The first Mobile 2.0 Europe belongs yet to the past. We had a great event with lots of interesting sessions and speakers from different area’s in the mobile ecosystem. Seventeen promising startups came from all corners in Europe to present their new ideas in mobile.

Below are some links with reviews and ongoing conversations:

IN ENGLISH

Some notes from the Mobile 2.0 conference (Nokia Conversations)

Europe’s Mobile startups come together (TechCrunch)

(The Next Web)
Mobile 2.0 Europe: exploring the future of mobile
Mobile 2.0 Europe: best-of-class startups

Mobile 2.0: Rummble, Zipiko and Dial2Do shine, but venture capitalists express caution (VentureBeat)

Mobile Europe 2.0: Recreational Mobile Search, Intention Broadcasting & Much More; The Future Is Here, But Will MVNOs Like Blyk Drive It? (mSearchGroove)

Mobile 2.0 Europa - It Takes Two To Tango (Inma Martinez - Shift6)

mobile 2.0 - VC panel summary (Tony Fish)

Mobile 2.0 - The Conversation in the Wireless Industry Becomes A Shouting Match (Max Niederhofer)

(Dan’s Blog)
Open Business Models at Mobile 2.0 Europe
Early Stage Startups at Mobile 2.0 Europe
Mobile 2.0 Europe Kicks Off

Rummble at Mobile 2.0 Barcelona (Rummble Blog)

Mobile 2.0 Europe is over.. (SPRX mobile)

Mobile 2.0: following up on the operator perspective (blog cpinto)

Zipipop wins at Mobile 2.0 Europe (Arctic Startup)

The Electric Knife Syndrome (Charlie Schick)

Shout’Em after Mobile 2.0 Europe (Five Minutes)

Recap: Mobile 2.0 Europe (Cultureslurp)

Rummble: A Unique Play On A Location-Based Mobile Search Engine (GPS Obsessed)

[tce] mobile 2.0 europe takedown (Vitor Domingos)

Live from Mobile 2.0 in Barcelona (Federic Dummeny)

There is no such thing as mobile internet - Mobile 2.0 Europe (Local Search)

Mobile 2.0 Europe -Wrap-up (Ric Ferraro)

IN SPANISH

Mobile 2.0, la evolución del acceso a la red y sus contenidos (BRM)

Mobile 2.0: las operadores se defienden (CanalPDA)

Mobile 2.0 Conference en Barcelona (digitalismo)

Final del Mobile 2.0 (Unkasoft)

Resumen del Mobile 2.0 (Carlos Mantero)

Resumen del Mobile 2.0 (Carlos Blanco)

(OJOmóviles)
Congreso Mobile 2.0 en ESADE Barcelona
Mobile Social Media
Sesión Statups
La perspectiva de los inversores de capital riesgo
Startups Pre Series A
La perspectiva de los operadores
Startups Post Series A
Modelos de negocio abiertos

IN CATALAN

Mobile 2.0 Europe (alCim)

IN DUTCH

Mobile 2.0 Europe – Een terugblik op de toekomst (onetomarket)

PICTURES

TechCrunch Euro Tour - Mobile 2.0 Europe (Mike Butcher’s set on Flickr)

Mobile 2.0 Europe (Rudy De Waele’s set on Flickr)

VIDEO

Mobile 2.0 Europe on Blip.tv

Mobile 2.0 Europe #m2eu (QIK videos by Mark a.m. Kramer)

Revolt at Mobile 2.0 Europe (Mike Butcher)

NOTE: links to discussions are added daily so check this post at Mobile 2.0 Europe website for updated links.

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The Mobile 2.0 Conference is spreading its wings to Europe and will land on July 4 in Barcelona, Spain. This one-day event focusing on the Mobile Web and Disruptive Mobile Innovation, is brought to you by dotopen and the Mobile 2.0 Organizing Committee: Daniel Appelquist, Gregory Gorman, Mike Rowehl, Peter Vesterbacka and myself in partnership with ESADE.

The MOBILE 2.0 EUROPE conference brings together experts and thought leaders from all aspects of the mobile ecosystem, including startups, investors, mobile carriers, device manufacturers, and mobile application developers and web technologists.

