Emerging Communications Blog

Ken Camp Joins the eComm Mission

2009-06-30T20:32:19Z

I'm pleased to announce that Ken Camp has joined the mission! Many of you in the community will already know Ken.

Ken comes aboard as the Director of Conversations & Marketing. He will be building out and supporting the growing community as well as helping engage bloggers, press and media partners (amongst many other things).

Today we held our first post-appointment call - the audio is here. It's worth a listen as it gives some insight into the eComm mission (30 minutes in length, 20 meg in size).

I hope that the community both appreciates and supports Ken in his new role! He is there for you.

Phil Wolff's Revised Call for Speakers

2009-06-28T21:51:25Z

I mentioned earlier on IM to Phil of Skype Journal that I'm not impressed so far with the submitted talk proposals.

His response was "if you blandly solicit a call for papers, you'll get bland" and he impromptu wrote a revised version aimed at proposals which fell below the mark. But I think I'll call it the informal call for speakers as opposed to the formal one which may be downloaded here (PDF).

"Hi. Thanks for proposing a talk for the first eComm in Europe.

I need your help.

Your proposal was fine. I need more from you.

The people coming to eComm expect presentations that challenge their assumptions. That make them think. That get them excited, angry, hopeful, engaged.

No thinly veiled adverts. No self-congratulatory bragging. Nothing that would make you turn the channel if you were watching it on TV.

This is a thought leadership event. This is your chance to ask heartstoppingly challenging questions. To provoke fistfights in the aisle. To make VCs open their wallets. To change how we think about the worlds of talk, conversation, relationships, telecom. To share a long view vision. To disrupt cabals of power. To shake up government regulators and expensive suits who lobby them.

I need you to give the best talk you've made in your life. I need you to be bold, because we need audacity. I need you to be insightful because we need truth.

Please re-read your talk proposal. Maybe read it aloud. Ask yourself if this is your best. Will it make you proud? Will you earn polite applause or a standing, cheering ovation? I'm only saying this because your proposal didn't rock me.

What makes you angry? What is stupid about the way things are? What could the future look like if only we had the heart to make it so? What are people doing to revolutionize how people talk with each other? What is holding us back?

Please help make this a gathering to remember. Rethink your proposal and send it to me.

Thanks. Lee"

Video: Maura Corbett (The First Technology Administration - What Will Mean For the Future of Communications?)

2009-06-23T23:08:37Z

Admin http://ecommmedia.com/

Call for Speakers (Revision 1)

2009-06-22T22:45:17Z

*** First Call for Speakers is now open ***

*** Please download the PDF here ***

Revision 1 suggested major topic areas are:

Improving efficiency thru communications innovation; particularly mobile enterprise applications
Hot verticals; e.g. mobile apps for fleet services, retail etc.
Theme "telecom is becoming software"
Voice and messaging 2.0+
New communication paradigms, i.e. Google Wave, Rebelvox
Real-time Web as conversational platform
Operator futures: bit-pipes, platforms or supermarkets?
Towards an edge-centric world; networks and edge economics
Towards 4G wireless as well as open spectrum in Europe
Telecom restructuring, threats, or new business models (i.e. "double-sided")
App stores: co-existence or survival of the fittest?
Democratisation of communications (i.e. Iran post-election) as well as communications innovation
Communications-Enabled Business Processes (CEBP)
Industry predictions; picture of the next 5 or 10 years
The fusion of media, informational and conversational worlds
Android Scripting Environment (ASE) or iPhone 3.0 OS applications

If you think the topic list can be improved for Revision 2, please let us know your views by emailing: suggestions@eComm.ec

If you would like to enquire about event sponsorship please email: sponsorships@eComm.ec

I look forward to the submissions as does the growing event specific Advisory Board.

Video: Dean Bubley (Aligning Handsets and Networks for Mobile Web Services)

2009-06-18T18:56:43Z

Dean Bubley's Presentation at eComm 2009

View more OpenOffice presentations from eCommConf.

