Web 2.0 San Francisco is just a few weeks away now and I’ve been spending some time looking at the schedule.  This year’s schedule is very interesting in that it has a lot of timely guidance (evidenced by topics that reflect the changing needs of a weakened economy) and sage advice (from those at the helm of some of the largest 2.0 efforts so far).

While I’m hoping to attend as many as possible, I’ve made a very short list of the ones that I am looking forward to.  But before you read that, I’d like to give you a chance to attend on your own.  I have two full-access passes ready to send off to the two best answers I receive.  Here’s the rules:

1. Visit the schedule listing at http://www.web2expo.com/webexsf2009/public/schedule/full
2. Choose your favorite session
3. Tell me why you want to attend that session – what you’re hoping to get out of it and how it will impact your own work – comments are under repair here so mail me gregarious AT bluewhalelabs DOT com

I will select two winners and re-publish their posts here.

Here’s a few of my top picks:

‘S’ Factor – why sales shouldn’t be a dirty word in Web 2.0

For many start-ups making money remains an afterthought. But developing a great application and building community around it is no longer sufficient. Both consumers and businesses are getting wiser about Web 2.0 tools, awarding their attention sparingly.

Good product is more than technology. In order to succeed it has to have the ‘S factor’ (‘S’ for sales) built into it from the very beginning. So why is ‘sales’ still a dirty word in Web 2.0?

My Take

As someone who’s launching one product and advising many others on their own strategies and futures, this is a topic that always comes up.  I do hold dear to my heart that we should build things that change peoples lives and in doing so, create enough value that they have no problem paying for that difference.

Can’t We Just All Get Along? Human-centered Design Meets Agile Development

How can designers and developers work together in a process that seems to be contradictory in nature — and how does visual design fit into the picture? How can we best create integration, collaboration and implementation around seemingly divergent methodologies and languages?

Human-centered design — basing its insights on thoughtful user research, iterating early through documentation, and beginning development much later in the process once the design has been fully fleshed out — has become the de-facto process and approach for the creation of useful and desirable products. At the same time, Agile Development — promoting developing early and often in short iteration cycles with tight feedback loops — has become the standard for developing useful software.

My Take

As an advocate of the “me-first” design philosophy, it’s clear to me that any design that does not sufficiently and effectively explore the users of an application, service, product or device have failed in their ultimate mission.

Finding Influence: Design Patterns for Smarter Crowds

Well, the Bastard Christmas Party has come and gone but not without leaving an its own indelible mark on the hearts and minds of a broad swathe of SF locals.  When we first decided to hold the party on a Monday, some had reservation but we were fearless.  Seeing more than 50 people wander in over the course of a 6 hour celebration truly opened our eyes.

It really was one hell of a way to wind down the Holiday Party Season.  Special thanks are due to many:

• Damon White from Otis
• (dj) Mr. Grant and dJ Dom for their soulful spins
• Brian Solis
• The bub.blicio.us Crew
• My partners, Stowe and Ranvir

Of course, the most important thank you goes out to all our friends, extended family, and loved ones – what’s a party without you all?

Looking back, I moved to San Francisco a short 14 weeks ago and I’m beyond amazed at our warm the reception has been.  This morning I was reminded how wonderful my friends here are and how willing they are to be there for me – you get out what you put in.

Things are just getting started so expect much more in the months to come.  I’ll keep the pace up and the fires burning  – so hold on tight.

technorati tags:upcoming:event=130544, bastard+christmas, bastardxmas, bub.blicio.us, greg+narain, brian+solis, stowe+boyd, ranvir+gujral, joanne+wan

Just a quick reminder that the Bastard Christmas Party is tonight and promises to be a fun and entertaining evening.  While we’ve done our best to represent the Geek Community, we’ve intentionally colored outside the lines a bit and invites a swath of others who should spice up the conversation – and the drinks.

You can RSVP here.  Things kick off at 7pm.  Scroll down for more details.

technorati tags:bubblicious, gregarious+narain, brian+solis, stowe+boyd, ranvir+gujral, anthony+grant, bastard+christmas

Quick update. We’ve finalized our postcard for the Bastard Christmas Party.. here it is for your viewing pleasure:

There are a few things I think worth pointing out about the party:

• Monday – yes, indeed our party is on a Monday. You’ve had your day of rest and now it’s time to get out there and shake, shake, shake. Sure you’ve got work tomorrow, but has that ever stopped you before? Don’t mind that 9pm marker – we’re gonna blow right past that.
• bub.blicio.us – This is indeed the pre-launch party for bub.blicio.us. There will probably be one more before the official party, but that’s just the way things work – ok.
• Brian Solis’ Birfday – Our good friend Brian’s birfday is actually this Friday, but considering how busy things are this time of year, we’re bundling up parties.
• Gregarious – For those who are in regular contact with me, you know that my little buddy James Yu willfully applied the label gregarious to me a few weeks ago. After some thought and reflection, the name has really grown on me. How much? Well, it very well may be my real name. To celebrate my decision, we’ll also be kicking off the Age of Gregarious (as Anthony coined it).
• DJ Spin Off – I’ve had this idea that there are a few songs I’d love to hear mixed. Usually, you can hear only the popular things, but, fortunately, knowing the DJ does increase your odds of something new. I’m offering a bounty to our DJ partners to mix a song – chosen by us – into the night’s sound stream. The best mix wins. If you’ve got suggestions, pop them in the comments and we’ll elect the official song for the evening.

technorati tags:bastard+christmas, bubblicious, brian+solis, greg+narain, anthony+grant

Things have been somewhat quiet here on the party front, what with Thanksgiving and aching livers to tend to. Don’t fret, though – the train has not yet left the station for this year.

