After the recent Web 2.0 Expo NY–a sprawling, week-long conference and exhibition–I ducked into the Morgan Library to catch A Woman’s Wit: Jane Austen’s Life and Legacy. A one-room show about an 18th century novelist seemed like the perfect antidote to a week of tech talk in the Death Star Javits Center.

As I’d hoped, the Morgan focuses on a handful of objects from Austen’s life, and the commentary is thoughtful. I was surprised, though, to find myself thinking that had Twitter been around in Austen’s time (1775-1817), she would likely have been a fan.

Austen wrote more than 3,000 letters, many to her sister Cassandra. They corresponded constantly, starting new letters to each other the minute they finished the last one and sharing the minutia of their lives. From reading Austen’s novels, I’d always assumed that people in her era spent a long time waiting for the mail. But the show mentions that during Austen’s life, mail in London and environs was delivered six times a day. Sometimes, a letter sent in the morning was delivered the same evening. Which makes snail mail sound a lot more like email or twitttering.

The speed of mail at the time and the content of the Austen sisters’ letters suggest that the desires to communicate instantly and to let other people know what you ate for breakfast aren’t modern phenomenon. Of course, Twitter lets you share your soy milk-to-cereal ratio with strangers and thus adds a layer of publishing to our updates. But people today often assume that email, Twitter and other relatively instant communication media have created a slew of brand new communication behaviors. The Jane Austen show at the Morgan suggests just the opposite: our human patterns are surprisingly consistent, and technology evolves to meet us.

Incidentally, the show doesn’t say when multi-daily snail mail faded, and I wonder if it passed out of fashion with the rise of the telegraph in the mid-1800s. Anyone know?

Thank Web 2.0 Expo co-chair Brady Forrest (@brady) if you enjoyed the soundtrack to the conference keynotes. Besides the numerous tweets from the audience requesting song titles, we noticed a few of you tapping your toes and (as the kids would say) “rocking out” pre-talk in the keynote room.

Want to take these tunes home with you? Here you go:

Artist: Jon Margulies
Album: TOO BIG TO FAIL
Song: Hobotech Mix
Sounds like: Techno, bassy
Get it here

Artist: Richard Cheese
Album: Sunny Side of the Moon
Sounds like: Lounge singer meets Nirvana, NIN, Pink Floyd, etc
Get it here

Artist: The Kleptones
Album: A Night at the Hip-Hopera
Sounds like: Hip hop remixes
Get it here

~~

Kaitlin Pike is the Web 2.0 Expo community manager. She can be reached @w2e.

Enjoying all the great sessions and conversations at Web 2.0 Expo New York this year? Inspired to take the stage yourself? If so, you should submit a proposal for Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco 2010. The deadline is tomorrow!

From ideas through implementation, we’re looking for war stories, success stories, case studies, innovations and lessons learned. From startups to enterprises to independents, if you’re helping define the future of the Web, we want to hear from you.

Speaking at Web 2.0 Expo is great opportunity to put your ideas and projects in front of a savvy and connected audience. Submit a proposal today. Deadline for proposals is November 19 at 11:59 p.m. PST.

We’re looking for proposals for sessions and workshops in the following tracks:
•    Landscape & Strategy
•    Marketing & Community
•    Design & User Experience
•    Development
•    Web 2.0 at Work
•    Government 2.0
•    Mobile
•    Social Media

Need advice on how to write a successful speaking proposal? Check out our blog post detailing the “Dos and Don’ts” of winning submissions.

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Kaitlin Pike is the Community Manager of Web 2.0 Expo. She can be reached @w2e

A big thank you to the organizers of last night’s Ignite NYC, including Web 2.0 Expo co-chair Brady Forrest and Tikva Morowati.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ignite, here’s a brief description:

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides which rotated after 15 seconds? Ignite captures the best of geek culture in a series of 5 minute speed presentations.

The speakers ranged from sewing fanatics to an arctic explorer – two groups you don’t typically see at the same event. Duncan Davidson took lots o’ pictures (including the one above), so be sure to look for yourself in the crowd shots!

