Tim O’Reilly Web 2.0 Keynote Issues Challenge to Go After Big Hard Problems

On Wednesday, Tim O’Reilly, CEO and Evangelist of O’Reilly Media gave the opening Keynote Address at Web2.0 Expo in San Francisco. His opening statement included “We are in the middle of an enormous change, we’re making a change in the world.”

He said “If you’re following the headlines, you can become confused.”

O’Reilly’s Keynote speech was brilliant and inspiring, talking about “the internet as the platform” noting there is a revolution going on, a huge change is under way, in the way the world works.

There may not be any money in doing the great things he talked about, but who cares, the things he talks about in the speech are worth doing. “I want to urge you to not follow the headlines … but to think about and go after big hard problems.”

At the end of the speech, O’Reilly jumped off the stage to read a poem, called “The Man Watching” by Rainer Maria Rilke that begins:

“What we choose to fight is so tiny!

What fights us is so great!

If only we would let ourselves be dominated

as things do by some immense storm,

we would become strong too, and not need names.”

Make a difference.

See the video for the complete Keynote Speech.

Tim O’Reilly Web 2.0 Keynote

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media seem to be confused about a lot of things. The CNet report on this keynote, says “It’s a sign that Web 2.0, with technologies such as wikis, blogs, tags, social networks, and collective intelligence, is maturing.” [ CNet ]

Web 2.0 is not maturing. No two people can even agree what Web 2.0 means, a sure sign of immaturity.

Write to comment AT newsblaze DOT com to give us your definition of Web 2.0.

Alan Gray is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of NewsBlaze Daily News and other online newspapers. He prefers to edit, rather than write, but sometimes an issue rears it’s head and makes him start hammering away on the keyboard.

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Alan has been on the internet since it first started. He loves to use his expertise in content and digital marketing to help businesses grow, through managed content services. After living in the United States for 15 years, he is now in South Australia. To learn more about how Alan can help you with content marketing and managed content services, contact him by email.

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Alan is also a techie. His father was a British soldier in the 4th Indian Division in WWII, with Sikhs and Gurkhas. He was a sergeant in signals and after that, he was a printer who typeset magazines and books on his linotype machine. Those skills were passed on to Alan and his brothers, who all worked for Telecom Australia, on more advanced signals (communications). After studying electronics, communications, and computing at college, and building and repairing all kinds of electronics, Alan switched to programming and team building and management.

He has a fascination with shooting video footage and video editing, so watch out if he points his Canon 7d in your direction.