In only 3 days The Next Web Conference 2008 will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We will post short daily updates about speakers, initiatives and events here.
A lot of people have been asking us if we would provide Internet access and Wi-Fi during The Next Web Conference 2008. We sort of avoided the question and sometimes even said ‘No’. This has caused concern with some people so I thought it would be a good time to explain our ideas about the subject. But first THE answer to the question: “Will there be Wi-Fi for participants at The Next Web Conference 2008?”
The short answer: Yes.
The long answer: Yes, and a lot more! We will have a special area with wired ethernet connections to a 100mbit Up and Down connection, the fastest connection we could get. This area (front left at the main conference area) will also have enough power sockets to keep everybody online all day. In addition, we will have Wi-Fi connections for the rest of the audience people. We plan to split these up in several groups of 50 people who will all be able to connect to their own access point.
This means that if one of those groups takes the network down, at least the other groups will still be online until we restart the device. And if the Wi-Fi fails we always have wired backup for you. One thing: we DO expect the wireless network to go down. It is our experience that Wi-Fi becomes extremely unreliable when you get more than 30 people in the same room connected.
We hope that the speakers will be so extremely inspiring and captivating that the use of computers will be limited to live blogging, twittering and digitally reporting about the speakers on stage.
The Next Web, just like the current web, runs on love and attention.
We hope you will give our speakers lots of both. ;-)
I hope you like that post!
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In only 5 days The Next Web Conference 2008 will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We will post short daily updates about speakers, initiatives and events here.
Erick Schonfeld Formerly editor-at-large at Business 2.0 and currently Co-editor Techcrunch.com.
We proudly present you the Next Web Conference 2008 moderator. He is a well known, respected and very connected journalist and blogger. His name is Erick Schonfeld.
If you don’t recognize the name right away don’t worry. Changes are you read his articles regularly but just didn’t notice his name before. He has been the co-editor of Techcrunch since September 2007 and has been contributing to the world famous blog (700.000+ RSS readers!) on a daily basis ever since.
Erick has been covering startups and technology news for 14 years. At Business 2.0 he wrote feature stories and ran their main blog, Next Net, which has nearly 50,000 RSS subscribers. He also does a lot of video work and hosts regular panels of industry luminaries called Disruptor Round Tables. Prior to Business 2.0, Erick was an editor-at-large for eCompany and a contributing editor for Fortune.
In 1999, Schonfeld won the prize for best information technology submission at London’s Business Journalist of the Year Awards, and in 2001 he won the prize for best space submission at the Aerospace Journalist of the Year Awards in Paris. In 1996 and 1997, Schonfeld was recognized in the TJFR Business News Reporter’s list of the “best and brightest financial journalists under the age of 30.” He appears regularly on CNBC, CNN, and NY1, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Schonfeld graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University in 1993.
Next to Erick Schonfeld we also have writers from Techcrunch France (Ouriel Ohayon) and TechCrunch UK & Ireland (Mike Butcher) who are also both media partners of The Next Web Conference. In other words: you will never get a better chance to meet representatives from every Techcrunch publication in one event. Maybe we should rename the conference “The Next Techcrunch Conference”? ;-)
Haven’t registered yet? Do it now before we are sold out…
Written on March 27, 2008 – 3:27 pm Guest blogger, sharing views on The Next Web
This is a guest post by Dagan Cohen, he’s the curator of PRE
Lets face it: we live in a fast economy, where the hunger for the ‘next big thing’ is so strong web entrepreneurs tend to minimize risk by copying and mashing up proved concepts. Although we wouldn’t like to admit it, the pressure of the marketplace narrows our vision and makes it hard for the industry to come with truly new ideas.
So, where to look for fresh ideas? Arguably the best place to start is where creative people can develop their ideas away from pressure of the market. Places like universities, art schools, small-scale research labs and small companies committed to creative experiment.
PRE shows a selection of projects by Dutch students and young artists who are driven by the new possibilities of the web and the digital realm. PRE celebrates the phase before an idea becomes a business concept. In this ‘green phase’ ideas are rough and vulnerable. They can be easily killed when the rules of the market are applied too rigidly.
