Stand up and say something worth saying…
Need something to do this weekend? I’ll be at the BIL Conference in Long Beach this Saturday listening and networking with some of the nation’s most brilliant and progressive minds. There are literally hundreds of talks (if you also count the one’s given by random audience members) to enjoy and learn from. Here is a sample of some of the talks on the table:
Your privacy is no longer valuable
In such an inter-connected world, we’re required to share data about ourselves that would have been considered completely off limits 15 years ago. Where we are, what we like, what we think, what we buy – it’s all public and makes the web we’re all a part of more robust, powerful, and, in turn, valuable. While some people try in vain to protect their private data, the fact remains that people prefer the benefits of sharing their data than keeping it private. People simply don’t care about their privacy as much as they think they do.
The Impact of Online Education
The MOOC revolution is disrupting the nine hundred year old institution of higher education. There has never been more cause for optimism about the future of education. First we will look at the early data on the impact of MOOCs from Coursera. Then we will examine the economic and political realities driving the adoption of MOOCs and speculate on what changes are to come.
Disruptive Manufacturing: Trends, Controversies, and the Future
Only recently has software become powerful enough, affordable enough, and available enough, that we’re seeing shocking new technological shifts: an event horizon is approaching. Rapid Prototyping is quickly changing the game. Combined with several flavors of CAD software, nearly everyone has access to tools that our grandparents only dreamed of. The RepRap project, GrabCad, 3d printed guns, and so on, these challenge old paradigms of manufacturing as well as philosophy. This talk is a “State of the Union” from an industry insider.
A College Education FOR FREE
College is great. Except they don’t teach you the most critical things you need to survive, flourish, and be happy as an adult. – how to fail and recover – how to have ideas – how to sell those ideas – how to execute on those ideas – how to fail AGAIN and come back AGAIN – how to network – how build a foundation of health that will help you survive the trials ahead. . I can describe a basic approach that you can apply to any life situation to turn it around, learn form it, survive it, sculpt it into art, turn it into something you’re proud of.
Planning to Innovate: Or how good business operations win in the marketplace
Did you know the #1 cause of business failure is planning – either no planning at all, or just plain bad planning? And 9 of the top 10 causes of business failure are related to lack of experience – not in your chosen field, but in business operations. What is the right balance to strike between getting your message out there and execution? What does business planning have to do with agility? How does careful planning unleash innovation and enable you and your colleagues to win in the marketplace? What is the risk of bad operations, and how do you mitigate it? Ethan will share best practices learned from working with numerous startups at various points during their life cycle. He’s on a mission to turn business planning from a check-the-box activity to one that generates value and cultivates success. Ethan is a former television producer turned entrepreneur, and the insights he’s gleaned are sure to help you and your organization.
Most of you have heard of TED or watched the talks online, but do you know about BIL, the quirky, populist, un-conference taking place nearby? Open to the public and fully participant powered, BIL features a wild mix of technologists, scientists, artists, hackers, and those with a passion for community awareness.
