Okay yea, I’m bragging a little bit, but I think I just might have reason to. Defrag is entering its sixth year of existence, and the community around it has grown into such a powerhouse that it’s certainly not something that we “run” anymore; its got a mind of its own, and the energy, enthusiasm and RUSH TO GET IN THE DOOR is palpable as we open registration.
Confirmed keynoters for this year’s Defrag already include Kevin Kelly (founding editor, Wired magazine and author of a bunch of awesome books), James Altucher (The Altucher Confidential), Paul Kedrosky (Contributing Editor, Bloomberg), Andrew Keen (author, The Cult of the Amateur), Dion Hinchcliffe (author, Social Business by Design), Sameer Patel (SAP), and R Ray Wang (Constellation Group)….and I’ll be adding a TON more as we go along.
As per usual, our goal with Defrag is BIG THINK. You might find other shows that *say* they’re about innovation, or that promise you a truly intimate networking experience, but the truth is that we’ve been doing this for years, and there’s a reason that we always sell-out: quality and over-delivering on our promises.
And, as if that weren’t enough, we’re taking things up another notch this year by adding Blur to the mix. Blur is focused on next-generation Human Computer Interaction, and as such, explores topics like robotics, 3D printing, augmented reality, motion capture, natural user interfaces — basically any new way of interacting with a computer that doesn’t involve a keyboard and a mouse. Blur strives to be as “hands-on” (i.e.,let you actually play with these technologies) as possible.
So, Defrag will take place November 14th and 15th with its usual brand of iconoclastic, on the horizon thinking and discussion, and then on the afternoon of the 15th Blur will kick-off and we’ll have joint Defrag/Blur keynotes for a few hours. Then, that evening, Defrag will “officially” end and Blur will continue on that night and for a third day — with robots, augmented reality, motion capture, kinect hacks — just geek toys galore.
Ticket-wise this means a few things: 1) you can register for either event (Defrag or Blur) separately - though I wouldn’t wait (as I said, we will sell out); 2) however, we also offer a “combo” ticket that gets you into BOTH events and covers all 3 days (that is, obviously, cheaper than purchasing them separately) — and that combo ticket is the option that has been overwhelmingly chosen by registrants up to this point. Either way, make sure you get registered today!
In the next few weeks, I’ll be releasing the first draft of the agenda, and announcing our first raft of sponsors (we’re already 50% sold out on sponsorships - so if you’re thinking about that, don’t wait).
Defrag and Blur 2012: 1 Site, 2 Shows, 3 Brain-melting days.
