Conference News: What I learned this week – January 5, 2018
Disrupt Disruption: TechCrunch’s Disrupt in San Francisco has grown to become the flagship of TechCrunch’s annual event lineup. Last year’s conference attracted more than 5000 attendees! That is why the team behind Disrupt decided to make some changes in 2018 – hosting a single Disrupt event in the US, which will attract an audience twice the size of past years. The conference will be held at Moscone Center West in San Francisco from 5 – 8 September. According to the event organizers, “With more space, we’ll be able to go deeper — more exhibiting startups, workshops, programming and demos — on fast-emerging, new categories like AI, CRISPR, blockchain, mobility, crypto-currencies, AR/VR, autonomous vehicles and space and robotics, to name a few. And none of that will take away from more “traditional” startup categories like enterprise, e-commerce and the rest.” Although this means that the New York event will cease to exist, TechCrunch does still plan to host a European Disrupt in 2018.
Forbes Heads to the Heartland: When Forbes planted the seeds of its AgTech event, it never anticipated such amazing growth! The conference organizers have announce that in 2018 they will host a another AgTech conference, in addition to the Salinas gathering, in America’s Heartland. AgTech Indianapolis will take place from 26 – 27 September and aims to “bring together some of the smartest minds in technology and global agriculture to tackle the world’s most critical challenges to our food supply.” Forbes is aiming for an audience of approximately 300. Click here for more information on the event.
Speaking Opportunity: The GSMA is now accepting speaker suggestions for MWC Shanghai which run from 27 – 29 June 2018 across several venues including the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), the Kerry Hotel Pudong and the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel. The Conference will feature thought-provoking presentations from some of the mobile industry’s most influential executives who will share their visions of the mobile industry while providing essential insights on current and future trends. If you have a topic that is relevant to the mobile ecosystem, make your suggestion via the online form by 19 January.
Lunchtime Learning: Speaking of TechCrunch Disrupt, if you have not had the chance to attend one of these conferences, you can still catch all of the action online. Watch mainstage keynotes, Battlefield presentations and Hackathon highlights here. Speakers such as Classpass CEO Fritz Lanman; computer security researcher and entrepreneur Moxie Marlinspike, and Founder and Chief Product Officer at Nest, Matt Rogers will share their thoughts on the hottest tech trends of the day.
Coming up next week: All eyes are on Las Vegas, where CES and its ancillary events explore the latest in consumer tech, enterprise innovations, and more, drawing attention even outside the business world. While the official CES program runs from 9 – 12 January with its own conference sessions and enormous show floor, a host of other programs, receptions, and workshops run concurrently, focusing on specific technologies and catering to niche demographics. A few examples include: Digital Hollywood at CES (8 – 12 January), which draws experts in the TV, film, telecom, and tech space; VR Fest (9 – 12, January), featuring top industry speakers from the global immersive entertainment community; Connections Summit (9 January), focusing on IoT and connected home business models; Kids@Play (9 – 12 January), looking at the new ways that digital natives learn, create and communicate; and IDC at CES (10 January), which explores macro trends affecting the connected consumer.