Archive for 'Traveling Geeks'
CES 2015 Wrap Up: From 3D Printing & Connected Devices to 4K TVs & Infrared Cameras
It was even the heart of Samsung’s keynote address this year. At the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), the main building for CES’s heftiest exhibitors, it was Samsung (not Apple) who stole the show with its ever so impressive 360 screens that circled around its booth, showing flashy and compelling videos of cars racing and more.
It was all about their 4K TVs, which are bendable, flat and curved although Samsung had plenty to offer in the mobile, audio and home automation space as well.
Samsung JS9500 series is a new concept in UHD (4K technology), which they tout as eco-friendly. It uses nano-crystal technology and an intelligent SUHD re-mastering picture quality engine, which gives vast improvements in contrast, brightness, color reproduction, and detail.
People seemed to be raving about FLIR at my evening networking events, a new infrared camera that connects to smartphones at around a $250 price point. As crazy as this sounds, the camera can spot pets and animals in the dark, as well as detect cold air drafts and leaking pipes in walls. FLIR ONE translates thermal energy into dynamic color images for personal safety, home repairs, outdoor adventures, and even artistic expression.
The “all things connected world” seemed to proliferate the Sands Convention Center, located just off the strip a stone’s throw from the Wynn Hotel, where I demoing and singing Kolibree‘s praises, the world’s first connected electric toothbrush with truly interactive feedback, gamification and 3D motion sensors. The toothbrush tells you how you’ve brushed, where you’ve brushed and where you haven’t.
We had a dentist on-site who is also an advisor to the company explaining why this is important and how knowing where you’re not brushing well empowers you to brush better next time around. In the old world, you’d only get that feedback from your dentist once a year, a far cry from the world we live in today where nearly everything can be connected thanks to Bluetooth technology.
A bit like Fitbit for your teeth, who also had a massive presence on the show floor not far from we hung our hats for the week, Kolibree differs from other connected brushes on the market, thanks to its proprietary technology, in that it provides an interactive map telling you exactly where you’ve missed, as well as where you’ve over-brushed and under-brushed.
All that data can be kept private or shared with your dentist, which is the first time that the dental industry will have access to this kind of data, all of which can be incredibly useful for both dentists and users.
Kolibree has teamed up with Dentegra who also had a presence at CES this year — the combined forces will offer incentives and discounts on dental care, as well as 25% off the Kolibree toothbrush through the new Dentegra Smile Club to be launched early this quarter.
While healthcare is an obvious win for the connected market (think measurement of your sugar levels in real time if you’re diabetic, feedback on your sleeping patterns so you can rectify through diet, exercise and other things, heart monitoring and reminders to take drugs), there were a host of other connected devices trying to prove that they were truly useful too.
The truth is – some were and some were….well, not so much.
New connected devices on the market seem to come in all types and sizes — from blingy necklaces that vibrate when your husband sends you a text and baby diapers that let you know when your kid has pooped to washing machines, interactive cameras and Raticator, a rodent detectors that notify you when it has caught a rodent — yes really (see the rat trap, a rat trap that uses a wifi chip to alert you when it electrocutes the rat).
Although I didn’t see it, I heard about a toaster that notifies you when the toast is up. Really? Could I not see or hear it pop up from inside my kitchen?
Connected devices can truly be useful but quite honestly, only when the connection is used to solve a problem we have or make our lives easier in ways that matter. I understand the value of connected watches within reason, but when I asked one vendor what the default was on the completely flat shiny silver faced watch, he told me it was how many steps I took and I’d only get the time after a second tap.
Huh? That’s like telling me that my smartphone’s default is digital games and a list of recommendations on restaurants before being able to make a call. I want a watch to first and foremost give me the time and my phone to first and foremost allow me to make calls.
When the watch becomes stylish and adorns me with a l’il luxury I might not have had otherwise, it gets a little more interesting however, at least for a woman. So far, all of these connected gadgets seem to be designed by men for men — big, bulky, black, silver and red seems to be the order of the day.
The gold and sparkling diamonds of Burg‘s blingy smart watch drew me over to their booth. It works via a SIM card on an Android 4.4 operating system, and is activated. The price point for this stainless steel and Swarovski crystal device is between $500-600. They also offer a range of fun colored sportier watches that track your activities.
Swarovski also had their own presence on the show floor and while I’m not much of a bling girl, I loved the designs of their soon to be released smart watches, most of which come with accompanying narrow glittery bracelets.
Glitter, diamonds and also black, white and midnight blue. They were my favorites of the connected watches and jewelry and I can’t wait to test them out when they hit the market.
Misfit is also working with Swarovski on a new line called Shine. The Shine Collection includes the Swarovski Shine Activity Tracking Crystal and accompanying accessories.
Additionally, I loved the latest watches from Guess at the show, touting rich colors and elegant design. You can get scrolling alerts across a Led screen or be alerted via a vibration and it uses voice commands to communicate with your cell phone.
The watch is water resistant, and comes in midnight blue (for men only — a shame since it’s my favorite one of all the options), brown and rose for men, white and black for women and white with a bit of bling. The watches use Martian technology, which I wrote about in mid-2014. The line, which supports both iPhone and Android, is slated for a September or October launch of this year and will retail for around $350.
One of my favorite companies making tracking watches is Withings — they had me at “hello” last year when they showed off their Activite watch in a beautiful and elegant soft brown leather. We can’t wait to test it out in the next few months.
This year, they were showcasing Activite Pop, a line of watches that is focused on the more adventurous. Pop comes in lots of fun colors and like their other watches, you have easy access to both the time and notification of your activity so you know where you stand throughout the day and can decide what your next move should be.
Also showing off fun jewelry was FashionTEQ. Their Zazzi bracelet offers an elegant and more discreet way for women to receive messages and reminders when you have your cell phone in your pocket or purse. Why would I even consider the geekier options designed by men for men when I could wear something that looked like this? I’d love to test it out in my daily life in the not too distant future.
Speaking of jewelry, the connected vendors weren’t the only ones fed up with the fact that techy products don’t cater to women enough. Meet GemPhones.
I fell in love with these elegant ear buds disguised as a functional but beautiful necklace you can wear around your neck. A dressier option is one that resembles pearls whereas the funkier hipper brown and black motif is a nice everyday option for the younger hipster and frankly, for a woman in her forties. I’m game and can’t wait to test these out.
Another mobile accessory I discovered solves a real problem — LOST ear buds. I don’t know about you but I’m constantly misplacing them, leaving them in the wrong bag or getting them tangled when I need them most. Sound Pockets has come up with a way around that by creating a plastic pocket that attaches itself to the bottom of your cell phone case and they’re available in lots of fun colors.
A perfect solution for the college student and for the forgetful and busy among us who need a handy way to keep track of them.
Also for the active enthusiast, meet the ever so cool Rocketskates. They had a massive booth in the center of the Sands, where you could watch demos of people using the skates or even try them out yourself, which I did of course.
Blissfully happy at the end of my try….they’re a bit like a cross between a segway and rollerskates.
Below is a little video of my experience with them so you can get an idea of how they work.
3D printing was another hot trend at this year’s show. In the Sands alone, it seemed like the aisles of vendors touting their latest 3D printing solutions was never going to end. At one point, I found it a little dizzying and frankly, confusing.
While in no way yet mainstream, 3D printing, despite its hefty price point, is now a feasible possibility in today’s world. Take a look at some of the objects these vendors were showing off in their booths — from fashion and leather cell phone cases to sailboats, toys, dolls, objects and even food.
I had an incredible experience inside the massive 3D Systems booth (note that the funky leather smartphone cases above were made from one of their machines). Sense is a portable 3D scanner that can capture objects (including people) at 10 by 10 feet and its claim in addition to high quality scanning is that its price is much more reasonable than its competitive counterparts.
Below is a shot of me holding the captured image of “me” after they scanned me on the show floor.
The Sense is the only 3D scanner to deliver precise instant physical photography, so everyone can capture his or her scanable moments. Sense has flexible scan size and can capture everything from a picture-perfect cupcake to a full-body selfie, processing data in seconds for an instantly 3D printable file. Sense comes with an intuitive user interface with easy and automated zoom, track, focus, crop, enhance and share tools. Below is a video of my experience.
The 2015 CES Innovation Awards had its own section at the show, where they highlighted companies making cool and leading edge products.
Most of the products were displayed behind glass cabinets so you see but not touch and the range of solutions were vast.
