The #140conf Blog « 140 Character Conference

The #140conf Blog

First set of speakers for the 140 Characters Conference (#140conf) NYC 2010 Announced:

The 140 Characters Conference: New York City (#140conf) will be taking place April 20-21, 2010 at the 92nd Street Y. This event is shaping up to being the largest worldwide gathering of people interested in the effects of the real-time Internet on both business and “we” the people.

On April 20/21 we will be taking a hard look at something I call “The State of NOW” and the continued effects the worldwide adoption of social communication platforms such as twitter is having on a number of industries including: Celebrity, “The Media”, Advertising, Politics, Education, Music, Television, Comedy, Real Estate, Public Policy and more.

During the past month I have been working with number of people who volunteered to help curate a session or two at the upcoming event. To date about 80% of the expected 140 speakers have been confirmed and the remainder are in the process of being confirmed. More speakers will be announced in the days and weeks ahead.

If you are thinking about attending #140conf NYC, now would be a great time to secure your seat. With the “early bird” ticket costing only US$ 100 for the two day event, register NOW to guarantee youself access to the event.

Some of the “Characters” speaking at #140conf NYC include:

- Alon Nir (@TheKotel)
- Andrea Syrtash, Oprah.com contributor and author (@AndreaSyrtash)
- Ann Curry, NBC News (@AnnCurry)
- Avner Ronen, CEO/founder, boxee (@avneron)
- Bijan Sabet, partner, Spark Capital (@bijan)
- Bruce Upbin, Managing Editor, Forbes (@bupbin)
- Caissie St.Onge, (@Caissie)
- Chris Lehmann, Principal of the Science Leadership Academy, (@chrislehmann)
- Chris Weingarten, Music Critic, (@1000TimesYes)
- Daren Forsyth, Founder, 140Characters.co.uk, (@DarenBBC)
- Dave Winer, (@davewiner)
- Dennis Crowley, co-founder, Four Square (@dens)
- Donny Deustch (@Donny_Deutsch)
- Eric Sheninger, Principal of New Milford HS (NJ), (@NMHS_Principal)
- Gary Vanderchuck, Wine guy, host of Wine Library TV, (@garyvee)
- Hank Wasiak, Executive Producer and Co-Founder, The Concept Farm, (@hankwasiak)
- Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump)
- Jay Rosen, Journalism professor, NYU (@jayrosen_nyu)
- Jeff Jarvis, blogger, author, professor (@JeffJarvis)
- Jeff Pulver, founder #140conf, (@jeffpulver)
- Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO, Kodak (@jeffreyHayzlett)
- Joan Walsh, Editor of Salon, (@joanwalsh)
- John Borthwick, CEO, Betaworks (@JohnBorthwick)
- Jonathan Maberry, author, writing teacher and lecturer. (@JonathanMaberry)
- Kyle Pace, Instructional/Consumer Technology Specialist, (@kylepace)
- Liz Strauss, Founder of SOBCon, brand strategist, (@lizstrauss)
- Matt Pinfield, Morning Show on 101.9 RXP, (@mattpinfield)
- Matthew Bishop, The Economist, (@mattbish)
- Maz Nadjm, Social networking at Sky Television, (@Mazi)
- MC Hammer (@MCHammer)
- Melinda Emerson, entrepreneur, (@smallbizlady)
- Pat Kiernan, News Anchor, NY1 (@patkiernan)
- Ryan Penagos, Writer / Editor at Marvel.com (@Agent_M)
- Stacey Monk, Founder of Epic Change & TweetsGiving, (@StaceyMonk)
- Stefanie Michaels (@adventuregirl)
- Steve Greenberg, founder/CEO, S-Curve Records (@steviegpro)
- Steven Anderson, Technology Educator, Blogger, Co-Creator of #edchat, (@web20classroom)
- Tal Givoly, Chief Scientist, Amdocs (@givoly)
- Tim Armstrong, CEO, AOL
- Tom Brevoort, VP Marvel, (@TomBrevoortsays)
- Tom Whitby, Professor of Education in Secondary English (@tomwhitby)
- US Airforce, @USAirForce

Note: Speakers are subject to change without notice. These “characters” are accurate as of: January 26, 2010.

For more information about upcoming worldwide #140conf events, please visit: http://140conf.com.

Posted on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Invitation to Companies to Pitch at 140Demo @ #140conf NYC

At the 140 Characters Conference: NYC (#140conf), taking place April 20/21 2010, I am bringing back a session I introduced at #140conf Tel Aviv: 140 Demo.

