Smoothplanet » conference

Poken vs. 2d barcode

jerome — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:31:48 +0000

I went to two conferences in the last month, and both tried to implement a tool to “replace” the business card (or increase the social interaction depending on how you want to see it).

Technoark used 2D barcode… while it was not, to my knowledge, really implemented (I think the barcode on the badge was just there for “access control”), it is quite easy to push further and think that the by scanning the barcode with my mobile phone I could access an online mobile profile of the person I am talking with and save it for later use.

Lift09 used Poken, a tiny USB device that includes a NFC. When approaching your token to someone else Poken, it blinks and exchange information about your social networks. Back at home you can plug the Poken to your computer that will open a web page on doyoupoken.com and display all the business cards you have exchanged, and you will then be able to access your contact’s facebook or twitter account (assuming they have entered those information on doyoupoken.com).

Because it requires yet another device to carry on, I do not believe that much in Poken (why not the mobile phone ?)

Both technologies are interesting, but I also exchanged business cards :-) I guess it takes time to change habits…

TechnoArk et ses Transformeurs: Les Objets, l’Internet du futur

jerome — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:41:29 +0000

I attended last friday this one day conference in Sierre. Nice event, well organized, and a good opportunity to network a bit. All videos are online on klewel.com.

Among all things said and heard there is one “outcome” that really make me thinking… “the web is dead, long life to the internet”!

Lift08 feedback

jerome — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:19:14 +0000

I attended last week Lift08. Great event. All speeches are online thanks to a partnership with TSR/nouvo.ch so you can catch up with the conference (but hey guys @ TSR, where are the permalinks for the video???), but the “networking/meeting people” part and the workshops would remain missing.

It was my 3rd time at Lift (out of 3) and I was afraid that while growing, it would become more “commercial” and lost its appeal likewise some other conferences (leweb for instance). I was relieve to see that besides very few speeches, the speakers were there to share (and not to sell) and I very much like that spirit. Keep it like that and I will be back next year, and the year after,…

I liked: the “off” area with the various performance, the one-track session, the Venture night (with Viewdle, Mixin, Wua.la, Holistis on stage…), the workshops, meeting new people, meeting “old” people, Pierre Bellanger, Jonathan Cabiria, Younghee Jung, Rafi Haladjian, Kevin Marks and all the rest.

I liked it not-so-much: the food (who cares?), not being able to ask question (I never do anyway), missing some people who I know was there (there is room for a personnal project/product to address that), the “ubiquitous” CoComment (ok I am slightly exagerating on that one, but I can not believe they have been selected for the Venture Night, they have been around for more than 3 years, took off like hell, went down a bit and never took off again. I have heard the words “acharnement thérapeutique” – not sure how to say that in english)

Some links with Lift coverage:

LIFT08 official website
Videos from Nouvo (TSR)
Lift pictures on FlickR
Lift Conference on Wikio
Technorati results
Lift on Google Blog Search
InternetActu has a very good coverage on a side blog (but it is in french unfortunately)

Attending LIFT08

jerome — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:40:35 +0000

I just subscribed to Lift 08. I will be in Geneva early February. Check out the program and register :-)

Check out my profile page on the conference website (ok it needs some work – my profile, not the website)