I just submitted two proposals to speak at the O’Reilly Open Source Convention this summer.
I spoke at last year's conference but I was filling in for someone else so I didn't prepare a talk ahead of time (besides, my talk was more informal, merely an overview of what was happening in the Jabber community). Here are the two proposals I submitted -- send me feedback if you think they can be improved upon, since I have 24 hours to make changes...
Saving Time and Money with Presence and Instant Messaging
Knowing when someone is available and being able to communicate with them immediately can save you time and money. These two concepts -- presence and instant messaging -- are beginning to permeate the electronic world. For example:
- Cell phones are used for exchanging short text messages.
- Company directories show the availability of each employee.
- Distributed work teams use online "conference rooms" to meet in real time.
This talk focuses on open-source presence and instant messaging technologies that can help organizations cut costs and make teams more productive, without compromising security.
That's the first one -- it's intended to fit in with this year's theme of "Do More With Less" (really, that's the theme of the conference!). The second one is more strategic:
Open Source, Open Standards
While open-source projects can truly thrive only in an environment of open standards, reality is not always so clear-cut. Where the software ecosystem is controlled by closed implementations, open-source projects can survive only at the margins, mainly by reverse-engineering the closed protocols (e.g., Samba). Where open standards rule, open-source projects can attain effective ubiquity (e.g., Apache). Where the situation is more complex, there is an opportunity for open-source projects to drive the standards process (e.g., Jabber). In this session we will explore the dynamics of open source and open standards, focusing on how open-source projects can be successful no matter what environment they find themselves in.
We'll see if the good folks at O'Reilly find either of those interesting. :-)