In the Connected Home area, I discovered Edyn Garden who has a solar-powered Edyn smart garden system that takes the guess work out of gardening with their Wi-Fi enabled Edyn Garden Sensor.
The sensor monitors environmental conditions to make smart recommendations about what to plant and when to fertilize. This unique sensor works alongside the Edyn Water Valve and Edyn app to provide automatic watering options that deliver water when, and only when, plants need it, helping to conserve water and other precious resources.
The Fitness Section, where Activity Meets Tech, was bustling and this year, it seems as if there are now countless FitBit-like solutions that take fitness tracking and feedback to an entirely new level.
Lighting has been making a lot of new advances lately for both larger enterprises and new solutions consumers can use in their home — from improving efficiency to controlling your room’s colors and mood. Meet ilumi whose vibrant booth ambiance drew me over to learn more.
You simply download the free ilumi App from the App Store or Google Play, screw in your ilumi lightbulb and turn them on. You can control and customize each individual ilumi or groups of them – you can also program an ilumi light or set of lights to sync with certain music to affect a room’s mood, make them change colors or diffuse them in some rooms and not others.
It is all done through a simple-to-use mobile dashboard, allowing you to take control of your home or office’s lighting in just a few swipes or clicks. I think the idea is great, loved the team and can’t wait to put them to the test – we hope to review them in the coming months ahead.
The Digital Health section was exploding with solutions that ranged from sugar tracking as mentioned above and activity trackers to tools to rest the mind. Muse has an interesting approach to settling your over active mind and had an experiential chair set up so you could put it to the test. And, so I did….
I sat inside a comfy chair while the brain sensing headband was place around my head with the goal at putting my mind at ease. As eerie as this sound, the headband essentially reads your brainwaves read while giving you simple activities and games to reduce stress, strengthen your brain and help you relax via its EEG sensors, all of which are constantly detecting and measuring your brain activity.
Below is a video someone from their team shot as I went through the process on-site.
I found CES this year to be more interesting than last although I wished I had time to really explore the LVCC in depth. I was living and breathing the Kolibree toothbrush and Dentegra’s Smile Club for the week so amidst the buzz of home automation, fitness, 3D, cameras, audio devices and TV sets, it was rewarding to see Kolibree shine at CES for its second year in a row.
Last year, we only had a prototype to show and this year, Kolibree could demo two new mobile apps and talk about the compelling collaboration with Dentegra to help make dental care more affordable. Kolibree could also tout that its most advanced connected toothbrush will by shipping by the end of January. From gadget press and mom bloggers to Associated Press TV, NBC News, and even Sears Television, the team demoed to the world.
Kudos to Kolibree’s team in Paris for getting the toothbrush ready for this very important show and for market and to the Dentegra team for coming up with an innovative way for uninsured consumers to receive affordable dental care through its Smile Club. Alas, with another CES behind us, it’s now time to transform how Americans view dental care.
Photo credits: Top photo by Duke Chung from venitism.blogspot.com, Raticator from epestsupply.com, Flir One photo from their website, Samsung photo from Samsung website. Dentegra Smile Club mobile screen shot from the Dentegra Smile Club.com website and second ilumi photo of the mobile app from justelementary.com. Videos and all other photos courtesy of Renee Blodgett.
TEDxBerkeley Announces Speaker & Performer Line-Up for Feb 8 Event
The fifth annual TEDx Berkeley, which will be held at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on Saturday February 8, 2014, will feature 20 inspiring and innovative speakers and performers who will address this year’s theme Rethink, Redefine, Recreate.
From education and healthcare to the monumental shifts we are seeing across technology, digital entertainment, sustainability, communications and the environment, the goal of this year’s event is to open up a global conversation around innovative ideas and transformations that happen when we don’t follow the status quo. The speaker and performer line-up for 2014 includes the following thought leaders and visionaries:
Kare Anderson: Kare is Say it Better Center founder, an Emmy-winning former NBC and Wall Street Journal reporter, columnist for Forbes and Huffington Post, and a translator of neuroscience research which improves how we connect and collaborate.
Nikki Borodi: Nikki is a musician, clown, aerial acrobatic, yoga instructor and artist who is in the process of writing a circus rock show to inspire people to manifest their dreams.
Vangelis Chaniotakis: Vangelis, who dreams of starting his own circus troupe, has been training on partner acrobatics since 2011 while also dabbling in hand balancing, tumbling, and static trapeze.
Brenda Chapman: Brenda was formerly a story artist at Walt Disney Feature Animation, story supervisor on The Lion King, helped launch DreamWorks Animation Studios and created, wrote and directed for Pixar Animation Studios including Golden Globe winning Brave.
Dr. Al Greene: Dr. Greene is Medical Director at HealthTap, former President of The Organic Center, founding partner of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment and his site DrGreene.com, cited by the AMA as “the pioneer physician Web site”, has received over 80 million unique users.
Roberto Hernandez: Roberto co-directed and produced a documentary film which was nominated for three Emmy Awards and won an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism as a result of the film’s success in implementing an amendment to the Mexican Constitution.
Sarah Hillware: Sarah is an outspoken advocate for young women’s health and women’s empowerment and founder and director of Girls Health Ed., a health education program for girl youth ages 8-17.
Beth Kanter: Beth is a well-established international leader in nonprofits’ use of social media and her book “The Networked Nonprofit” introduced the sector to a new way of thinking and operating in a connected world.
Guy Kawasaki: Guy is special advisor to the Motorola business unit of Google, former chief evangelist of Apple and a prolific author with 12 books under his belt.
Leslie Lang: Leslie is the Senior VP and General Counsel of Microclinic International, a global health nonprofit that is revolutionizing how chronic diseases are prevented and managed in under-resourced communities around the world.
The California Golden Overtones: The California Golden Overtones are an all-female completely student-run A Cappella group on the UC Berkeley Campus, which has been around for over 20 years.
Yonat Mayer: Yonat and her band Yonat & Her Muse have shared the stage with artists such as post rock musician Fink and singer-songwriter Foy Vance.
Ted Miguel: Ted is the Oxfam Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics and Faculty Director of the Center for Effective Global Action at the University of California, Berkeley, where his main research focus is African economic development.
Paul Rucker: Paul’s work as a visual artist, composer, and musician combines media that integrates live performance, sound, original compositions, and visual art, and incorporates human rights issues, historical research, and basic human emotions.
Carol Sanford: Carol is the Founder and CEO of The Responsible Entrepreneur Institute and author of multi-award winning, The Responsible Business: Reimagining Sustainability and Success and The Responsible Entrepreneur: Four Game Changing Business Archetypes.
Dutta Satadip: Dutta heads up Sales Support for the Americas region at Google, where he is responsible for driving operational efficiencies and customer service across a multi-billion dollar portfolio of over 100 products.
Randy Schekman: Randy is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, where his research is focused on the process of membrane assembly, vesicular transport, and membrane fusion. Schekman won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology.
Tim Shields: Tim is a desert biologist who has traversed a number of miles equivalent to circumnavigating the Earth and founder of Green Light Enterprises, now Hardshell Labs, which provides solutions to how to make conservation not only meaningful but fun.
Brian Sirgutz: Brian is the Senior Vice President of Social Impact at AOL/Huffington Post Media Group, where he leads all aspects of the company’s Social impact, CSR, business development and social innovation content and engagement strategy.
Ashley Stahl: An award-winning advocate for women in security, Ashley is Manager of the Enterprise Risk Management Center at Control Risks where she leads a team who advises companies on how to protect their personnel and assets from security threats in hostile environments around the world.
The New Orleans Manifesto: New Orleans Manifesto performs the various flavors of New Orleans Jazz with flair, funk and finesse, ranging from exciting groove oriented music to beautiful New Orleans serenades.
To attend this incredible event that takes over Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall at a special 25% discount, go our EventBrite page and use discount code: Renee25.
Disclosure: I am co-curator again this year and we are looking forward to an inspiring event next Saturday February 8.
KEECKER’s Smart & Connected Robot Launches at CES 2014
Paris-based KEECKER is showing off its new smart, wirefree and connected robot on the International CES 2014 show floor in Las Vegas Nevada this week. The new connected device will redefine the home entertainment and connected devices market. With a powerful video projection and 360° audio & capture system, KEECKER allows you to project movies, listen to music, browse the web, make video calls, play video games, transform the design of your home and more, all controlled through your smartphone.
