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November 30, 2006
A bit of revisionist history...
Following a link from GigaOm to Meraki a vendor of wireless mesh routing gear, I was amused to read the a href="http://www.meraki.net/about.html">bio of Robert Morris, one of the company's advisors.
Morris is a distinguished technologist and a successful entrepreneur. But he's best known for the "Morris worm" he inadvertently created as a graduate student, which essentially shut down the Internet for a time in 1988. Morris wrote a piece of viral code to measure the size of the Net, by replicating from server to server. Unfortunately, he made a programming error, which caused the worm to replicate out of control, overwhelming routers through the network. This was before the Net had significant commercial traffic or the World Wide Web, but it was still a big deal at the time.
So, how does Morris describe this notorious incident on the Meraki "about" page?
"In 1988 his discovery of buffer overflow first brought the Internet to the attention of the general public."
Well, er, yes, BUT......
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 1:30 PM
November 13, 2006
Supernova 2007 question: What's "cutting edge" today?
The general consensus feeling about this year's Web 2.0 conference is that it was a fantastic networking experience, but offered little content-wise that was truly new.
As I plan for Supernova 2007 (next June 20-22 in San Francisco), I'm thinking a great deal about what's next. I had a great time at Web 2.0, and give kudos to Tim, John, Eric, and the other organizers for capturing the zeitgeist. No event can be all things to all people, and on its own terms, Web 2.0 was a smashing success. My conference has a different emphasis. Supernova is designed to be just ahead of the curve, focused on technologies and ideas that are poised to enter the mainstream and explode. It's a place where the geeks, developers and other innovators can come together with the executives, investors, and businesspeople.
Five years ago, when I started the conference, we focused on things like blogging, rich Internet applications, social software in the enterprise, online video, collective intelligence, and the disruptive potential of a little company called Google -- aka, pretty much everything that today is the core of Web 2.0. The market has shifted, as I knew it someday would. The deal-making, the funding announcements, and the massive publicity are back. But that's not the same as innovation.
So, now what? I'm not interested in rehashing (or remashing) the same themes, let alone taking a long-pedigreed concept like the semantic web and slapping a Web 3.0 label on it. I don't think you are either.
I'm thinking hard about how to blow people's minds at Supernova 2007. In frothy times like these, I want to challenge assumptions and push the envelope. I have plenty of ideas I'm pursuing. But I'd also value your input. I see only a fraction of the innovation and powerful ideas emerging in the Internet ecosystem today.
So, tell me, via comments on this blog post or by email, what you think we should address at Supernova 2007. Companies, people, ideas, whatever. If you thought Web 2.0 was missing things, what were they? What would you find it valuable to see and discuss at an executive-level emerging technology conference today? What's next?
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 8:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 10, 2006
The best take-away from Web 2.0
I'm back from San Francisco, where I spent 3 days at the Web 2.0 conference. Kudos to Tim O'Reilly, John Battelle, and Eric Fourot -- the conference was truly "ground zero" for the current wave of consumer Internet developments. It was massive, with roughly 1500 attendees, and a great turnout of leading industry figures. Since I don't get out to San Francisco as often as I'd like these days, the conference was a very efficient opportunity to connect with people I wanted to see out there.
So, what was the best thing I got out of the conference?
An energy bar.
See, the main ballroom was packed during most of the sessions. Google sponsored an overflow room upstairs where you could watch the proceedings on a video screen. It was a better space than the ballroom itself, with comfy furniture, plentiful power outlets, and better wireless connectivity. And, best of all, Google provided a few of the famous free snack and drink cases from its headquarters, the Googleplex.
Inside one of the bins, I found a new energy bar, from a company called GOAT, that was delicious, low-fat, low-calorie, and packed with nutrients. Great stuff. I basically lived off the things for two days.
Turns out GOAT, which stands for Greatest of All Time, is a new company whose spokesperson is Muhammed Ali. Their products are supposed to be available commercially in early 2007 -- you can't buy them yet. I'm looking forward to picking up more when I can!
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 3:51 PM | Comments (0)