by Brian Solis

MySpace Music threw an exclusive party during the Web 2.0 Summit that fused Los Angeles style with San Francisco architecture. Contrary to other reports, this party was not only one of the highlights of the Summit, but one of the more memorable parties associated with any tech conference in recent history.

Thrown at the old mint in San Francisco, MySpace invited Lionel Richie and DJ AM to entertain the anxious and excited crowd. Not only were the invigorating conversations and connections abundant throughout the entire mint, laughter and fun filled the air while the geeks also danced the night away until the early hours of the morning.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

Lionel Richie

DJ AM

DJ AM

Chris DeWolfe and Tom Foremski

Bryan Thatcher of Empressr and Michael Birch, Co-Founder of Bebo

iJustine – Justine Ezarik

Ellen McGirt of Fast Company

Caroline McCarthy of CNET

Gabe Rivera of Techmeme

Cathy Brooks of Seesmic and Gregarious Greg Narain of BlueWhaleLabs

Irina Slutsky of GETV and Nick O’Neill

Brady Forrest of O’Reilly

Dave McClure

Hammer, Ron Conway, Dave Morin

Tara Hunt, Jennifer Hussein Pahlka

Joseph Smarr and John McCrea of Plaxo

MC Hammer of DanceJam

Janetti Chon

Cupcakes!

Ben Metcalfe and Cathy Brooks

Brandee Barker of Facebook

Jacob Mullins & Team VentureBeat: Anthony Ha, Dean Takahashi and MG Siegler

Dean Takahashi and Brian Solis

John Furrier

Brandee Barker, Heather Harde, Mike Maser

MG Siegler and Leah Culver

Peter Pham and Mike Morin

Debbie Landa, Kristen O’Brien (Dealmaker Media) and Shay Nowick

Sarah Delman Brown and Cathy Brooks

For more pictures from the MySpace Music party, please visit my album on flickr.

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by Brian Solis

At the Web 2.0 Summit, Microsoft announced its new BizSpark program to help transform today’s most promising startups into tomorrow’s most successful businesses. Microsoft and the BizSpark team celebrated with an official launch party at Ozumo in San Francisco. The event was one of the highlights of the week. The ambiance was a conductor for incredibly enthusiastic conversations fortified by positive spirits.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

Karen Hartline of Mashable

Dave McClure and Heather Harde

Gregarious Greg Narain

100 hundred bottles of beer on the wall…

Michael Sheehan of GoGrid

Jacob Mullins of BizSpark

Gabe Rivera and Nick O’Neill

Larry Chiang

Cynthia Johanson, Yahoo Brickhouse

Brian Solis

Barney Pell of Powerset, Larry Chiang and Sarah Austin

Ozumo

Karen Hartline, Marianne Masculino, Tara Hunt, Aubrey Sabala (Jeff Clavier in the background)

Magician

Microsoft’s BizSpark will continue the action.

If you’re in NY on 11/11, join us (RSVP Below)!

Microsoft BizSpark and The TechSet, present “Ignition” an event for entrepreneurs, investors and those who contribute to a dynamic ecosystem for helping startups flourish.

Join Stephanie Agresta, Brian Solis, Microsoft staff and partners at One Little West NYC from 8-10pm. Free hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and valuable networking will be served. Plus, you will have the opportunity to meet some of the most influential technologists around. All attendees can participate in a “twitter raffle” to win an XBox 360 Elite.

RSVP on Eventbrite.

For more pictures from the Microsoft BizSpark launch party, please visit my album on flickr.

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by Brian Solis

Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) was interviewed by John Batelle during a premier session at The Web 2.0 Summit currently underway in San Francisco.

The conversation was interesting and entertaining, but not as revealing as his previous live discussions.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

John Batelle

Mark Zuckerberg

The Adidas sandals have been officially retired

The Audience

For the blow by blow action, see Michael Arrington’s post over at TechCrunch.

For pictures more pictures from Web 2.0 Summit visite my albums on Flickr: Day One and Day Two.

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by Brian Solis

John Batelle and Tim O’Reilly

The Web 2.0 Summit opened up with a few powerful statements from Tim O’Reilly in defense of the idea of “web 2.0,” not the moniker that is argued to have lost its soul and meaning.

“Do you think web 2.0 is over,” he asked emphatically.

“Are we done evolving the Web as a platform,” O’Reilly continued.

O’Reilly is referring to the confusion of technology and business opportunities that have yet to be discovered and introduced with “me too” startups not closing critical rounds of financing.

With many leading bloggers and influencers citing the end of Web 2.0, O’Reilly truly believes that the opportunity for innovation is only pervasive.

I agree.

This isn’t a market for startups to capitalize on leap-frogging existing solutions and trying to change the world and carry the industry one iteration at a time. This is our chance to create new pioneering solutions and business models to not just generate revenue, but carry forward the true spirit of “Web 2.0″

Pictures from the Web 2.0 Summit Day One are available in my album on Flickr.

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by Brian Solis

I woke up in a sudden rush to check the news to make sure that it wasn’t a dream, or by some strange turn of events, the circumstances surrounding the 2000 election controversy didn’t reappear for one reason or another.

It wasn’t a dream.

It’s a new day in America.

What a beautiful and historical moment

America has spoken through the votes of millions of people who truly #hope for #change.

According to President-elect Barack Obama, this is our election…and I believe him.

Last night, in Grant Park in Chicago, Barack Obama, standing at the forefront of history in the making, was larger than life.

Allow me to share the spirit from his incredibly moving and inspiring speech so that we can join together around the words, intentions, and ultimately the actions that will support them, in order to make the next four years meaningful.