Video: Richard Whitt (Wrestling with Convergence and Communications Policy)

2009-06-16T18:29:11Z

Admin http://ecommmedia.com/

Video: Sascha Meinrath (Open Technology and the Future of Wireless Communications)

2009-06-12T21:08:12Z

Sascha has kindly agreed to open day two of the debut Emerging Communications (eComm) Europe, taking place this October 28-30 in Amsterdam.

Martyn Davies speaks to Lee Dryburgh, Founder of the eComm conference

2009-06-09T21:56:40Z

"Martyn Davies speaks to Lee Dryburgh, Founder of the eComm conference about his love of telephony, his career, eComm and the future of communication and interaction."

Download MP3 here (28:47 length, 26 meg) or visit this page to stream it.

Video: The Future of Content & Telecoms: Flat Rate Content Bundles and Social Media (Gerd Leonhard)

2009-06-04T17:52:13Z

Gerd Leonhard's Presentation at eComm 2009

View more PDF documents from eCommConf.

eComm Europe Goes Live! Your Suggestions Please?

2009-06-02T20:40:30Z

Back in 2008 - somewhat impromptu - 300 of us gathered in Silicon Valley, at the Computer History Museum. We gathered because we all held a passion for the future of telecom, mobile and Internet communications; we wanted a stake in it and we all wanted to see acceleration in communications innovation. Things had been stagnant for far too long. The Emerging Communications (eComm), conference was born.

It was the first event to include coverage of both the iPhone and Android. The program guide began:

"We're honored that you joined us at for the first eComm conference. In doing so you've joined history in the making.

This community finds itself --quite suddenly-- in a new world of more open opportunity. Open handsets, open networks and open telecom platforms lend themselves to innovation in the worlds garages and bedrooms. And the signs are promising..." (read the rest here)

Due to its great success another event was held a year later in Burlingame, California. Bucking the economic climate, attendance was up by 25%.

The program guide began:

"Welcome to eComm 2009.

Our world finds itself at a critical juncture. Both trillions of dollars and the future of human communications including fundamental access to it are at stake.

For telecom operators and media outlets there is not a migratory way from where we are to the future. There is a clear consumer shift underway that runs in the opposite direction to that of telecom and media incumbents; emergent social practice is increasingly clashing with the very structure and desires of incumbent players..." (read the rest here)

The feedback could not have been better and is probably best conveyed by an email received from a Platinum Sponsor:

"Years ago, in 1982, I attended the Stanford Design Conference (it only lasted about 3-4 years) down in Palo Alto. This symposium was trying to blend design w/technology and provide a stage to show how both were inter-related. Back then I had only heard of Steve Jobs in passing and didn't realize that he was the Apple 'guy'. Needless to say, Jobs gave an incredible presentation that still resonates w/me today since his talk was about how important design was and was going to be in technology (this was 18 months prior to the introduction of the Mac).

Your conference was the first since the SDC that was equally as informative and inspiring. Keep it up, the business and the industry needs forums like eComm."

It had become clear last March that the community wished to keep growing and expanding. With this in mind eComm Europe was born. The site just went live. Registration just opened. The first 50 tickets are being offered at a "friends" rate of just 995.00 EUR (exc. VAT). The event will take place this October 28-30 in Amsterdam.

I look forward to seeing many familiar faces as well as the inevitable new faces. Together we're shaping the future of communications. (add the event to your calendar).

Although the site just went live, it's quite empty in terms of speakers and talk titles (as did the first two event websites). We are now starting out on the first phase which is the first round of topic confirmation. The current list of topics on the homepage are those from the last March event. I'd like your help in defining the event by proposing topics. Please do this by sending them to 2009_suggestions@eCommEurope.com

The cut off point is this Friday (5th June). The list of suggestions will then be processed and turned the very same-day into part of the call for speakers (which will be issued on this blog).

I'd like to say thankyou to ALL for the help received; you know who you are. Lets make eComm Europe a success and let's also see what beneficial duplex cross-continental conversations we can create to help promote innovation and expose opportunities across the telecom, mobile and Internet communications space.

I'm looking forward to it and your possible involvement.

Regards

Lee S Dryburgh (Founder)