Using KEECKER’s innovative technology, you can transform your home with just one single device, eliminating the need for so many ”siloed” technology solutions we are forced into using today. KEECKER can project digital rich art, media, images and video anywhere as well as move around your home. Truly wirefree and mobile, KEECKER rolls alongside you using its advanced motorized wheels.
Moving beyond entertainment as we know it today, KEECKER transforms any room into an entertainment arena and any surface into a massive and immersive screen. Freed from its ”container”, content can be projected anywhere, whether its traditional entertainment, video, photos, interior design or beyond.
Equipped with a powerful video projection and 360° audio and video capture system, KEECKER allows you to project movies, listen to music, browse the web, make video calls, play video games and more.
While many devices such as computers and smartphones are solely for personal use, KEECKER enables the sharing of collective experiences at home, bringing families closer together. Interested in taking a dive into the Milky Way or bringing your children under the sea in the comfort of your own home?
Want to draw monumental artwork on your walls or create pop up interior design just for a night? Whether you want to walk through your house Skyping with a friend in Tokyo, wake up to a view of Tuscany on your bedroom wall or countless other dynamic scenarios, KEECKER can create that experience for you.
KEECKER can also be used to check home analytics (temperature, humidity, sound level, light level, CO2 level and more) and for security purposes, so you can check on your home remotely from the road. From entertainment, games, web apps and home security to interior design creation, image and sound immersion, KEECKER can transform any room using your imagination.
KEECKER makes the nightmare experience of connecting home systems to game consoles, ISP boxes and mobile devices as well as the unsightly cables and wires in every corner of the house a thing of the past.
KEECKER is 16 inches wide and 25 inches tall and is controlled via a free smartphone application (iOS, Android and Web). KEECKER’s prototypes are white with final colors to be announced at launch.
The device will come with one terabyte of local storage space, and be available to consumers in the $4,000-5,000 price range starting in Q4 2014. It will include the robot, free apps and its recharge base.
Disclosure: I provide consulting to keecker.
Kolibree Unveils World’s First Connected Electric Toothbrush
Kolibree, a company dedicated to innovative solutions to keep you healthy and smart, launched the world’s first connected electric toothbrush last night at the large renowned Unveiled Media Event in Las Vegas on the eve of the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Unlike anything else that exists today, Kolibree’s smart toothbrush has a unique technology to analyze your brushing habits and display them on a mobile dashboard you can readily access from your phone.
Kolibree’s connected toothbrush is paired with a mobile app. You simply download the free mobile app, connect via Bluetooth and every brushing is recorded. Then, the data about how you brushed automatically synchronizes to your smartphone telling you whether you brushed long enough and reached the hard-to-reach but important parts of your teeth and gums.
With the Kolibree connected toothbrush and mobile app, you can take control of your health and teeth with easy-to-understand monitoring and scoring. You can easily share your stats with your dentist and family or choose to keep it private. Designed for families, the app works with several toothbrushes so the entire family can participate. Kolibree rewards your progress and cheers you on when you are improving, allocating points to kids to encourage them to improve their brushing habits.
The Problem Kolibree Solves: Your dentist may have told you that plaque and tartar build up can lead to losing your teeth if not monitored and acted upon fast enough. Many people don’t realize that poor dental care can also impact the overall care of your health.
While Kolibree does not proclaim to solve periodontal disease or suggest that it can keep cavities or gingivitis at bay, the better you take care of your teeth, the more likely it is that you can and will avoid serious problems.
Before Kolibree, the issue is that there has been no easy and quick way to monitor whether you’re doing an A+ job or a C- one when you brush, so how can you improve on a habit you don’t have any data about? Kolibree solves that problem, making it easier than ever.
The Kolibree connected toothbrush will be available starting in Q3 2014 but ready for pre-order starting this summer. The price of Kolibree will range from $99 to $199 depending on the model and will include a free mobile app.
Full Disclosure: I am providing consulting to Kolibree.
CES 2014: The Year of Wearables & Devices To Track Your Life?
The International Consumer Electronics Show (International CES) 2014 is around the corner once again and I’ll be there in spades as always like I have over the past two decades.
The event officially runs from January 7-10 in Las Vegas Nevada however pre-events, sessions and more start as early as January 5, including the fascinating UNVEILED Event which touts a number of new innovative products and services not yet on the market. I plan to be there in spades, so watch for tweets on my observations which will include photos as much as I can. (reliable wifi willing)
Major technology innovators will be talking about their latest and greatest in a keynote series called The Tech Titans.The keynotes will be held at The Venetian, on Level 5 in the Palazzo Ballroom. From Brian Krzanich of Intel, Audi’s Rupert Stadler and Sony’s Kazuo Hirai to Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer and Cisco’s John Chambers, the crowds will inevitably pour into these massive ballrooms to learn about what they’re doing and why. The Mobile Innovation keynotes at the LVCC (Las Vegas Convention Center) in N255 include John Donovan from AT&T, Qualcomm’s Paul E. Jacobs, TechCrunch TV’s Andrew Keen and Ericsson Group’s Hans Vestberg. Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo, Salesforce’s Scott Dorsey, and Ford’s James D. Farley also take the stage.
I’ll be there scouting out new products, services and innovations for the mobile warrior for an entire week. I will be looking for things like efficient designs, lightweight products easy for travelers to carry, useful products that help travelers connect or use services remotely (to access movies, music, photos and more), cameras, tablets, external drives, batteries (a godsend and critical for any traveler), battery chargers and alternatives, and wearables. This appears to be the year of the wearables so let’s see what comes out of the show. I’ll also be keen to see the explosion of where mobile meets quantified self in the areas of fitness and health — the more we can know about what’s happening with our bodies in real time, the more we can proactively take care of our health without having to solely rely on a doctor’s advice, often someone who barely knows us or what’s happening in our personal lives.
These devices will change the way we eat, think, sleep, exercise and yes, travel. New areas and events at CES this year which will be dedicated to the startup community include the Indiegogo Zone and UP Global LIVE Stage. The all-new Indiegogo Zone, housed within the Eureka Park TechZone, will feature hardware campaigners from around the world. The Indiegogo Zone provides an opportunity for anyone interested in learning more about crowdfunding for hardware. The UP Global LIVE Stage, sponsored by GE, will showcase the startup community, facilitate connections and provide programming in Eureka Park. The stage will feature panels with iconic entrepreneurs, leading investors, corporate executives and media. In addition to programming, UP Global will host mentor sessions and pitch competitions and provide resources and networking opportunities for exhibitors and attendees.
The second annual ShowStoppers Launch.it power session is a curated pitch event built exclusively for the young, transformative and entrepreneurial startups that exhibit in Eureka Park. Sixteen exhibitors will pitch to a panel of high profile angel/VC investors along with media, analysts and industry experts in the audience. An anchor for the startup community at CES, the 2014 Eureka Park TechZone will feature more than 200 exhibitors, 30 percent more than the 2013 CES. In partnership with UP Global, the National Science Foundation (NSF), General Electric (GE) and AT&T, Eureka Park provides a stage for new companies with technologies to market their innovation to venture capitalists, media and buyers. Eureka Park will have a French pavilion for the first time with UbiFrance bringing 11 French startups to the area. Viva La France!
Building off the success of Eureka Park, the new Eureka Park: NEXT hosts the progressing stage of Eureka Park startups. This TechZone is designed for mid-stage startups that have launched a product in the past year. In Eureka Park: NEXT, retailers, venture capitalists, manufacturers and more will discover established startups looking to expand their growth.
Floored within Eureka Park, Academia Tech focuses on the technologies coming from colleges and universities. CES also offers special networking events curated for startups and entrepreneurs like the invitation-only Entrepreneurs Reception and Tech Cocktail’s Startup Night.
This year, there will be over 3,200 exhibitors across 15 product categories.
GigaOm Roadmap 2013: The Intersection of Design and Experience
Before I learned that Tony Fadell was former SVP of Apple’s iPod division and had reported directly to Steve Jobs, there was a sense that he abided by the “Real Men Ship” rules and I hadn’t yet read his GigaOm Roadmap profile, where he presented on stage this week in San Francisco.
GigaOm events have always been more B2B and enterprise at their core regardless of the theme and this case was no different despite the fact that the conference was atypical in many ways, almost TED-like. Taglined “The Intersection of Design and Experience”, you were almost waiting for earth shattering insights from some of the best geeks, inventors, designers and visionaries in the industry.
