open. In this documentary, filmmaker Tan Siok Siok peels away the hype and explores the human dimensions of how lives connect and intersect, and then are affected and changed, as result of encounters on Twitter.

Twittamentary is created in the open spirit of the Web. Twitter users are invite to contribute ideas and videos to the film. When the film is completed, it will be released online under a creative commons license. In other words, you are both the contributor and the audience.

The 24-hour storytelling event on 30 September 2009 shares the videos submitted up till then in a round-the-clock marathon in which participants get to watch the videos online, rate and comment on them, and tweet about them.

---

2 October 2009: Seattle, Washington

ExpressionEngine Roadshow

The ExpressionEngine Roadshow is a traveling conference designed to bring together experts and users to learn ExpressionEngine techniques and share insider tips. Now in its second year, and second city, the 2009 conference will be a full day event. The show runs from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, with breakfast before, a party after, and lunch in between, all included in the price of admission. Follow @eeroadshow on Twitter for the latest details.

---

8 October 2009: San Diego

Mobile Application Stores conference

As a partner seminar of Intenational CTIA WIRELESS I.T. and Entertainment, the Mobile Application Stores conference will focus on the tremendous opportunities in the mobile apps stores eco-system. The event is designed to give a complete understanding of how to capitalize on this exploding market.

Participants will discuss strategy and deployment in application stores such as Apple (iPhone), Google (Android), RIM (Blackberry), Nokia (Ovi), Palm Pre, and Microsoft, as well as other emerging application stores. To learn more, visit www.mobileapplicationstores.com or write to events@nextvisionmedia.com.

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22 October 2009: London, England

Cloud Computing World Forum

The Cloud Computing World Forum is the perfect event for professionals to learn and discuss the future development and integration of cloud services. This one-day conference will provide a focused platform for the global cloud computing industry.

The Cloud Computing World Forum is the place to meet all the key decision makers from all of the cloud service providers in one place. Show highlights include:

• Hear from leading case studies on how to integrate cloud computing into working practices,
• Learn from the key players offering services in the cloud,
• Benefit from pre-show online meeting planner,
• Evening networking reception.

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23 October 2009: Durham, North Carolina

The Social Media Business Forum

The Social Media Business Forum will feature national and local speakers from marketing companies, technology companies, and social networks discussing ways in which business communications have changed because of social media. Sessions will look at internal and external communications methods for both B2B and B2C companies and provide actionable takeaway items for attendees to immediately implement in their businesses. The forum targets business owners, executives, business communicators, key organizational stake holders, and anyone interested in gaining practical knowledge about social media.

Early bird registration is $125 until September 18, and $250 thereafter.

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4 – 5 November 2009: Raleigh, North Carolina

Internet Summit 2009

Internet Summit ‘09 will feature over 75 speakers, including representatives of major Internet brands such as Twitter, Pandora, Google, Salesforce.com, Digg, Technorati, CBS Interactive, Huffington Post, Blogger, Tree.com, and many more.

Topics will include social media, blogging, real time, mobile, video, search, online advertising, e-commerce, analytics, the cloud, and more.

Join over 1200 entrepreneurs, senior marketers, and executives in the conversation about the future of the industry and how to capitalize on the shifting dynamics of the Internet and tap into its unlimited business potential.

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9 – 10 November 2009: Santa Clara, California

Social Networking World Forum — California

This event taking place at the Santa Clara Convention Center actually consists of three conferences: two days dedicated to social networking, one day dedicated to enterprise social media, and one day dedicated to social TV. Key speakers include social networking publishers, advertising agencies, industry analysts, software developers and equipment manufacturers, pay-TV and network service providers, mobile operators, and more.

• Joint exhibition combining social networking and enterprise social media formats
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Discount for early booking (expires September 25th)
• Free pass for exhibition only

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10 – 13 November 2009: Las Vegas

PubCon Vegas

PubCon Las Vegas is a multi-track educational conference hosted by SearchEngineWorld & WebmasterWorld. PubCon events are for thought leaders and professionals in search engine and Internet marketing to gather and to share best practices in the design, development, promotion and marketing of their Internet businesses and brands. PubCon London 2009 is a social networking event.

