This was the 10th year in a row Web Summit has been held. It started in Dublin and has been at the Expo in Lisbon for the past three years. The conference had 24 different tracks at the same time. It deals with trends, innovation, and technology, with topics such as robots, AI, machine learning, tech start-ups, how to use technology in marketing, content, communication, and design, and in recent years also music and mindfulness. This year there were about 70,000 participants during the four days of the conference.
Focus on the UN’s sustainability goals
Expo in Lisbon is a solid area with several halls and a large arena. The space between the halls offered food trucks with something to eat between sessions. There were many exhibitors present, and of course, the largest companies were there. Large areas in the halls were also set aside for start-ups to allow them to share and pitch their good ideas.
One focus area that was visible throughout the whole conference was sustainability – where they have used several of the UN’s sustainability goals. These include the goals of eradicating hunger, as well as responsible consumption and production. Food waste from the conference was given to those in Lisbon who needed it, and 30,000 water bottles were distributed in collaboration with the Mirpori Foundation. Several water refill stations had been set up to reduce plastic use.
The fair also focused on reducing inequalities and increase gender equality through several partnerships, including Booking.com – which created a meeting arena for women in tech. This was a benefit for the whole conference, in my opinion.
Inspirational opening ceremony
The opening ceremony featured none other than Tim Berners-Lee. It was very exciting to hear him talk about “it was 30 years since I started this web-thing”, and about how he developed World Wide Web in 1989. His main message was to convey the meaning and importance of the work that The World Wide Web Foundation does. This organization, which he founded in 2009, works with digital equality. They aim for everyone to have an equal opportunity to improve their lives.
Furthermore, the opening ceremony continued with big names like Lisa Jackson from Apple who talked about how one can do good business and still keep the environment in mind. Among other things, she talked about the new MacBook Air, which is made entirely of recycled aluminum. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General was also there, talking about how to build a digital future that is both secure and profitable for everyone.
Robots
I attended some lectures that were about robots and their place in society, and I found them very interesting. During a panel debate about how robots steal our jobs, this question came from the audience: “I lost my job for an algorithm that is actually much better than me. Should I learn how to code to beat the algorithm?”. The answer was that we should not try to compete with the robots, but rather that we should educate ourselves and that more jobs will come because of the robots. The discussion was also helpful about tax payment of robots and if so, what this tax is to be used for. One suggestion that the whole panel agreed on was that the tax should be reinvested in education and that one of the most important skills is learning how to learn.
We also got to meet the robots, Sophia and Han. It was incredibly fun to watch them keep a conversation going, as well as to see the new technology they acquired, such as facial mimicry and to recognize if the person they were standing across from was sad or happy. The title of the lecture “How long until robots rule the world” must’ve been catchy, since thousands of people attended in the largest arena of the summit. That in itself was a bit surreal.
Authenticity – everyone loves it!
I often think about what Laila Pawlak from Singularity University said at Oslo Innovation Week:
The more technology we get, the more human we have to be
This cam across during this conference, too. Most success stories focus on being based on what is recognizable and authentic. This was evident in examples from Netflix, Alexander Wang, Google and Live Nation. It is about storytelling – telling the story. Google’s UX Director Jens Riegelsberger talked about how creativity comes through empathy, and that by focusing on the end-user, everything else will follow, pointing to the development of Google Maps as an example of it.
Greg Peters, Netflix’s Chief Product Officer, gave the lecture “Sharing the world’s greatest stories through technology”. He pointed out that demand is enormous for authentic content from around the world and that people want what they can recognize themselves in. Examples of series he recommended are La Casa De Papel, The Rain, and Elite. “Great stories can come from anywhere, and they can travel everywhere”. This with help from technology. We also got to know that a new series from Norway will be released next year on Netflix called Ragnarok – it will be exciting!
A star is born
Brand content becomes authentic in practice. “If you make good premium content, people will come” was Heather Perry’s important message. She is President of Film and Television Production in Live Nation. Live Nation creates a platform, a home, for musicians – where they can play concerts, reach out to their audience (Ticketmaster) and produce documentaries and films. They have, among other things, made the documentary about Lady Gaga featured on Netflix and the successful film “A star is born”. The latter, Perry told, they managed to get because of their opportunity to promote the film and reach out to the right audience – in addition to having access to record all the songs live on various stages around the country.
Rewarding panel debates
It was evident that this was Europe’s largest conference with so many big names to give lectures and to attend the conference, such as the UN Secretary-General and Tony Blair. It is also worth mentioning the panel debates. They were led by journalists and program hosts, which led to good dialogues and discussions, making it extra rewarding. I haven’t seen this at other conferences. There was also a hall where the audience could submit questions to the panel that sat on the stage. The lectures lasted from 5-25 minutes which resulted in many exciting lectures within a few hours.
Before I go to large conferences, I think carefully about the purpose of my visit. Is it networking, meeting new people or is it something else that is the driving force? This time, for me, it was to be inspired. Take part in the big trends and get refills. I am already looking forward to next year’s conference!
