SAN FRANCISCO—The Web 2.0 Summit 2010 boasted no shortage of star power for its keynote conversations hosted by show creators Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle. Google CEO Eric Schmidt kicked things off Nov. 15 by waving around a phone that appeared to be the Nexus S, an Android 2.3 handset allegedly from Samsung. Schmidt discussed a lot more topics and was careful to note that Google is being super careful about privacy. He noted that people have to explain when they're joking, a reference to some flip comments he's made that were taken literally. Tuesday, Nov. 16 was the master list of keynotes, including Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe; HP Palm's Jon Rubinstein, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, and of course, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company is arguably the hottest in the world in terms of pre-IPO buzz. Interspersed with this were several other events, including a semantic joust between venture capital whizzes John Doerr from Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byars and Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson, who argued over whether ideas or execution matter. But the keynote conversations were also quite spicy, as detailed below in this eWEEK slide show.
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Schmidt, Zuckerberg, Bartz Top All-Star Web 2.0 Summit Lineup
by Clint Boulton
For Starters
Web 2.0 Summit co-hosts Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle started the show with some housekeeping stuff, as usual.
Welcoming Schmidt
Eric Schmidt joins O'Reilly and Battelle on stage, where he talks about Google TV, Android, competition with Facebook, whose Messages product seems aimed at Google's Gmail, as well as the success of AdMob, the mobile ad platform.
Phone with Near Field Communications
But the real fire for Schmidt's keynote was this unnamed device, believed to be the Nexus S smartphone. Schmidt said the phone was equipped with a near field communications chip that, combined with Android 2.3 and the right applications, would enable mobile payments.
Mystery Phone up Close
After his conversation, the media scrambled upstairs, where yours truly sat next to Schmidt and his phone, which was taped over to hide the brand. We were able to confirm T-Mobile was the service provider.
Yahoo's Blake Irving
Yahoo Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer Blake Irving discusses Web service integrations with Twitter and Zynga, but the big news was Yahoo Local Offers, a local business deal program not unlike Facebook Deals or Foursquare's service.
Chemistry According to Yahoo
Irving, who joined Yahoo from Microsoft six months ago, offers a riff on the periodic table of elements to describe Yahoo, which in short is designed to engage users and keep them entertained. Yahoo CEO Bartz would simplify this strategy hours later in her keynote conversation.
HP Palm's Jon Rubinstein
Rubinstein presided over the deal to sell Palm to HP, where he now is building the Palm Pre 2 and several other webOS 2-based products. He said both Apple and Palm lost their way at one point. While Apple found its mojo, the book has yet to be written on Palm as it seeks to challenge Apple and Google in consumer devices.
Jim Balsillie
RIM co-CEO Balsillie lashed out at Apple for its draconian App Store policies, including its failure to recognize Adobe Flash has added value for users.
Carol Bartz
When she came on stage Nov. 16, Carol Bartz was asked to sum up Yahoo's raison d'ętre; she described it as "Content, communications, media and innovation." Then she elaborated; "maybe it's taken me two years, but I've got it." The question was pointed; Yahoo has struggled to identify itself even under Bartz, who brokered the deal to offload Yahoo Search to Microsoft.
Zuck's Appearance
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes his third appearance on stage at Web 2.0 Summit, where he's promptly tag-teamed with questions by co-hosts O'Reilly and Battelle about Facebook Messages, Google and privacy, among other topics.
Zuckerberg Speaks
When Battelle suggested that Facebook asks forgiveness for unleashing new products that push the privacy envelope, Zuckerberg said he thought the social contract between Facebook users allows for some leeway. That should go over well on Capitol Hill.
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SAN FRANCISCO—The Web 2.0 Summit 2010 boasted no shortage of star power for its keynote conversations hosted by show creators Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle. Google CEO Eric Schmidt kicked things off Nov. 15 by waving around a phone that appeared to be the Nexus S, an Android 2.3 handset allegedly from Samsung. Schmidt discussed a lot more topics and was careful to note that Google is being super careful about privacy. He noted that people have to explain when they're joking, a reference to some flip comments he's made that were taken literally. Tuesday, Nov. 16 was the master list of keynotes, including Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe; HP Palm's Jon Rubinstein, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, and of course, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company is arguably the hottest in the world in terms of pre-IPO buzz. Interspersed with this were several other events, including a semantic joust between venture capital whizzes John Doerr from Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byars and Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson, who argued over whether ideas or execution matter. But the keynote conversations were also quite spicy, as detailed below in this eWEEK slide show.