The MOBILE 2.0 EUROPE conference is an opportunity for companies to connect to industry leadership and startup innovation and broaden your C-level relationships.

The event will be held at the Espacio ESADE FORUM, Barcelona and will run from 9:00am to 6:00pm with a reception at the Espacio ESADE FORUM afterward.

So, what can you expect? Two industry keynotes, four panels and three series of innovative startups presenting live-demos.

Panel speakers as of today include:

Check the full speaker list here.

The Mobile 2.0 Europe presenting start-ups will be selected in 3 Categories (Seed Capital Stage, Pre Series A and Post Series A). Any start-up company with a mobile application can participate. To apply and present your company and your application, you need to fill in the online application form. Deadline for submission is June 6, 2008 at midnight CET.

Seed Capital Stage and Pre Series A Start-ups will be selected by dotopen and the Mobile 2.0 organizing committee. Post Series A Start-ups will be selected in collaboration with the VC Panel. During the event, all panel participants and organizers will vote their best Start-up in each category; the winner in each category receives an invitation to present at the Mobile 2.0 Event in San Francisco on November 3, 2008.

Early Bird registration for this event is only € 99,- till May 31, after that date, tickets will cost €199,-Stay tuned! More goodies to be announced soon.

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One of my favorite conferences last year, the MEX Mobile User Experience Conference, has published its agenda for this years’ conference on May 27-28 in London. Check the agenda and speaker list for full details.

A special discount is offered to mTrends readers (check details at the bottom of this post).

The conference helps executives to gain a deeper understand of customer behaviour and translate that knowledge into better mobile products. The key objective is raising awareness of user experience issues as a strategic priority for everyone in the value chain, encouraging the mobile business to put consumer needs at the heart of the industry.

It is a very different style of conference. Each event is researched and developed by a team with a passion for mobile and unique insight drawn from years of industry experience. Corporate pitches are outlawed, everyone plays a role in setting the agenda and we go to extraordinary lengths to provide the highest standards of service.

This years’ conference programme is based around a 10 point Manifesto (download pdf here) for enhancing the mobile user experience. Each of the 10 Manifesto statements is addressed through a diverse range of presentations, panel discussions and collaborative breakout groups.

Topics include…

  1. Content itself will be the interface of the future
  2. Handsets are no longer just for the hand
  3. Fragmentation is the enemy of innovation
  4. Fashion is a stronger motivator than functionality
  5. The developing world is the new frontier for mobile user experience
  6. Search requires a radically different approach in the mobile environment
  7. Intelligent contact lists are the future centres of the user interface
  8. Mobile payments herald the next generational shift
  9. Users as individuals: uniquely complex and contradictory
  10. The potential of smart voice

Some of the speakers include:

  • Carl Taylor, Director of Applications & Services, Three
  • Cyrus Allen, Director of Customer Experience, Telstra
  • Scott Jenson, Manager for Mobile User Interface Design, Google
  • JD Moore, User Interface Designer, Nokia
  • Steve Chambers, President, Mobile & Consumer Services, Nuance
  • Steve Ives, CEO, Taptu
  • JoEllen Kames, Senior Manager for Experience Planning, Motorola
  • Dr Norman Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer, Wireless Grids Corporation
  • Mike Short, Vice President of R&D, O2 and Chairman of the Mobile Data Association
  • Jo Rabin, Co - founder and consultant, MobileMonday London
  • Allen Scott, General Manager, NeuStar NGM
  • Sofia Svanteson, CEO and founder, Ocean Observations
  • Paul Adams, User Experience Researcher, Google
  • Fabio Sergio, Creative Director, Frog Design
  • Thomas Kleist, Director of Interaction Experience, Native
  • Simon Crowfoot, Strategic Business Development Director, Spinvox
  • On the opening night there is also a reception to announce the Winners of the 2008 MEX Design Competition. Check it out, some really great stuff out there! If you design interfaces and have a compelling idea or product to delight customers and enhance the mobile user experience, you can still participate, the deadline for entries is 23:00 GMT, Friday, 2nd May 2008.