In this case, I probably should have started with Tesla’s Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, except I sadly missed that session, or Adobe on design or even the very cool discussion around using data to program creative spaces, which included Jennifer Magnolfi’s design examples and experiences with Herman Miller and most recently, the Downtown Project in Las Vegas.
But, Tony intrigued me largely because he had a “say it like it is” personality which was refreshing and ever so beautifully arrogant at the same time. He acknowledged how easy it was to raise money now because he was a known and trusted entity because of his so many successes while reminding young 20-something year olds how much faster they could work alongside mentors and get their projects to “go” because of easy access to people compared to two decades ago. It made me want to have lunch with him, maybe even dinner.
You can’t be in your forties or beyond and not disclose at some juncture that you stand by profitability and having real metrics in place to build not just a perception for a “perception sale” but a sustainable company with an inherent value-add for customers that solve real problems again and again.
Post Apple, he built an energy-efficient home near Lake Tahoe and in the process, was so frustrated with the limitations of the traditional “thermostat,” he redesigned it with former Apple colleague Matt Rogers. The end result became Nest Labs, his current entity and where he spends his energy and time.
While the man has authored more than 300 patents, has a history of successes and seems to get “design” and the design process, it was his going back to basics message (rarer in Silicon Valley) that had me at “go.” He spoke of magical moments, a phrase that made me think of Tony Robbins who talks about creating magical moments in life as a daily practice.
He thinks its just not just our duty to create daily magical moments for ourselves, but in that creation, the trickle effect has a significant impact on everyone and everything around you.
You create them, you don’t wait for them to happen. Once in motion, they have a spiral bowling ball effect. You give (e.g, provide magic in some way shape or form) and the universe gives back in profound ways you never imagined.
Says Tony, “rethink experiences from ground up to create magical moments.” Obviously in this reference, he’s directly referring to product design, yet it’s a way of thinking, a way of life, not a principle in a board room or behind a computer. Enuf said!
Other messages included how data and connectivity shape our world. There’s a ton of Einsteins here she thinks but not a whole lot of Picassos. (Refer to the Steve Martin play Picasso at the Agile which transformed my interaction with an engineering team earlier in my career) Perhaps design is and has always been as important as the technology itself and as it becomes more prolific in our lives as time marches on, more people realize it.
In the play, both men are on the verge of an amazing idea (Einstein will publish his special theory of relativity and Picasso will paint Les Demoiselles d’Avignon) and they embark on a debate about the value of genius and talent. Who provides more value, the artist or the inventor? You can probably guess my take away on this one.
Instagram’s Kevin Systrom was on their A-list of speakers, someone I’ve heard speak at large business conferences, technology geek fests and in a more intimate setting with Sarah Lacy and Pando Daily. I’m a passionate photographer but still haven’t drunk the Instagram coolaid despite how many times I’ve tried.
I have an account yet never use it and when I compare Instagram to so many other “blow it out the park” examples of design genius, I’m dismayed.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s not as if I don’t get that filtering basic photos on a smart phone isn’t a good idea or sticky, but worth what Facebook paid for it? Worth the frenzy that market gave it? Worth the badge of honor that the industry labeled as a game changer? Cool is cool, but we have an industry which has crowned thy jewel as such when it really shouldn’t be a jewel at all but in the cool is cool category only.
Says Tony of the service, “the filters thing created an initial wow factor so it created hope.” Hope inherently comes from creating a solution that provides a new way to do something, solves a problem people have had for a long time or in this case, something that makes people feel more creative with very little effort.
Renowned designer John Maeda, who is now President of Rhode Island School of Design talked about how Moore’s Law is influencing design. Connected devices and the web have fundamentally changed the world’s relationship with design, but compared to other aspects of information technology, design can be much harder to quantify.
I first met and hung out with John in the early TED Conference days where he spoke about design concepts on the main stage some 12 or so years ago. I was a fan then and remain a fan today. Says John, “you don’t ‘do’ technology, you ‘do’ people and the people thing and then you add technology back in.” I couldn’t help but want a bunch of Johns to replicate themselves in Silicon Valley.
It’s basic enough but not being implemented on a grand scale today. Developers more often than not, still build for technology’s sake and the human piece is an after thought, so much so that the UI is often confusing enough that mass scale adoption doesn’t happen.
John spoke of empathy, one of my favorite words. “Take the empathy route,” he encouraged the audience. He asserts that empathy is the grounding force of the intersection of technology, art and design. If the root of technology is in fact art then figuring out where technology, art and design collide is fundamental to understanding art.
“Design is in the details – it is all about empathy,” says John. Great design is as much about taking away as it is about adding to a structure, a product, an idea or a concept. More is great when it is measured against enjoyment (we always want more of a good thing), but the concept of “more” is flipped on its head when it equates to more work or more effort.
Design balances the two and yet as we are learning, computers despite their ability to fabricate real situations and design, don’t do a great job at creating that balance. Today, we want more and more technology and yet “more and more of it” doesn’t necessarily serve us in the most productive way regardless of how much state-of-the-art technology we integrate into our lives.
Ten years ago, technology made things better and more useful, but when “more of it” stops being a continuous and consistent positive return, then we begin to look elsewhere, like design. Design is on the rise again because we are yearning for balance. Great design can help balance the two and re-teach (and remind) us that less is more.
Focusing less about product design (although that was part of his message) and more on creating compelling customer experiences, Square and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey took the stage with GigaOm’s Om Malik.
Jack spoke about simplicity (critical to great design and his work on Twitter is a great example of it) and how so many companies focus on what they do rather than the value they provide. With regard to Square, he asserts over and over again that they’re not in the payments business but the e-commerce business and it’s the entire e-commerce customer experience, not just a piece of it.
Offline merchants never had access to analytics before but by using Square, they can get simple data on customer behavior in real time which can dramatically change the focus and priorities of their business. “End-to-end is what its about,” says Jack. “We want to make sure they focus on the human experience of their business, not the transactional piece of it.”
Jack says Square’s mission is to focus on the most meaningful pieces of small business, such as the daily human interaction and communications. Square essentially brings commerce to people wherever they happen to be and in this way, transactions, communications and relationships are all conducted in parts of the world that never would have been possible before.
Internally, Square is extending that attitude by showing transparency and trust with their employees, demonstrating an open and caring ‘voice’ inside the company’s walls. Jack’s philosophy is that when you keep things open, you empower employees and build trust.
Truth be told, some of the best ideas can come from employees in other departments or through random ideas they come up with at the water cooler over lunch. With trust comes new innovative ideas and it often happens randomly when you least expect it. ”
“You can’t schedule innovative ideas,” says Jack. It’s serendipity: ideas come, get formed and executed quickly and seamlessly when you gather great minds together in one place and say “go.” The same applies to instilling that behavior and culture across an organization so free flowing ideas can not just see the light of day, but thrive.
Hear hear! I think entrepreneurs with like-thinking like Richard Branson and Tony Hsieh would agree.
Photo credits: Two images from Tony Fadell interview snipped from the GigaOm Roadmap video and all other photos Renee Blodgett.
Discount & Agenda For Silicon Valley’s DEMO Fall 2013
DEMO Fall is coming to Silicon Valley October 15-17, 2013.
Known as the launchpad
for emerging technologies and trends, they’ll be unveiling 50 new technology products from the DEMO stage, across multiple verticals and industries, including mobile, enterprise, health, wearable
computing, digital money, big data, the Internet of things and more.
Some of the speakers and judges include Di-Ann Eisnor from Waze, Evernote’s Phil Libin, Ayr Muir from Clover Foods, Yelp’s Jeremy Stoppelman, Jonathan Abrams of Nuzzel, Josh Elman from Greylock Partners, CNBC’s Jon Fortt, Rock Health’s Malay Gandhi, Spark Capital’s Nabeel Hyatt, EchoSign’s Jason Lemkin, Hilary Mason from Accel Partners, Google Ventures’ Shanna TellermanBrian O’Malley from Battery Ventures, FitBit’s CEO James Park and others.
You can register here at a discounted rate of $700 off the normal registration price. It will be held at the Hyatt Regency for those heading out from the East Coast, Asia or Europe. Check out the DEMO Fall 2013 agenda.
