Actually Dave,
Sort of the antithesis of a tech conference. I went up to Seattle to be part of an entourage at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Well, let me tell you, this was a totally disappointment from a "civilizationless in seattle" standpoint. Unlike the free traders of the WTO, the Mayors could only muster a mere 3 protestors in front of the Sheraton on Saturday afternoon. I was slightly embarassed to be misidentified by the reporter from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer as a mayor who was 'snickering' with the police guard on the steps of the hotel. Sure, I was snickering, but I wadn't no mahya, not by a long shot. No, alas, mayhem was not the order of the day.
So, my buddy the mayor of my home town in Illinois was duly impressed with my facility with TLAs and has annointed me his high-tech guru. I will assure you, this role is a labor of love, doing my part for the old home town, gratis. And I take it seriously, which is a stretch for me.
While the mayors did not dwell on issues of technology, they certainly were not unaware of the necessity to keep the tech revolution rolling because of the economic implications. Infrastructure, particularly telecom infrastructure was not on the agenda as a major topic of conversation. Rather, the role of local governments in facilitating business and the educational facilities necessary to provide the manpower for the new economy drivers of the success of cities was a very high priority. Some good discussion about the role of mayors in cutting red tape. How certain jurisdictions were able to cut the number of permits required for construction of R&D facilities etc. by dramatic figures. One example of a city on the wrong track was Philadelphia, which requires an almost insane 140 permits for a new commercial building to be erected. Guaranteeing that that city will continue to live in the past.
If ever there was a city that seems to be bursting at the seams, it is Seattle. I used my typical tower crane and overtime meter for measuring irrational exuberance. There are more tower cranes active per square mile in downtown Seattle today than there were at the height of the boom in San Francisco in 87-89. And you may have heard of Paul Allen's folly, the Experience Music Project, projected to cost about $300Million. I walked by there at about 8 PM on Saturday night and chatted up some of the hard-hats. They had been on double time all day. And there wasn't going to be any let up on Sunday. The city was on steroids. Heck, they were even building parking garages on double time! Yet, in spite of every indication that the economy was overheated, I had brunch with a developer friend of mine and he said that actually, things were slowing a tad in Seattle to the point where sub-contractors would actually deign to return phone calls. So maybe Greenspan does have a clue as to how to engineer a soft landing. Hope so.
Anyway, you were inquiring about tech conferences. Here's one I'm considering attending:
opticon2000.com
It is being put on by Business Communications Review, in association with LightReading, a very with it bunch, IMO, and I think it could be a good opportunity to hobnob with some other left coasters, etc. Maybe some of the other denizens of the NFCFTF would be interested? I'd love to meet some of y'all in person and this looks like as good an excuse as any...
Speaking of Gnomes, did you happen to read about the wireless ISP up in Nome... oh, never mind...
Bon Chance, Ray |
