Pop!Tech 08

I’ve just returned from Pop!Tech in Camden, Maine. I deliberately didn’t blog whilst I was there – it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a conference and had time to just sit and enjoy listening to the speakers. And Pop!Tech was perfect for that. It’s an incredible and eclectic mix of speakers and performers. Highlights, for me, included the New York Times’ scent critic Chandler Burr explaining the science and natural history behind some of the most famous perfumes; conductor Benjamin Zander giving a cello lesson to a 17 year old who clearly improved in 25 minutes and ecologist John Priscu talking about the subglacial lakes and rivers of Antarctica.

Rufus Cappadocia, Imogen Heap, and Amos Lee. Image courtesy of Kris Krug under Creative Commons.

Each session began with a talk from one of the Pop!Tech fellows – people and groups behind projects that have the potential to have a positive impact on the world. Or in the words of Pop!Tech: “visionary change agents”. This year, fellows included the team behind the Kenyan crowdsourcing project Ushahidi, which includes Afrigadget’s Erik Hersman. The system was first put together to monitor post-election violence in Kenya in early January 2008. It’s since been deployed in South Africa as well. Ken Banks, the man behind the free, large-scale text messaging system Frontline SMS was another fellow. I wrote about the project last year when it was used to monitor the Nigeria elections.

Between sessions musicians entertained the crowd (see Kris Krug’s picture above). Cellist Rufus Cappadocia and electronic songstress Imogen Heap really blew everyone away. Every conference should have performances like these – if you knew you were going to have a musical interlude it would make having to sit through a yet another mumbled powerpoint presentation that little bit more fun.

Whilst the eclectic nature of the speakers really keeps your interest it did make me wonder who the conference was aimed at. There didn’t seem to be a coherent take home message or any practical information on offer. At best you would come away feeling positive, renewed and feeling that you understood a little more about the world. Maybe that’s the point, but I’m intrigued how many of the attendees justify the $3,500 price tag to their firms.

Unfortunately I had to leave early, which was a shame, because Saturday’s schedule looked great. I would have loved to see the Festo Air Jelly demo (video below) for example.

Hopefully I’ll get to return next year. In the meantime, you can read more on the Pop!Tech blog, read a news story about an innovative South African HIV education project posted by my colleagues at the BBC, or watch videos of some of the speakers.