2013 AlwaysOn Power Players in Technology Business Media List Announced
AlwaysOn just announced their first annual Power Players in Technology Business Media List. The AlwaysOn Power Players in Technology Business Media list honors editors, writers, and bloggers in the technology world who are keeping technology entrepreneurs informed and connected. Reporting on the massive technology breakthroughs hitting the market almost every day, this list of media have become the voices behind the ideas that make the Global Silicon Valley an incubator for success.
Cool beans that We Blog the World made the cut, which at face value may not make sense, but it’s largely because I also write about technology trends, conferences, events, startups, launches and entrepreneurs on Down the Avenue, on the Huffington Post and of course on We Blog the World, mostly in the products and events section. The site also has a Mobile category as well as a technology category, however the products covered range from luggage and fashion to mobile devices, social apps, gadgets which may help the on-the-go warrior and digital cameras.
While the list is extremely long, and the more traditional cast of characters are listed (NY Times, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Mashable, etc), numerous bloggers are also listed who not just cover technology trends, but also social media and various vertical market industries, such as digital music, technology that moms and/or women care about and lifestyle issues.
As venture capital-backed on-demand companies continue to bring new, innovative products and services to the world, the founders and their products and services are being covered by the people on this list. Many of the winners of this competition will be featured at the upcoming OnMobile 2013: Mobile Venture Summit, which will be held at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, CA on October 10.
If interested in attending, you can register here to secure your ticket at the lowest possible rate while tickets are still available. The list is below. (warning: it’s long, but it is an eclectic and interesting curation of writers and pundits, so it’s worth browsing through).
Introducing the 2013 Power Players in Technology Business Media
Byron AcohidoTechnology ReporterUSA Today
Kiran AdithamEditorMediabistro
Erin AilworthBusiness ReporterBoston Globe
Mickey Alam KahnEditor in ChiefMobile Marketer
Chris AlbrechtHost, ReporterGigaOm TV and GigaOM Podcast
Cristina AlesciProducer, M&ABloomberg Television
Anjuman AliMobile EditorThe Washington Post
Jason AlkenyExecutive EditorFierceWireless
Mike AllenReporterThe San Diego Business Journal
Monica AllevenEditor-in-ChiefWireless Week
James AltucherBloggerAltucher Confidential
Chris C. AndersonSenior EditorBusiness Insider: The Wire
Larissa AndersonProducerMarketplace Tech Report – American Public Media
Nate AndersonDeputy EditorArs Technica
Tim AndreacciSegment ProducerBloomberg Television
Robert AndrewsSenior Editor, InternationalGigaOM
Julia AngwinSenior Technology EditorThe Wall Street Journal
Robert AnthonyEditorStadium Circle Features
Simon ApplebaumProducer / HostTomorrow Will Be Televised / BlogTalk Radio
Charles ArthurTechnology EditorThe Guardian
Scott AustinSenior Technology EditorDow Jones VentureWire
Ed BaigReporterUSA Today
Brandon BaileyBusiness and Technology ReporterSan Jose Mercury News
Chris BakerContributing WriterWired
Roberto BaldwinStaff WriterWired
Eric BangemanManaging EditorArs Technica
Emily BanksManaging EditorMashable
Mike BartonEditorWired
Ronald BaruschColumnistThe Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com, MoneyBeat, The Wall Street Journal (Europe Edition), MoneyBeat (E.U.)
Zoran BasichEditorDow Jones VentureWire
Dusan BelicEditorIntoMobile
Shawn BenderDigital EditorWSJ.com
Kevin BenedictEditorMobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Drake BennettReporterBloomberg Businesweek
David BenoitBlogger, DealsThe Wall Street Journal
Greg BensingerReporterThe Wall Street Journal
Andrew BergEditor in ChiefWireless Week
David BerlindEditor-In-ChiefProgrammableWeb / TechWeb
Nick BiltonTechnology ReporterThe New York Times
Jon BirgerContributing WriterFortune
Matthew BishopNew York Bureau ChiefThe Economist
John BlackstoneNews CorrespondentCBS News Network
Nancy BlairOnline Technology EditorUSA Today
Steve BlankBloggerSteve Blank
Dana BlankenhornContributing WriterSeeking Alpha
Beth BlechermanFounderTechMamas
Henry BlodgetCEO / Editor in ChiefBusiness Insider
Renee BlodgettEditorWe Blog the World
Rebecca BlumensteinDeputy Editor-in-ChiefThe Wall Street Journal
Robin Goldwyn BlumenthalSenior EditorBarron’s
John BlylerEditorial DirectorExtension Media
Katherine BoehretWriterAllThingsD
Christina BonningtonStaff WriterWired
Julie BortEditorBusiness Insider
Wendy BoswellWeb Search GuideAbout.com – Computing
John BoudreauBusiness ReporterThe Mercury News
Clint BoultonStaff WriterThe Wall Street Journal
Paul BoutinFreelanc Journalist / BitsThe New York Times
Toni BowersManaging EditorTechRepublic
Tim BradshawDigital Media CorrespondentFinancial Times
David BrancaccioHostMarketplace – Tech Report
Nic BrisbourneBlogger / Venture CapitalistThe Equity Kicker / Forward Investment Partners
Russ BrittBureau Chief, Los AngelesMarketWatch
Chris BroganBloggerChris Brogan
Joe BrownNew York EditorWired Magazine
Alexandra BruellReporterAdvertising Age
Wendy BrundigeWest Coast TV Bureau ChiefBloomberg TV West
Daniel BrusilovskyHead of Business Development and GrowthRibbon
Joshua BrusteinTechnology WriterBusinessweek
Martin BryantManaging Editor / Co-Founder of TechHub ManchesterThe Next Web / TechHub Manchester
Peter BurrowsSenior WriterBloomberg News
Ward BusheeExecutive Vice President / EditorThe San Francisco Chronicle
Jeff BussgangBlogger / Venture CapitalistSeeing Both Sides / Flybridge Capital
Claire Cain MillerTechnology ReporterThe New York Times
Jason CalacanisBloggerCalacanis.com
Michael CaloreReviews EditorWired
Elisa CamahortBloggerBlogHer
Christina CapecchiContributorThe New York Times
Pete CareyBusiness ReporterThe San Jose Mercury News
Jennifer CarinciProducerYahoo! Finance
Nicholas CarlsonDeputy EditorBusiness Insider Silicon Alley Insider
Callie CarmichaelSenior Associate Producer, CNN MobileCNN.com
Sean CarrollManaging Editor, Software, Internetm andNetworkingPCMag.com
Pete CashmoreCEOMashable
Ben CasnochaBloggerBen Casnocha
John CassidyStaff Writer / BloggerThe New Yorker
Mike CassidyBusiness ColumnistThe San Jose Mercury News
Josh CatoneExecutive Director, Editorial ProjectsMashable
Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology CorrespondentBBC News
Bonnie ChaWriterAllThingsD
Andrea ChangStaff WriterThe Los Angeles Times
Emily ChangHost, BloombergWestBloomberg TV
Laura ChapmanHead, U.S. Broadcast Interview TeamBloomberg Television
Lizette ChapmanReporterDow Jones VentureWire
Stephen ChapmanContributorZDNet
Mike ChappleDatabases GuideAbout.com – Computing
Brian X. ChenReporterThe New York Times
Kevin ChenBloggerSeeking Alpha
Larry ChiangCEODuck9
Ericka ChickowskiContributing WriterDarkReading
Mark ChouekeEditorMarketing Week
Lela ChristineEditor in ChiefThe Power Player Lifestyle Magazine, Inc.
Brian ClarkBloggerCopyblogger
Cynthia ClarkSenior Writer1to1 Media
Don ClarkDeputy Bureau ChiefThe Wall Street Journal
Jason CohenFounderWP Engine / Smart Bear Software.
