CS @ HBS

Would you like to meet the #8 Entrepreneur in the United States, according to Forbes?

How about the “Rightful Heir to Thomas Edison”, according to Forbes?

And what about one of the 16 “revolutionaries who made America over the past two centuries”, according to PBS?

Find out what RAY KURZWEIL is thinking about the future at CYBERPOSIUM 13 at HBS, the largest MBA technology conference in the world!

Personal note: I’m the director of marketing for Cyberposium, so I’m offering a meeting with me (yay!) + a personal tour of HBS for anyone who registers to Cyberposium and writes me about it! :) Register here; The conference is open to the public.
Cyberposium Keynote Speakers:

Ray Kurzweil – Inventor and Futurist
Ray Kurzweil has been described as “the restless genius” by the Wall Street Journal, and “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes. Inc. magazine ranked him #8 among entrepreneurs in the United States, calling him the “rightful heir to Thomas Edison,” and PBS included Ray as one of 16 “revolutionaries who made America,” along with other inventors of the past two centuries.
As one of the leading inventors of our time, Ray was the principal developer of the first CCD flat-bed scanner, the first omni-font optical character recognition, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, the first text-to-speech synthesizer, the first music synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano and other orchestral instruments, and the first commercially marketed large-vocabulary speech recognition. Ray’s web site has over one million readers.
Among Ray’s many honors, he is the recipient of the $500,000 MIT-Lemelson Prize, the world’s largest for innovation. In 1999, he received the National Medal of Technology, the nation’s highest honor in technology, from President Clinton in a White House ceremony. And in 2002, he was inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame , established by the US Patent Office .
He has received fifteen honorary Doctorates and honors from three U.S. presidents.
Ray has written five books, four of which have been national best sellers. The Age of Spiritual Machines has been translated into 9 languages and was the #1 best selling book on Amazon in science. Ray’s latest book, The Singularity is Near, was a New York Times best seller, and has been the #1 book on Amazon in both science and philosophy.

Philip Rosedale – Founder & CEO, Linden Labs | Makers of Second Life
Philip Rosedale has an extensive background in the development and pioneering of streaming technology, having built his first computer in 4th grade, and started his first computer software company while still in high school. In 1995 he developed FreeVue, a low-bitrate video conferencing system for Internet-connected PC’s, resulting in the acquisition of his company in early 1996 by RealNetworks. For 3 1/2 years, Rosedale served at RealNetworks as Vice President and CTO, where he was responsible for the development and launch of RealVideo, RealSystem 5.0, and RealSystem G2. In 1999 Rosedale returned to San Francisco, joined Accel Partners as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, and began the basic research that would become the technology behind Linden Lab. Rosedale holds a BS degree in Physics from the University of California at San Diego.

Walter S. Mossberg -Personal Technology Columnist, The Wall Street Journal

Walt Mossberg is the author and creator of the weekly Personal Technology column in The Wall Street Journal, which has appeared every Thursday since 1991.
He is also the co-creator and co-producer of the technology industry’s most prestigious annual conference, D: All Things Digital, hosted by the Journal each spring. Since its launch in 2003, the event has featured every major leader in the technology, internet and media world, including Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, George Lucas, Barry Diller, the founders of Google and Yahoo, Jeff Hawkins, Steve Case, Bob Iger, and many more.
In addition to Personal Technology, Mr. Mossberg also writes the Mossberg’s Mailbox column in the Journal, and edits the Mossberg Solution column, which is authored by his colleague Katherine Boehret.
He is the co-executive editor of the new technology web site, AllThingsD.com, which extends the experience of the D Conference to the Web. His partner on both the conference and the new web site is journalist and author Kara Swisher.
On television, Mr. Mossberg is a regular technology commentator for the CNBC network. He is also a regular contributor to Dow Jones Video on the web.
Mr. Mossberg has been a reporter and editor at the Journal since 1970. He is based in the Journal’s Washington, D.C., office, where he spent 18 years covering national and international affairs before turning his attention to technology. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, he holds degrees from Brandeis University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Cyberposium panels:
Edge of an IPO

What is it like for organizations just prior to going public? What changes occur in organizations after they go public? What forces of change must sweep through a business to make it attractive to investors? Are certain kind of businesses better suited to going public then others? Why do so many start-ups that start the IPO process not follow it all the way through? What is the current IPO climate in global markets?

