World Economic Forum: Leaders get a taste of Web 2.0

Web 2.0 and social networking isn't just a subject up for debate at the World Economic Forum (WEF), it's a virtual ticket into the exclusive conference.

The forum, which started in Davos, Switzerland earlier today, brings together 2,400 leaders in business, politics and science.

Since 1971, the Davos forum has allowed a limited number of attendees to mingle with the world's elite. Now, interactive technology - think blogs, webcasts and yes, even Second Life - is allowing the general public a chance to ask questions and get involved, a nice tie-in with this year's theme, "the shifting power equation".

Mark Adams, WEF director of communications, said: "There's much talk about the hype surrounding Web 2.0 and whether there really is a sea-change in how the internet is delivering information to web users - but what is for sure is how many new opportunities we are getting to enlarge the Davos conversation and to include a far wider group of people both at the annual meeting and in the wider world to a truly global audience."

Those of us not quite important enough to garner a invitation to the WEF can watch 50 of the 228 sessions via webcasts and submit questions to participants via blogs, video and Second Life. The game is allowing members of their online world to connect with WEF attendees through Reuters' virtual bureau, complete with a real reporter. Avatar reporter Adam Reuters - or Adam Pasick, as he is known in real life - will direct questions to attendees such as commentator Arianna Huffington, musician Peter Gabriel and Linden Lab chairman Mitch Kapor. Can it be long before there's a Virtual World Economic Forum?

For those without an avatar, the WEF last week launched its 'bloggregator' to gather Davos-related news stories, blog posts and comments from across the web. Powered by the recently-launched Daylife news service, the Davos Conversation bloggregator also features WEF-themed blogs from media centres like the BBC and the Guardian.

"This is a cutting-edge experiment that, for the first time, gets together some of the most important new media voices and uses technology to allow individual conversations to be enlarged and integrated," said WEF founder Klaus Schwab.

In addition, the forum is continuing with its own blog. This year, every participant - including Microsoft chairman Bill Gates - has been asked to post at least once, though it remains to be seen whether all 2,400 attendees will answer the call.

As of this afternoon, the blog featured posts by representatives of non-profit organisations Witness and the Homeless World Cup as well as several from IT consultancy and outsourcing firm Infosys.

No Web 2.0 project would be complete without a wiki. The WEF's comes via side-project The Open Forum, a mini-conference for the general public to discuss the issues at hand. The entire programme will be placed on a wiki so readers worldwide can post questions and comments.

However, not all the new technology is aimed at opening things up to the rest of the world. This morning, WEF launched the World Electronic Community (Welcom) - "the world's definitive virtual community and a unique global governance tool powered by a web-based, community-oriented collaborative intelligence system". The exclusive, invitation-only site will connect Davos-types all year round, allowing them to share their thoughts without making the trip to Switzerland.

For Schwab, expanding past Davos and the limited numbers of attendees is the key reason for featuring wikis, blogs and virtual games. "Thanks to the tools and technology of the internet, we can reach an even bigger audience, share the outcomes of the annual meeting and create a global conversation on how to improve the state of the world," he said.

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