Since the mid-1990s, millions of users and thousands of companies have started settlements on the Web. Some business models have struck it rich, and some have gone bust, but nearly everyone agrees, there’s gold out there. What’s exciting is that there are no hard and fast rules in this wild frontier, so there are many discoveries yet to be made. New technologies, new content types, and access to an unprecedented number of Internet consumers are blending into a lucrative opportunity for savvy content owners and buyers. Clare Hart will discuss how content owners and buyers can profit in this new environment and whether new media and social publishing are changing the definition of trustworthy content. Learn how you can be a successful prospector in the online frontier, then talk about it with your peers.

See BSEC Wiki - Conversation Groups page

Hear how these otherwise traditional information companies have blended user-generated content and media formats into their service offerings with great results.

Hoover’s is integrating blog content and social networking/relationship mining capabilities into its traditional business information offerings. It is also paving the way for users to augment and enhance existing editorial content. Paul Pellman will discuss how the company has overcome the potential perils and pitfalls of publishing content not subject to editorial review, negotiating with bloggers, and monetizing blog traffic.

The challenges facing today's B2B publisher are not unique. They are classic business transformation challenges that arise from innovative and disruptive technologies. Tom Cintorino will talk about generating and implementing nontraditional media formats and user-generated content in PennWell's Fire franchise. He will focus on the organizational aspects that must be overcome and cover the processes involved from concept to delivery.

Consumer Reports has opened its publishing platform and started accepting user-generated reviews. The initiative involved a lot of rethinking, as the publisher grappled with both its mission and its relationship with its users. Daniel Harrison tells what Consumer Reports learned about encouraging user participation, integrating data from users, listening to what people want, and making it all earn money. 

Legal publisher and aggregator LexisNexis has come to realize the importance of blog content to its customers and now includes blog content into its feeds. Jonathan Hoy will discuss why blogs have been added to LexisNexis, how customers use them as part of their daily workflow, which topics they use most, and why the blogs are important as part of the company’s transformation to a "Total Solutions" provider.

Hear John’s thoughts on what's happening with social networking and user-generated content, then continue the conversation over lunch.

A conversation with:
Knowledge Management Consultant David Gurteen, Gurteen Knowledge and Dick Kaser, V.P. Content, Information Today, Inc.

An independent knowledge consultant, educator, and coach, David Gurteen helps people share their knowledge, learn from each other, innovate, and work together effectively to make a difference in each other’s understanding of complex situations.

For more details, see BSEC Wiki - Speaker's Pages

Most widely distributed content, whether news or data, used to be free (or nearly so) in its original print or broadcast form. You turned on your TV and watched ad-supported shows. You purchased a print newspaper for a nominal price. The exception was for narrow data and information interesting to only a few (usually business) people. Today, almost nothing is too narrow to an online audience approaching 1 billion people. Some people find this intimidating, fearing its impact on their businesses and on their libraries, while others exult in the tumultuousness of a rapidly changing electronic environment.

What do you think? Carry on the conversation in small groups…

A stunning sunset viewed from Mummy Mountain is the setting for this casual evening networking event. Wear your boots and jeans — and don't forget your cowboy hat — and relax with friends and continue discussions inspired by the day's sessions. Enjoy margaritas, Coronas, and a delicious Southwestern dinner under the stars — and among the best and the brightest in the content industry.