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11 – 12 November 2009: Denver, Colorado

Defrag 2009 Conference

As online data is growing and fragmenting at an exponential pace, individuals, groups and organizations are struggling to discover, assemble, organize, act on and gather feedback from that data. In the largest sense, we’re all looking to augment the pace at which we achieve insights on raw data — to accelerate the “A-ha” moment.

Defrag explores the intersection of topics like:

• Business intelligence
• Business process management
• Social computing and analytics
• Next-level discovery
• Enterprise 2.0
• Next-gen email
• The semantic Web

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1 – 3 December 2009: London, England

Online Information & IMS 2009

Online Information and IMS together create the largest event dedicated to the information industry. Consisting of an exhibition delivering over 9,000 visitors from 70 countries, a conference and a show-floor seminar program, the event provides an annual meeting place for the global information industry.

Online Information is once again set to play host to thousands of information professionals, information end-users and publishers from around the globe, meeting suppliers of online content, e-publishing, and library management solutions. IMS provides a forum for IT, business, and information management professionals to find unlimited, relevant advice, educational content and compare solutions under one roof. Attend IMS and meet suppliers of content management, search solutions, and Web 2.0 technologies.

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15 – 16 March 2010: London, England

2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum — London

The 2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum takes place at the Olympia Conference Centre in London. The two-day event features four dedicated conference streams:

1. Social Networking World Forum
2. Enterprise social media
3. Social TV World Forum
4. Mobile Social Networking Forum

The event features key speakers from global brands, organizations, social networking publishers and developers, pioneering social media leaders, top agencies, content producers, and more.

• Full workshop program within exhibition area
• Evening networking reception
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Free pass for exhibition only

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Download this entire events calendar in iCal format.

Discuss

Read the whole story…

ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, 29 August 2009

Here is this week’s ReadWriteWeb events guide. Remember to download the calendar in iCal format or import it into your Google Calendar. You can also import individual events using the link beside each entry. This events guide is a weekly feature here on ReadWriteWeb. We publish it every weekend, as good a time as any to review your conference plans.

Know of an event taking place that should appear here? Let us know in the comments below or contact us.

Sponsor

10 September 2009: San Francisco

Mobilize 09

GigaOM’s Mobile Web Conference is a one-day conference that brings together thought leaders of the next generation mobile Web for talk, demonstrations, and debate.

Participants will examine what it means to have wireless broadband speeds at the Gigabit scale and how the explosion of platforms creates new opportunities beyond the traditional handset for entrepreneurs, investors, and consumers. Over 50 speakers and 500 delegates will be there.

ReadWriteWeb readers save $150 on the regular ticket price up until August 14th. Register here with the code “RWW”.

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21 – 23 September: San Diego, California

DEMOfall 09 Conference

DEMOfall 09 promises to showcase the most comprehensive portfolio of credible emerging technologies, vetted by VentureBeat founder Matt Marshall and leading technology analyst Chris Shipley. Alpha Pitch, a new DEMO program, puts you in front of the most promising entrepreneurs with products in the alpha, prototype, and development stages of their life cycles. These are pre-revenue companies that have no more than one round of seed funding and are ready for your investment dollars.

DEMO is the launch pad of emerging technology and a true market performer for visionary investors, entrepreneurs, and industry influencers alike.

ReadWriteWeb readers pay only $1996. Save $500 off the standard fee by registering before August 15th.