    MEX is now less than 5 weeks away and, as with all previous MEX events, the organizers target to sell out well in advance on the conference date. If you’ve not yet reserved your place at the event, now is the time to do so - passes are selling out fast.

    mTrends readers can get a 10% discount on a conference attendance pass (priced at GBP 1499). Go to the registration form and enter ‘MM24′ in the ‘partner code’ box on the registration form.

    Hope to see you there!

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    CTIA WirelessTomorrow morning I’m off to Vegas for the CTIA Wireless. Some intense days ahead, lots of people and companies to catch up with. Monday I’ll be at the Mobile Jam Session, another fully booked event organised by Caroline and me. Check the agenda and speakers here.

    I’ll be checking out the Showstoppers event to check out some new US startups, the new stuff at Nokia, a Buzzd dinner, the MM2 Roundtable discussion, a couple of other dinners and many networking cocktails…. will definately try to catch the mobile girls at the GoMo News Party. You can check a complete CTIA Party List here by Eric Chan.

    Looking forward to meet with the industry collegues and friends, the start-ups, the carriers / operators and VC’s, especially in the Mobile 2.0 area. Anyone who wants to catch up with me, send me a note or send me a direct message on Twitter.

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    Marek Pawlowski, PMNThis is one of a series of guest articles by Marek Pawlowski, Editorial Director at PMN and founder of the MEX conference, examining the key mobile user experience issues facing the telecoms industry in 2008. These themes are highlighted in PMN’s 2008 MEX Manifesto and will be at the heart of the agenda for the 4th annual MEX conference in London on 27th - 28th May 2008.

    Mobile phones were traditionally designed with the comfort of the ear in mind. The original Motorola flips, the Nokia ‘banana phone’ and the numerous chunky ‘bricks’ of the 1990s were all built primarily around the need for a device which could be held to the face for extended periods of time. If we look at how the market has evolved today, the design requirements are very different because phones are as much about visual activites like texting, email, photos and web pages as they are about the traditional function of voice.

    Consider the ratio of screen size verus the overall ‘face’ area of the device. Over time, displays have come to dominate the main interaction surface of the mobile phone. If you could track this ratio over the lifetime of the mobile industry, it would show a steadily increasing trend, starting with the single line ‘dot matrix’ displays of the 1980s and rising through to the massive screens of the iPhone, Prada phone, Viewty and HTC Touch.

    Increasing ratio of screen size to overall interaction area in mobile phones since 1980

    The iPhone and its touchscreen have ushered in a boom for the UI design industry. Faced with Apple as a new competitor, rival handset manufacturers are recruiting UI experts as never before. Spurred in to action by the fear of being left behind, management teams throughout the device business are now mandating a selection of touchscreen products in their portfolio. iPhone sales volumes may still be less than a single digit percentage of the market, but there is no doubting the device has established a new design benchmark.

    This sudden willingness to embrace the touchscreen is providing UI designers with more scope than ever before to create flexible interaction layers which adapt to provide the best interface method for individual applications.

    What we are seeing is the digitisation of the man machine interaction (MMI) layer and the consequences will be profound.

    The iPhone was the first device brave enough to implement the MMI entirely in software. In doing so, Apple prompted the industry to consider what could be achieved once it was freed from having to interact with every application through the same three or four hardware buttons.

    The manufacturers with an established and consistent DNA for hardware-based MMI are now pondering how they can maintain the value of their existing investment in MMI consistency and still introduce new innovations with the same ‘wow’ factor as the Apple UI. It’s a very tough question and one that is currently keeping a huge number of UI designers and consultants in well paid work!

    However, while UI teams around the world are getting to grips with this major strategic issue, I would like to sound two notes of warning.

    Firstly, a funky new UI is never the answer to all your user experience problems - there’s no silver bullet. Any new UI or MMI innovations must be part of an overall commitment to user experience. This is the most fundamental principle of everything we do with our MEX research and consultancy work - it is also the main theme of our 2008 MEX conference and the MEX Design Competition.

