Yesterday, Los Angeles technophiles and business leaders got to join world-renowned policy makers, think tanks and business game changers to discuss the potential and threat of computer networking’s future at NExTWORK. Although the invite-only conference was held at the 15,000-square-foot Tribeca Rooftop in New York City, individuals on the West Coast could tune in to the all-day discussion live at NExTWORK.com as well as follow live Tweets from the event. In addition to experts from Wired Magazine and The Economist, the 26 speakers and panelists included Google vice president and chief internet evangelist Vinton Cerf, Napster and Facebook entrepreneur Sean Parker and TV host and actor Jimmy Fallon.
Involved at different capacities in the industry, these leaders discussed and provided insight on the most pressing digital issues and opportunities in the rapidly evolving environment. Originally designed and built for telephone calls, today voice traffic represents only 7 percent of overall network traffic, with data traffic doubling every year on mobile networks alone. Mobile and tablet usage is skyrocketing, and new technologies are developed every month. How will the network keep up with connectivity demands? How will these changes shift culture and thinking around the globe? How do we govern the network so that it continues to enable and foster innovation and growth?
These and other astonishing statistics are why network neutrality, privacy and security are among the most hotly debated topics by consumers, corporations and governments. And these questions are why some of the industry’s most valuable players and a 200-plus audience gathered for this inaugural NExTWORK conference. Discussions included mobility, online video, cloud computing, identity protection, data explosion and the pace of connectivity.
Wired editor in chief Chris Anderson set the tone for the conference, naming mobile computing, the transfer of data into the cloud and web-based video as the “megatrends for the coming decade.”
Following, Verizon CTO Anthony Melone’s discussion touched on consumer accessibility. Internet entrepreneurs like Funny or Die’s Dick Glover and OnLive’s Steve Perlman shared their challenges, strategies and successes. In the last session, actor Edward Norton emphasized the power of social networking, especially its value in charitable giving (check out his Crowdrise project). And to close the day, United States CTO Aneesh Chopra summarized the US government’s plans to foster innovation with a $80-billion IT budget.
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