Though some ideas immediately show a market potential – they just need a little push, others are more ambivalent and need to be looked at by different people from different angles to reveal their true purpose. That purpose is not necessarily a marketable product or service. It can be an autonomous art piece which purpose it is to make us think and reflect. It can be a conversation starter, or a stepping-stone for another idea.
The great thing about rough, ambivalent ideas is that they trigger us to finish or alter them. To add or change something so they’ll become better. At least in our minds. That’s why it’s important to get those ideas out of ‘the greenery’ into the open. And what place is more suitable for that purpose than the Next Web Conference?
Attendees of the conference can be inspired by the ‘premonitions’ of artist and students; the young creatives can profit from the knowledge and wisdom of industry professionals. After all: there’s no ‘Next’ without ‘Pre’. PRE is hosted by Draftfcb. (more…)
Written on March 25, 2008 – 9:24 pm Patrick de Laive, Internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Fleck
From an inside source we’ve heard that Garrett Camp, founder and Chief Architect of StumbleUpon, is preparing a speech on “the Future of Search and Discovery”.
This must be exciting. Think about it for a second, most of the people use the web not even close to its potential. Apart from google and their social network, people have a lot of trouble of ‘what sites to visit’ while surfing.
If you know what you’re looking for, search (Google) is the solution, but what if you don’t know what you’re looking for?
What if you want to be surprised, what if you want to know what is out there, what you can do, see, play or read on the web. The huge success of stumbleupon (compete stats) proves that discovery of new websites and content is an important aspect that is often overlooked when talking about the web. My hunch is that discovery can be at least as big as search, especially if you start in the discovery mode in can switch to search once you’ve stumbled upon a topic or website you’re interested in. (more…)
Written on March 24, 2008 – 10:49 pm Patrick de Laive, Internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Fleck
In only 9 days The Next Web Conference 2008 will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We will post short daily updates about speakers, initiatives and events here.
The Conference basically has 3 different parts. We have Keynote speakers, each sharing their vision on the web in 30 minutes, networking breaks and events and 24 companies who’ll show their cool stuff in 5 minute demos. A lot of these companies are launching new versions, features or whole new services.
Over the 2 days there are 4 blocks of 6 presenting companies. These demos/presentations are 300 seconds and 300 seconds only! The sessions will be moderated by European Venture Capitalists (Robert Schrimpff -TVM Capital-, Yoav Leitersdorf -YL Ventures-, Barend van den Brande -Big Bang Ventures-, and Guido van Nispen -Dutch Creative Industry Fund-). After the 6 presentations, there will be room for questions from the audience and the moderator.
22 of 24 presenting companies are already selected and we’ve had so many companies wanting to fill in the last 2 places that we couldn’t decide anymore, so we thought it would be a good idea to let you decide who you want to see in the last two 5 minute presentations.
This is how it works:
Startups who want to apply for the last 2 demo presentations can do so by attending the conference (for these startups we have a special ticket with 200 euros discount, register with promocode: lasttwodemos ) and sending an email with a 140 character line why they should be on stage during The Next Web Conference.
Next Monday, all contestants will be posted here and via a poll the audience can decide which 2 companies will be on stage. The two companies who have the most votes on Wednesday April 2nd at noon will be presenting on The Next Web.
In only 12 days The Next Web Conference will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We will post short daily updates about speakers, initiatives and events here.
Jessica Mah is a 17 year old entrepreneur, blogger, and sophomore in college AND one of our keynote speakers next week.
She is the editor of Startupism.com and the co-founder of Shockapps.com. As of recently, she became a TEDster. Her blog details her adventurous journey through school and entrepreneurship.
She ran a successful hosting business when she was 13 and now that she’s 17 year old she’s planning to start ShockApps.com and retire at age 25 as a millionaire. She keeps a personal blog over at JessicaMah.com
Here is an interview with Jessica at SXSW 08 with Julia Allison:
Want to hear The future of the web according to teenage serial internet entrepreneur Jessica Mah? Reserve you ticket before it is too late!