    User experience is not a set of technologies or a layer within the product design process: it is about having a customer-centred approach at the heart of everything you do, from marketing strategy to after-sales support.

    You need only spend a couple of hours with the a device like the HTC Touch to recognise that, however attractive the top layer of the UI, the overall user experience will be fatally flawed if you don’t invest in the deep level of integration required to make a new interaction methodology really work.

    Secondly, the priorities of interaction design are about to change again. Handsets will no longer just be for the hand (this is one of 10 key Manifesto statements for the 2008 MEX conference).

    The mobile phone started as a device for the ear and has since become a device that is also for the eye. In both of these scenarios, the consistent factor is that the phone remains cradled in the palm of the hand - in 30 years of mobile handset design, this has been one of the few constants.

    Finally, that is starting to change. Driven by applications like mapping, music, video and tele-conferencing, the handset is increasingly migrating from our palms and finding a new place in the environment around us.

    We are starting to see phones attached to the car dashboard or pumping out music from the bookshelf of a teenager’s bedroom. They are being propped up on tables so kids can watch videos on holiday and plugged in to TVs to drive photo slideshows.

    Over time, the average interaction distance between the users and their phones will increase significantly from the few centimetres we see today. Interaction designers can no longer take it for granted that the user will be holding the device in the their hand, with their face close to the screen.

    This has big implications for the design of software, the choice of input method, the use of haptics and the role of accessories to extend the experience.

    As an example, I have my Nokia N95 mounted on the dashboard of the car. It can provide GPS-enabled mapping, speakerphone and even play my music tracks through the car audio system. However, many of these features are simply too difficult to use unless I’m actually holding the device in my hand.

    The keys are too small to press accurately while driving, so searching for an address in the mapping application is impossible unless you are parked. Similarly, I am unable to find the song I want in my music library or build a new playlist. The font size on-screen is also difficult to read at that distance. At night, when the dashboard of the car dims to make it easier to see the road, the handset continues to blaze at full brightness.

    This is not meant to be a criticism of the N95 in particular, but rather an illustration of how the new capabilities of mobile phones are enabling out-of-hand applications while the user interaction model is still centred on in-hand scenarios.

    There are all sorts of technologies emerging which could improve this experience. Voice recognition is getting better all the time (e.g. Nuance’s ’speak-to-search’ application). Nokia is implementing touchscreen support in Series 60, allowing for more flexible, adaptive UI design. Start-ups like Zeemote have even developed Bluetooth remote controls, allowing you to interact with your mobile phone at a distance (its initial focus is on handheld gaming).

    Microvision, with a long-history in new display technologies, is one of several companies which has created a ‘pico’ projector using laser technology to beam videos and photos on to remote surfaces. Along with others, Microvision has also developed wearable glasses which display the screen as a tiny image in front of the eye which, because of its proximity, appears equivalent to a large home cinema screen.

    Bowers & Wilkins iPod and iPhone dock by Native

    For music, more and more handset manufacturers and third parties are offering speaker systems which turn mobile phones into compelling audio systems. One of the most attractive I’ve seen is the Bowers and Wilkins iPhone speaker dock designed by Native (Thomas Kleist, Director of UI Design at Native, is one of our speakers at the 2008 MEX Conference on 27th - 28th May in London). It transforms the iPhone from a personal media player into a room-filling audio experience that puts the mobile phone at the heart of the environment.

    The industry faces a real and complex challenge over the next few years. On the one hand, device manufacturers must grapple with the immediate competitive implications of the iPhone and the growth in touchscreen devices. On the other, companies throughout the industry are seeking to expand the role of the phone into every area of our daily lives, including many scenarios where the handset will actually no longer be held in our hands.

    We’ll be tackling these issues from several angles at MEX, the 4th annual PMN Mobile User Experience conference, in London on 27th - 28th May 2008. ‘Handsets are no longer just for the hand‘ is one of the 10 key statements on our MEX Manifesto and will be addressed by Steve Chambers, President of Mobile and Consumer Services at Nuance. He will give a presentation to provoke and inspire a series of breakout discussions, where 100 leading thinkers from across the mobile business will work together to explore a number of questions relating to this topic.

