Not unlike our lives in general, change is now infiltrating the event/conference venue on a massive scale. The modifications taking place affect organizers, speakers and attendees alike. Omnipresence seems to be the operative word as attendees now can literally take the baton out of the speaker’s hand and run with it using Twitter, Facebook, and so on. “…many see this as a signature moment - for what it says about the coming wave of new media, for what it says about the way attendees can take over conferences, and even for the signals it sends about the still rising tide of people power that Web 2.0 has unleashed, putting an end to the passive roleattendees traditionally play at business gatherings”

“The entire un-conference movement started from the frustration with terrible interviews and terrible panels,” said Chris Heuer, a social media consultant in San Francisco who has run his own un-conferences, such as Web 2.1, which he runs for free during the high-priced and exclusive Web 2.0 conference. “People finally feel empowered to take control.”

This brings us to the question - where exactly are we with Conference 2.0? At the O’Reilly Where 2.0 Conference, happening on May 12-14, 2008 in Burlingame, California, organizers explore the tools pushing the boundaries of the location frontier, track the emergence of new business models and services, and spend time examining new sources of data and the platforms for collecting them. New to Where 2.0 2008 will be a full day of in-depth tutorials on the best and the latest so that participants can return to their projects with new tools in hand.

For instance, one of the sessions highlighted is Creating Web 2.0 Applications on an Open Source Geospatial Platform. Geoff Zeiss (Autodesk, Inc.) The tutorial is aimed at developers and others who are interested in the business and technical aspects of developing software on a Web 2.0 open source geospatial platform. No background in web development is required. The workshop will include both business and hands-on technical aspects of developing web mapping applications. Attendees will join with other developers, technologists, CTOs, researchers, geographers, academics, business developers, and entrepreneurs to debate and discuss what’s viable now, and what’s lurking just below the radar.

Then we have Mashable announcing a media sponsorship for the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco from April 22-25, 2008. Web 2.0 Expo takes the pulse of the Web ecosystem and looks to its future, shining a spotlight across the Web 2.0 landscape to show how the Internet Revolution is being created and delivered. It showcases the latest Web 2.0 business models, development paradigms and design strategies for designers, developers, entrepreneurs, VCs, marketers, product managers and business strategists, from start-ups to enterprises.

And a must for everyone who may have been “ puzzling over this new media communication bugaboo,” you are invited to attend the Communitelligence Executing Social Media Conference and Workshops in Los Angeles May 21 – 22. The agenda for you all.

After the success of Google Developer Days last year, we now have the opportunity to attend Google IO at the Moscone Center May 28 and 29. The OpenSocial team is organizing many sessions and codelabs: this will be a good opportunity to get started with OpenSocial, or hone your skills.

Okay. Time now to go ‘under the radar’ Social Media and Entertainment on June 3, 2008 from 8:00 through 6:00 pm at Microsoft Campus- Mountain View, CA

“Under the Radar began as an evening networking event in April 2003. After months of sold-out events, we were urged by our network of executives and VCs to create a full-day event: effectively a one-stop shop to evaluate and explore new business opportunities, partnerships, potential investments, and trends in several technology sectors. Under the Radar continues to be one of the most respected and attended technology conferences in Silicon Valley. This year Under the Radar will uncover 32 startups in the entertainment and social media space that have launched within the year. Covering social networks, advertising, casual gaming, virtual worlds, measurement tools, video, commerce, publishing and more, Under the Radar is the only forum that empowers its audience to discover tomorrow’s leading tech companies. Past successes include Flickr, LinkedIn, MobiTV, Photobucket, Blinkx, Glu Mobile, Grouper, Kaboodle, Sling Media, Userplane, Writely, Zimbra and more.

Now focus everyone .. then decide .. which conference are you planning to attend – and why?

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