shipley

Looking back on Demo 09: Hope springs eternal

Last week's Demo 09 conference in Palm Desert, Calif., reminded me of my high-school reunions. The people were familiar but the energy level wasn't quite what it used to be. And like those reunions, there were lots of people who didn't show up.

Demo, which has been around since 1991, is a place for companies large and small--but mostly small--to announce new products. While some products this year were from established companies like Qualcomm and Symantec, most came from start-ups or very small companies that have been laboring in obscurity.

They come to Demo hoping to be … Read more

Chris Shipley gives a Demo sneak peek

I chatted with Chris Shipley (you can listen by clicking the podcast link below) as she was getting ready to launch Demo 2009, where 39 companies plan to introduce new products.

Shipley gave me a sneak preview of what to expect, including a new screen capture product from Citrix Online (of GoToMyPC), some "hard-core development platforms," and consumer technologies, including a live streaming Web service for individuals from Avaak.

There will also be a new Netbook computer "that fits in a space between an iPhone and a laptop" and a product that is "putting a … Read more

Arrington: I'll go to Demo 'if we're invited'

It looks like Michael Arrington has changed his mind about the value of the Demo conference in the wake of the announcement that VentureBeat CEO and editor-in-chief Matt Marshall will be taking over the tech conference after this year.

And, more notably, he's indicated that his tech conference, TechCrunch 50, won't be held at the same time as DemoFall this year, as it famously was in 2008.

"I'll certainly go to (DemoFall)," Arrington said Thursday. "I think we're on different weeks this year."

DemoFall 09 is scheduled for September 21-23 in San … Read more

Chris Shipley 1, Internet lynch mob 0

On the eve of the dueling demo-fests, Demo impresario Chris Shipley confesses that she has had it with the shoddy reporting, invective and arrogance that has attended most of the commentary on the phony faceoff between her conference and TechCrunch.

Her post deserves to be quoted at length:

When in a twitter I bemoaned the lack of original reporting (only one reporter (cnet) and exactly zero bloggers writing this week about this silly DEMO v TechCrunch episode actually contacted me), the infamous blogger Robert Scoble suggested that if I'd blog my opinion, he'd link to it. Does that … Read more

Are Demo and TechCrunch50 fragmenting their audiences?

Update, 12:36 p.m. PDT: Business Week now says it is planning to send a reporter from its print side to DemoFall to complement the online reporter it is sending to the TechCrunch50.

If you're a fan of high-tech product announcements, next week could well be heaven for you.

That's because starting Monday, both DemoFall and TechCrunch50 begin, each of which showcases dozens of brand-new products. And on Tuesday, Apple has scheduled one of its semi-regular press gatherings at which CEO Steve Jobs is sure to unveil some hot new iPod, Mac, or iPhone models--or some combination … Read more

Cat fight! Arrington calls attention to Demo-related plagiarism claim

In a move guaranteed to stoke the fire of confrontation between the upcoming TechCrunch 50 and DemoFall conferences, TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington has decided to publicly air a bit of dirty laundry involving some plagiarism charges against his conference partner, Jason Calacanis.

On Saturday, Arrington posted Calacanis' suggestions for how start-up companies presenting at TechCrunch 50 can best present themselves and their products or services.

But on Sunday, after a blogger named Alexander Muse republished Calacanis' e-mail on his own site, Muse got an e-mail from a former Demo PR woman named Deb McAlister, alleging that much of what Calacanis … Read more

My take on Calacanis' view of the TC50/Demo kerfuffle

I'm reading Henry Blodget's story on Jason Calacanis' rant about how the Demo conference organizers are to blame for the scheduling conflict that pits TechCrunch 50 against DemoFall. And I have to say, I'm a little dubious of Calacanis' statements.

According to Calacanis--who gave Blodget an "exclusive" interview on the matter despite telling me Wednesday that he was deferring to TC50 co-organizer Michael Arrington on the matter--the conflict is all Demo's fault.

(Arrington, by the way, set the tone for the environment by telling me, bluntly: "Demo needs to die.")

Demo Executive … Read more

Arrington: 'Demo needs to die'

The scheduling of the TechCrunch 50 conference, which was announced Wednesday, has pit it directly against DemoFall, a long-standing event geared toward entrepreneurs and their products.

And while TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington and CEO Heather Harde insisted in interviews late Wednesday that their selection of September 8-10, 2008, as the dates for TechCrunch 50 was about the availability of an affordable San Francisco venue, Arrington also made his feelings about Demo clear.

"Demo needs to die," Arrington said in the interview. "It's just an old-school model...It clearly involves pay to play, and what we're … Read more

TechCrunch 50 scheduled to overlap with Demo

For years, the Demo conferences--one in the spring and another in the fall--have dominated the mindshare of the technology press and venture capitalists eager to see the hottest start-ups and new products at their public unveilings.

But now, Michael Arrington and Jason Calacanis have scheduled their TechCrunch 50 event--which will showcase 50 hand-selected start-ups--to overlap with DemoFall.

And besides the cachet that comes with being selected for the TechCrunch event--Arrington said in a blog post this afternoon that the 40 companies that participated last year have raised $143 million in venture capital to date--one major selling point for companies that … Read more