    Thomas Kleist, Director of UI Design at Native, will speak on ‘Content itself is the new interface‘. Also addressing this topic will be Ocean Observations, before we open the session to a conference-wide debate.

    Join the debate on our blog before the MEX conference opens

    Can we further refine the standard twelve key monobloc design to give us greater flexibility to support these functions? How much flexibility do we have in software platforms to support these different usage methods? At what stage in the design process do we focus on particular user requirements and build them in to the hardware specification? Post your comments using the link below…

    http://www.mobileuserexperience.com/ 

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    The Art Center College of Design in partnership with ESADE Business School is presenting on March 7 in Palau de la Música in Barcelona a global event featuring notable creative leaders and influential media discussing issues of critical importance to society.

    The Art Center Global Dialogues: Disruptive Thinking is a series of on-stage conversations with internationally renowned thinkers in many fields whose “disruptive” ideas and actions challenge convention, break current paradigms, and inspire positive changes in the larger world. Unlike traditional conferences, the Art Center Global Dialogues will pair these speakers with influential media figures—including highly regarded editors, publishers, and reporters—in vital exchanges that encourage the development of new ideas.

    The Dialogues will focus on four areas particularly relevant to society today:

    • Urbanism and architecture
    • Communications and media
    • Transportation
    • Economic and social development

    The Art Center Global Dialogues: Disruptive Thinking is open to the public, and will spur a larger dialogue on current and future issues of concern to all of society. The international audience will include scientists, architects, designers, artists, entrepreneurs, institutional and business executives, and all those looking to be a part of this public forum, sharing their experience and questions.

    Distinguished international journalist Richard Addis serves as the event’s Guest Program Director and Moderator. An international lineup of radical thinkers and provocateurs, all disruptive thinkers alike, will explore the six influential areas of our daily lives. Moderators and speakers to date include:

    • Climate Change: Harry Eyres (columnist, poet, writer, and naturalist) will discuss one of the most powerful disruptive phenomena of our age with such experts as Sara Wheeler (biographer, traveler, and expert on the Artic and Antarctica).
    • Geopolitics: Richard Addis (newspaper editor, designer, and writer) will explore whether political ideas provide solutions with Ron Haviv (award-winning photojournalist and co-founder of VII Photo Agency), Bernard Tabaire (Ugandan newspaper editor currently on bail for sedition) and Ram (Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu).
    • Business: Lynda Sale (Partner, Sale Owen, marketing consultant, and artist) will discuss with Blaise Agüera y Arcas (software designer at Microsoft Live labs) and others whether business can be redesigned to reflect its deeper reality as one of the most disruptive, free and creative forces of the modern world.
    • Science: Robert Matthews (academic, writer, and journalist) will be joined by David Hughes (astronomer, professor, and researcher), David Orrell (systems biologist and mathematician), and Fotini Markopoulou-Kalamara (theoretical physicist) as they explore how science is running into the ultimate disruption – the unknown – and what new ideas will bridge the gaps in our understanding of life, the Earth and the cosmos.
    • Belief: Bigna Pfenninger (founding editor, The Drawbridge, a quarterly literary project) will lead a discussion with Charles Pasternak (academic, scientist, and author) and Joann Fletcher (academic and archeologist) that questions what happens when our deepest beliefs are overturned.
    • Design: Stephan Bayley (author, cultural critic, and founder of the Design Museum) will discuss major disruptions that could be on the horizon in architecture, planning and industrial design and how they will improve our lives with Thom Mayne (Pritzker Prize-winning architect, currently building the tallest building in Europe), Peter Head (Director of Arup and head of Planning and Integrated Urbanism) and Chris Lefteri (materials expert and product designer).

    Richard Addis and other Dialogues participants have initiated early conversations on a blog developed specifically for the Dialogues (blog.globaldialogues.eu). Those interested in sharing their own perspectives on these critical issues are encouraged to take part in the Dialogues and post their comments on the blog.

    The event is limited to 500 seats. You can register to attend the event here.

