The one thing that all imaging industry executives share — be they manufacturers, retailers or service providers — is that they could use a better crystal ball to see what the future will bring them in the next 2 to 5 years. What opportunities and problems are coming at them? What new image capture, enhancement, display, and output capabilities will they need to grasp and master in the coming years?
The 6Sight Future of Imaging Conference was conceived to help imaging executives not only see what the future will bring them, but to give them some ideas about how to maximize the opportunities and overcome the problems that lie ahead.
Held on November 18-20, 2008, 6Sight The Future of Imaging is an executive-level conference that explores the transformative impact of recent and forthcoming imaging technologies on businesses, homes, and communities. Technologists, marketers, futurists, artists, educators, high-volume users and members of the media come together to preview breakthrough technologies, envision innovative uses, and spark new ideas and alliances that promote the interests of the participating companies and the industry as a whole. The program emphasizes interactivity, rich media presentations and high-level networking connections among participants.
6Sight was created by Future Image, an independent center of expertise on imaging technology and publisher of The Future Image Report, and is co-produced with the Association of Imaging Executives (AIE), a PMA member association of photo imaging leaders who shape the strategic growth of the global imaging industry. The 6Sight event is made up of two full days of single track conferences in the Steinbeck Forum at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, Calif.
The Imaging Tech Fair, located immediately outside the Forum, is a display of dozens of the most exciting imaging technologies available today as well as some still in development. Attendees can spend as much time as they like getting up close and personal with the technologies and their developers. What makes 6Sight truly memorable is the networking with executives from the worldwide imaging ecosystem.
Although the 2008 program is still being developed, we’ve just announced two of the keynote speakers:
• Bill Lloyd, Kodak’s Chief Technical Officer, will describe the technological challenges that need to be solved to make “Press the Button 2.0” (today’s version of Kodak’s original message of “you press the button and we do the rest”) a reality and will discuss technologies that can remove complexities from the imaging process and allow consumers to enjoy the digital imaging experience. He will explain the role that can be played by artificial intelligence, image understanding, ubiquitous networking, automated image tagging, hybrid display/input devices and much more.
• Guy Kawasaki, the founding partner and entrepreneur-in-residence at Garage Technology Ventures, will present his views on the imaging revolution that is affecting the way people communicate at home, at work and in their communities as part of the AIE annual meeting held at 6Sight on Tuesday, November 18.
But 6Sight is much more than the most exciting and interactive conference sessions you are likely to encounter this year. It is a lot of intangibles, so let me answer some questions that you might have in mind.
Who will you meet at 6Sight? 6Sight brings together senior executives from a multitude of industries involved in imaging from technology to telecommunications to content providers, industry analysts, and members of the media to explore the trends driving imaging. 6Sight 2007 was attended by more than 250 senior executives from around the world who participate in the imaging ecosystem, and 2008 is expected to be a significantly larger event. The question is not who you will meet, but who you will miss if you don’t attend this year.
What will you see at 6Sight? The Imaging Tech Fair is where new imaging technologies debut. In 2007, 16 companies introduced products or services at 6Sight to investors, media, analysts, and imaging leaders. The Tech Fair is the place where new technologies are often seen for the first time and seriously considered by those influencing and promoting the leading imaging products and trends from around the world. It is the place where you can get your hands on the technologies and come face-to-face with the developers who will impact your business and your industry in the next 3 to 5 years.
What will I take away from 6Sight? Ideas about what products to prepare for in the future. Deals that will accelerate the success of your business. Relationships rekindled and new relationships formed that will mean more to the success of your business than can be measured in the bottom line. Introductions to more imaging executive decision-makers than you can meet at any other single place and time this year.
What is 6Sight? In summary, 6Sight is the first and only high-end “Experience-Event” (like TED, D, Web 2.0, DEMO) focused on imaging. Simply put, if you don’t understand your future in imaging, how can you profit from it? yy
This column appears courtesy of the organizers of the 6Sight Future of Imaging – By Joe Byrd, co-Founder & President of 6Sight Conferences