On December 18th, we’ll be holding the Bastard Christmas Party. I’m organizing this event with Brian Solis and Anthony Grant. We hope you’ll be our guests. RSVP here. Here are some of the details:

When

Monday, December 18, 2006

7:00 PM

Where

Otis

25 Maiden Lane

San Francisco, California 94108

37.7882,
-122.404

Category

Social

Description

With December comes the holidays. While most enjoy spending time with
their familes, digesting their massive dinners and unwrapping gifts, a
select few of us shiver ourselves to sleep alone. Not any more.

The Bastard Christmas Party celebrates our lives away from our familes.
No crying babies, no annoying cousins, no long-lost aunts and uncles.
We like to think of it as Egg Nog for the Remainder. A tribute to all
of those who had the good sense to avoid the holiday shopping lines and
the crowded airports and highways. Sure, we’re bastards – but we’re
entitled.

Join us for the Christmas Party designed just for you, you selfish
bastard ;) There won’t be any gifts, and anyone seen wearing a Santa
Hat will be shot. What we will have is a mix of people even Santa can’t
forget. There will be drinking and plenty of “missletoe” for your
enjoyment.

To add a little twist to the mix, we’ll also be celebrating the birfday of our good friend and contributor, Brian Solis.

This jam is being brought to you by the fine folks at bub.blicio.us.
Our ears will be delightfully entertained by (dj) Mr. Grant and other
talented elves.

We’re in the process of working out things like schwag and sponsors so get in touch with me if you’re interested in either or both.

technorati tags:bub.blicio.us, bastard+christmas, greg+narain, brian+solis, anthony+grant, futureworkspr, christmas, bluewhalelabs

Excuse the very late notice for this – the budget for Podcamp West ended up having more room than we anticipated and we wanted to do something fun to kick off the festivities.

Yesterday, Vic Podcaster, Brian Solis, and I baked the plan to have a small pre-party on Friday, November 17.  We’re going to The Mint, just a block or two away from the camp venue to have several pitchers of beer as well as some finger food.  Things will get started at 6:30pm and continue on until at least 8:30pm.

In case you don’t remember, this is the same spot that Vloggercon ended at.

Please RSVP here so we can tell how to prepare best to serve you ;)
http://upcoming.org/event/127408

For the past couple of months, Vic Podcaster has been working tirelessly to bring together the West Coast’s version of PodCamp, aptly called Podcamp West. Vic and I originally hatched the plan over chinese food in Boston’s South Station after the original camp had concluded.

San Francisco has seen its share of podcasting and videoblogging events, to say the least, however, there’s something quite different about Podcamp West. With a camp, the unconference model provides us with a way to move the hallway track to the main stage. It begs to argue that an unconference on podcasting is a unification of the rants and raves of thousands of podcasters everywhere. At the same time, Podcamp West is not just about videoblogging but everything related to the art and trade of podcasting.
If you are in SF, you definitely want to stop by on Saturday and Sunday for a good time and interesting conversation.

Where: San Francisco
When: 18-19 November, 2006
Timing: 12 PM – 6 PM
Days: Saturday and Sunday
Venue: Swedish American Hall
Map: Click here
Address: 2174 Market St. San Francisco, CA

Since I’ve moved out to San Francisco, I’ve made it my personal mission to try and bring as many people together as possible – mostly just to see if I can. To further that agenda, I’ve been working with my partners at the Lab and good friend Brian Solis to organize something new and interesting.

The Crawl will take place on November 10th, 2006 at 5pm.
Here’s the details:

The Bubble-Free Bar Crawl is a celebration of our sacrifice. This event is for everyone toiling late at night to launch their own startup and take a piece of the pie. Most importantly, it’s a time for you to bring all those who are supporting you out for a good time and a thank you.

The Crawl will focus on the emerging tech corridor in downtown SF. There seems to be a huge number of startups cropping up and down 2nd Street. We’re starting at the Embarcadero and moving our way towards Market.

We’ll be hitting these places:

5:00 pm – Web 2.2 Conference / Citizen Space Open House
6:00 pm – Momo’s
6:45 pm – Nova
7:30 pm – Bacar
8:15 pm – Thirsty Bear
9:00 pm – House of Shields

We welcome anyone and everyone, just bring a friend, a happy disposition, and be on time.

Hope to see you there. RSVP here.

I’m in the process of putting together the Bubble-Free Bar Crawl for November 10th in San Francisco.  I’ve identified a number of bars that I want to put on the list but thought I would check with anyone who’s got some insider information on where we might want to target.

The plan is to make our way from the Embarcadero up to Market (or somewhere near there).

I’ll have more on the event once we finalize the list of bars.

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technorati tags:demofall2006, demofall, esnips