Sarah CohenSenior ReporterMergermarket – New York, NY
Alex ColonMobile WriterGigaOM
Louis ColumbusContributorForbes
David ConnellEditorTechmeme
Jim CooperExecutive EditorAdweek
Lane CooperFounder and Editorial DirectorBizTechReports
Michael CopelandPartnerAndreessen Horowitz
Stacy CowleyTechnology EditorCNNMoney
Jason CozzaResearch AnalystMergerMarket
Robert CringelyBloggerI, Cringely
Rex CrumTechnology ReporterMarketwatch
Mark CubanBloggerBlog Maverick
Kim-Mai CutlerWriterTech Crunch
Dancho DanchevZero Day BloggerZDNet News
Chris DannenSenior EditorFast Company
Mike DanoExecutive Editor, Telecom GroupFierceWireless
Mila D’AntonioEditor-in-Chief1to1 Media
Matt DanzicoReporterBBC America
Damon DarlinInternational Business EditorThe New York Times
Anil DashCEOAnil Dash
Lidija DavisEditorTechmeme
Lucia DavisExecutive EditoriMedia Connection
Wendy DavisSenior WriterMediaPost Publications
Michael de la MercedReporterThe New York Times
Anthony De RosaEditor in ChiefCirca
Brian DeagonBusiness and Technology JournalistInvestor’s Business Daily
Martha DeGrasseWriter / EditorRCR Wireless News
Jason Del ReyWriterAllThingsD
Peter DelevettBusiness ReporterThe San Jose Mercury News
Cotton DeloSan Francisco Bureau ChiefAdvertising Age
April DemboskyTechnology BloggerThe Financial Times
Kathleen DeVereReporterInside Network
Jesus DiazSenior Contributing Editor and Art DirectorGizmodo
Marla DickersonBusiness EditorThe Los Angeles Times
Larry DignanEditor-in-ChiefZDNet US
Sheila DoughertyAssistant Managing EditorAdvertising Age
John DvorakColumnistMarketWatch – San Francisco, PCMag
Esther DysonChairmanEdVenture.com
Cliff EdwardsReporterBloomberg News
Jim EdwardsSenior Editor, AdvertisingBusinessInsider
Eric EldonCo-EditorTechcrunch
Noah ElkinPrincipal AnalystEMarketer
Tobi ElkinSenior Digital StrategistEMarketer
Stuart ElliottBloggerThe New York Times / In Advertising
Shelley ElmbladPersonal Finance Software GuideExaminer.com, Freelance, About.com – Computing
Philip Elmer-DeWittFreelance Journalist / Senior WriterFortune.com
Rip EmpsonWriterTechcrunch
Ariana Eunjung ChaBusiness and Technology EditorThe Washington Post
Benny EvangelistaReporterThe San Francisco Chronicle
Joel EvansBloggerZDNet
David EwaltSenior EditorForbes
Rebecca FanninJournalistSilicon Dragon / Forbes
Nicole FarghalliBusiness ReporterMarketplace – NPR
Cyrus FarivarSenior Business EditorArs Technica
Sajid FarooqWest Coast BureauBloomberg West – Bloomberg Television
Katie FehrenbacherSenior Writer and Features EditorGigaOm
Brad FeldManaging DirectorFoundry Group
Loren FeldmanSmall Business EditorThe New York Times
Seth FiegermanBusiness ReporterMashable
Jim FinkleBureau ChiefReuters
Brian FitzgeraldDeputy Technology EditorThe Wall Street Journal
Michael FitzgeraldContributing EditorMIT Sloan Management Review and Information Week
Alex FitzpatrickEditor, Digital JournalistTIME
Michele FleuryProducer / ReporterBBC America
Robin FlynnSenior Analyst and Research DirectorSNL Kagan
Tom ForbesWriter / ReporterMarketingDaily Top of the News
Tom ForemskiEditor and PublisherSilicon Valley Watcher
Bree FowlerTechnology and Media WriterAssociated Press
Zoe FoxWriter and Content CoordinatorMashable
Mike FreemanStaff WriterThe San Diego Union Tribune
Wayne FreidmanWest Coast EditorMediaPost Publications
Ina FriedSenior EditorAllThingsD
Sarah FrierReporterBloomberg
Ben FruminEditor-in-ChiefThe Week
Deborah GageReporterDow Jones VentureWire
Amy GahranMobile Tech ContributorCNN.com
Dan GallagherTechnology EditorMarketWatch
Liz GannesWriterAllThingsD
John GapperChairman and Co-FounderFinancial Times
Antoine GaraDeals ReporterTheStreet.com
Josie GarthwaiteFreelance Reporter and EditorThe New York Times, GigaOM
Adriana GascoigneFounderGirls in Tech
Marilyn GeewaxSenior Business EditorNational Public Radio (NPR) Online
David GellesReporterThe New York Times
Nancy-Marshall GenzerSenior ReporterMarketplace – American Public Media
Tomio GeronReporterForbes
Colin GibbsMobile CuratorGigaOM
Kate GibsonReporterMarketWatch – New York
Melinda GibsonContributorDM2 Media.com
Tom GilesReporterBloomberg
David GillenDeputy Business EditorThe New York Times
Amanda (A.J.) GlasserManaging EditorInside Network
Seth GodinBloggerSeth’s Blog
Vindu GoelTechnology ReporterThe New York Times
Kaomi GoetzReporterNPR
David GoldmanTechnology EditorCNNMoney – Tech Tumblr
Michael GoldsteinCEOStun Media
Phil GoldsteinEditorFierceWireless
Lauren GoodeTech ReporterAllThingsD
Lisa GranatsteinManaging EditorAdweek
Andy GreenbergTech ReporterForbes
Zack O. GreenburgSenior EditorForbes
Kerima GreeneSenior Segment Producer, Power LunchCNBC
Stephen GregoryEditor, MarketplaceMarketplace Tech Report – American Public Media
Erin GriffithReporterPandoDaily
Grant GrossReporterIDG News Service, Washington Bureau
Lev GrossmanSenior WriterTIME
Galen GrumanExecutive Editor, FeaturesInfoWorld
Connie GuglielmoTechnology EditorForbes
Marc GuntherContributing WriterFortune
Bill GurleyBlogger / General PartnerAboveThe Crwd / Benchmark Capital
Jessica GuynnReporterThe Los Angeles Times
Anthony HaMedia, Advertising, and Startups ReporterTechcrunch
Stephanie HabermanSocial and Digital ProducerNBC News
Salim HafidEditorTechmeme
Walter HamiltonStaff WriterThe Los Angeles Times
Jonathan HandelContributing Editor / BloggerThe Hollywood Reporter / The Huffington Post
Devindra HardawarNational Editor and Lead Writer, MobileBeatVentureBeat
Francine HardawayPressStealthmode Partners
Quentin HardyDeputy Technology EditorThe New York Times
Peter HargroveManaging EditorIBR News
Lex HarisManaging EditorCNNMoney
Derrick HarrisSenior WriterGigaOM
Timothy HayReporterDow Jones Newswires
Jon HeEditorial WriterThe Los Angeles Times
Pia HeikkilaFreelance Journalistmergermarket
Christopher HeineStaff WriterAdweek
Jessi HempelPress, Internet and TechnolgyFortune
Stephen HennTechnology CorrespondentNPR
Arik HesseldahlSenior EditorAllThingsD
Michael HickinsEditorThe Wall Street Journal / CIO Journal
Patrice HillChief Economic CorrespondentThe Washington Times
Michael HiltzikBusiness ColumnistThe Los Angeles Times
Peter HimlerFounderFlatiron Communications
Dion HinchcliffeContributorZDNet News
Adam HirschSenior EditorMashable
David HoEditor for Mobile, Tablets, and Emerging TechnologyThe Wall Street Journal
Robert HoffWriterForbes
Melissa HoffmanDeputy News EditorAdweek
Matthias HohenseeSenior U.S. correspondent and columnistWirtschaftswoche
Christopher HosfordEast Coast Bureau ChiefBtoB
Denise HowellPressZDNet, TWiT
Dan “Shoe” HsuEditor-in-Chief, GamesBeatVentureBeat
Jackie HubaBloggerChurch Of The Customer
Katherine HuntContent EditorMergermarket
Elise Hu-StilesDigital Editorial CoordinatorNPR
Abraham HyattEditorReadWriteWeb
Gretchen HymanEditor-in-ChiefiMedia Connection.com
Julie IanuzziExecutive Producer VieoMarketWatch
Mike IsaacSenior EditorAllThingsD
Amish JaniBlogger / Venture CapitalistJust Getting Started / Firstmark Capital
Adrianne JeffriesReporterBetaBeat / The New York Observer
Nicholas JesdanunTechology WriterAssociated Press
Zem JoaquinBloggerecofabulous
Ben JohnsonProducerMarketplace Tech Report – American Public Media
Branwell JohnsonDeputy EditorMarketing Week
Steve JohnsonBusiness ReporterThe San Jose Mercury News
Dan JonesJournalistLight Reading Mobile
Pradnya JoshiNews EditorThe New York Times
Peter KafkaSenior EditorAllThingsD
S. Mitra KalitaCommentary EditorQuartz
Ziad KaneEditor-in-ChiefThe Next Web
Cecilia KangReporter / BloggerThe Washington Post
Matt KapkoWriterClickZ.com
Rimma KatsStaff ReporterMobile Commerce Daily
Guy KawasakiBloggerHow to Change the World
Kate KayeManaging EditorClickZ
Kevin KellyBloggerKevin Kelly’s Lifestream
Meghan KellyWriterVentureBeat
Andy KesslerColumnistThe Wall Street Journal
Olga KharifReporterBloomberg News, Bloomberg Businessweek
Queena KimSenior ReporterMarketplace – American Public Media
Ryan KimStaff WriterGigaOM
Rachel KingStaff WriterCBS INteractive
Rachel KingStaff WriterCBS INteractive
Richard KirklandSenior Managing EditorMcKinsey & Co.