I am looking for companies who would like an opportunity to pitch their products to the community attending #140conf NYC. The catch? Each company selected will have exactly 140 seconds to make their pitch. The company which gets the biggest audience response will be awarded “Best of Show.”

To apply to be a part of 140 Demo @ #140conf - please follow this link.

Application Deadline: January 29, 2010.

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A Call for Speakers (and Characters): The 140 Characters Conference: April 20/21 in NYC

The 140 Characters Conference: Exploring the State of NOW (#140conf) will be returning to New York City on April 20-21, 2010 - http://140conf.com

The event will be taking a look at the effects of the emerging real-time internet on business and systemic changes the worldwide adoption of twitter is having on: Celebrity, The Media, Music, Advertising, Politics, Education, Communications, Public Diplomacy, Fashion, Design, Public Safety and more.

The deadline for speaking proposals is: Friday, January 22nd. Please send speaking proposals to: jeff@pulver.com. Speakers can also be nominated by including #140conf in related tweets.

My hope is to once again attract a diverse worldwide gathering of people who will come to New York City to connect with others and to share their perspective, their experiences and their stories about how the emerging real-time Internet is effecting their industry sectors and the people inside them.

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With today’s “Call for Speakers” I am looking for creative, out-of-the-box thinkers to come forward and pitch me something relevant they would like to present that has been effected by the emerging real-time, NOW Internet.

My hope is to attract not only established celebrities, members of the media and thought leaders who are now using twitter, but those who have become a celebrity, and a brand in their own right, through the creative and disruptive application that twitter continues to be.

I’m looking for first-hand accounts of how twitter is being used and the impact it is happening in the industry sectors this event is focusing on. My goal is to bring together a curated group of characters to both lead and contribute to the discussions. And this event isn’t just about twitter. Open for discussion are all platforms and applications which are effecting and contributing to the real-time internet experience.

I believe that 140 of the right characters can impact 140,000 online participants at the event. I saw this happen in 2009 at the New York, LA, London and Tel Aviv events, plus multiple #140Conf MeetUps held across the U.S.

I believe that the knowledge shared and learned at this event will help bring more people into the twitter ecosystem. The take aways from this event will provide the attending delegates knowledge, perspectives and insights to the next wave of effects twitter will have on business.

So please, think about what YOU could contribute to the dialog, and who you may know who would be interested in being part of this event.

#140conf is the twitter hashtag for the conference. I would appreciate your help in once again spreading awareness of the April conference to the people who you are connected with on your social networks.

What I hope to bring together is a gathering of people with a variety of backgrounds and together explore the future of where things are going and how to best prepare the community at large to get there.

If you are interested in speaking at: 140 Characters Conference, and or would like to suggest a speaker, please tweet your nomination to #140conf. I will be checking the twitter stream on an almost real-time basis for nominations. You can also contact me by sending email to: jeff@pulver.com. The deadline for speaking proposals is: Friday, January 22nd but the first to be nominated will be the first considered.

I am also looking for sponsors and for exhibitors to be part of our twitter showcase. My goal is to have a special section of the event just for applications, and a maybe this time a Best Of #140conf Award for killer apps. For more information about sponsoring and exhibiting, please contact me by sending email to: jeff@pulver.com.

A new approach to the pricing of the #140conf events was announced last week. Click here to learn more about this.

For more information about upcoming #140conf events, please visit: http://140conf.com.

Posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

January 2010 #140conf Meetups

At the #140conf Meetups we discuss the emerging Real-Time Internet and the effects on business. They are a monthly gathering for friends of #140conf to get together and discuss issues of the day.

Upcoming #140conf Meetups - January 2010:

Jan 12th - Philly
Jan 14th - Boston
Jan 19th - NYC
Jan 21st - London

If you would like to sponsor or speak at a future meetup or if you would like to see a #140conf meetup happen in a city closer to you, please feel free to contact: Jeff Pulver / jeff @ pulver.com

You can join the #140conf Meetup Mailing List over at: http://meetup.com/140conf

Upcoming #140conf 2010 Events 0:

February 15th:#140conf Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
March 16th : #140conf @ SXSW (you need to register for SXSW to have access) - Austin, TX
April 20th-21st - #140conf NYC ‘10. Register NOW - NYC, NY

Posted on Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

Conference Insider: A new approach to the pricing of the #140conf events in 2010

I’ve been creating/producing/hosting conferences since 1996. Over the years I learned a lot about the conference business and was fortunate to develop the event platform that helped popularize VoIP (Voice over IP) around the world.

