Data Lovers United: A Review of the Berlin NEXT Conference 2011

More than 1.500 entrepreneurs, journalists and tech lovers gathered last week in Berlin to attend NEXT11, one of the top three web and technology conferences in Europe. The hosts, SinnerSchrader and STATION-Berlin, had chosen "Data Love? as the overall theme for the event, which entered its 6th round in 2011. For me, it was the first NEXT ? and if I hadn?t already been a Data Lover before, I?d certainly be one now!

The two-day conference offered presentations by more than 150 speakers, divided into several workshops, panels and theme tracks: Commerce, Media and Mobile on May 17, Social, Branding and Technology on May 18. Parallel to these, some of the best international speakers presented their newest and shiniest ideas on Data Love in the international keynote track (find the whole programme here.

To my mind, two key issues influenced talks and discussions throughout the entire event:

1. Today?s massive and constant flow of data is overwhelming private consumers and companies alike (and can even be a gateway for misuse). Industry and commerce are developing strategies in order to handle data adequately and at the same time make the most out of the "raw material?, which Will Sansom (Contagious Magazine) referred to as "the oil of social media?, pointing out that it is "useless until you refine it?. Businesses focussing on innovative search and data storage options are flourishing and their representatives made up a significant part of� the conference ? as well as people with ideas on how to manage personal data and keep it safe in the future.

2. We?ve known for quite a while now that the world is getting smaller. Now internet services are going back to where they started by becoming more and more local. The number of digital services enabling people to connect with local businesses, neighbours or soulmates based on mutual interests is steadily rising. People already use data for individual purposes, for example teaming up to get group discounts. This trend ? based on collecting, structuring and sharing personal data ? will even go further in the future.

The talks I saw at the conference were to a great deal very inspiring. Here are my top three keynotes:

Andrew Zolty, Co-Founder and Creative Director of BREAKFAST on "Helping the World Better Utilise Digital IRL Environments?. Zolty showed how data will be part of our lives in the future ? used to individually adjust and improve our day-to-day workflow. If you want to know why his passion for his work is truly contagious, check out yesiamprecious.com and meet the "bike with a brain?...�

Sarah Lacy, "Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky: How the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs Profit from Global Chaos?. The TechCrunch author and blogger presented impressive and ground-breaking stories of entrepreneurship around the world and especially in the emerging markets, where people come up with visionary business ideas designed to suit their society?s needs. Sarah Lacy?s presence on stage is striking, and the digital industry really needs more women like her or Alyssa Jade McDonald (BLYSS), who both confidently entered the stage and shared their ideas and visions with a large audience at NEXT11.

Russell Davies (Ogilvy), "Buttons, Behaviour, Robots and Toys?, who introduced to us, among other cool things, the "homesense bikemap? ? a map which informs you about the nearest docking station for rentable bikes that currently has enough vehicles for you ? prior to leaving the house, that is. Davies has a clear vision that soon, individual use of data and customized technical devices will make everyones daily routines quicker, easier and more fun ? I can?t wait!

Another part of the conference definitely worth mentioning is the NEXT elevator pitch. Twelve German startups were given five minutes each to present their newest ideas in digital business (which also mainly centered around the key challenges identified above). The pitch was won by wahwah.fm, a small Berlin startup that� lets people share or tune in to music online wherever they are and was referred to as a kind of "musical flashmob? during the pitch. A great success for wahwah.fm, since founder Philipp Eibach and his team can now profit from a free semester at the renowned Founder Institute Berlin.

Which brings me to the question of benefits. Are there people I would definitely advise to attend next year, or to rather stay at home? Well, I think the NEXT is worth a trip to Berlin ? it definitely was this year. Nevertheless, investing some time into deciding which talks to see ahead of the conference might have proven useful. Due to the diverse backgrounds of participants, the programme was designed to provide different approaches to the subject of Data Love. Consequently, not everybody could or should have been satisfied with every part of it.

But with so many great sessions to choose from and plenty of time and space to do networking, this diversity was exactly what made NEXT11 so valuable. The conference has successfully opened a European perspective and is a great place to be for everybody seeking new input ? especially startups and young professionals. But I am sure even the most experienced entrepreneur encounterd something new or at least from a new viewpoint during the two days in Berlin.

With CEOs, freelancers, editors, top journalists, bloggers, students, visionaries, evangelists and critics debating about data and the future of the digital industry, there was a sort of inspiration for everybody. And inspiration is exactly what gets us from the NOW to the NEXT ? or isn?t it?

This is a guest post by Lea Weitekamp who completed her studies in history and philosophy before she considered it time to leave the past behind - she is now one of the visionary communications experts united as ambassadors of digital business at the German agency pr://ip - Primus Inter Pares.�

Source: http://www.thenextwomen.com/2011/05/27/data-lovers-united-review-berlin-next-conference-2011

Rachel Perry Samaire Armstrong Daniella Alonso Jennifer Morrison Jodi Lyn OKeefe