Scott KirsnerContributing WriterBoston Globe
Alex KnappStaff WriterForbes
Dennis KnealeSenior Correspondent / Desk EditorFox Business News
Josh KopelmanBlogger / Venture CapitalistFirst Round Capital / Redeye VC
Steve KovachSenior Technology EditorBusiness Insider
Matt KrantzMarkets ReporterUSA Today
Tom KrazitExecutive EditorGigaOM
Carol KrolManaging Editor, Custom ContentCBS Interactive
Danielle KuceraReporterBloomberg
Sarah LacyFounder and Editor in ChiefPandoDaily
David LaFontainePartnerArtesian Media
Ed LambertBlogger / Venture CapitalistLambert’s Logon / Bridge Bank
William LangbeinWest Coast Managing Editor and Bureau ChiefMergermarket San Francisco
Matthew LasarAssociate WriterArs Technica
JD LasicaFounder and PrincipalSocialbrite.org
Doug LavantureEditorial Umbrella TeamBloomberg News – Bloomberg Television
Ryan LawlerWriterTechCrunch
Corrina LawsonSenior Editor and BloggerWired, Wired.com, GeekDad
Stephen LawsonSenior U.S. CorrespondentIDG News Service
Christopher LawtonReporterThe Wall Street Journal
Michal LenchnerInnovation and Cleantech WriterThe San Francisco Examiner
Rebecca LeveyWriterMashable
Sam LevinHost, Co-FounderAppMinute
Matthew LevineSenior Producer at Bloomberg TVBloomberg TV
Meridith LevinsonSenior WriterThe Wall Street Journal, CIO Journal
Michal Lev-RamWriterFortune / CNNMoney
Jessica LiebmanManaging EditorThe Business Insider
Michael LiedtkeReporterAssociated Press
Marc LifsherStaff WriterThe Los Angeles Times
Kelly LiyakasaAssociate EditorAdExchanger
Jeremy LockhornContributing WriterClickZ
Steve LohrSenior Writer / Technology ReporterThe New York Times
Constance LoizosTech Transfer Department HeadVenture Capital Analyst
Linette LopezEditor, ClusterstockBusiness Insider
David LouieTech Reporter and Business EditorABC7 (KGO-TV)
Ingrid LundenStaff WriterTechcrunch
Eric LundquistBlogger / Technology AnalysteWeek / ZBI
Peter LuriaBusiness EditorBuzzFeed
Matthew LynleyBusiness EditorBuzzFeed
Dan MabbuttVisual Basic GuideAbout.com
Douglas MacMillanReporterBloomberg News
Jamis MacNivenPancake GuyBuck’s of Woodside
Kate MaddoxExecutive EditorBtoB
Michelle MaistoSenior WritereWeek
Om MalikFounder and Senior WriterGigaOM
Joe MandeseEditorMediaPost Publications
Sue MarekEditor-in-ChiefFierceWireless
John MarkoffReporterThe New York Times
Matt MarshallFounder and Editor in ChiefVentureBeat
Cody MaxwellContributing WriterMediaBiz
Patrick MayStaff WriterThe San Jose Mercury News
Megan McCarthyDeputy Technology EditorReuters
Mark McCluskyEditorWired
Ben McConnellBloggerChurch Of The Customer
Becky McCrayBloggerSmall Biz Survival
John McDermottMobile ReporterAdvertising Age
Ellen McGirtSenior WriterFast Company
Scott McGrewProducerNBC- KNTV San Francisco
Kevin McKennaDeputy Business EditorThe New York Times
Robert McMillanSenior WriterWired.com
Jennifer McNallyVice President of Content MarketingIAB SmartBrief
Stephanie MehtaDeputy Managing EditorFortune
Fred MeierReporterUSA Today
Mark MeineroAssistant Managing EditorCNNMoney
Martha MendozaNational WriterAssociated Press
Diane MermigasEditor-at-LargeMarketing Daily
John MervinNew York Business EditorBBC America
Ellen MessmerSenior EditorNetwork World
Cade MetzEnterprise EditorWired
Rachel MetzIT EditorTechnology Review
Dan MeyerEditor-in-ChiefRCR Wireless News
Mike MichalowiczBloggerToilet Paper Entrepreneur
Michael MillerSeniore Vice President, Technology StrategyZBI / PCMag.com
Paul MillerSenior EditorThe Verge
Maria MinskerEditorCRM
Sarah MitroffReporterWired
Brett MolinaOnline Assistant Technology EditorUSA Today
Justin MontgomeryBloggerMobile Marketing Watch
Angela MooreCommentary EditorMarketWatch
Richard MorganEditor-at-LargeThe Deal
Mary MorrisonContributing Editor, NetMarketingBtoB
Brian MorrisseyEditor-in-ChiefDigiDay
Lucia MosesStaff WriterAdweek
Walt MossbergWriterAllThingsD
Ben MunsonAssociate EditorWireless Week
Samantha MurphyTechnology ReporterMashable
Greg NessBlogger / Venture CapitalistArchimedius / CloudVelocity
James NiccolaiBureau ChiefIDG News Service
Babak NiviBloggerVenture Hacks
Michael NoerExecutive EditorForbes
Yuki NoguchiNational CorrespondentNational Public Radio
Chris NolterAdvertising Industry ReporterThe Deal
John ObrechtWeb Site EditorBtoB
Chris O’BrienStaff WriterThe Los Angeles Times
Jolie O’DellreporterDow Jones VentureBeat
Steve O’HearContributing WriterTech Crunch
Oke OkaroGlobal Head, MobileBloomberg
Parmy OlsonReporterForbes
Gavin O’MalleyReporterMediaPost Publications
Randy OrtizExecutive EditorData Center Journal
Barbara OrtutayTechnology WriterAssociated Press
Matthew Osborn-GrossoEditorTechmeme
George OsterkampProducerCBS News Network
Adam OstrowChief Strategy OfficerMashable
Shira OvideReporterThe Wall Street Journal
Laura OwenWriterGigaOM
Peter PachalTechnology EditorMashable
John PaczkowskiDeputy Managing EditorAllThingsD
Mahendra PalsuleEditorTechmeme
Anna PapachristosStaff Writer1to1 Media
Franklin PaulTechnology ReporterReuters
John PeabodyOnline EditorReuters
Marisa PeacockSenior ReporterCMS Wired
Julianne PepitoneTechnology ReporterCNNMoney – Tech Tumblr
Sarah PerezWriterTech Crunch
Tim PetersonDigital and Technology ReporterAdvertising Age
Ben PimentelTechnology ReporterMarketwatch
Andy PlesserExecutive Producer / FounderBeet.tv
Therese PolettiTechnology ColumnistMarketWatch
Judann PollackDeputy EditorAdvertising Age Online
Dorothy PomerantzLos Angeles Bureau ChiefForbes
Chris PreimesbergerSenior WritereWeek
Emily PriceTech ReporterMashable
Daniel PrimackSenior EditorFortune.com
Maisie RamsayAssociate EditorWireless Week
Naval RavikantBloggerVenture Hacks
Tiernan RaySenior EditorBarron’s
Maggie ReardonSenior WriterCNET US
Brad ReedWriter / EditorArs Technica
Sarah ReedySenior ReporterLight Reading Mobile
Scott ReyburnFormer Editor at InsideMobileApp, Freelance writerMediaPost/Inside Mobile Apps
Aaron RicadelaReporterBloomberg / Businessweek
Matt RichtelReporter / BloggerThe New York Times Bit
Ed RingExecutive Director / EditorCalifornia Public Policy Center / UnionWatch
Gabe RiveraFounderTechmeme
Abigail RobertsPressMergermarket USA
Jordan RobertsonReporterBloomberg
Jennifer RooneyCMO Channel EditorForbes
Matt RosoffEditorial DirectorCITEworld
Caitlin RossmanAssociate EditorClickZ
Wilson RothmanDeputy Technology / Science EditorNBC News
Dan RowinskiManaging EditorReadWriteWeb
Steve RubelEditor in ChiefComputerworld
Dominic RusheU.S. Business CorrespondentThe Guardian US
Evelyn RusliReporterThe Wall Street Journal
Jon RussellAsia EditorThe Next Web
Terrence RussellFreelance Contributor / ResearcherWired, Wired.com
Jennifer SabaCorrespondentReuters
Albert SaccoSenior EditorCIO.com
Danielle SacksSenior WriterFast Company
Ira SagerSpecial Projects DirectorBloomberg Businessweek
David SarnoStaff WriterThe Los Angeles Times
Joel SchectmanReporterWall Street Journal / CIO Journal
Cromwell SchubarthSenior Technology ReporterSilicon Valley Business Journal
