Where 2.0 Conference: New Directions for Location Technology

[Tom Johnson]

Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2005 8:46 PM
Subject: Where 2.0 Conference: New Directions for Location Technology

> For Immediate Release
> For more information, contact:
> Suzanne Axtell [phone] or [hidden email]
>
> Survey the Location Technology Frontier at Where 2.0, a New O'Reilly
> Conference
>
> Sebastopol, CA--Location-aware technologies combined with mapping and
> other data are poised to create a whole new class of web apps and
> services. Hackers and researchers are mashing up Google maps with
> everything from Craigslist to Chicago crime stats. Automakers are
> incorporating restaurant addresses into their car's navigational screens
> so drivers can spontaneously find sushi. Maps are becoming an interface,
> helping us to visualize and access other forms of data. Call centers,
> insurance agencies, transportation companies, and retailers are finding
> unconventional internal uses for location technologies too.
>
> But where is location-based technology leading us in the larger sense? And
> while it's fertile ground for hackers and researchers now, where's the
> business model beef? Where 2.0, a new O'Reilly conference taking place
> June 29-30 in San Francisco, brings together the people, projects, and
> issues at the center of this technological frontier to debate and discuss
> what's viable now, and what's lurking just below the radar.
>
> "Where 2.0 will make it obvious that web developers are the new market for
> geospatial tech," observes conference co-chair Nathan Torkington. "Map
> systems, satellite imagery, and yellow page information are all being made
> available to web hackers, with major corporate players in a race to offer
> the best platform to these developers.  The GIS industry is watching very
> closely to see how this plays out."
>
> Microsoft MapPoint general manager Stephen Lawler has joined the Where 2.0
> speaker roster and will discuss Microsoft's mapping and location
> strategies, and tools for businesses, developers, and consumers. "The
> Where 2.0 conference is an excellent forum for the mapping community to
> discuss the future of mapping for businesses and consumers.  Our goal is
> to continue to break down the barriers associated with location technology
> and offer a wide array of products and services that help people and
> businesses be more effective."
>
> Other notable speakers and topics include:
>
> -Mary Foltz, director of Location Solutions Product Line Management for
> Nextel, identifies obstacles to the mobile development platform
> -Stephen Randall, co-founder of Symbian and CEO of LocaModa, discusses
> mobile marketing
> -Paul Rademacher, creator of the Google Maps-craigslist mash-up
> -Entrepreneur and researcher Ramesh Jain demos his current project
> (launching soon) that serves as an internet portal to events and the media
> they generate
> -Greg Sadetsky, who mashed-up Google Maps-Yahoo! Traffic
> -Panelists from Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! face off over local search,
> moderated by John Battelle
> -New Zealander Philip Lindsay, who wrote the Google Maps Standalone Mode
> and myGmaps, is leading the charge for developers to build their own
> mash-ups
> -NavTeq's Bob Denaro describes how NavTeq drivers travel every street in
> America to gather the road and route data that every online web portal
> uses
> -JC Herz presents the system she built for intelligence analysts to order
> satellite photos and tag and annotate them for other analysts
> -MIT's Nathan Eagle, whose soon-to-be-released research project collected
> 500,000 hours of data on cellphone use, calls, locations, applications,
> etc., will tell us what they learned, and what it reveals about us
> -Balaji Prasad from EDS explicates in-car location based services like
> OnStar and NeverLost
> -Open source geo tools hacker Tyler Mitchell tell us what apps and
> services are available right now--free of charge
>
> Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo! have joined Telcontar as conference
> sponsors, another indication of increased activity and interest in the
> location and mapping space. The conference's exhibit hall will showcase
> state-of-the-art systems, tools, and services pouring into the location
> arena.
>
> Where 2.0 also features the Where Fair, a science fair-style event that
> gives participants a first-hand look at a few of the intriguing
> location-aware technologies before they go mainstream. Fair-goers can
> discuss the ideas behind the demos with the creators, and learn how these
> unconventional new technologies can be adapted into existing business
> strategies. Where Fair projects are being drawn from research labs,
> academia, and yet-to-be-discovered entrepreneurs.
>
> Conference co-chair Nathan Torkington of O'Reilly Media, Inc. and co-chair
> David Sonnen of iSpatial are building a conference program that allows
> participants to quickly grasp both the current state of affairs and the
> far-reaching effects and implications around these transformational
> location-based technologies and services. Where 2.0 is a ripe opportunity
> to meet the people behind the innovations and see projects that have the
> potential to fundamentally transform how location information is viewed,
> interpreted, and delivered.
>
> The O'Reilly conference line-up also includes ETech, the O'Reilly Emerging
> Technology Conference; the O'Reilly Open Source Convention; Web 2.0,
> co-hosted by Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle, and co-produced with
> MediaLive International; the O'Reilly European Open Source Convention; and
> the MySQL Users Conference, co-presented with MySQL AB. O'Reilly
> conferences bring together forward-thinking business and technology
> leaders, shaping ideas and influencing industries around the globe. For
> over 25 years, O'Reilly has facilitated the adoption of new and important
> technologies by the enterprise, putting emerging technologies on the map.
>
> Additional Resources:
>
> For complete conference details, visit:
> http://conferences.oreilly.com/where
>
> To apply for media credentials for Where 2.0, go to:
> http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/39/press.html
>
> Related Reading:
>
> For an in-depth perspective about the current state and future potential
> of location technologies from Tim O'Reilly and Nathan Torkington, read a
> transcript from a recent press conference at:
> http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/39/transcript.html
>
> Location- and geo-related blogs by Nathan Torkington:
> http://radar.oreilly.com/nat/
>
> "Historical Maps Online"
> http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2005/06/02/davidrumsey.html
>
> "Hacking Election Maps with XML and MapServer"
> http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2005/05/31/electionmaps.html
>
> "The Geospatial Web: A Call to Action"
> http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2005/05/10/geospatialweb.html
>
> "Google Maps and BBC Backstage"
> http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/05/google_maps_and.html
>
> Sponsorship Information:
>
> For information on exhibition and sponsorship opportunities at O'Reilly
> conferences, contact Andrew Calvo at [phone], or
> [hidden email]
>
> To become a media sponsor at O'Reilly conferences, contact Margi Levin at
> [phone], or [hidden email]
>
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