My Free Media, Now!

TV, newspapers, and movies appear to be going the way of the Hi-Fi and the jukebox. And yet, there is still something charming about reading a broadsheet Sunday Times over a cup of coffee. What is old media doing to stay relevant? What else needs to be done? How should old media integrate with new technologies and user-generated content? And most importantly, what are the business models that will enable monetization of these NEW “old media” businesses?

Innovation in Emerging Economies

Unquestionably, technology has the potential to transform and empower emerging markets. How should companies think about the value proposition when the returns are so far in the future? Are these programs just CSR programs or for-profit enterprises? If they are for-profit, are there any ethical issues involved? Is there a tension between local entrepreneurs who develop technology products for emerging markets and multinational firms who seek to do the same? Are different strategies required to bring similar technology to different developing countries over the world?

Want to join my “Friend-Spaced-In” network? What good is social networking?

Friendster has come, and for the most part, gone. MySpace has evolved from being the hottest site for teenagers to becoming part of Rupert Murdoch´s global empire. New social networking sites focused on specific verticals pop up by the minute. Why is social networking important? What are its benefits?
Additionally, social networking is catching fire all over the world. Are there any transferable lessons for global social networking entrepreneurs that will help them avoid irrelevance?

Election 2008: The voice of the people will be heard – but how?

Blogs, citizen journalism, and discussion boards on every topic have enabled individuals to voice their political opinions in unprecedented numbers. How will these trends affect the 2008 elections in the United States? Are pollsters and lobbyists becoming irrelevant as constituents have increasingly direct access to decision makers? What are the implications for both domestic and foreign policy? Amidst all the information available, how will politicians be able to control their images? Should they be able to?
How has the balance of power shifted?

Reinventing Traditional Technology

Given the ever shortening time horizon for technology evolution, how must traditional technology companies evolve to keep up with new trends? What adaptations are they making? Where are they falling behind and where should they be focusing their innovation dollars? Who is driving technology innovation today?

Our future – Health and Well-Being in the 21st Century

By 2050, life expectancy in many first world countries is expected to be 100 years. As a result, the increasingly aging population will place increased demands on existing medical infrastructure. How should medical technology evolve to deal with this expected surge in demand? How will technologies such as electronic medical records and advanced home and self-medical care devices redefine health and well-being in the coming decades? Also, agencies like DARPA are experimenting with technologies such as smart t-shirts that monitor vital signs and toothbrushes that detect heart disease. What is the value proposition of these cool new devices? Does increasing life span necessarily mean a healthier and better quality of life? What innovations should emerge to ensure that well-being and health keep pace with increasing longevity?

Online Games and Virtual Worlds: More Than Just Entertainment?

Online games and virtual worlds are booming in popularity and generating huge revenues for ordinary citizens. In fact, the most successful game, World of Warcraft, is profitable to the tune of over $300 million per year. What is the appeal of online gaming and to whom? What trends will define this space?
What must companies do to stay ahead of the development curve? Should online gaming and virtual worlds be regulated? If so, how? And how are companies monetizing these virtual worlds?

Debate over clean technology: future investment and the “Gore” effect To say that global attention has turned to issues of a climate change is an understatement. On July 7, 2007, millions of people around the world tuned in to Live Earth, the 24-hour, 7-continent concert dedicated to raising awareness about the climate crisis. The recent level of interest in the environment is unprecedented. Politics aside, what does this attention mean for clean technology? Does it promise an inflow of resources? Will it ensure a corporate commitment to clean technology?
What will be the biggest areas of investment; what areas promise the highest return? Which one offers a real solution to this crisis?

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