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    Art Center College of Design
    Since its founding in 1930, Art Center College of Design has been a global leader in art and design education. Located in Pasadena, California, Art Center offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in all visual disciplines, and public programs for all ages and levels of experience. Named the #1 U.S. industrial design school by Design Intelligence, Art Center has exerted a profound impact on society and culture. Art Center alumni hold the top designer positions at BMW, SEAT, Audi, and Nissan, and are internationally prominent in industrial design, communication design, film and photography, and media design as well. With its long-standing service to the United Nations and other nonprofit agencies, Art Center is also the first design school to receive Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status.

    The Art Center-Barcelona Project, initiated at the invitation of the Barcelona and Catalonia governments, revitalizes Art Center’s long-standing European presence and makes Barcelona—with its peerless design history and dynamism—the focal point for a series of highly innovative programs in advanced design education and research. In partnership with the renowned ESADE Business School, the Project will include executive education courses for designers and corporate managers, as well as R&D industry collaborations, postgraduate training, and faculty exchanges. In addition, the Project will produce a series of public forums on the larger role of design and innovation, beginning with the Art Center Global Dialogues in March 2008.

    ESADE
    Founded in 1958, ESADE is a leader in two areas: the ESADE Business School and the ESADE University Faculties. Ranked the #1 business school by The Wall Street Journal for the past two years, ESADE has campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, and Buenos Aires, and collaborates with over 100 universities and business schools worldwide. Each year, more than 6,000 students participate in ESADE’s Executive Education and MBA programs, as well as undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. programs in law and business administration. With its network of 28,000 alumni occupying positions of responsibility in enterprises around the globe, and through its historical links with the corporate world and society, ESADE is a lively platform for innovation, debate, and social involvement.

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    plugg_s.jpgBelgian compatriot Robin Wauters is setting up the Plugg conference on March 19 in Brussels, an excellent opportunity for you to get up to speed on the state of the European Web 2.0 industry.

    Robin asked me as a speaker to give an overview and current state of Mobile 2.0. Some interesting speakers are attending as well, such as Lisa Sounio (Dopplr), Mike Butcher (TechCrunch UK), Reshma Sohoni (SeedCamp), Tom Raftery, Julie Meyer (Ariadne Capital) and Rodrigo Sepúlveda (Vpod.tv), amongst others…

    Next to the panels and speakers’ line-up, the conference hosts a European Start-Ups Rally. No less than 65 valid submissions from 18 European countries were received by the organizers and jury, resulting in a selection of 20 start-ups who will get to present their wares at Plugg. In alphabetical order, here below:

    1. 123people
    2. Alenty
    3. Assetbar
    4. Business IT Online
    5. Caleido / Wuala
    6. Cellity
    7. Floobs
    8. HumanGrid
    9. Mobiya
    10. MyOwnDB
    11. Nugg.ad
    12. Radionomy
    13. Refresh Mobile - Mippin
    14. Sportme
    15. Trampoline Systems
    16. Trutap
    17. TVtrip
    18. Viewdle
    19. Workhound
    20. Zilok

    Good to see some mobile companies in there, such as Cellity, Mippin, Mobiya, Trutap, amongst a truly interesting selection. Looking forward to this one!

    The selected companies will have the opportunity to pitch the jury and audience at Plugg in a morning session, 2 minutes each. A vote will then decide which 3 finalists get to present for 10 minutes each in the afternoon, after which a winner will be chosen and awarded.

    If you haven’t yet registered for Plugg yourself, now’s the time! As of next Saturday, the early-bird rate expires and the entrance fee will go from 400 to 500 euro.

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    LIFT08Last week marked the third edition of the LIFT Conference in Geneva, a 3-day ‘festival of ideas’ attracting visitors from all around the world. A particularly diverse audience too with people from the internet, academic, fashion, artistics, media and design industry. mTrends was there and saw that it was good; Robin Wauters (from Plugg) wrote a wrap-up for you!