One area that everyone in the conference business fights with themselves is the pricing of their events. We never know if we are charging the right amount for access to our events until it is too late.

Something Fred WIlson shared in a blog post titled Conferences back in May has been resonating in my mind the last few weeks of the year.

It turns out that Fred is “…not a big fan of attending conferences.” With regard to event pricing Fred wrote: “The most interesting people you can meet are the outsiders, the up and comers, and the hackers who can’t afford to lay out $4000 to attend an event and are never going to get an invite to an event where you have to know somebody or “be somebody” to get in. So I avoid those most of all.”

And Fred’s right about this. The way I compensated over the years to open my doors to students and to offer discounts to startups. But I’m sure this policy didn’t do enough to bring as many outsiders as I could.

During 2009 I introduced a new conference, the 140 Characters Conference (#140conf) whose scope was a lot wider and deeper than any conference I was associated with in the past. During the course of the year I was fortunate to be able to bring together together a worldwide community of people in: New York City, Los Angeles, London and Tel Aviv while nurturing a much larger community of people online. Along the way I learned a thing or two about viral marketing in 2009 and how to produce these four events without spending any money on advertising or marketing. And with this all said, I also knew that I needed to try something different with regard to the costs to attend future #140conf events.

And Fred’s words got me thinking about the conference business in general and how to best approach the pricing of #140conf events in 2010. I decided to try something which is quite disruptive to the way I approached event pricing since 1996 because I like to be on the disruptive side of industries as my own history has shown.

My new approach is to offer “social pricing” to conferences which will (hopefully) cover my own incremental per-person costs and be at a level that I hope would also naturally attract the “outsiders, the up and comers, and the hackers” who can’t afford to lay out the kind of money I was asking for in the past.

Starting with #140conf NYC ‘10, the ticket prices will be more reflective of the cost to attend the theater and/or a music concert in New York City than a typical tech event.

From today thru March 6, 2010 the cost to attend the entire 2 days of #140conf NYC ’10 is: $100. Afterwards the price goes to: $140. This translates to a cost of $50 to $70 a day for this conference which I hope is affordable to anyone who has wants to be a part of the #140conf experience. For people who want to attend and have a budget for something extra, I am also offering “VIP” tickets at $395 for the two days for people who would benefit from: the ability to network with the speakers backstage in the speakers lounge, access to preferred seating and an invite to the planned VIP/Speaker party as well as other perks to be added leading up to the event.

The formal “Call for Speakers” for #140conf NYC ’10 will be going out next week. In the meanwhile, if you would like to reserve your seat at the next #140conf NYC, please visit: http://140conf.com/register today.

— Jeff Pulver

Posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Register TODAY for Social Media Jungle @ CES 2010

I am looking forward to returning to CES 2010 to produce “Social Media Jungle” at CES. This year I will be co-hosting the event with Dave Taylor.

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Social Media Jungle Description: (from CES Website)

It’s wild out there in the social media jungle! Unbridled growth and tens of millions of “addicts” have made social media an unstoppable force that’s changing the way we live and work. Sit in on state-of-the-industry updates, and get a candid look at how social media disrupts the workplace by empowering companies to lower burn rates. Plus, you’ll learn how companies can use social media to motivate consumers and drive product sales without increasing costs. This year our underlying theme is: “How the consumer electronics industry can benefit from social media.”

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This event costs $295 in advance and $395 on-site. If you are thinking about attending, please take a moment register for the event today by visiting: http://www.cesweb.org/sessions/search/results.asp?categoryID=1883. Remember to choose the “Social Media Jungle” registration option.

Hope you can join us at the Social Media Jungle @ CES. I would appreciate your help in sharing awareness of this event with your friends.

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Event Schedule (as of December 13th)

Wednesday, January 6 LVCC, North Hall, N256
(event runs from 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM)

8:30-9:00 a.m. “Real-Time Social Networking”

9:00-9:10 a.m. Welcome to the Jungle, Jeff Pulver

9:10-9:30 a.m. Consumer Marketing in the State of NOW, Jeff Pulver

9:30-9:45 a.m. Social Media Reputation, Dave Taylor

9:45-9:55 a.m. Brand Engagement in Social Media, Chris Rauschnot

9:55-10:20 a.m. Effects of twitter on Consumer Marketing, Jeffrey Sass

10:20-10:30 a.m. Building Trust in Social Media, Eric Weaver

10:30-10:50 a.m. What’s Next in Social Media? Robert Scoble

10:50-11:00 a.m. Social Media ROI, Ben Grossman

11:00-11:10 a.m. Social Media Reciprocity, Warren Whitlock

11:10-11:25 a.m. Digital Presence in the NOW and Beyond, Dean Landsman

11:25-11:35 a.m. Effective PR Strategies in the era of Social Media, Susan Etlinger

