As the weekend warms up to TechCrunch50, 2009, my mind is bubbling with anticipation. One of the lucky ones to get to upgrade my iPhone, I’ve been enjoying faster speeds and more storage. I almost wet myself like an excited puppy when I saw the image/video slider. And now the iPod Nanos have video, FM and a pedometer that transmits wirelessly to Nike. I guess big brother plays basket ball.
Providing coverage at TechCrunch events is always interesting. Jason’s dogs are wandering around on a leash behind him, in bows, something that seems more at home LA than here in SF (here they hold deeper connotations.) Some celebrity is there. MC Hammer. Ashton Kutcher. This year, Penn and Teller. Hoping for some new tricks. Arrington is spotted periodically back and forth through the venue, usually trailed by nervous, pubescent CEOs and his own posse (kickin’ up dust) — truly he can’t stand still for long without being surrounded. It’s packed. Hard to find a seat. A little warm. Wifi spotty. Thinking about that ice cold water in the hallway. Step outside to get it. Run into your next partner or VC making himself some tea, completely unattended. Held hostage in a new city, entrepreneurs from all over the world are rubbing elbows at the parties, and forming alliances. An intense two days, well worth the ticket cost for anyone who wants to do business in the new world.
It’s a good time to get off that cell phone and talk face to face. After all, web innovators care less about the pitfalls and dangers of creation, than they do about potential brain cancer. Solutions to those problems are likely to be found with computing power, both human and machine.
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