cruel to be kind

If you heard me rant in the past, I am happy to announce that those German’s are slowly getting there. ;)

Three very different events, but all of them “want” international speakers and attendees.

If you plan to attend the event in Berlin or Hamburg, I suggest you try to add more time to your visit, either to connect with the local (startup) scene and or attend additional socializing events.

As all of these events mean travel for most attendees, there is a tendency to start the evening before the event. (Hanover is a different beast, and if you want to go there, you should know what you are doing. )

• Enterprise 2.0 Summit plus Enterprise Open
  “Exclusive insights from best practices and international keynotes give an overview about the status-quo and the future of this topic.”

  Cebit may not be everybody’s dream ;), but if you are in the Enterprise biz, chances are you want to have a look at some vendors and have some appointments anyhow.

  Info: Website, 4th March, Cebit Hannover (use the code E20FRIENDS for a special price of 150 Euro, limited), no upcoming link yet, Facebook Group

  Enterprise 2.0 Open

  Additionally to the Enterprise 2.0 SUMMIT there will be an open platform for sessions on presenting and discussing the “Enterprise 2.0” topic.

  The “Enterprise 2.0 Open” on CeBIT Sunday will offer the opportunity to further deepen knowledge, best practices and discussion on Enterprise 2.0. It is a Barcamp-alike event at the upcoming CeBIT 2008.

  We encourage everybody who is interested in the topic of Enterprise 2.0 – a more grassroots organizational approach for enterprise information and process management – to participate in this event.

  Info: Sunday, March 9th, Hannover, Free to attend, upcoming, Facebook group

• re:publica’08 – The critical mass
  A conference for the cultural and social aspects of Web 2.0 (including a tendency in Germany to be ‘non commercial’), republica is a bit different.

  But nice and interesting; especially if you want to get a feeling for the non commercial German blogosphere and especially the Berlin crowd.

  Info: Website, April 2nd-4th, Berlin, no price yet, upcoming link, Facebook group

  From the English announcement:

  From the 2nd to the 4th of April 2008 the re:publica’08 conference, subtitled “The critical mass”, takes place in Berlin. After the huge success of the April 2007 “re:publica – Life in the net” with over 700 participants, the cultural and social aspects of web2.0 is again on the agenda.

  […]

  “When we talk about ‘Critical Mass’ today we do not mean the concept from nuclear physics” says Johnny Haeusler from spreeblick.com. “It is the number of participants in a network at which the user group begins to grow exponentially, acquiring a momentum of it’s own.” These chain reactions and the effect of social networks on daily life, on economics and politics will occupy the guest of re:publica’08 for three days.

  Markus Beckedahl from netzpolitik.org adds: “In 2008 the re:publica will be significantly more international than in 2007. Interesting speakers from other countries are being invited to discuss the global aspects of social media and the digital society. We plan to again have up to 100 lectures, workshops and discussions”

  I will be there with a workshop in German about how to not despair about bilingual activities like blogging and twittering. If you have any stories about that, feel free to send them to me. ;)

  Additional activity: Frasier night after republica.

• next 08: Get realtime
  From Berlin to Hamburg, Next probably is the largest event after DLD and also comes with a limited ‘friends’ price.

  Hosted by interactive agency SinnerSchrader, there is a strong orientation towards conversation, marketing and agencies.

  Info: Website, May 15th, Hamburg, limited friends price 190 Euro, upcoming link, Facebook group

  The program
  The next08 theme is “get realtime”. We ask why your customer is realtime – and you need too. Which brands are realtime brands. How agencies become realtime. What the way from E-Commerce to Realtime-Commerce looks like.

  Conference language is German and English – depending on the country of the speakers. New: moderated discussions, workshops and speedpresentations after lunch.

  The Participants
  We are looking forward to 1,000 participants from all sections of the economy: Marketing directors, project managers in companies and at service providers, start-ups and other independent internet professionals, agencies, investors, blue chips and visionaries.

  Registration
  Registration for friends of the next08 is now open. We are starting with a limited amount of tickets at a special rate of a 190 Euro for friends. This rate is below the costs of the conference in order to allow as many people as possible to participate.

(Disclosure: I work with kongressmedia which organises the Summit and am advisor to Sinnerschrader for the Next conference.)

Tags: conference, european view