Stay ahead of the curve. Web 2.0 means many things to those in the trenches of the technology world. Designs are cleaner, web apps smoother, and businesses are finally starting to get it. Join our technologists for panels and discussions on what people have been doing behind the scenes that is changing how we use the web today, and how we might use it tomorrow.

What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0, Developer Technologies, and Social Networking: Present and Future
The web's transition to broad mass-market consumer adoption both enables and is enabled by advances in social networking. Sites such as MySpace and FaceBook, blogging, and multiplayer gaming are connecting people at a scale that was until recently unimaginable. Advances in both server- and client-side development technologies are enabling the creation of rich internet applications. In this session, we'll explore those technologies and how they are fueling Web 2.0's emerging impact on the landscape of both professional and social networking.

SPEAKER:
Chris Bowen, Developer Evangelist, Microsoft

Case Study
Greenpages is an innovative technology service provider and value-added reseller of computing equipment and software based in Kittery, Maine. Its business model relies on extensive use of B2B services. Greenpages integrated a wide range of technologies and developed its own suite of web services offering customers numerous integration points for procurement, accounting, asset tracking, and lifecycle management tasks.

Innovation in a very early stage start up - Foneshow
Foneshow is a two person early stage start up in the mobile media distribution space. Erik will talk about Foneshow and innovation at the very early stage: how to keep an innovative culture as a team grows and adds processes and procedures.

Innovation; sounds good to ME
There's no accounting for taste, but it can be harnessed! Goombah, a dynamic online music recommendation community, connects musicians and audiences in ways that previously happened only by chance or mass-media blitz. This is Web 2.0 on its way to Web 3.0 and it is happening right here in Maine.

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Norris, Partner, Me3 Technology Consultants - GreenPages
Erik Schwartz, Co-founder, FoneShow LLC
Bob Swerdlow, VP of Engineering, Goombah

Desktop/Web Convergence and the Future of User Experience
With technology playing a larger role in our lives, the ways in which users interact with and experience software is becoming increasingly important. By continuously seeking to improve user experience, software becomes easier to use and the entire technology experience becomes richer and more rewarding. This session will describe a framework for understanding user experience and will discuss the current and future technologies for realizing rich immersive software user experiences.

SPEAKER:
Bob Familiar, Architect Evangelist, Microsoft

Looking for ways to develop a competitive edge in your business leveraging information technology? Come join the Business Track to learn what innovative companies in Maine are doing. Technology most certainly is the driver of Business 2.0.

Tim will focus on how social networking and specific tools such as LinkedIn help him in his role as a recruiter at UnumProvident.

SPEAKER:
Tim O’Connor, Senior Staffing Research Specialist, UnumProvident

Historic Map Works will detail how they use innovative technology in what they do, who their customers are and why it has value for them.

Innovation also means being at the forefront of the ever changing compliance landscape – both legally and technologically. Jon Stanley will discuss Legal and Regulatory Trends in Information Security and Their Impact on Business and Technology.

SPEAKERS:
Pauline Huntington, IT Systems Manager, Historic MapWorks
Jon Stanley, PA, Law Office of Jon Stanley
TBA

Todd will introduce how Oxford Networks transformed itself from an old line telco to a more cutting edge firm with a fiber optic network. He'll describe how they serve customers today and what the near term future looks like. Todd will then gaze into his crystal ball and inform us how pushing broadband into businesses and the home will change how business is conducted and people live.

SPEAKER:
Todd Dewitt, Chief Technology Officer, Oxford Networks

From spyware and phishing to viruses that take down enterprises, the tech industry can be a dangerous place. Security 2.0 has to be a primary concern of all computer users. Security has to be balanced with the ability to use a network like the internet without looking over one’s shoulder at big brother.

MySpace and others are FREE social networking services that allow their Members to create unique personal profiles/journals online and then share/communicate it with new and old friends alike.

• MySpace: a “Virtual Community”
• Myspace Profiles what are they?
• Other Social Networking Websites
• The ease of joining virtual communities

SPEAKER:
Inez Dudley, Detective, Maine Computer Crime Task Force

Identity Theft cases are increasing in the United States. The crime of identity theft undermines the basic trust on which our economy and e-commerce depends.

SPEAKER:
Dave Jacquet, Founder, Red Cell Security

Security, which Ted defines as "keeping your business robust and reliable," is also widely misunderstood. It includes keeping hackers out, as well as protecting against natural disasters and other business disruptions, and must be tightly aligned with business needs.

SPEAKER:
Ted Demopoulos, Demopoulos and Associates

Have you ever visited a website or used an application that left you feeling confused and defeated? Have your customers? Usability is about enhancing the quality of a user's experience when interacting with a product or system—whether a web site, software application, mobile technology, or any user-operated device. Come learn about usability—the how and the why—directly from the experts. You'll leave with practical skills and fresh perspectives on designing for usability in the complex and ever-changing 2.0 environment!

Web 2.0 represents a significant r/evolution--both technological and social. In making the shift from the formerly "read-only" web, to the 2.0 "read/write" paradigm, anyone can participate in creating and remixing images, text, sound, video, and ideas into something slightly or radically new. As part of this shift, social networking tools allow people to interact online at new levels of spontaneity, flexibility, and complexity. Come explore the implications of usability and user-centered design in the realm of new and emerging social networking tools!

SPEAKER:
John McGrath, Founder, Squirl
Tim Spaulding, Founder, LibraryThing

In the competitive 2.0 environment, companies must understand the critical importance of the entire user experience -- every touch point with the customer from first contact with the brand, through usability of the product, to interactions with customer service and the quality of documentation. Illustrating her points with case studies from business, Beth Loring will discuss the evolution from design to usability to the user experience. She will also discuss the increasing overlap between marketing research and user research, and the key drivers behind convergence toward a user experience model. Gessica Silverman will show us how leveraging the benefits of rich internet applications (RIA) and user-centric design principals can help companies reap the rewards of increased customer satisfaction and ROI.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Loring, Director, Bentley Design and Usability Center
Gessica Silverman, Senior Consultant, User Experience: Molecular

In the Web 2.0 era the stakes have never been higher for companies to link their futures and fortunes to usable web sites, products, and systems. This session reaches beyond usability "best practices" to…innovations. Join the man sometimes described as "design god," Steve Krug, on a tour of some of the most exciting emerging trends and innovations in interface design. Come and learn "advanced common sense" troubleshooting tips for typical usability problems. All this delivered with humor, practical advice, and to-the-point examples!

SPEAKER:
Steve Krug, Advanced Common Sense - Author, Don't Make Me Think