Poptech – The Conference That Is Out 2.0′ing the Web 2.0 Summit

Many of you will have seen my rant about Web 2.0 and although I do have some issues with the name of this, there is no mistake that Web 2.0 or whatever you may wish to call it, is going to be incredibly important in the future of all of our lives and businesses.

I had originally thought that this Web 2.0 conference was going to be big business but there is another scene going on, another conference and it is kicking Web 2.0 out of the water. The company is called PopTech and they have amassed a monster list of amazing people who everyone should be checking out. We all knew PoTech may be quite good but nobody was exacting such a star studded affair, especially as they seem to have kept it all under wraps.

Poptech have out 2.0’d Web 2.0 and just take a look at some of the incredible people who will are featuring.

  • Victoria Hale, founder of the world’s first non-profit drug company.
  • Nina Jablonski, the renowned anthropologist, will share her work studying the biology and meaning of human skin.
  • Jessica Jackley Flannery, Internet microfinance pioneer, will discuss the future of ‘bottom up’ solutions to poverty.
  • Van Jones, inner-city eco-activist, will speak about his work on a new “green collar” revolution in America’s inner cities.
  • Chris Jordan, the celebrated photographer, will share his breathtaking photographs which document of the human impact.
  • Sarah Joseph, the founder of Emel magazine, Britain’s leading Muslim lifestyle publication.
  • Steven Pinker, the preeminent cognitive scientist and New York Times-best-selling author will speak on the nature and essence of human thought.
  • Paul Polak, founding father of market-based solutions to poverty and development, will speak about his efforts to built ultra-low-cost products for the bottom of the global pyramid.
  • Jay Keasling, one of the founding fathers of synthetic biology, will share his path-breaking work on new health and energy technologies.
  • Jonathan Harris, the mind-blowing interactive design star, will share his breathtaking work.
  • Ted Ames, the Macarthur-Award-Winning ecologist and Maine lobsterman.
  • Tom Barnett, the geopolitical and military strategist and best-selling author, who will explore America’s strategic challenges in the next 25 years.
  • Sam Barondes, the renowned neuropsychiatrist who will discuss the essence of human personality — what it is, where it comes from, and how it makes us who we are.
  • Robert Boroffice, head of Nigeria’s space agency, NASRDA, who will speak about how satellite technology can connect Africa.
  • Adrian Bowyer, creator of low-cost, open-source fabrication technologies will speak about how this breakthrough technology can be used to empower ordinary citizens around the world.
  • Louann Brizendine, neuropsychiatrist and expert on gender differences in the brain, will share her provocative work on how men and women truly do think differently.
  • Mustapha Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia and leading Islamic thinker, will speak about global peace.
  • Caleb Chung, legendary toy designer and inventor of the Furby, will share his latest “artificially alive,” animatronic creation.
  • Cary Fowler, the world’s seed banker and director of the Global Seed Diversity Trust, will share his efforts to create a “global seed vault” deep in a mountain in Norway.
  • Vanessa German, the urban slam poet will inspire us.
  • Dan Gilbert, the psychologist and best-selling author, will discuss human happiness and why we rarely hold on to it.
  • Krista Dong, MD, a front-lines AIDS worker in South Africa, will speak about an inspiring new initiative to help HIV+ people in the poorest communities.
  • John Legend, the Grammy Award-winning R&B artist, will perform and share his work on global poverty alleviation.
  • Joe McCarthy, global mobility researcher, will share his insights into how mobile devices are empowering people around the world.
  • Christian Nold, a technology artist, will demonstrate his work on “emotional mapping” technologies that show how people react to places.
  • Claire Nouvian, the noted deep-sea conservationist, will share some of her breathtaking work documents the deepest layers of the biosphere.
  • Alan Dugatkin, an expert in animal behavior will share his insights into the biological underpinnings of human goodness.
  • Nathan Eagle, the mobility expert from the MIT Media Lab, will share his research on the use of mobiles as a tool for social development.
  • John Esposito, the preeminent Islamic-studies scholar, will lead a discussion on the history and future of Islam.
  • Jeff Fisher, the healthcare psychologist will share his work on a promising new software tool in the fight in the fight against HIV.
  • Jessica Hagy, superbly comic blogger will share her hilarious illustrations.
  • Carl Honoré, celebrated journalist and chronicler of the Slow Food movement, will speak about the new dynamics of human culture.
  • Zainab Salbi, the founder of Women for Women International, will share lessons from her efforts helping women in post-conflict regions.
  • Bill Shannon, the indescribably talented street dancer will speak and perform.
  • John Shearer, technology entrepreneur, will share his potentially breakthrough ways of distributing electricity.
  • Paul Shuper, psychologist and HIV behavioral researcher, will share his work on a promising new software tool in the fight in the fight against HIV.
  • Elizabeth Streb, the award-winning choreographer will share her visions.
  • Charles Swift, the Navy lawyer charged with defending terrorists at Guantanamo, will share lessons on balancing human rights with security in the post 9/11 world.
  • Zinhle Thabethe, the front-line AIDS worker from KwaZulu Natal province, South Africa, will return to Pop!Tech to announce a significant new initiative to fight the epidemic in her home country.
  • Katrin Verclas, mobile activism researcher, will share her research on the many ways mobiles are being used a tool for social change.
  • Zoë Keating, the mesmerizing techno-cellist, will perform for us.
  • Sheila Kennedy, the architect and product designer, will relate her work on breakthrough new lighting technologies designed for the developing world.
  • Daoud Kuttab, the pioneering Palestinian journalist and new media expert, will share his thoughts on the impact of new media in the Middle East.
  • Kelly Joe Phelps, the mesmerizing blues guitarist, will perform.
  • Dan Pink, the noted journalist will share his thoughts on the rise of the creative economy.
  • Davy Rothbart, the founder of Found magazine, will share some his hilarious findings.
  • Enric Sala, the rising star of marine ecology, will share his work documenting the human impact on the oceans.