We’ve pulled together from Twitter a few of the reactions about last night’s Ignite NYC to give you a taste of what went down. Feel free to leave your comments here about what you thought, or who you thought was the best presenter.

amyellisredux Really great #ignitenyc tonight. Exhausted but excited for tomorrow’s sessions and speakers. #w2e

mriggen I thought @ignitenyc KICKED BUTT tonight! Thanks and props to presenters and organizers. #w2e

toomz @quinnnorton Really liked what you said at #IgniteNYC “Take a truth + blurt it out.” #w2e

RayBeckerman One very cool presentation at the @ignitenyc event was by @leesan talking about design & about simplicity #w2e

cliffsmithstl @ignitenyc was awesome! You can’t beat a concentrated cluster of smart, interesting, inspiring people. #w2e #ignitenyc

imagineelection Loved #igniteNYC, especially “flat” and polar bears! But the event space was odd… #w2e should be hosted in a glass house, not a bunker.

Red_Banana Wonderful diversity of presenters tonight at @ignitenyc! And great presentations to boot. #w2e

manyas Viagra will get you to the North pole. Also, sticking your hands in someone elses groin will prevent frost bite. #ignitenyc #w2e

Continue Reading »

Who’s ready for Web 2.0 Expo New York? A big high five to everyone who said “yes”… but if you’ve one of the unfortunate individuals who couldn’t make it, it’s okay, we have a nice treat for you:

We are livestreaming selected content here. That’s almost better than a high five.

The first broadcast will be on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. ET. Watch Tim O’Reilly welcome the Web 2.0 Expo New York community. Read our other post on livestreaming to find out what other types of events will be filmed and placed online.

And one other note about following Web 2.0 Expo New York from afar: The official hashtag is #w2e.

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Kaitlin Pike is the Community Manager of Web 2.0 Expo. She can be reached @w2e.

You’re surrounded by people, but you’ve never felt more alone. Web 2.0 Expo New York is a busy, packed event, but unless you’re a natural extrovert, it’s often times nerve-racking to initiate a conversation – even with the person next to you.

Or maybe you have another problem: You need to know about the best place to meet your dream client or partner. What networking parties are there? Should you do the Booth Crawl?

Still not it? Well, maybe your problem or question is perhaps a little unusual, and no one you ask – despite best intentions – can seem to help you. Or maybe you just need to share some feedback with someone, bounce an idea off of them, or get some sincere encouragement (or a brutal critique).

If you fit into any of these categories, you should drop me a line or track me down at Javits. As the community manager, I’m here to help you with a variety of issues. I recommend that you first try asking one of our wonderful staff members you see throughout the convention center, or check for an answer to your query on our website.

To get in touch with me, try tweeting @w2e. I will try to monitor this, and our official hashtag #w2e, as best I can, but due to the volume of tweets during the conference I may be unable to respond to all questions.

Another way to talk to me is to meet with me face-to-face: I’ll be tweeting on @w2e where I’m at throughout the conference. Don’t be shy; I’m happy to talk to you!

My fellow Web 2.0 Expo organizers Suzanne Axtell (@SuzAxtell) and Jaimey Walking Bear are also happy to hear from attendees, and they encourage you to message them on the Attendee Directory (this is a great way to contact someone if you have a message that’s more than 140 characters). They may also mention on @w2e where they’re at during the conference.

We look forward to meeting you!

As wonderful as it is to be here and see Web 2.0 Expo coming to life once again at Javits, it’s a bittersweet moment for me. I’m both happy and sad to announce that this will be my last event with Techweb and Web 2.0. I’ve been so lucky to have worked with this amazing community and to have learned so much from all of you. It’s been incredibly inspiring – so much, in fact, it’s inspired me to start a non-profit that will help bring the principles values of Web 2.0 to city governments. I’ve founded an organization called Code for America, which is loosely based on Teach for America, and I’ll be building it full-time starting in December. Some names you know, including Tim O’Reilly and Clay Shirky, serve on the board. I’ll be looking for recruits, mentors, sponsors, and other contributors for our projects, so please stay in touch by following us on Twitter at @codeforamerica and @pahlkadot.

