conferences

Fixing Conferences: Six Lessons From the Designers Accord Summit

Valerie Casey — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:25:50 -0500

I've realized that I can't stand conferences. To me, conferences are akin to watching television without Tivo, or going to AAA to get a triptik instead of mapping a journey on Google. Conferences are an old workhorse model--a mix of passive consumption and fluorescent lighting--that is at odds with the seeds of inspiration they are supposed to inspire.

GridWeek

Clay Dillow — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:15:37 -0400

There's a lot of disagreement about how best to move toward a sustainable future, but most everyone agrees on one particular point: our electricity grid, as it stands, is outdated and horribly, horribly inefficient. D.C.'s GridWeek brings together industry execs, policy makers, environmental groups, tech companies and pretty much anyone else interested in creating an energy Internet that not only carries power from source to consumer, but carries information that helps us get the most out of the power grid.

Register for TWTRCON 09: 20% Discount, Year Subscription to Fast Company

Fast Company staff — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:17:17 -0400

TWTRCON SF 09--Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, May 31, 2009--is the first conference entirely focused on Twitter as a business platform: how to use Twitter to reach and engage customers, influence opinions and activate markets.

Learn how to:

Ideo Redesigns the Icebreaker

Jeff Chu — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:35:48 -0400

One of my least favorite activities of all time is the icebreaker. You know how it goes: Throw together a bunch of people--six, eight, more than two is too many--and force them to tell each other something silly, secret, anything that will publicly humiliate in front of total strangers. Cue nervous laughter and clammy palms. But barely has the Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurship begun and Ideo is already telling us: We have a better way. We're going to use design.

People Are My Priority for BlogWorld 2008

Chris Brogan — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:12:58 -0400

Okay, as a speaker/writer/blogger type, I'm happy that I'll be there gabbing and sharing opinions, but what I'm really looking forward to most at BlogWorld this year are the connections that the event will bring. Where else can I meet real estate bloggers, military bloggers, Godbloggers, and so many more varieties outside my world of tech and social media? How cool is it that Rick Calvert and the folks at Blog World Expo go out of their way to faciliate a much larger scope of conversation than what's covered in most blogging events?

Blogger's Club

Socially Secure - What I Learned at BlogWorldExpo '07

John Havens — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:34:11 -0400

I attended BlogWorld Expo last year for my company, BlogTalkRadio (I'm VP, Business Development) and enjoyed a number of solid sessions and prime networking.

My focus in terms of what I wanted to learn about from the event, however, was insights about authenticity in Social Media as I was researching my book, Tactical Transparency that I've co-authored with Shel Holtz.

Blogger's Club

Blog World 2008

Saabira Chaudhuri — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:49:10 -0400

It's fall again and while summer's valiantly trying to extend its tenure, pretty soon our shadows will get longer and our days shorter. For bloggers though, while posts about drinking outside, losing iPhones on the beach, and walks through Central Park might have to be curtailed, all is not lost; what is perhaps the year's most awaited event is just around the corner.

Blogger's Club

RASH IV

Push Institute — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:51:33 -0400

The final installment of Rash IV closed PUSH 2008.

Empowerment through Technology - Michael Furdyk

Push Institute — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:36:42 -0400

Michael Furdyk, one of North America’s leading technology entrepreneurs, closed out the presentations for PUSH 2008 discussing the challenges we face and how technology can empower us to improve health, the environment and education.

Technology Advances Rwanda - Antoine Bigirimana

Push Institute — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:45:47 -0400

Rwandan-American Antoine Bigirimana, co-founder and managing director of Thousand Hills Venture Fund (THVF), kicked-off the technology section of PUSH 2008 by discussing how technology has started to advance Rwanda into the 21st Century.

The Polarizers and the Unifiers

Push Institute — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:49:49 -0400

"Who are the polarizers?" asked Anthea Butler, an Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Rochester who specializes in African American religious history, American religious history, and women and gender studies.

Challenge Day at PUSH 2008

Push Institute — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:52:05 -0400

Youth, Religious Pluralism - Eboo Patel

Push Institute — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:42:49 -0400

Dr. Eboo Patel followed the Redeemer Kids perfectly with his discussion on the importance of religious pluralism and its significance for the future on Tuesday morning to start the last day of PUSH 2008.

Al Jazeera's Mark Seddon

Push Institute — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:54:14 -0400

Heading up the political segment of PUSH 2008, "Leaders in Reverse: Playing Short-Term Gains against Long-Term Needs," U.N. correspondent for Al Jazeera English Mark Seddon decided to speak from the platform of personal experience to help understand a bigger, hopeful political picture.

Clyde Prestowitz - Leaders in Reverse

Push Institute — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:51:51 -0400

Clyde Prestowitz, author of Trading Places, Three
Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the
East, and current member of both the Intel Policy Advisory Board and
the U.S. Export-Import Bank Advisory Board closed Monday's round of
speakers. He asked that listeners first focus on the issues that are
demanding and will demand change, then problem-solve and decide what needs

"The Soul of Nairobi" - J.D. Steele

Push Institute — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:50:31 -0400

J.D. Steele closed out the first full day of PUSH 2008 on Monday evening with a performance about what he has been doing in Africa. He entertained the audience with a cultural experience and music.

Consumers leading Institutions - Nate Garvis

Push Institute — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:23:45 -0400

Nate Garvis, Vice President of Government Affairs for Target Corporation, spoke in the political section of PUSH 2008 about leadership in reverse.

"Flatness: Realities and Myths" - Katherine Marshall

Push Institute — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:19:06 -0400

After a half-hour break, Katherine Marshall closed the section on economics at PUSH 2008.

Marshall, a senior fellow at Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs and a senior advisor for the World Bank, has worked for over three decades on international development with a focus on issues facing the world’s poorest countries.

"An Economy of Integrity" - Jonathan Greenblatt

Push Institute — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:03:04 -0400

Entrepreneur in

A Zone of Discovery

Push Institute — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:55:28 -0400

Cecily Sommers, futurist and founder of the Push Institute, addressed PUSH attendees Monday morning to set the tone and pace for the next two days. She prodded complacency and demanded future-oriented questions for the duration of the conference and beyond. Sommers said, "We want to
understand the experience that IS the world in which we live so that we can make good decisions."

Behind the Scenes: A Peek at Reality - Chandron Nair

Push Institute — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:33:36 -0400

Internationalist Chandran Nair opened the economics section of PUSH 2008.

Singer, Songwriter Wilson opens up Push 2008

Push Institute — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:19:15 -0400

Dan Wilson, a local Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter, helped open the 2008 Push Conference on Sunday evening by playing six songs. He successfully entertained the audience with good music and humorous stories.

RASH 1

Push Institute — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:15:56 -0400

Activist, writer, performer and executive director of WITNESS Jenni Wolfson kicked off
The Push Institute’s 2008 Conference with the first installment of her play RASH
that will be performed in four sections over the course of the conference.

PUSH 2008: The Fertile Delta

Push Institute — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:54:49 -0400

Facing the future is about asking the right questions, not about trying to find the answers.

The Push Institute is a non-profit think tank that hosts an annual conference for organizations and individuals who wish to influence and explore what is "pushing the future in new directions."

Networking Social

Mark Dziersk — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:15:38 -0400

Design conferences are enjoyable and effective venues for networking. It was great to catch up with old friends and colleauges at the IIT strategy conference in Chicago recently. The conversations and presentations centered mostly around future strategies for design thinking Two words kept popping up. "networking" and "social", or perhaps more acurately "societal".