Welcome: Change is Good!
Back in 2002, I thought it was modestly innovative to hold a conference where online interactions were a core part of the experience, participants helped to co-create the content, information flowed in and out of the event in real-time, and the subject matter ranged across traditional industry boundaries. Modestly, because those developments seemed inevitable in an increasingly connected world. Yet here we are in 2009, and I still get asked about those features of Supernova, as though they were wild and novel. I haven’t changed my view about inevitability. And frankly, Supernova has moved forward a great deal since 2002.
Today, with so many fantastic online tools and information sources, a conference as an isolated physical experience is an anachronism. Gathering the right people in one location is still extremely valuable. Some conversations and insights only coalesce from human proximity in time and space. But here’s the crucial point: those conversations neither originate nor terminate at the physical event. They percolate through posts and Tweets and status updates, re-emerge at other events, and inform decisions in the real world.
After all, we’re living in the Network Age. Virtually everything is connected. Openness and sharing win. Platforms are key. These are insights Supernova has been built around for eight years. Going forward, Supernova itself must incorporate the lessons its program promotes. Two years ago, we started the Supernova Conversation Hub. Now we take the next logical step, and deeply integrate conversational social media with the conference resources. Welcome to the Supernova Hub!
This new Hub is designed to be a one-stop shop for insights on the many overlapping threads that highlight the transition to the Network Age. It’s going to make the conference better, and it’s going to make the experience for those who don’t attend the conference better as well. I’m thrilled that Chris Carfi, Isabel Walcott Hillborn, and Howard Greenstein are working with me to build the Hub. We’ll be looking for volunteer contributors and others willing to share some of their time and expertise with the extended Supernova community. And we’ll be monitoring and revising this experiment as we go along. Supernova is perpetually a work in progress. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
So, let us know what you think, what we should be talking about, and who else should join the conversation. And stay tuned for more information about Supernova 2009 in December. We’ve got some fantastic speakers lined up already. And thanks to my time on the Obama Adminstration’s Presidential Transition Team, we’ll be in a unique position to bring together the exciting innovations in Washington DC and Silicon Valley.
Networks are changing. Supernova will continue to change and evolve as well. We welcome your participation in the Supernova community.
Sweet! I’m really excited! And the site’s looking great!
looks like it will be the year that government and technology intersect.
maybe susan c should come and see us!
In discussing how, in 2009, people are still surprised about using on-line tools as a complement to an in-person meeting, it seems like what you’re describing is a conceptual gap driven by a wide variety of factors; education levels, access to computers, available time. It hearkens back to the “digital divide” that so occupied federal policy makers in the early 90s. These same echos are occurring WRT to discussions about how to apply for federal broadband stimulus funding. It seems to me the time for generalities is over, and it is time to really examine how the network is going to make life better.
It is no longer enough to say “tele-medicine will save lives in poor rural communities.” What exactly does that mean? There’s been a lot of work done on how people interact with this technology, it’s time to use it. What does tele-medicine mean to the rural communities of Alaska, (perhaps accessible only via plane), versus a rural community in New Mexico, that may be only ~50 mountainous miles from a fiber optic link, but worlds away in terms of access to health care. The needs of the two communities might be very difference and a “tele-medicine” solution for the two communities might be very different.
OH and another thing!
“Infrastructure” is one of the topics covered by Supernova. It is important to be clear what we are talking about. People often talk about how wireless is replacing the wireline network. While it is true that in many parts of the world, countries are forgoing a wireline network altogether, in America still, the wireline network is still very much alive and well. In fact some experts conceptualize the wireless network as a “last mile” access facility to the wireline network. Given that the bulk of this infrastructure is privately owned (albeit with significant regulatory oversight) what policy implications should flow from the inter-relationship between wireless carriers, the PhoneCo, and providers of what the FCC charmingly calls information services (i.e., VOIP)?
Sitting in a session at #wwdc. This is the first day that I’ve actually used my laptop. Like many the iPhone is enough to actually enjoy the conference. I’d look very carefully at the mobile social impact. In my view conversation are faster and more pithy and need to be delivered that way. I’ve seen a number of conference iPhone apps that are starting to demo this. (I know you may only get 30% of the audience there with an iPhone). I’d think a lot about a little tagging education early in the show. Eg #wwdc #s104. I’d think about importing these into archives. I’d focus on getting Twitter updates. Make it easy to link and share data in etc. I’d also add in Tweetbacks. You need to capture tweets when supernova content is forwarded etc.
Elliot, government and tech have been intersecting for a while. This is the year government recognizes that tech is more than just another interest group, and the tech community realizes that government is more than just a potential impediment.
We’re bringing senior officials from the State Department, White House, Energy Department, and Commerce Department to Supernova this year because these communities need to talk with each other, not just at each other.
Brian, we totally agree that now is the time to get specific about how networks are changing our lives and businesses. And the policy issues around convergence are hugely important! We will definitely delve into them at Supernova.
“This is the year government recognizes that tech is more than just another interest group, and the tech community realizes that government is more than just a potential impediment.”
Love that line.
“We’re bringing senior officials from the State Department, White House, Energy Department, and Commerce Department to Supernova this year because these communities need to talk with each other, not just at each other.”
Don’t forget the state level, where a lot of the nitty-gritty of telecommunications regulation still takes place. (Please disregard the shameless plug aspects of this message.)