This is really good news for the Web 2.0 events, because it provides the opportunity for someone with a perfect background, a great personality and a bunch of fresh energy and insight to take my place. That person is Sarah Milstein, co-author (with Tim O’Reilly) of The Twitter Book, former O’Reilly editor, soon-to-be graduate of the Haas Business School, Web2Open leader and repeat Web 2.0 speaker. She and Brady are the exact right combination to take this conference to the next level. Sarah is here at Javits this week and I encourage you to introduce yourself to her and share your thoughts on the event. She’s @SarahM on Twitter and smilstein@techweb.com on email.

To everyone who’s helped make Web 2.0 Expo a vibrant conference and community, thank you. Working with smart, interesting people is such a gift, and I’ve had an embarrassment of riches in the past few years. Please stay in touch.

The theme for this year’s Web 2.0 Expo New York is the Power of Less. The Power of Less doesn’t just mean making do with fewer staff and a smaller budget. It means that constraints drive creativity, whether in business models, design paradigms, or platforms. It means the power of the small screen, the thin client, the streamlined interface. It might mean the power of small teams, or even going solo.

We asked companies who employ this power to drop us a line so we could share their strategies with you. It’s been a tough year for many of us, and hopefully these answers will help you and your business move forward and grow. If you think your company harnesses the Power of Less – and you have good examples – drop us a line here or on Twitter @w2e.

Today’s interview is with Gabriel Shaoolian – the founder and Creative Director of Blue Fountain Media. A brief description from their About Us page:

Gabriel Shaoolian

Blue Fountain Media is a boutique website development & online marketing firm located in New York City, at Union Square. We specialize in creating custom solutions that bring clients tangible and measurable results to help grow their business and enhance their brand.

Below is the abbreviated conversation we had with Gabriel:

Kaitlin: You say that you use a different process than most to get “to the heart of a client’s business strategies.” How is this different than companies who you consider more wasteful with resources?

Gabriel: All of our projects at Blue Fountain Media are “team” based. When you have an account manager, a designer, a developer and a marketer at the table at the very first client meeting, you are far more likely to emerge with a comprehensive and integrated plan of attack. This not only streamlines the entire requirements process, it allows us to proceed quickly and efficiently with the delivery of the project.

At many companies, the account manager is the only person to meet with the client. This creates terrible inefficiencies:

• The account manager has to take the time to get the team up to speed
• He’s failed to take advantage of the expertise of his team at the planning stage
• There are always communications issues when messages are passed along and not received first hand. Continue Reading »

No conference pass this year? No problem. We’re livestreaming all keynotes; more information about this will soon be up on our home page. We will also have video recordings of several plenary sessions on our Blip.tv account and O’Reilly Media YouTube Channel. Here’s a quick rundown (thanks to @SuzAxtell for pulling this together):

What will be recorded?
- All plenary presentations taking place in the Special Events Hall on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will be officially recorded, both audio and video.
- Launch Pad on Wednesday morning

What won’t be recorded?
No breakout sessions will be recorded.

Where will it be available?
On our Blip.tv account and O’Reilly Media YouTube Channel; links to videos on our YouTube channel will be posted on the Web 2.0 Expo home page as soon as footage is available.

When will it be available?
Footage from Tuesday afternoon will start to go up late Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday footage will be up on Thursday afternoon, etc., barring any technical glitches. All approved footage should be up within a week.

Are there any limitations on where video can be embedded?
No! Everyone is encouraged to embed the videos far and wide, either from Blip.tv or YouTube.

Can anyone shoot video during the show?
Yes! Shooting in the general convention center common areas is also fine. However, filming cannot be disruptive to other attendees or interfere with our official recording.

See you in New York City next week!

~~

Kaitlin Pike is the Community Manager for Web 2.0 Expo. She can be reached @w2e.

EDIT: We’ve added another event for Tuesday! This should be on our Events page soon. Check it out.

Let’s get to the subject everyone wants to know about: Parties and networking events you should hit up during the week of Web 2.0 Expo New York.

