Thousands Flock to Web 2.0 Expo
Attending the recent Web 2.0 Expo in New York was like living in a parallel universe. Even before the recent implosion on Wall Street, there were growing rumblings that the Web was starting to decelerate because of a squeeze on VC expenditures and a tightening of marketing and advertising budgets.
But from the looks of the recent Web 2.0 Expo it may as well have been the salad days of the late 1990s (so, maybe we are on the verge of another tech bubble that’s about to burst). More than 6,500 people attended the expo, which was held at the cavernous Javits Center on the west side of Manhattan and presented by TechWeb and O’Reilly Media. Amid the schmoozing, attendees scrambled from one session to the next, with topics ranging from ‘Viral Marketing 2.0,’ to ‘Building a People-Powered Company’ to ‘Designing and Developing for the Future of Mobile.’
However, the real action was on the expo floor, as (potential) buyers and sellers kibbitzed about the latest online tools designed to build, grow and cultivate online communities. (I’m still trying to figure out the Microsoft display that seemed to be a coffee table cum hand-operated computer.)
Aside from trying to wrap my head around myriad Web 2.0 products — one wonders if there are enough advertising and subscription dollars to go around — I got the chance to speak with several Web 2.0 executives jockeying for position in a digital age.
In order I spoke to Anish Kapoor, CEO and Co-Founder of screen-sharing service YuuGuu; Yossi Dan, Co-Founder & CEO of KonoLive, an online tool for Web collaboration and Michael Librizzi, Managing Director of Briz, a Web 2.0 community targeting small businesses.
Enjoy.
Matthew Schwartz is Senior Editor of ScribeMedia.org and host of the WebTV series, From Print to Digital.
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