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One of opening keynotes was Jeff Jarvis, about "what would Google do". In his talk (and the book of the same title) he applies a Google-type thinking to all sorts of industries. One of the key issues (to me) was that he pointed out that the philosophy of Google is based on "Open Data" - data which is made available to anybody, regardless of how the data will be used for as yet unknown useful purposes. There is no way that one can know ahead of time what purposes the data will serve.

Andrew Keen (of "Cult of the Amateur" fame) was invited to hold a contrarian "Web 2.0 is dead" type presentation. Certainly a speaker who is well able to express his opinions in an intelligent fashion. During his entire presentation he had just 1 slide: a picture by Vermeer (a Dutch master from the 17th century). Quite a change from the slick and commercial presentations done by the other keynote speakers.

Andrew actually agrees with Jeff about the need for the Googlization of many industries. Again he declared the demise of Web 2.0: user generated content models don't work, because there's no economical incentive nor reason for participation. Hence the success of Twitter, which switches the focus back to the individual.

The conference is well attended by Mac using, iPhone-swaying Twitterati. Not exactly a representative group of internet users. Nevertheless one has to study the reasons as to why Twitter has become so popular in certain circles. What does it offer that blogs don't? Is this somehow the end of blogging as we know it? Andrew suggests that we'll go to a model whereby the 'elite' bubbles up from the noise, to be followed as an individual with a voice. His warning is that this is not democratic (nor egalitarian) in nature, and my lead to misuse of communication channels by charasmatic (yet devious) personalities.

The speaker of the final keynote on the first day had read all Twitter entries tagged as being related to this conference, and he changed the contents of his presentation to fit with the sense of the conference. This reminds me of a Wikimania conference (years ago) where two LCD-projectors were used side-by-side: one with the Powerpoint presentation of the speaker, the other showing an IRC-channel - anybody in the room could post updates to that channel. The speaker was quite often corrected, or his words were documented, by a stream of live commentary.

There are two lessons to be learned from (or: reinforced by) this conference:

1. This shows a kind of web 2.0 live-feedback loop into a conference or a presentation. That's probably a good thing - it avoids repition of content being covered by multiple speakers, and allows a speaker to get a "sense of the room" and connect in an optimized fashion with the audience.
2. Always-on mobile access to the internet is the way of the future (this feels like stating the obvious - I hope you realize however that mobile internet usage hasn't reached mainstearm adoption) . As publisher of content one has to be aware of this and make content available in a way which lends itself for browsing on mobile phones. Combine this with the "Open Data" philosophy and we're looking at "The Next Web".

An example of the second issue is Twitter. Twitter isn't a new technology: If, as in the case of this conferente, Twitterers are encouraged to use a standard tag for their Tweets, then Twitter effectively emulates a decades-old technology: the IRC-channel. Twitter effectively creates an e-mail list for each and every Twitterer - an e-mail list one can sign up to (i.e. follow). Given that the technology isn't new - what has changed however is mobility - access to the internet on mobile phones, anytime, anyplace. That, and the human tendency to wish for communication, for one's own voice to be heard, seem to be the driving forces behind the success of Twitter.

I'll have to think a to how this translates into my activites: use a live feedback loop during Training and Speaking engangements? Make the HL7 or DICOM standards available through an open API, or optimize them for viewing on mobile phones? The nice thing about the "next" web is that we get to shape it ourselves...

-Rene

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Index of columns:

• Reflections on the HL7 membership model - the affiliate life cycle (Dec 28, 2011)
• Thinking like an OWL reasoner (Sep 17, 2011)
• RFH (Resources for Health): HL7 version 3 taken to the next step (Aug 18, 2011)
• What's so great about the HL7 organization? (Aug 04, 2011)
• Kerndossier: een Nederlandse versie van CCD (Dutch, May 03, 2011)
• A HL7 RIMBAA update (Apr 21, 2011)
• Timezone Hotel (Mar 29, 2011)
• HL7 and openEHR are cooperating (finally) (Jan 21, 2011)
• Increasing demand for IHE training courses (Dec 18, 2010)
• Context issues with the IHE QED profile (Dec 15, 2010)
• The changing role of HL7 country organizations (Jul 16, 2010)
• Implementing HL7 version 3 - the book (May 06, 2010)
• Adding openness to a closed world (Feb 09, 2010)
• How to lower the hurdle for HL7 v3 implementers (Jan 21, 2010)
• HL7 v3 deployment statistics (Dec 17, 2009)
• There's Trouble in Paradigm (Sep 25, 2009)
• Internationalization of HL7 (Sep 24, 2009)
• HL7 UK signs deal with Ringholm to deliver HL7 v2/v3 training courses in London (Sep 17, 2009)
• The use of HL7 in South Africa (Aug 20, 2009)
• The Next Web Conference in Amsterdam (Apr 17, 2009)
• The HL7 UK AGM and RIMBAA (Apr 16, 2009)
• The HL7 Wiki reaches 2000 pages (Mar 02, 2009)
• The HL7 roadmap for CDA R3 and the CCD (Jan 17, 2009)
• HL7 Affiliates Meeting in Orlando (Jan 11, 2009)
• Swiss and Dutch HL7 News (Dec 31, 2008)
• Devices and Prizes (Nov 22, 2008)
• HL7 in Norway: a situation report (Sep 02, 2008)
• Russian whitepaper (Jul 09, 2008)
• The HL7 Interoperability Conference - IHIC 2008 (May 30, 2008)
• HL7 creates a RIM Based Application Architecture (RIMBAA) group (May 18, 2008)
• Notes from the HL7 WGM in Phoenix (May 08, 2008)
• Germany embraces CDA eReferral document specification (May 02, 2008)
• HL7 v3 RIM based applications: an unintended side effect (Jan 19, 2008)
• Collaborative Tools (Jun 21, 2007)
• HL7 ist Pflicht in der deutschen Telematikinfrastruktur (German, Mar 16, 2007)
• HL7 based Tree inventory system (Jan 30, 2007)
• The link between HL7 and Open Source Software (Jan 06, 2007)
• Workflow Bribery (Sep 15, 2006)
• Timezones in HL7 (Jan 23, 2004)
• Controlled vocabularies: "@*%!!!" ? (Sep 01, 2003)
• Trusting the other Party (Nov 01, 2002)

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