Day one at Le Web Paris

Just got back from a very cool work trip to Le Web in Paris. What an exhausting day.

It was a little surreal to see all the faces you see blogging away, on Twitter, Facebook, at the big Web 2.0 events speaking (like I saw today) and in the press. All in one place. It was well worth the trip, but bits of it could have been better. 

First the good bits. One day there and I got to see the world's biggest names speak, then go and have a chinwag after. I had a great chat with JP Rangaswami and his team, met Scoble, saw guests like Kevin Rose, Philippe Starck, Doc Searls, Rafi at Nabaztag, Om Malik, and caught up with guys like Ashley Norris, Dennis Howlett, Mike Butcher and peers Stuart Bruce and Jonathan Hopkins who was there with Facebook. Didn't quite manage to find Graham Holliday or Neil McIntosh who were there for The Guardian. And I'm sorry Hugh MacLeod couldn't make it.

The bits that could have been better for me? Not many british media there. The reason I was there was because of client business. As a PR my job is to set up introductions to the people I work for, and with a programme focused on drawing people into two tracks of presentations with just a few breaks, when people came up for air it wasn't easy to grab a few minutes with the people you want to. But hey, I'm nitpicking. The bigger issue was that not so many UK media actually went. The blog-savvy were there, but not the extended family, so to speak.

See what others are saying: Graham Holliday is blogging for The Guardian, Mike Butcher on startups for TechCrunch UK,Neville Hobson does a good review back from blighty: "Paris and Le Web 3 the place to be right now", and this is the link for the live video feed for tomorrow's action.

Comments

[Helen Nowicka]

Hey Drew,

I just saw JP Rangaswami present his take on the enterprise world, which was very interesting and clear-sighted.

For me, Le Web 3 challenge is trying to be in two places at once, as there are not only high-quality speakers but also interesting delegates to meet and mingle with. While it's great hearing what the big guns are thinking, several people have told me they come for the networking and to understand what's happening at the grass roots level.

Looking forward to reading your updates!