Written on March 20, 2008 – 10:10 pm Patrick de Laive, Internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Fleck
Don’t ask me why, but Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht decided to grow a mustache for their live show at The Next Web in Amsterdam…
He just posted that on pownce
“Finished taping Diggnation — Alex and I agreed to grow mustaches for the Amsterdam show… damn it, what have I gotten myself into… ”
Wonder what the Dutch ladies think of this??
Any girl out there that want to shave Kevin or Alex?
Can’t wait to see what is going to happen… total chaos
Written on March 20, 2008 – 8:37 pm Patrick de Laive, Internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Fleck
In only 13 days The Next Web Conference will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We will post short daily updates about speakers, initiatives and events here.
At The Next Web Conference the whole influential European internet scene gathers in Amsterdam, to be inspired by the speakers, to network, to do business, to have fun and to share knowledge. All these bright, inspiring and knowledgeable people in one physical space is of course an excellent occasion to do interviews and to brainpick the audience in front of a camera.
This is what Level 3 is doing during our upcoming conference.
Hannah Brit, marketing manager at Level 3, explains: “We are constantly seeking the most influential people to join us on the Red Couch – people like the attendees of The Next Web. All you have to do is sit down, get comfortable and let the world know where you think technology will take us next. Your thoughts and ideas will be available at Level3.com/redcouch along with those of this year’s honored guests. So come and weigh in on the potentials of technology and let us know what you’re doing today that will redefine tomorrow.”
To book your interview time at Next Web 2008 please send an email to redcouch@level3.com
Written on March 18, 2008 – 12:35 pm Patrick de Laive, Internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Fleck
In only 15 days The Next Web Conference will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We will post short daily updates about speakers, initiatives and events here.
Dutch media expert, Twitter maniac and founder of the Crowds, Erwin Blom started an initiative to support local startups. As young internet entrepreneurs have limited funds and might not be able to afford to go to The Next Web (but should definitely be there), he decided to start a pool where people can drop in some money to buy a ticket for some of the starting entrepreneurs.
Startups/entrepreneurs who want to attend with support from this initiative should send in a 3 minute video pitch and the winners will get a ticket, payed for by the “Dutch angels of startups”
UPDATE: 1500+ Euros has been collected so far and becausewe really appreciate this initiative we’ve decided to double every Euro they raise.
In only 16 days The Next Web Conference will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. From now on we will post short daily updates about speakers and events here.
This is how Chris explained DataPortability: “A user would simply log onto a site, grant permission, and their friends, personal details and media - images, video, documents - are already populated and accessible - Nothing more complex than that.”
The day after the interview was the day of Dataportability’s big breakthrough. Since then Google and Facebook have joined the DataPortability movement. Chris will be talking about his vision for the future of the web and how DataPortability will play a role in freeing our data. Chris lives in the South Brisbane Area, Australia and we are honored and thrilled that he will take the time to travel all the way to Amsterdam to talk to our guests.
Written on March 30, 2008 – 2:31 pm
A lot of people have been asking us if we would provide Internet access and Wi-Fi during The Next Web Conference 2008. We sort of avoided the question and sometimes even said ‘No’. This has caused concern with some people so I thought it would be a good time to explain our ideas about the subject. But first THE answer to the question: “Will there be Wi-Fi for participants at The Next Web Conference 2008?”
Written on March 27, 2008 – 3:27 pm
PRE shows a selection of projects by Dutch students and young artists who are driven by the new possibilities of the web and the digital realm. PRE celebrates the phase before an idea becomes a business concept. In this ‘green phase’ ideas are rough and vulnerable. They can be easily killed when the rules of the market are applied too rigidly.
Written on March 25, 2008 – 9:24 pm
From an inside source we’ve heard that Garrett Camp, founder and Chief Architect of 
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At The Next Web Conference the whole influential European internet scene gathers in Amsterdam, to be inspired by the speakers, to network, to do business, to have fun and to share knowledge. All these bright, inspiring and knowledgeable people in one physical space is of course an excellent occasion to do interviews and to brainpick the audience in front of a camera.
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The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show of, the future of the Web. (