Barack Obama:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

This is your victory.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.

I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it’s been done in America for 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

Let’s remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity. Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too. And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see?

What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

—

Update: CNET’s Caroline McCarthy has a great post on “10 election tweets worth remembering.”

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words and pictures by Brian Solis

Blogworld Expo exceeded all of my expectations this year and it already has scores of bloggers planning their 2009 trip to Las Vegas – including me.

Stephanie Agresta and I were asked to host a Techset event in honor of attending bloggers to celebrate their achievements, connect each other, place names to faces, and also meet new contacts to place on our radar and in our feed readers.

Because of you and your accomplishments, we were inspired to organize something very special, something that truly captured the spirit of the blogsphere and the relationships we’ve built, while injecting a bit of Las Vegas style into the mix.

Hosted at the Bare outdoor adult pool lounge at the Mirage, some of the most renown, innovative, vocal, and creative bloggers descended upon the venue en masse. The doors opened at 9:00 p.m. and by 9:05, the place was already packed. By the end of the evening, we were 500 strong.

It wasn’t the perfect night, weather, ambiance, view, or setting that made the evening memorable. It was your participation as an ambassador of the blogosphere and your community, who individually and collectively created a truly wonderful experience.

These pictures only capture one side of the night. There are many great stories from that night that should be shared with everyone. Please tell us your experience or favorite part of the night in the comments section or link your stories back here!

Gary Vaynerchuk, Michelle Oshen and Loren Feldman

Brian Thatcher of Empressr

Effren Toscano and Francisco Dao

Shira Lazar of The Pop Report

Sandra Ponce de Leon and Francisco Dao

Steve Hall of Adrants

Valerie Combs of BuzzLogic

Tim Street

Aaron Brazell and Loren Feldman

@pistachio, @queenofspain, @geekmommy, @nalei, @colleenplick

Hugh MacLeod, GapingVoid

Laura Fitton and Gary Vaynerchuk

Frank Eliason @comcastcares

VIP Zone by Media Temple

Pete Cashmore of Mashable

Kris Krug and Shira Lazar

Ewan Spence with Erin Kotecki Vest

Jenn Mae and Rebecca Bollwitt

Drew Olanoff and Jen Myronuk

Adam Ostrow, Karen Hartline, Brett Petersel of Mashable

Ezra Butler

Brian Solis and Shira Lazar

Miiko Mentz, Jeremy Tanner, and Karen Hartline

–

We want to extend a very special thank you to our sponsors. Without you, we could not have hosted one of the best blogger events to date. You made it possible…

Everyone, please make sure to visit each company to see how they can help you.

Title Sponsor:

(mt) Media Temple, hosting blog super stars and super startups alike.

Cabana Sponsors:

Canvas On Demand takes your prized photograph and transform it into an amazing canvas work of art.

Empressr is a first of its kind rich Internet application that provides users with the tools to create and share multimedia visual stories online.

MindTouch Deki is an open source collaboration and integration platform.

ShareThis lets you instantly access all of your profiles, blogs, friends, and contacts for easy sharing and updating, without leaving a Web site.

Tagga allows anyone to create text message campaigns instantly so that you can interact, sell to, or simply communicate with mobile users.

Thank you to Sarah Lacy, who took over one of the cabanas to meet with fans and sign copies of her new book, Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0.

–

For more pictures from TechSet Las Vegas, please visit my album on flickr.

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words and pictures by Brian Solis

DEMOfall is now officially documented in the history books, but hardly forgotten. Chris Shipley and company orchestrated one of the largest, most polished DEMO conferences to date, leaving my head spinning from the experience – in a good way!

The blog and press coverage surrounding DEMO is deeper and more comprehensive than I have time to attempt to best, so instead, I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat

Eliane Fiolet of UberGizmo

Allen Stern of Centernetworks

Walt Mossberg

Natali Del Conte of CNET

MixMatchMusic

Lorenz Sell of iLovePhotos.com

invision.tv

AWIND

Plastic Logic (watch out Kindle)

Unity Solutions

G.ho.st

Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg

Wild Pockets

A few pictures from the DEMO Jam:

Don Clark of the Wall Street Journal

Mindtouch *hearts* HeyCosmo

For more on the DEMO conference, please read:

CenterNetworks

CNET

For more pictures from DEMO, please visit my albums on flickr.

Opening Reception

Day One Morning

Day One Afternoon

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words and pictures by Brian Solis

It’s tech conference season, and over the last two week, we kicked them off Office 2.0, TechCrunch50, and DEMOfall. I arrived in San Diego this last Sunday to one of the largest DEMO conferences I’ve ever attended. While there’s been more conference drama than I care to reflect upon, it seems to have only bolstered all parties, their press, and attendance.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

HeyCosmo

Ami Kassar of BizEquity

Matt Marshall of VentureBeat and Julia French

Walt Mossberg

Harry McCracken of Technologizer

Carla Thompson of Guidewire Group

Graeme Thickens of Tech/Surf Blog

Stephen Wildstrom of BusinessWeek

Nova Spivak of RADAR Networks and Mara McCann of Omega Project

Natali Del Conte of CNET

Chris Shipley and Steve Larsen

Andy Abramson

Oren Michels of Mashery

Tomio Green of Dow Jones

Eric Young of Cerago, iKnow!

Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat

Emily Verner and Paul Tiefling of BizEquity

Henk Rogers

Larry Chiang

For more pictures from DEMO, please visit my albums on flickr.

Opening Reception

Day One Morning

Day One Afternoon

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