Like it or not, Web 2.0 is heading for your network

Moderator-Julie: Welcome and thank you for coming. Our guest today is industry icon Chris Shipley, Executive Producer of the DEMO Conferences. For over 16 years, DEMO has been the premier place to launch new technology. The 2008 DEMO Conference will be held January 28-30 in Palm Desert, Calif., where more than 70 of the world's most promising technologies will be unveiled. No one is in a better position to discuss what the hottest technologies will be, and how they impact our work and home lives, than Shipley.

Now, onto the chat.

Moderator-Keith: While we wait for Chris to begin answering audience questions, here's a pre-submitted question and answer: "We've often seen technologies that have bubbled up from the consumer market move into the enterprise. Will we continue to see that in 2008?"

Chris_Shipley: You've identified a major trend that began last year and will continue well into the future. Social Internet applications, products such as the iPod and iPhone, have done so much to reset individual expectations about what a computing experience ought to be. Consumers have become adept with technology and they have very high expectations around usability, performance, and functionality. A person who spends hours online in the evening in YouTube or Facebook or any of a myriad of Web application isn't going to go to work the next morning and be satisfied with a clunky ERP interface.

So I’d say that it is the consumer experience with technology that is bubbling over into the enterprise and placing new demands for usability and flexibility in workplace applications.
Prodigy: Hi Chris -- With the potential for a recession in the U.S. this year, what will be the hottest technology for 2008?

Chris_Shipley: Great question ... I think we're going to see some slowing of purchasing across technology sectors in this first quarter, then a settling in on productivity (business) and entertainment (consumer) technologies paid for on an as-you-go basis. I realize that doesn't speak to specific technologies, but rather to business models.

J: Which two or three companies from your last couple of DEMO shows are doing the best?

Chris_Shipley: Remarkably, most of the companies that come through DEMO go on to do very well. We've seen GrandCentral, for example, be acquired by Google, which is certainly a great outcome for that company. Others do well as a measure of their ability to adapt to a changing market and customer base. VideoEgg might be a good example of that.

Moderator-Keith: Here's another pre-submitted question and answer: "When evaluating a product for DEMO, what factors do you take into consideration before choosing them?"

Chris_Shipley: I look for products that are brand new and can be introduced at DEMO, of course, but also looking for products that challenge the market. They create new categories, challenge existing competitors, introduce new business models, or otherwise change the game. Some products do this in small ways; others in very big, dramatic steps.