    Day 1: Workshops + Venture Night

    Workshops

    The LIFT organization team made good use of the facilitites of Uni Mail, a complex of the University of Geneva, for a day filled with workshops about a variety of topics. We heard, for the first time, about the Fearless City project, an ambitious initiative from a couple of young Canadians who are trying to aid the marginalized downtown center of Vancouver by supplying its inhabitants with an arsenal of technological ‘weaponry’. Through a combination of (subsidized) wireless and mobile connection infrastructure with devices, open source applications, a social medai platform and the construction of a physical cultural center where all operations will be centralized, the filantrophic initiators want to better the future of Vancouver’s homeless, drug and alcohol addicated and poor. A sort of online/offline self-help group, who wants to leverage the upcoming attention around the 2010 Olympics to raise awareness for the project and set an example for other world cities.

    The afternoon was reserved for an enjoyable session about today’s teenagers and how they fit the internet / mobile into their daily life, and how important (or not) it is for them. The interesting part about the session was having 4 actual teenagers, student from Geneva’s international school, join the discussion. This was a way for the attendees to get live feedback about the opinion and facts of the teenager’s internet usage, social network habits, online video, privacy, downloading music, etc.

    Venture Night

    In the evening, all attendees gathered for the Venture Night, and listened to 8 ‘elevator pitches’ from start-ups, who got live feedback from a series of professional judges.

    This is what we thought were the most interesting:

    Io_2

    The Italian iO Agency creates interactive objects for use in retail, hospitals, public facilities, events, etc. Quite impressive to see, but difficult to explain without actually seeing what it’s all about. Check their website SensitiveFloor.com for a showcase of one of their product lines, an interactive floor with motion sensors triggering spectacular special effects.

    Viewdle_2

    Viewdle is an American start-up who developed an innovative technology to make online videos searchable based on facial recognition. The service isn’t yet publicly available, but you can see how it works on Reuters Labs.

    Mixin_2

    Mixin is sort of a microblogging application + social network + calendar with a clear focus on activities. It feels like Twitter but with the question ‘What are you doing tonight?’ instead of ‘What are you doing right now?’.

    Pixelux_3

    PixeLux Entertainment is a Swiss company specialized in digital effects for games, who has developed a technology to significantly decrease the production costs of video games. Thanks to DMM (Digital Molecular Matter), there’s now an automated process simulating hyper realistic effects when bending, breaking or fracturing digital objects.

    The rest of the pitches came from coComment, Clipperz, Holistis and Wua.la.

    For LIFT video material, check Nouvo.ch.

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    LIFT08
    I was really looking forward to attend the 3rd LIFT Conference in Geneva but I had to cancel my trip due to overload of work and preparals for a.o. the MobileMonday Peer Awards Barcelona and Mobile Jam Session - Oui, je râle!
    LIFT has a great format and has build a great reputation since it launched the conference in 2006. Check this year’s exceptional program, the impressive and tenacious list of topics handled though various workshops - check for example Open and The Future of Wireless and Ubiquitous computing: visions, failures and new interaction rituals… The LIFT THINK blog has been a must read for me for the past year.
    I will also miss to catch up with Christian Lindholm, Charlie Schick , Tom Hume, Nicolas Nova and Fabrien Girardin, hope some of them will make it to Mobile World Congress.
    Luckily, there’s my Belgian pal Robin Wauters - a social media fanatic - writing for various professional publications. He will attend the conference and write a wrap-up of the conference for mTrends readers. Robin is also the organizer of Plugg, a new Web / Mobile 2.0 conference planned in Brussels on March 19. Send him a tweet if you have something you’d love him to write about or he definately shouldn’t miss.
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    Off To LeWeb3

    leweb3_s.pngI’m off to Brussels this weekend, then Paris for the much awaited LeWeb3 conference. I’m particulary interested in the Start-Up Competition and the Workshop track including a session on Mobile and Web convergence, though the whole conference has so much quality to offer, I have to figure out still what I don’t want to miss during the event.

    Kudos to Geraldine and Loïc and the whole Web3 organizing team for putting this together, it’s a truly unique event in Europe!

    Not sure how connected I’ll be but my favourite channels will be on Twitter and Jaiku, I added this Grazr widget in my sidebar for live LeWeb3 blog updates from participants.

    See you in Paris!

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