yet2.com Conference is 1 week away…..

I am excited.  We are a week away from our 10th annual conference.  So far, we have thought leaders from 70 Fortune 500 firms attending.

For me, there are few things more fascinating and rewarding, than getting a number of really bright people together to; benchmark, share best practices, exchange views on the future of Open Innovation – and to see 16 new technologies unveiled.

This event is shaping up to be on of our largest.  Here are details: http://www.yet2.com/app/global/en/html/exec_briefing_10a.html  Below is a list of the confirmed companies participating:

yet2.com Non-Obvious Idea #6…Branding of Editorial Content.

For the past few years I’ve co-hosted an interesting dinner, where I ask each guest to speak briefly on a way they think the world will change in the next 5 years – that is not obvious.  For me, this is one of the reasons yet2.com is a fascinating place to work – because we are always thinking about the non-obvious.

Below is the last of the 6 finalists – on ways the world will change that are not obvious.   Please share your ideas on other non-obvious predictions and your thoughts about this one.

Table VI: Branding of editorial content

If look at two historic events that occurred this fall, one being the Obama election and the other being the global economic meltdown, both of them had central to them communications failings or communications strengths.

I think we can all look at the Obama campaign and say, this is a guy who knew how to talk and to use words; this is a campaign that knew how to reach out to a wide group of people.

If you look at the government, the Treasury departments attempts to sell the bailout through our government, sell the TARP through the American people, they had fundamental lack in marketing skills.

If you look at how communications and content may change over the next ten years, maybe the next generation, you are probably going to see a merging of branded editorialized content — what I would say is emblematized by the op-ed page at the [Wall Street] Journal or the New York Times, and these new business models that have come up and been exemplified by what the Obama campaign did with what we all know is called social networking.

What you have not seen yet is the emergence of the branded content with the social networking model and I think that is the next thing you are going to see. If someone can brand social networking and monetize it, you have what you had with Obama and a historic election because he was able to brand that model with his name and sell it out to the voters.

Thoughts?

It’s difficult to compete with free…

“Free” is an interesting business book by Chris Anderson, the guy who originated “the long tail” of Internet marketing. He proposes that there are two price points on the Internet: free, and everything else… and it’s difficult to compete with free. Once a product or service is free, it’s difficult — almost impossible — to get people to pay for it afterwards. Ask the music industry. So how does one make money? THAT’s the subject of the book.

yet2.com Conference: High-Interest Technology Roundup

16 new (vetted) technologies will be presented at our annual conference in Boston on September 29th. Including the winner of the Clean15 competition.
emyet2.com/em Conference: High-Interest Technology Roundup

These technologies have broad application and are in areas where we see strong market pull.

Non-Obvious Idea #5 – Africa, Germs & Power

For the past few years I’ve co-hosted an interesting dinner, where I ask each guest to speak for less than 2 minutes on a way they think the world will change in the next 5 years – that is not obvious.

In November I hosted 55 leaders in a wide variety of disciplines – from horticulture to economics.  The guest list included; 2 Governors, a Senator, 5 CEO’s of companies of more than $2 billion in revenue, Chief Investment Officers of more than $38 Billion, 11 venture capitalists, etc….so you get the idea.

The 55 ideas were then voted on by each table, and below is the fifth of the six finalists – on ways the world will change that are not obvious.   Please share your ideas on other non-obvious predictions and your thoughts about this one.

yet2.com – Is Google Trends a new Open Innovation Tool?

I’ve spent some time playing around with Google Labs and I think this could be a powerful Open Innovation tool.  I would like to challenge readers of this Blog to help flesh out the idea, and share your thoughts.

Let’s start with the Flu.