Press releases

Web 2.0 Summit Hosts John Battelle and Tim O'Reilly Define the Next Phase of the Web: Web Squared

White Paper Previews Key Concepts for Web 2.0 Summit's Sixth Anniversary

SAN FRANCISCO, June 23 -- O'Reilly Media and TechWeb, co-producers of the Web 2.0 Summit, announce the release of a white paper and an accompanying webcast on Web Squared, which will define the next phase of the Web. The free webcast is scheduled for Thursday, June 25th at 10:00 am PDT, and the white paper will be available on the conference web site shortly thereafter. To sign up for the webcast visit http://www.web2summit.com/web2009/public/content/webcast.

The Web Squared white paper, by Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle, addresses the evolution of the Web from the emergence of Web 2.0 to its current and future state, illustrating how the principles articulated in 2004 have evolved the Web so dramatically that they fundamentally changed the game. The authors see a new direction for the Web, one that opens incredible new business opportunities, and enormous new possibilities for impacting the world's most pressing problems.

"Today, we realize that these insights were not only directionally right, but are being applied in areas we only imagined in 2004," said John Battelle, Web 2.0 Summit program chair. Tim O'Reilly, CEO and founder of O'Reilly Media, continued, "The impact of the Web is no longer limited to consumer media. The lessons learned on the Web are being applied in real-world contexts, from politics to medicine to energy and education. When Web meets World, you get Web Squared."

Upon release, the Web Squared white paper first draft will be posted for comment, then redrafted based on the collective intelligence of the community. Web 2.0 Summit organizers are calling for a list of applications, services, projects and companies that reflect the Web Squared theme that might be featured at the event and/or in future drafts of the white paper. To submit an idea, add your comments to the paper, which will be linked from http://www.web2summit.com.

Web Squared will define the theme of this year's annual invitation-only Web 2.0 Summit. In its sixth year, the event investigates how the Web is making business more efficient, culture more vibrant, and society more tolerant. Web 2.0 Summit will outline ideas for how the Web is evolving according to Web Squared, and takes place October 20-22 at the Westin Market Street in San Francisco. For more information visit http://www.web2summit.com.

Moderated by John Battelle of Federated Media and Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media Inc., the event welcomes an unprecedented lineup of leaders to discuss how the power of the Internet is changing the world, including:

Tim Armstrong (AOL)

Carol Bartz (Yahoo!)

Tim Berners-Lee (W3C)

Brooke Burke (TV Personality and Co-CEO Modern Mom)

Jeff Immelt (GE)

Mark Cuban (HDNet, Dallas Mavericks)

Kevin Johnson (Juniper Networks)

Qi Lu (Microsoft Online Services Division)

Lowell McAdam (Verizon Wireless)

Mary McDowell (Nokia)

Mary Meeker (Morgan Stanley)

Jonathan Miller (Digital Media Group: News Corporation)

Tim O'Reilly (O'Reilly Media, Inc.)

Paul Otellini (Intel Corporation)

Sean Parker (Founders Fund)

Brian Roberts (Comcast)

Shane Robison (HP)

Richard Rosenblatt (Demand Media Inc.)

Dan Rosensweig (RedOctane)

Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)

Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. (The New York Times Company)

Van Toffler (MTV)

Max Ventilla (Aardvark)

Evan Williams (Twitter, Inc.)

Attendance at Web 2.0 Summit is limited to maintain an intimate setting and foster dialog among participants. General attendee registration is by invitation only; interested parties may request an invitation at http://web2summit.com. Media credentials are also extended by invitation only.

-To join the Web 2.0 Summit Facebook community, please visit http://facebook.com/web2summit

-For more information on Web 2.0 Summit and to apply for an invitation, please visit http://web2summit.com

-To read coverage from Summit 2008, please visit http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/62/news.html

-To view select video from last year's Summit, please visit http://web2summit.blip.tv/

About TechWeb

TechWeb, the global leader in business technology media, is an innovative business focused on serving the needs of technology decision-makers and marketers worldwide. TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed media brands in the business technology market. Today, more than *13.3 million business technology professionals actively engage in our communities created around our global face-to-face events Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; online resources such as the TechWeb Network, Light Reading, Intelligent Enterprise, InformationWeek.com, bMighty.com, and The Financial Technology Network; and the market leading, award-winning InformationWeek, TechNet Magazine, MSDN Magazine, Wall Street & Technology magazines. TechWeb also provides end-to-end services ranging from next-generation performance marketing, integrated media, research, and analyst services. TechWeb is a division of United Business Media, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.

*13.3 million business decision-makers: based on # of monthly connections.

About O’Reilly

O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

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