http://www.nextbillion.net/blogs/2007/11/05/pop-techs-net-impact-pun-intended Comments for "Pop!Tech's Net Impact (Pun Intended)" en http://www.nextbillion.net/blogs/2007/11/05/pop-techs-net-impact-pun-intended#comment-18512 Thanks for bringing these events to our attention. Well written.<br class="clear" /> Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:05:53 -0500 MrBill comment 18512 at http://www.nextbillion.net http://www.nextbillion.net/blogs/2007/11/05/pop-techs-net-impact-pun-intended <p style="padding: 5px; float: left;"><img src="http://www.nextbillion.net/files/images/PopTech.img_assist_custom.gif" alt="" title="" class="image img_assist_custom" width="175" height="175" /></p>What&#39;s the net impact of <a href="http://www.poptech.com">Pop!Tech</a>?  I&#39;ve been thinking about my time in Camden, Maine a lot lately - never more so than while I attended the <a href="http://www.netimpact.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=5">2007 Net Impact conference</a> this past week in Nashville (see, pun very much intended.)  In all seriousness however, my trip to Tennessee prompted the following questions: what is the impact of Pop!Tech and what will it do next?<br /><br /><p style="padding: 5px; float: right;"><img src="http://www.nextbillion.net/files/images/NetImpactLogo.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image img_assist_custom" width="102" height="93" /></p>These questions are not accidental; the Net Impact conference&#39;s theme this year was, in fact, <em>What Will You Do Next?</em>  With 1800 attendees and up to <a href="http://www.netimpact.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&amp;subarticlenbr=1384">16 sessions at a time</a> (!) there is no one answer from Net Impact.  Despite the wide variety of experiences among attendees, the conference managed to communicate a clear theme: get it done.  <br /> <br /> Part of that theme stems from the fact that Net Impact attracts mostly MBA students - they are all about starting a business or at least working with organizations that address social and environmental problems.  I saw MBAs eager to be the next <a href="http://www.sunedison.com/aboutus-management.php">Claire Broido Johnson</a> (of SunEdison) or <a href="http://www.biz.colostate.edu/faculty/paulh/">Paul Hudnut</a> (of EnviroFit) - two perfect examples of people who are &quot;doing it next&quot; through their work.  <br /> <br /> (Side note: check out Paul&#39;s excellent blog, <a href="http://bopreneur.blogspot.com">What&#39;s a BOPreneur?</a> and his <a href="http://bopreneur.blogspot.com/2007/11/naive-and-unoriginal-but-optimistic.html">report from Net Impact</a>.)<br /><br />Pop!Tech, on the other hand, is just beginning to dip into the &quot;get it done&quot; arena.  This year&#39;s conference, <a href="http://www.poptech.com/overview2007/"><em>The Human Impact</em></a>, seemed to be a departure from previous events.  Quite a few attendees described previous Pop!Techs as gadget-fests, featuring the latest innovative products and concepts.  This year&#39;s conference, on the other hand, gave a lot of stage-time to problems, mostly environmental degradation and persistent poverty.  I&#39;m not sure the old-school Pop!Techies were happy with this shift, even though the conference did a marvelous job pointing out the innovative tools, models, and ideas that are indeed changing the world - and featured some great &quot;get it done&quot; types, like <a href="/blogs/2007/10/18/pop-tech-innovation-from-the-bottom-up">Jessica Flannery</a> and <a href="http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2007/10/20/poptech-green-collar-jobs/">Van Jones</a> (among others.)<br class="clear" /><p><a href="http://www.nextbillion.net/blogs/2007/11/05/pop-techs-net-impact-pun-intended">read more</a></p> http://www.nextbillion.net/blogs/2007/11/05/pop-techs-net-impact-pun-intended#comment Miscellaneous Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:50:58 -0500 Rob Katz 4798 at http://www.nextbillion.net