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22 September 2009: London

Realising the Benefits of Web 2.0 in Financial Services

If you are responsible for marketing, compliance, e-business, customer communications, or internal communications at a financial institution, you won’t want to miss this series of events:

The UK’s first conference focusing specifically on Web 2.0 in Financial Services:

• What is happening now? Current applications and experiences of social media in the financial services market;
• Hear how social networking is changing the approach of firms to marketing, PR, and customer interaction;
• Explore opportunities to enhance internal communications, process improvement, and compliance;
• Understand the developing legal and regulatory framework for Web 2.0;
• Identify the next steps for social media in financial services.

ReadWriteWeb readers get a 20% discount. Use the code KM6298RRWEB.

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22 – 23 September 2009: Singapore

Social Networking World Forum — Asia

This two-day conference hosted by the Social Networking World Forum – Asia features key speakers from social networking publishers, advertising agencies, industry analysts, software developers and equipment manufacturers, pay-TV and network service providers, mobile operators, and more.

• Joint exhibition combining social networking and mobile social networking formats
• Evening networking reception
• Discount for early booking (expires August 21st)
• Free pass for exhibition only

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22 – 23 September 2009: Melbourne, Australia

Marketing Now!

On September 22-23 a movement of highly engaged, passionate thought leaders and professionals will gather in Melbourne to demonstrate the power of social media for business today. Marketing Now! brings together the best of the best in new marketing innovation in two intensive days of interactive training designed to empower a new generation of change agents and business leaders. Marketing Now! will change the way you think about communications by equipping you with the tools and insight to foster advocacy and community for your business.

Follow Marketing Now on Twitter for conference updates.

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30 September 2009: on Twitter

Twittamentary

Update: Call for submissions of stories and videos is now open. In this documentary, filmmaker Tan Siok Siok peels away the hype and explores the human dimensions of how lives connect and intersect, and then are affected and changed, as result of encounters on Twitter.

Twittamentary is created in the open spirit of the Web. Twitter users are invite to contribute ideas and videos to the film. When the film is completed, it will be released online under a creative commons license. In other words, you are both the contributor and the audience.

The 24-hour storytelling event on 30 September 2009 shares the videos submitted up till then in a round-the-clock marathon in which participants get to watch the videos online, rate and comment on them, and tweet about them.

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8 October 2009: San Diego

Mobile Application Stores conference

As a partner seminar of Intenational CTIA WIRELESS I.T. and Entertainment, the Mobile Application Stores conference will focus on the tremendous opportunities in the mobile apps stores eco-system. The event is designed to give a complete understanding of how to capitalize on this exploding market.

Participants will discuss strategy and deployment in application stores such as Apple (iPhone), Google (Android), RIM (Blackberry), Nokia (Ovi), Palm Pre, and Microsoft, as well as other emerging application stores. To learn more, visit www.mobileapplicationstores.com or write to events@nextvisionmedia.com.

---

22 October 2009: London, England

Cloud Computing World Forum

The Cloud Computing World Forum is the perfect event for professionals to learn and discuss the future development and integration of cloud services. This one-day conference will provide a focused platform for the global cloud computing industry.

The Cloud Computing World Forum is the place to meet all the key decision makers from all of the cloud service providers in one place. Show highlights include:

• Hear from leading case studies on how to integrate cloud computing into working practices,
• Learn from the key players offering services in the cloud,
• Benefit from pre-show online meeting planner,
• Evening networking reception.

---

23 October 2009: Durham, North Carolina

The Social Media Business Forum

The Social Media Business Forum will feature national and local speakers from marketing companies, technology companies, and social networks discussing ways in which business communications have changed because of social media. Sessions will look at internal and external communications methods for both B2B and B2C companies and provide actionable takeaway items for attendees to immediately implement in their businesses. The forum targets business owners, executives, business communicators, key organizational stake holders, and anyone interested in gaining practical knowledge about social media.

Early bird registration is $125 until September 18, and $250 thereafter.

---

4 – 5 November 2009: Raleigh, North Carolina

Internet Summit 2009

Internet Summit ‘09 will feature over 75 speakers, including representatives of major Internet brands such as Twitter, Pandora, Google, Salesforce.com, Digg, Technorati, CBS Interactive, Huffington Post, Blogger, Tree.com, and many more.

