The Future of Web Apps

By Mel Kirk

Having hosted our first FOWA with an expo last October, we had lots of feedback from you to say that you enjoyed the expo and felt it added to the event. For this reason, we’ve decided to bring it back again this October, woo hoo

The dates for your diary are 8-10 October and it will be held at the ExCeL Center in London again. If you’d like to be notified when registration opens, please sign up here.

We’re really looking forward to hosting the event in London again and hope to make it even more action packed than last time… so watch this space!

By Mel Kirk

Three weeks until FOWA hits Miami and we really hope that you can make it. If you’re coming to FOWA and haven’t already done so, we would really encourage you to sign up to the social network.

For those of you who used it at the FOWA Expo in London, you’ll know it’s a lot of fun finding those with similar interests and also those folks completely opposite to you - always a great ice breaker on the day. In addition, it’s a great way to have a look at the attendees coming to the event so that you can arrange to meet, whether that’s a potential business contact or if you’re looking to recruit etc.

In addition we have now added the functionality for you to sign up to the socials taking place. This gives us a better idea of numbers and gets you involved in the fun. So what are you waiting for?

FOW-iki

See what I did there? OK, I didn’t quite pull it off, but humor me

In addition to the social network there is now a wiki set up for you to use as you like. So far it’s got lots of information that we hope you will find useful such as transport links, hotel information, travel guides etc. So maybe if you’re looking to share a cab with someone or split the cost of a hotel room with someone (maybe that’s pushing it if you don’t know them) why not add your details to the wiki and see who gets back to you? Plus of course there’s always those bar meetups!!!

Wifi Cloud

We’re really pleased to be working with Cliff Skolnick of rightround, thanks to a recommendation from Scott Beale.

Cliff has more than two decades of experience in Internet servers, security, and connectivity. He was a co-founder and chief information officer of Organic Online, where he designed the network and server architecture used by such high-profile clients as Volvo, Levi’s, Sybase, MCI, Netscape, Saturn, and Microsoft. Cliff has been involved in setting up connectivity for many Bay Area events and also SXSW.

This means that we’re working on providing you with the best possible connection so that you can blog til your hearts content, oh and check on those ever mounting emails too!

Ooooh we’re going to Miami!

By Mel Kirk

It’s with much excitement that I am able to confirm that Matt will be speaking at FOWA Miami next month. Matt’s presentation went down a storm in London last October. If you haven’t yet had a chance to listen to the MP3 - you can check it out here.

Matt is known of course as the founder of WordPress and has recently introduced Prologue which is his latest project. Prologue is much like a group Twitter and adds to the vast array of projects undertaken at Automattic.

By Mel Kirk

Wow, so many developments and only one blog post, where to begin?

Kathy Sierra, Kevin Rose & Cal Henderson

We’re so excited to be able to announce that Kathy Sierra will be making a rare appearance at FOWA in Miami at the end of next month. Kathy will also be joined by Kevin Rose of Digg and Cal Henderson of Flickr. This now completes the line-up, which we’ve been working hard on with our conference chairs to bring you the very best content for your dollar!

Come hang with us…

We love impromptu drinks and meet ups and that’s why we’ve arranged an official hotel for FOWA. The team and the speakers will be staying at The Strand on Ocean Drive, South Beach and we have negotiated a special rate of $299 plus taxes for FOWA attendees. So if you’re looking to book your hotel, why not come stay with us?

We chose the hotel for it’s close proximity to the beach (you could throw yourself onto the beach from your balcony, but we wouldn’t recommend it), party venue, close proximity to local amenities and short taxi ride to the conference venue. Plus it’s very pretty….

Network-arama

We know that one of the most valuable parts of conferences is the great contacts that you make and often long-lasting friends. For this reason, we introduced the FOWA social network at last October’s Expo. The site allows you to see who’s attending, contact people that you’d be interested in meeting up with prior to the event, meet like minded folks based on your interests and those that are complete opposites, if you want to mix it up a little bit.

As it proved to be so popular, we’re pleased to confirm that we will be using the social network for Miami. If you are due to attend but haven’t yet signed up to the site, you can do so here. We always welcome any shout outs on the message board if you want to say hi (oh, and offers of free cocktails are always welcome too ).

