I am hosting a two-day widget conference October 15–16 in San Francisco. Widget Summit is the sequel to last year’s Widgets Live! conference that attracted 250 people from around the world to learn about an emerging trend called widgets. This year’s conference will once again educate and connect an industry of publishers, toolmakers, service providers, and developers across multiple widget platforms.
A lot has changed in the widget industry over the past year. We’re still experiencing what Newsweek named 2007 The Year of the Widget and based on the first 8 months they may be right.
- Apple’s iPhone has sparked new interest in mobile phone development in the United States based on web standards such as CSS and JavaScript.
- The next version of Nokia’s S60 widgets, expected next month, will add widgets to Europe’s best-selling handsets.
- Windows Vista adds desktop widgets to the world’s most popular operating system.
- The Facebook Platform allows publishers to reach over 30 million Facebook users through its widget canvas.
- iGoogle is Google’s fastest growing product.
- My Yahoo! relaunched its popular homepage with rich widget interaction support.
- Internet television services such as Joost and Verizon FiOS TV now support widget overlays.
Conference format
Widget Summit is a two-day conference covering the product and development side of side of widget development. The first day will introduce attendees to the many different types of widget platforms, monetization options, and new products that are changing the industry. The second day of the conference will teach attendees how to implement widget technologies and ensure continued success.
Widgets are now a part of mainstream product planning and development. Publishers are aware of widget platforms such as MySpace, Facebook, and Windows but unsure how they should be involved or what work is needed to integrate syndicated widget content with existing site offerings.
I would like to provide industry-leading widget education and networking opportunities in a collaborative environment. Attendees should leave the conference with a better understanding of widget technologies, new products affecting the space, and in-depth knowledge from a few hundred similarly-minded individuals.
Improved venue, WiFi
Last year’s venue was a bit crowded in both space and bandwidth. I have had my eye on the newly constructed conference center at UCSF Mission Bay for a few years and I am excited to finally host my first conference at these facilities.
Space
Attendees will have enough space for private meetings and conversations. The main auditorium can seat up to 500 attendees and wide hallways really opens up the conference flow. Everyone should have plenty of room to stretch out if they desire.
Fiber
Hosting a few hundred web technology professionals seems to always clog the bandwidth pipes. I decided to locate the conference on a fiber terminus and lease a few extra lines for backup. Early bandwidth tests show download speeds of 50 Mbps and upload speeds of 60 Mbps with low latencies.
Buy a ticket!
Widget Summit tickets are $500 and available now. Last year’s conference sold out, so be sure to buy a ticket early.