11:35-11:45 a.m. Leveraging the Livestream in Consumer Marketing, Kevin Sablan

11:45-11:55 a.m. Social Media Lessons Learned during 2009, Justin Levy

11:55-12:15 p.m. Evolution of Trust Agents, Chris Brogan

Follow the speakers at Social Media Jungle @ CES 2010 by subscribing to this twitter list

(schedule is subject to change without notice)

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To register, visit the CES Registration Page and follow the registration process and select Social Media Jungle as the registration option.

Posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

So why Tel Aviv for the 4th 140 Characters Conference in 2009?

After producing the 140 Characters Conference in: New York City, Los Angeles and London, I chose to do the next event in Tel Aviv because when I look at the evolution of twitter and Facebook and the commercialization of presence, the roots for these platforms can be traced back to the people of Israel.

In the mid 1990s the consumer internet communications industry was born in Israel. Looking back, it was the launch of Internet Phone from VocalTec and the launch of ICQ from Mirabilis which had the most significant contributions to what has evolved into what we know as social media. These platforms popularized concepts that were a prequel to the core features seen in Facebook and twitter today - (i.e. features like: on-line status messages, presence, groups.)

When I look to the future of what’s next in social media, I don’t know of a better group of people to engage in the conversation than my friends who lives have been touched by the evolution of these technologies during the past decade.

I believe at #140conf Tel Aviv we will have a chance to better understand “The State of NOW” and the impact living in the now will have in the near future.

I am looking forward to producing/hosting #140conf Tel Aviv tomorrow.

Jeff Pulver / @jeffpulver

Posted on Saturday, December 5th, 2009

Call for Speakers: Announcing #140conf Barcelona

I believe we are now living in “The State of NOW” (see: http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/008950.html ) and that the advent of the NOW Internet has ushered in a new era of the net whose effects will be felt for some time to come. My interest in the real-time Internet lead me to the launch of the “140 Characters Conference” (#140conf) series earlier this year. At the first #140conf I looked at twitter as a platform and the effects twitter is having on a number of industries. As the real-time internet evolves and grows I expect to be looking at additional platforms and influences in the real-time Internet, but for the moment, twitter is the language spoken at #140conf. At #140conf we will be exploring the effects of the NOW Internet on the future of business.

Since the time the first #140conf took place in New York City back in June, I have produced follow up events in: Los Angeles, London and I will be hosting an event in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

Today I am excited to announce that #140conf: Barcelona will be taking place the afternoon of February 15th during the Mobile World Congress.

I am now looking for speakers for the event and look forward to producing this event in Barcelona. #140conf: Barcelona will be taking a hard look at the evolving real-time Internet and the impact it is having on a number of areas including: Celebrity, “The Media”, Music, Advertsing as well as other topics based on the proposals received.

I’m looking for friends to help me identify people whose voices should be heard at #140conf: Barcelona. I am looking for people whose approach to business has been touched by the real-time Internet and twitter and I would appreciate help in finding these people. If you have an idea/suggestion, please feel free to send email to: jeff@pulver.com.

(Companies interested in sponsoring should also feel free to contact me.)

The format of the #140conf: Tel Aviv will be fast past with the majority of the individual speaking spots limited to 10 minutes and the panels will be no more than 20 minutes.

The deadline for this “Call for Characters” is December 17th but, if possible, I would appreciate receiving your feedback before the deadline.

Posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009

Announcing…The NOW Awards

See Rules here.

The NOW Awards recognize celebrities and ordinary people who are making Twitter matter. From media and politics to technology and business, these game changers embody the qualities that are making Twitter and the emerging NOW internet a growing force in the world.

Include #140Conf, the word “vote” and your All-Star Tweeter’s username in your tweet. And remember, you can vote for anybody.

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Contest Rules:

-To be valid, votes must include #140Conf vote @

-Re-tweets are NOT counted as votes

-@ replies are NOT counted as votes

-The system counts first valid vote per twitter account per nominee

-Users may vote for an unlimited number of nominees

-Votes will not be withdrawn, so please vote with care.

NOTES:

*Voting begins at 10:00 am (EST) on September 29, 2009 and ends at 11:59 pm (EST) on October 24, 2009

*Winners will be announced October 27th @ the #140Conf Networking Reception

Posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009