Web Directions Summit 2017

Session Details

Chris Messina

Lessons from the Death of the PC

Chris Messina Inventor Hashtag

If 2016 was the year that apps became conversational, it’s been a long time coming. As messaging apps eclipse conventional social networks and our environment is increasingly hooked up with the internet, new opportunities arise to create increasingly personalised experiences for individuals, groups, and teams, as well as lessons to take from the slow demise of the PC.

Additionally, several new messaging and voice platforms have emerged, putting us on the precipice overlooking a broad shift in how technology is designed and serves people. We're seeing new hardware and embedded technologies emerge that spell new paradigms for user experience, voice experience, and conversation experience.

With all of these changes seemingly happening at once, there are considerable questions confronting businesses about how, when, why, and even if they should get involved. Join Chris Messina as he guides you through why this is happening now and how to participate and evaluate whether joining the conversational product revolution makes sense for your business.

Chris Messina

Chris Messina is a product designer, writer, avid Twitterer, and speaker who’s known for inventing the hashtag.

He works with developers, product designers, entrepreneurs, and communities to bring to life projects that should exist but don’t. His superpower is pioneering initiatives before most people realise they’ll be important, for example: co-organising the community that launched Firefox, creating Google Developers, opening the first coworking spaces on earth, and starting BarCamp (the unconference). He’s currently chasing down a trend he calls “conversational commerce” in the bot/messaging space. He was previously lead developer experience at Uber.

Messina has worked at scales both large and small and tries to maintain a humble, shapeshifting, curious perspective. His experiences have taught him to question authority, while acknowledging the help he had getting to where he is today. He brings these lessons to his work, and sharpens his peers by challenging them to question their baseline assumptions.

Don't miss your chance to see Chris Messina and many other inspiring speakers at Web Directions Summit.

Tickets start at $999, for two in-depth days with the world's leading product, design and engineering experts.

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Two big tracks, one Product/Design, one Developer focused, plus stellar keynotes and much more.

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Praise for past Web Directions events

Phil Whitehouse
Web Directions is the must-attend event of the year for anyone serious about web development.

Phil Whitehouse,
Innovation Lead DigitasLBi

Ethan Marcotte
I’ve been admiring the Web Directions events for years, and was honored to be part… What a fantastic event!

Ethan Marcotte,
inventor "responsive Web design"

Dave Greiner
Out of any conference, Web Directions is far and away our favourite

Dave Greiner,
founder Campaign Monitor

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