Web 2.0 Summit Takeaways

Earlier this month Web 2.0 Summit took place in CA. I had received an invitation to this event where Al Gore, Mark Zuckerberg, Arianna Huffington, Jerry Yang and Lance Armstrong were among the many stars present. Unfortunately, I couldn't go.

In a blog post Mike Walsh provides his takeaways from Web 2.0 Summit. Mike's post provides a high level overview of what happened at Web 2.0 Summit.

Chris O'Brien writes about how Web 2.0 is just beginning.

New York Time has a write up on Al Gore and the Purpose Driven Web. BTW, Al Gore is now on twitter.

Jeremiah Owyang writes about Web 2.0 Summit in his post Web 2.0 Summit Gives a Purpose.

Sarah Blue writes A Wrap Up Letter On Web2 Summit.

I really wish I was there. Oh well, next time!

Meeting Mark Zuckerberg

Dave McClure's painstaking hard work in organizing Startup2Startup dinner paid off very well where Chad Hurley, co-founder and CEO of YouTube, was speaking. The star-studded event was one of the best I ever attended.

After spending the day hanging out with Dave, I arrived at Startup2Startup a little early so we can check on arrangements. Once at Sheraton in Palo Alto, we found that right next door, Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) was speaking at a Facebook corporate event.

As the Startup2Startup attendees started showing up, discussions started flowing. Facebook's staff wanted participants of Startup2Startup event to quietly socialize :) Dave decided to move the bar to the pool area.

I started hanging out at the bar, talking with the stars of Silicon Valley. Moments after the Facebook event ended, I spotted Zuckerberg talking with Chad Hurley near the pool side entrance. There, a desire lit up in my heart to meet Zuckerberg.

Before I knew it, my wish came true. There was a 2 minute window where Zuckerberg was free and I decided that I am not going to waste this opportunity. So I approached him and we started talking.

Zuckerberg is a very bright guy with deep insight. He was very easy to socialize with, a sign of a great CEO. We briefly discussed Facebook's growth in international markets such as Brazil among other things.

As we were parting, I asked Zuckerberg if I could have his card. He didn't have one but he generously gave me his personal email address.

I am thankful to Dave for inviting me to the event otherwise I'd not have met Mark Zuckerberg.