Well over and out for now - we do have lots more to tell you, so be sure to subscribe to the blog for all of the latest news and information… Miami here we come, woo hoo!

By Mel Kirk

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve added a further 3 great speakers to the line up for FOWA Miami. Erick Schonfeld from TechCrunch, Kevin Marks from Google and Emily Boyd from Remember the Milk will now be joining us in Miami and we’re looking forward to hearing their presentations.

In case you haven’t checked out the site recently, we’ve added a whole new section dedicated to all things social. As if that wasn’t enough to keep you busy, given the great feedback we had from London, we have decided to use the social network again which enables you to meet up with those that you have a lot in common with, business interests or even your complete arch nemesis. Why not check it out - ooh and if you want to connect and say hi, feel free!

 We’re really proud to be able to another installment of BarCamp Miami, which will be taking place at the Carnival Center on 28th February (BarCamp attendees get 50% off the Conference day). Over the past few weeks weve been blown away bt the friendliness, generosity and thanks we’ve received from the local people - all of whom seem really excited to have such an event in their back yard. This is the first time we’ve hosted FOWA on the East Coast and we can’t wait to see what it brings.

By Mel Kirk

Whilst FOWA Expo only seems like yesterday (it was 21 days ago to be precise ), we’re already shifting our focus onto FOWA Miami and boy are we excited!!

Following the fantastic feedback that we’ve had about the presentations and content, it’s apparent that having the Conference Chairs for guidance on content and speakers really works - which is why we’ve decided to use the same method for Miami. I hope that you’ll agree that Brian Oberkirch and Simon Willison did a fantastic job and we’re so grateful to them for all of their help and support.

On that note, we’re pleased to announce that Brian Oberkirch will be one of our Conference Chairs for Miami. We’re super excited to be working with Brian again and can’t wait to see him up on that stage once more. Joining Brian and focussing more on the technical aspects of the industry will be Tantek Çelik. Tantek is an industry veteran, having worked as Senior Technologist at Techorati since 2004, along with other companies such as Apple and Microsoft before that. We’re truly honored and excited to be able to have Tantek help us with the event. Between them, we’re looking forward to another great line up!!

Don’t forget registration opens on 6th November… why not click on the image below and sign up to be sent a reminder??

OK, well that’s all folks - I’m about to board my plane - watch out Miami - check back here for my daily updates and photos!

Hey everyone!

We hope you can make it to the Carsonified Launch / FOWA party on the night of the 3rd! We’re launching the new site later today so keep your eyes peeled

Free beer on us! Make sure to bring your conference pass (expo passes not eligible).

All the best,
Ryan & The Team

If you think you’ve got something you want to share with the community, or you’d like to start a discussion - why not do it at the dedicated Web2Open area that we’ve set aside in the expo hall?

We’re splitting the two days of the conference into hour slots - so if you feel that you’ve got something you’d like to present on, why not log in to the wiki and choose a slot before they go - or alternatively, turn up on the day and add your name to the board? We’ll be providing the screen and projector, so all that you need to bring is yourself and a laptop.

The space is going to be in the middle of the expo hall, so perfect for grabbing the attention of the attendees in the expo, but it’s small enough to still be intimate and relaxed. No need for wobbling knees that’s for sure! What are you waiting for?

By Mel Kirk

It’s the first year that we’ve offered student passes and they went down a storm! Unfortunately they have now sold out and we don’t have any more to offer. Don’t fret though, if you can’t afford the full price of a pass, remember that they’re transferable, so maybe you could kindly persuade a friend to club in and split the conference days? Has to be worth a try doesn’t it? Just be sure to bag the day of the party!

If you’ve been to FOWA before, we’d like you to come back for this October’s event. For the last couple of months we’ve been working with Brian Oberkirch and Simon Willison on the conference program to ensure that this really is going to be the best Future of Web Apps yet - and by the best we mean the best speakers, the best topics, the best location, the best parties and the best networking opportunities.

So in the immortal words of the Jackson 5, we want you back, and we’ve got a special rate on this year’s prices to prove it. If you’ve attended any of our other events, contact mel@carsonsystems.com for full details.