#140 Conference Comes to Boston

The day was long but brief. Sounds impossible doesn’t it? Let me explain.

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 was the first ever #140 Character Conference held in Boston, MA. The day-long event explored the state of NOW, a high level look at emerging technologies and real-time internet.

Held at the The Back Bay Events Center, speakers shared how they leveraged new technologies to find a competitive edge in today’s business, personal and non-profit environments.

A Long Day
From 8:30 AM to 6 PM, the day was chock-a-block full of speakers ranging from journalists (@JeffCutler) and professional media outlets (@kordmiller of WBZ-TV and @tmcenroe of NECN.com) to musicians (@amandapalmer), and higher education (@perryhewitt of Harvard and @radiofreegeorgy of Tufts). Even non-profits (@WayneNH of New Hampshire Destination Imagination) and individuals struggling to reunite a family torn apart by national conflict (@dewittn) shared their stories.

Boston’s finest, the Boston Police Department (@Boston_Police) were represented and shared how they use social media to monitor, communicate, and otherwise interact with the communities they serve.

A Brief Day
In keeping with the conference theme of 140 characters (@Twitter reference entirely intended), the event format was most decidedly, brief. Presenters were given a mere 9 minutes to share their viewpoints in laser like sharpness. Key note speakers got a few more.

The pace was fast and furious. In fact it was twitter-like in its ability to expose attendees to boatloads of new ways of thinking, doing and being, all while using emerging technologies. It was a day filled with groundbreaking ideas and ways of communicating.

Thanks to the organizing and coordinating efforts of Ellen Rossano (@EllenRossano), Jeff Pulver (@JeffPulver) was able to bring this innovative event to the area.  ActiveEdge is proud to have attended and been a part of it.

140 Conference Coming to Boston

If you’re familiar with VoIP, you may have heard of Jeff Pulver, Internet entrepreneur and VoIP technology pioneer. If not maybe you’ve heard of some of his work: co-founder Vonage and founder of FWD, the VON Coalition, PrimeTimeRewind.TV and Vivox. He’s definitely someone to watch on the technology scene.

One of his latest endeavors is the 140 Character Conference, Exploring the State of Now.  It’s a high level look at emerging technologies and real-time internet. Started a little over a year ago in Washington DC, the conference has expanded to include international participation and growing notoriety among interactive thought leaders. Jeff is bringing his conference to Boston this fall, on September 17^th.

In keeping with the conference theme, the event format is most decidedly, brief. In fact, it’s almost twitter-like in its ability to expose attendees to new ways of thinking, doing and being.  All in laser like sharpness. Presenters bring their viewpoint to light in amazingly short, 10 minute time segments. Key note speakers get a few more minutes – they get 15.  It’s enough to bring out the ADHD in all of us.
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