If there was a seminal moment when the principles of the consumer-focused, crowdsourced Web 2.0 all came together, it was probably the publication of a book called The Cluetrain Manifesto in 2000. One of the book’s co-authors was David Weinberger, a senior researcher with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard and a visionary thinker about the web and how it is changing our lives. We’re really pleased to have him as a keynote speaker at mesh 2012.
In addition to co-writing The Cluetrain Manifesto, David has also written several other books about the impact of the web and digital networks, including Everything Is Miscellaneous and Small Pieces, Loosely Joined. His latest book, Too Big To Know, is a thoughtful examination of how human knowledge is being fundamentally altered by the web — mostly for the better.
One interesting footnote: while he may be attached to Harvard now, David also has some strong ties to Toronto — it’s where he got his doctorate in philosophy, from the University of Toronto (his dissertation was on Heidegger, in case you were wondering) And we are delighted to welcome him back to the city to join us in a discussion of open science and the future of human knowledge at mesh 2012.
Tickets for mesh, which happens on May 23 and 24 at the Allstream Centre, can be purchased here – regular tickets are $679, while student tickets are $99.