I’m really looking forward to the MarkLogic User Conference 2009 for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, the roster is outstanding — especially, the keynote presenters. But, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I have a favorite.
That person is James Surowiecki, a rock star in the crowdsourcing arena, a regular contributor to The New Yorker, and the author of the much-acclaimed book The Wisdom of Crowds. In this, now 5-year old work, part sociology text, part business book, Surowiecki explores why it’s better to trust groups of people to solve problems, make smart decisions, and foster innovation, than it is to trust even the most brilliant individual (or, small groups of smart individuals, for that matter). It’s loaded with examples and lots of common sense. It touches on concepts every content professional should understand today, including the division of cognitive labor (why science operates the way it does and the benefits of such an approach), coherent flow (useful to understand traffic jams and related information flow challenges), and much more!
“The crowd’s judgement is,” Surowiecki writes, “going to give us the best chance of making the right decision, and in the face of that knowledge, traditional notions of power and leadership should begin to pale.” And, as these examples show us, the crowd is working wisely — and likely, overtime — in organizations around the globe.
Also on the keynote roster are three equally brilliant individuals: Whit Andrews (Vice President and Distinguished Analyst at Gartner), Stephen Arnold (President of ArnoldIT and a technology and financial analyst ), and Dr. Daniel J. Clancy (Engineering Director for Google Book Search). Each of these gentlemen are experts in their chosen fields and will no doubt provide outstanding food for thought.
Whit Andrews, a research analyst, specializes in Digital Asset Management, the Hostile Information Ecosystem (a really interesting topic!), and componentized content (the management of which is one of my areas of specialty). I’m keen to hear his talk about the future of information access. I’ve got some ideas on that myself, but I’ll wait to see what he’s go to say!
Stephen Arnold, a search and content processing guru, has a great blog, where he covers all sorts of topics related to search, text mining, and content management — including some great interviews. He specializes in helping organizations move “beyond search”, something that’s needed in today’s business world. His presentation, “Multi-Dimensional Content: Enabling Opportunities and Revenue” explores ways we can use real-time search utilizing what he calls, “no friction slicing and dicing” of content. I expect this presentation to generate lots of ideas.
Dr. Daniel J. Clancy has an ultra-cool job. He’s involved in the Google Book Search project. Its goal is to digitize the world’s books and make them searchable online. A huge time-saver for students and a great resource for bloggers like me. I used the service to find content for this blog post. Clancy’s presentation at MarkLogic User Conference 2009 is entitled, “Impact of the Google Book Search Settlement” in which the search giant settled a class action lawsuit with authors and publishers. This is certainly an interesting topic and it brings up all sorts of issues. I am interested in his views and can’t wait to hear the questions that will come from the audience.
Of course, the keynoters are extraordinarily good at this event. And, the breakout sessions are equally noteable. But, don’t take my word for it, download the conference program and see for yourself.
