Web 2.0 Conference to Return in 2005, Announces Initial Speaker Lineup of Internet Industry Leaders and Influencers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2005--

Overwhelming Support Received From Leading Industry Figures and Businesses For Sequel to Successful 2004 Web 2.0 Conference

“The program at Web 2.0 2005 will be both fun and inspiring, and will also delight attendees with its insights, visual breadth, and a sense of humor.”

O'Reilly Media, Inc. and MediaLive International, Inc. today jointly announced the second annual Web 2.0 Conference. The second edition of the Web 2.0 Conference will build upon its 2004 launch, which featured top Internet innovators and entrepreneurs discussing and debating the most important issues and strategies driving the Internet economy. The 2005 Web 2.0 Conference will do the same, bringing together the leading Internet industry figures and companies to focus on innovation and technology developments spanning the Internet, communication and entertainment industries. Web 2.0 will maintain its intimate setting, allowing attendees to make connections that will be vital to their business strategies. The 2005 Web 2.0 Conference will take place October 5-7 at the Argent Hotel in San Francisco.

"Revving the Web" is the theme for the 2005 Web 2.0 Conference, reflecting the conviction that the web is being transformed into a new application and business platform. This conference is the gathering place for the people and companies, such as returning sponsor Yahoo!, whose entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas are fueling the next stage of the Internet economy. The content of the 2005 Web 2.0 Conference will focus on three major areas that are likely to change both technology and business models: innovations in infrastructure and interfaces for web-based applications; media and entertainment; and communications and mobile technology. Web 2.0 will explore these themes through short individual presentations, known as the High Order Bit, as well as with high-level interviews, lively panel discussions, and a few new surprises - all with ample time for audience participation and Q&A. All of this will be informed by a fourth area of focus, namely policy and legal issues that create opportunities and threats to Web 2.0 growth.

Web 2.0 speakers and attendees include a blend of entrepreneurial innovators in the Internet economy space along with technologists, senior-level executives at large companies, financiers and analysts who understand the importance of Internet-based innovation on traditional business models. 2005 Web 2.0 Conference speakers named to date include:

-- Jeremy Allaire, Founder, BrightCove

-- Mitchell Baker, President, Mozilla Foundation

-- Tom Barton, President & CEO, Rackable Systems

-- Rob Burgess, Chairman, Macromedia

-- Stewart Butterfield, President, Ludicorp

-- Scott Cook, Co-Founder & Chairman of Executive Committee, Intuit

-- Mark Cuban, Owner, Dallas Mavericks; Co-Founder and Chairman-HDNet

-- Sky Dayton, CEO, SK-Earthlink; Founder, Boingo Wireless

-- Mark Fletcher, Founder & CEO, Bloglines

-- Mary Meeker, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

-- Ray Ozzie, Founder, Groove Networks; Incoming CTO, Microsoft

-- Philip Rosedale, Founder, Linden Labs/Second Life

-- Mena Trott, President, Six Apart

-- Evan Williams, CEO, Odeo; Co-Founder, Blogger

Many more speakers will be added to the roster as the program is developed. In 2004, the Web 2.0 Conference featured more than 90 speakers, including Marc Andreessen, Marc Benioff, Jeff Bezos, Mark Cuban, John Doerr, Lisa Gansky, Mitchell Kapor, Mary Meeker, Danger Mouse, William H. Janeway, Kim Polese and Jerry Yang.

"We view the attendees at the event - be they audience members or speakers - as the key individuals responsible for 'revving the web,' since they are 'makers' of Web 2.0," said John Battelle, Web 2.0 Program Chair. "The program at Web 2.0 2005 will be both fun and inspiring, and will also delight attendees with its insights, visual breadth, and a sense of humor."

"We're in a period of radical technological and business-model change, and we're finding that the rules of business are different," said Tim O'Reilly, CEO of O'Reilly Media, Inc. "The web is no longer a media play; it's the infrastructure for the next generation of applications, which treat the network, rather than the PC, as their platform. The Web 2.0 Conference is the gathering place for those who understand how to leverage those new rules, and those who want to learn from them."

The Web 2.0 program will explore topics such as intellectual property and copyright, closed versus open systems, international law and custom, the media industry's execution of video over IP, DRM and legacy business models. More information on Web 2.0 workshops, sessions, speakers and special events will be announced in the months ahead. For more information about Web 2.0 Conference, visit www.web2con.com.

MediaLive International and O'Reilly Media will be partnering again in 2005 to produce this event. O'Reilly Media is the premier information source for leading-edge computer technologies. MediaLive International, Inc. produces the world's top technology events, including NetWorld(SM)+Interop(R), Next Generation Networks(R), VoiceCon(R), Seybold Seminars(SM), the Collaboration Technologies Conference, Mobile Business Expo, GTEC and many other major expositions, conferences, and custom events.

About the Web 2.0 Conference

The Web 2.0 Conference is an exclusive thought-leader gathering focusing on emerging technologies and innovation on the Web. This conference brings together the brightest minds and broadest thinkers in the space, each of whom shares the belief that the Web has emerged as a solid business platform. The event reviews the current landscape, what is on the horizon and why this information matters to the "business geek." It crosses a variety of industries and will be a meeting ground for the influencers that share the common outlook that the Internet offers extraordinary opportunities for innovation in products, services and business models. Web 2.0 Conference will take place October 5-7, 2005 at the Argent Hotel in San Francisco, and will be produced by MediaLive International, Inc. and O'Reilly Media, Inc.

About MediaLive International, Inc.

MediaLive International connects companies to the markets they serve through media properties, software tools and marketing solutions that educate buying communities, deepen relationships between buyers and sellers, and fuel market growth. MediaLive International's media brands encompass the IT industry's largest exhibitions, including NetWorld(SM) +Interop(R), as well as highly focused educational programs as Next Generation Networks(R), VoiceCon(R), Seybold Seminars(SM), the Collaboration Technologies Conference, Mobile Business Expo, GTEC, the Web 2.0 Conference and respected publications including Business Communications Review and The Seybold Report. The Wingate Studios division delivers the industry's leading end-to-end event management software platform WingateWeb and professional services -- including strategic planning, technical integration, analytics and event programming -- that help companies produce their own live marketing programs. MediaLive International is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco, with offices throughout the world. For more information about MediaLive International, visit www.medialiveinternational.com

About O'Reilly Media, Inc.

O'Reilly Media, Inc. is the premier information source for leading-edge computer technologies. The company's books, conferences, and web sites bring to light the knowledge of technology innovators. O'Reilly books, known for the animals on their covers, occupy a treasured place on the shelves of the developers building the next generation of software. O'Reilly conferences and summits bring alpha geeks and forward-thinking business leaders together to shape the revolutionary ideas that spark new industries. From the Internet to XML, open source, .NET, Java technology, and web services, O'Reilly puts technologies on the map. For more information about O'Reilly Media, Inc. visit www.oreilly.com.