Topics will include social media, blogging, real time, mobile, video, search, online advertising, e-commerce, analytics, the cloud, and more.

Join over 1200 entrepreneurs, senior marketers, and executives in the conversation about the future of the industry and how to capitalize on the shifting dynamics of the Internet and tap into its unlimited business potential.

---

9 – 10 November 2009: Santa Clara, California

Social Networking World Forum — California

This event taking place at the Santa Clara Convention Center actually consists of three conferences: two days dedicated to social networking, one day dedicated to enterprise social media, and one day dedicated to social TV. Key speakers include social networking publishers, advertising agencies, industry analysts, software developers and equipment manufacturers, pay-TV and network service providers, mobile operators, and more.

• Joint exhibition combining social networking and enterprise social media formats
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Discount for early booking (expires September 25th)
• Free pass for exhibition only

---

10 – 13 November 2009: Las Vegas

PubCon Vegas

PubCon Las Vegas is a multi-track educational conference hosted by SearchEngineWorld & WebmasterWorld. PubCon events are for thought leaders and professionals in search engine and Internet marketing to gather and to share best practices in the design, development, promotion and marketing of their Internet businesses and brands. PubCon London 2009 is a social networking event.

---

11 – 12 November 2009: Denver, Colorado

Defrag 2009 Conference

As online data is growing and fragmenting at an exponential pace, individuals, groups and organizations are struggling to discover, assemble, organize, act on and gather feedback from that data. In the largest sense, we’re all looking to augment the pace at which we achieve insights on raw data — to accelerate the “A-ha” moment.

Defrag explores the intersection of topics like:

• Business intelligence
• Business process management
• Social computing and analytics
• Next-level discovery
• Enterprise 2.0
• Next-gen email
• The semantic Web

---

1 – 3 December 2009: London, England

Online Information & IMS 2009

Online Information and IMS together create the largest event dedicated to the information industry. Consisting of an exhibition delivering over 9,000 visitors from 70 countries, a conference and a show-floor seminar program, the event provides an annual meeting place for the global information industry.

Online Information is once again set to play host to thousands of information professionals, information end-users and publishers from around the globe, meeting suppliers of online content, e-publishing, and library management solutions. IMS provides a forum for IT, business, and information management professionals to find unlimited, relevant advice, educational content and compare solutions under one roof. Attend IMS and meet suppliers of content management, search solutions, and Web 2.0 technologies.

---

15 – 16 March 2010: London, England

2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum — London

The 2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum takes place at the Olympia Conference Centre in London. The two-day event features four dedicated conference streams:

1. Social Networking World Forum
2. Enterprise social media
3. Social TV World Forum
4. Mobile Social Networking Forum

The event features key speakers from global brands, organizations, social networking publishers and developers, pioneering social media leaders, top agencies, content producers, and more.

• Full workshop program within exhibition area
• Evening networking reception
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Free pass for exhibition only

---

Download this entire events calendar in iCal format.

Discuss

Read the whole story…

Twitter CEO’s wife tweets about labor, ongoing birth of first child

Sara Morishige Williams, Twitter CEO Ev Williams’ wife, is certainly making use of the company product — for the birth of their first child.

She went old-school, using text messages rather than a fancy application to post the news. Twitter, meanwhile, has gone so mainstream (at least in parts of the country) that Morishige will be far from the first person to tweet a birth. The San Jose Mercury News reported last week that expectant fathers are using the microblogging service to give minute-by-minute updates on deliveries.

Speaking of expectant fathers, Williams has actually been silent for the last few hours. Maybe he has other things to worry about …

You can follow VentureBeat on Twitter, along with VentureBeat writers Matt Marshall, Dean Takahashi, Anthony Ha, Camille Ricketts, Paul Boutin, Kim-Mai Cutler, and Matthaus Krzykowski.

Read the whole story…