Robert ScobleBlogger / Rackspace Liasion OfficerScobleizer
Doc SearlsBloggerDocSearls Weblog
Laurie SegallTechnology ReporterCNNMoney – Tech Tumblr
Sascha SeganLead Analyst, MobilePCMag.com
Somini SenguptaTechnology CorrespondentThe New York Times
Alex ShermanMedia and Cable ReporterBloomberg News
Erik ShermanBloggerCBS MoneyWatch
Mike ShieldsEditor-in-ChiefMediaweek / Adweek
Robert ShrimsleyManaging EditorFinancial Times
Sara SilverReporterThe Wall Street Journal
Matt SilvermanEditorial DirectorMashable
Brad SmithContributing EditorWireless Week
Cooper SmithBusiness Insider writerBusiness Insider
Cooper SmithBusiness Insider writerBusiness Insider writer
Jacquelyn SmithReporterForbes
Steve SmithEditor, Mobile Daily MarketingMediapost
Ben SmithÂEditor-in-ChiefBuzzfeed
Mike SniderTechnology and Entertainment ReporterUSA Today
Brian SolisBloggerBrian Solis
David SparkPress960, The Quake
Lori SpechlerBooking and Market, Senior EditorCNBC
Dina Spectorscience reporterBusiness Insider
Suzanne SpectorTechnology EditorThe New York Times
Laura StamplerReporter, AdvertisingBusiness Insider
Prodan StatevEditorTechmeme
Emily SteelMedia and Marketing ReporterThe Financial Times
Liz StraussBloggerSuccessful Blog
Danny SullivanEditor-In-ChiefSearch Engine Land
Laurie SullivanSenior WriterMediaPost
Mark SusterBlogger / Venture CapitalistBoth Side of the Table / Upfront Ventures
Bob SuttonBlogger / ProfessorWork Matters / Stanford University
Peter SvenssonTechnology WriterAssociated Press
Jon SwartzSan Francisco Bureau ChiefUSA Today
Kara SwisherCo-Executive EditorAllThingsD
Laura SydellDigital Culture ReporterNPR
Dean TakahashiLead Writer, Digital MediaVenture Beat
Pui-Wing TamU.S. Technology EditorBloomberg
Adam TannerContributorForbes
Ryan TateSenior WriterWired
Paul TaylorTechnology and Telecommunications EditorThe Financial Times
Cadie ThompsonTechnology EditorCnbc.com
Cadie ThompsonÂTechnology ProducerCNBC
Amy ThomsonEditorBloomberg
Linda TischlerSenior EditorFast Company
Tony TjanBlogger / Venture CapitalistHarvard Business Review / Cue Ball
Chantal TodeContributorMobile Marketer
Penlope TrunckBloggerPenelope Trunk
Giselle TsirulnikSenior and Strategic EditorCMO.com at Adobe
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VatorSplash, Where VCs, Entrepreneurs With Cool Apps & An Industry Ecosystem Meet
I haven’t had a chance to attend a VatorSplash event in awhile because of so much travel however I was in town for the latest one, held this week at San Francisco’s Cafe Du Nord on Market Street.
The event, as always, was packed full of interesting speakers, including renowned investors Jed Katz, Lars Leckie, Charles Moldow, Rory O’Driscoll, Keith McCurdy, Erin Hakansson, Alan Chiu, Dave Samuel, Rick Moss, Charles Hudson, Rob Coneybeer, Howard Hartenbaum, Tony Conrad, and others.
Docusign’s CEO Keith Krach keynoted on best practices and Jared Simon talked about lessons learned from their work at HotelTonight. In traditional VatorSplash style, the band Coverflow played in the basement at Cafe Du Nord following the event. With a new sound that has leapfrogged from their more well known 1980s standards, Raj Kapoor, Phil Kaplan, Ethan Beard, Prashant Fuloria, Tim Chang, Kristian Segerstrale and The Mule played through the night while the die hards danced.
Above, HotelTonight’s Co-Founder and COO Jared Simon on the VatorSplash stage.
Of the companies who presented, a few call outs include The Orange Chef Company, a great new product for foodies, which focuses on the notion that eating well starts at home. With the Prep Pad and accompanying iOS app, Countertop, you’ll have insight beyond your plate. Quickly assemble meals on Prep Pad and watch as Countertop presents you real time nutritional information on your iPad or iPhone. Set your own goals, discover more about your food and gain confidence in making the right choices. They’re taking pre-orders now.
SweatGuru was founded by two women and is based in San Francisco. SweatGuru is the first marketplace that brings people together around fitness classes and experiences. By allowing anyone to organize, discover, book and share fitness classes online, SweatGuru takes the work out of working out. They also help small and medium-sized fitness businesses get online and be more successful.
By offering easy-to-use tools for marketing, scheduling, payments and staying in touch with clients, SweatGuru allows fitness professionals to spend more time teaching and less time behind a desk.
TravelingSpoon is an online marketplace that connects travelers with vetted, local, and authentic food experiences — from cooking classes to homemade meals — in people’s homes around the world.
TravelingSpoon creates an alternative to traditional restaurant experiences that allows travelers to experience local culture and cuisine on the road, providing travelers with meaningful experiences and cultural exchange. It has launched its beta in India, Thailand and Vietnam but they hope to expand to other regions later on.
In addition, they also offer in-home cooking classes as well as market tours as an extra add-on to many of the meal experiences. They say that all of their hosts have been vetted to ensure a safe and delightful culinary experience.
Kudos to Bambi and her team for always pulling off such an amazing event.
Vator’s Splash Event on October 2 Showcases Ten Innovative Startups
Vator, one of the
largest business networks dedicated to entrepreneurs and investors, is holding
its popular Splash event on October 2 at the Cafe du Nord in San Francisco followed by one of their infamous after parties where Coverflow will jam with attendees at the bar!
The event showcases ten promising startups who have raised no more than $2M, who will present on stage in front of an audience
of some 400 attendees in the high-tech space. Past winners have raised $50-plus
million in follow-on funding and have included Thumbtack, Udemy, PokitDok,
DogVacay, and others.
Speakers include Keith Krach (CEO of DocuSign), Jared Simon (Founder,
HotelTonight), Rory O’Driscoll (Scale Venture Partners), Rick Lewis (US Venture
Partners), Lisa Maki (Pokitdok), Jed Katz (Javelin Venture Partners), Howard
Hartenbaum (August Capital), Charles Hudson (SoftTechVC), Lars Leckie (Hummer
Winblad), Jenny Fielding (BBC Worldwide), Tony Conrad (True Ventures), Rob
Coneybeer (Shasta Ventures), Rick Moss (Hub Ventures), Charles Moldow
(Foundation Capital), Andy Ross (Grant Thornton), Dave Samuel (Freestyle
Capital), Ben Ling (Khosla Ventures), Kristian Segerstrate (Initial Capital),
Ted Wang (Fenwick & West), Raj Kapoor (Mayfield), Ezra Roizen (Ackrell
Capital), and Bambi Francisco (Vator).
To get discounted tickets enter promocode “magicsauce15” to get 15%
off your registration. Register here: https://vatorsplash2013.eventbrite.com/.
