This last week I was in NYC and attended the 2013 Betaday, put on yearly by Betaworks.
It was a smaller, more intimate event this year, which was more similar to the first few Betadays – only 100 attendees which made for better networking overall and not being overwhelmed by all the people there.
IMHO it also heralded a second coming for Betaworks, on the heels of an amazing Hacker In Residence (HIR) program, managed by Paul Murphy, formerly of Aviary and Microsoft.
Back in January of this year, Paul had told me of his plans for the HIR program. Attract super multi-talented hackers; give them the full support and resources of Betaworks; let them build whatever they want to build. Out of it came a pretty wide (and awesome!) assortment of products:
Poncho – Personalized weather reports
Telecast – Handpicked video, delivered daily
Dots – A game about connecting
Blend.io – An open Collaboration Network for music creators
Giphy – search animated GIFs on the web
And not to mention recent product launches outside the HIR program which were equally awesome:
Rushmore.fm – stay up to date with your favourite artists, show off your current jams, and connect directly with the artists and labels you love.
Tapestry – Exclusive short stories presented in a beautiful and unique reading experience on mobile.
Done Not Done – The to-do list for things you want to do, not the things you have to do.
AND…can’t forget the acquisition of Digg last year and the recent acquisition of Instapaper, both significant additions to the collection of products in the Betaworks portfolio.
Being an investor in Betaworks, I’ve been a part of the family since 2007 when I first met John so many years ago. I’ve watched Betaworks’s evolution over the years, and it seemed that in recent months, they had substantially increased the output and influence of its operations. For this, I am supremely elated, and Betaday was the perfect time to celebrate our recent developments.
Betaday was held at The Foundry in Queens. A very cool spot for an event, it was also quite an adventure getting there and wasn’t sure I would get back home OK.
As always, it was a gathering of both Betaworks family members and notable people in the industry. The witty Baratunde Thurston was our host, and the speaker set was great this year. We saw presentations and talks from:
Ricky Engelberg, Experience Director of Digital Sports at Nike.
Emily Bell, Professor of Professional Practice & Director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia.
Marc Ecko, American fashion designer, entrepreneur, investor, artist, and philanthropist.
The Gillmor Gang, featuring Steve Gillmor, Robert Scoble and his Google Glasses, Doug Rushkoff, media theorist and author, Paul Davison of Highlight.
Gilad Lotan, the in-house data expert at Betaworks.
Paul Murphy presenting the fruits of the HIR program.
My personal favorites were the talks by Ricky Engelberg and Marc Ecko.
Ricky gave a great overview of Nike’s thinking and strategy with all their digital products, with the latest being the Fuelband. They see the Fuelband is the beginning of a whole line of digital products that motivate you to greater health and fitness. I’ve always been fascinated and impressed by Nike’s strategic thinking, which is very much aligned with their marketing and advertising. It was great to see them using 3D printing to design their next generation shoes, and someday soon, they will be 3D printing them as well. As a guy who believes that hardware is a huge trend, Ricky’s view of the world is one I share where digital devices can enhance our lives greatly.
Marc Ecko’s talk mirrored his upcoming book, Unlabel: Selling You Without Selling Out. It was an open look into his life and his pursuit of design, influence, and fame, and then seeing it come nearly crashing down into bankruptcy. It made him realize what was most important in life and it wasn’t bowing to the thinking of others, but rather really finding who you are and not compromising that. I look forward to reading his book when it comes out this fall.
Many kudos to Lauren Piazza, Betaworks operations manager, and her team for putting on a stupendous event. I thoroughly enjoyed Betaday 2013 and look forward to many more. As always, it is an honor to be part of the Betaworks family.