Our ever-growing Events page lists your choices (a pretty wide spectrum I might add), but I’d like to highlight a few here.

Monday, Nov. 16

Ignite NYC
Ignite NYC is back once again at the New World Stages for Web 2.0 Expo New York 2009! If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? Find out at Ignite NYC our kick-off event for Web 2.0 Expo New York, where we’ll showcase fast and furious performances celebrating your inner geek. More info

UKTI Evening Reception
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is hosting an evening reception at the British Consulate-General, New York, to introduce a delegation of over 20 UK-based, digital media companies to the New York market. View the UK companies attending. For more details or to RSVP, email Suzi Ibbotson  suzanne.ibbotson@fco.gov.uk by Friday, Nov. 13.

Tuesday, Nov. 17

Birds of a Feather Networking Sessions
BoFs also occur on Wednesday night. Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions provide face to face exposure to those interested in the same projects and concepts. BoFs can be organized for individual projects or broader topics, but they are entirely up to you. We post your topic online and onsite and provide the space and time. You provide the engaging topic. More info about both Tuesday and Wednesday BoFs

Fusicology After Hours Cocktail Party
Fusicology – an event destination site focusing on urban and edgy culture has joined forces with marketing/consulting/pr company The Bloom Effect to bring a creative/artistic element to Web 2.0 techies, developers, VC’s and social media gurus. Join us at this after hours cocktail party and forum to mingle, network and be entertained in a low key fun environment. No pretense here, just pure pleasurable fun!
RSVP requested

Net Neutrality Debate
Policy makers in Washington are currently working on Net Neutrality legislation that will have profound effects on the future of the Internet. Key players on either side of the Net Neutrality issue will go head-to-head in an Oxford Style Debate. Tickets are on sale.

Bloggers School Tweet Up (7pm to 10pm)
The Roger Smith Hotel, known as The Social Media Hotel, in Manhattan, will host Bloggers School’s first Tweet Up during Web 2.0 Expo. Budweiser is donating beer for our guests and Patron will be putting a $250.00 tab towards the bar! Appetizers will be provided as well. Also, get a copy of Gary Vaynerchuk’s new book, “Crush It!” We will hand out a limited number of free copies of the book on a first-come, first-served basis. Follow the conversation #BloggersSchool!

Wednesday, Nov. 18

Launch Pad
We’ll choose five companies to present their new company or product on stage at Web 2.0 Expo New York. Each will have five minutes to present and will receive real-time feedback from a panel of industry experts and the audience. Launch Pad takes place in the morning at the Javits Center. Read more.

Booth Crawl
Quench your thirst with vendor-hosted libations and snacks while you check out all the cool stuff on the expo show floor. This event is open to all attendees. Read more.

Drinks4Startups
Drinks4Startups is mixer for web starters at Gallery Bar on the Lower East Side, hosted by Web2NewYork, Web2Fem and other New York web communities. Our current drink sponsor is Dyn Inc. Just look for a Dyn Inc. rep and grab a drink voucher! RSVP

Opera Tweetup
All Web 2.0 Expo NY attendees are invited to attend Opera’s Tweetup with CTO Hakon Wium Lie on November 18, 2009 at 6 pm. The mixer will be held at ‘Disiac Lounge at 402 W. 54th Street- just a short cab-ride from the Jacob Javits Center. Enjoy free drinks and great Opera giveaways! More Info

Wine 2.0 Expo New York
Wine 2.0 Expo New York connects wine and technology lovers with forward thinking and progressive wine brands in one exciting event, bringing the on-line social network to life for one night. More Info

Thursday, Nov. 19

Next New Networks | Barely Live Party
The conference is over, but the party has just begun! Next New Networks invites you to see some of the people behind this year’s biggest online video hits perform live on stage at the Canal Room at the Barely Live Party. AutoTune the News from the Gregory Brothers. DJ Mike Relm. Obama Girl performing Crush on Obama with Leah Kauffman. Music comedian Mark Douglas. Robo.To kiosk on-site. Tickets available at barelylive.eventbrite.com for $10. Special gift if you show your Web 2.0 Expo New York badge. Come on out! #barelylive