The 2011 Guardian Changing Media Summit was a big success. A top-notch collection of speakers took part with the added bonus of some impressive big names headlining the second day. Foursquare boss Dennis Crowley got everyone looking afresh at the social network’s potential for businesses (I like many others there swore immediately to re-look at it). Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL was refreshingly honest and engaging about the challenges AOL has faced and its future plans. Added to this was an unbilled appearance by The Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington. These three ensured the event ended on a high. Other faves were Ian Carrington from Google doing a nifty demo of mobile apps that included solving a Sudoku in 30 seconds and Madhav Chinnappa talking about Google’s One Pass payment system (of which more another time).
What else did I take away from the event? The confession from the biggest names in the sector that no one can predict anything and that in the world of digital things can change out of all recognition in a single year. That hopefully saves me having to waste time writing a another pointless three year strategy document. I personally find that type of world incredibly exciting. It has echoes of what I love about the theatre business and what has always fascinated me about film; its inbuilt unpredictability that confounds the bean counters and data obsessives.
What else did I take away from the event? The confession from the biggest names in the sector that no one can predict anything and that in the world of digital things can change out of all recognition in a single year. That hopefully saves me having to waste time writing a another pointless three year strategy document. I personally find that type of world incredibly exciting. It has echoes of what I love about the theatre business and what has always fascinated me about film; its inbuilt unpredictability that confounds the bean counters and data obsessives.
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