Went to Pop!Tech, Oct. 19 -22. This was my 5th year attending. I had a great time. Camden, Maine is beautiful this time of year. 
I thought the panels at the conference were excellent. The format for Pop!Tech is to present 2 or 3 panelists, each having 30 minutes. Following all of the presentations the presenters are brought onstage as a group for questions and answers. One of the more interesting aspects of Pop!Tech is the makeup of the panels. Many times I wonder why they chose these particular panelists to share the stage. And sometimes it does not work very well. Most of the time though, I am pleasantly surprised by the relevance of each presenters subject matter to the particular topic.
I won't go into detail about all of the presentations. There were many bloggers at the conference, a list of them are located at the Pop!Tech 2004 home page. The "Emerging Worldviews" panel, with Philip Longman, Joseph Chamie, and Thomas Barnett, appeared to have a bit of tension. I liked it. You could feel the tension in the hall.
The panel that I related to most was "New Solutions" with David Bornstein and Ethan Zuckerman. And the individuals that left me with some things to think about were Bruce Mau, Ben Saunders, David Bornstein, Alex Steffen, and Ethan Zuckerman.
Ze Frank was by far the funniest person I've seen at Pop!Tech. He's also very talented and intelligent. Also, Eloma Simpson Barnes was unbelievable delivering a speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr. She brought tears to my eyes. Her voice sounds like Dr. King but what truly resonates is the content of his speeches. You can understand how he could move an entire nation with his words, intelligence, and deeds.
One of the great aspects of Pop!Tech is the opportunity to talk with the presenters in an informal setting. It was great to meet and talk with Ze Frank, Barry Schwartz and Richard Alley. I only regret that I didn't get the chance to talk with more presenters and people who attended.
There are many pictures of the event located at Flickr. And you can stream or download the speaker presentations at IT Conversations.
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