Inside the Briefcase
Web 2.0 Summit Has Come to a Close..What’s the Verdict?
November 18, 2010 No CommentsSAN FRANCISCO–There was an uneasiness in the air this week at the stately Palace Hotel during the eighth annual Web 2.0 Summit, the sort of vibe that you couldn’t see in the glossy program or in the lineup of events that included talks by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, and big-ticket investors like John Doerr and Fred Wilson. People weren’t talking about it, for the most part, but you could see it. You could hear it sometimes, too, if you knew what to listen for.
“We’re entering a period of conflict in the Web, a period of intense competition. We’re looking at new levels of M&A. We’re looking at the decision: do you partner, or do you compete?” conference organizer Tim O’Reilly said in his introduction to Web 2.0 Summit. “They’re asking themselves the question: Who do I work with? Who are my friends? Who are my enemies? How am I going to win?”
