Apple CEO Steve Jobs will be a guest when Wall Street Journal technology columnists Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher co-produce an executive conference, ” D: All Things Digital,” that will focus on the impact of digital technology. The event, hosted by The Wall Street Journal, will be held in San Diego, California, May 27 – 29.
According to The Journal, there’ll be no canned speeches, huge panels, sales pitches or PowerPoint presentations. Instead, some of the most influential people in the digital world — including Bill Gates, Steve Case and others — will appear on stage for a series of unscripted interviews with Mossberg and Swisher. The “D” audience will be limited to roughly 300.
The conference will focus on the premise that the digital tidal wave continues to gain momentum, despite the sluggish economy, and that people in the business and tech world need to focus on its opportunities, as well as its dangers and disruptions.
Besides Jobs, Gates and Case, other participants will include: Barry Diller of USA Interactive and Vivendi Universal Entertainment; Meg Whitman of eBay; Terry Semel of Yahoo!; Brin and Larry Page, the founders of Google; Jack Valenti of the Motion Picture Association of America; Hilary Rosen of the Recording Industry Association of America; David Pottruck, the CEO of Charles Schwab; and owners of the Dallas Mavericks and the Washington Capitals.
The “D” conference will kick off with a dinner featuring Gates, followed by a full day of on-stage interviews. Next will be a wine tasting hosted by The Journal’s wine columnists, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher. On the last morning of the conference, Mossberg and Swisher will present a technology demo session, featuring first looks at cutting edge digital products and services.
Corporate sponsors of “D: All Things Digital” are Adobe, Kyocera, and Hewlett Packard. For conference details and to register, go to The Wall Street Journal Web site. Early bird pricing for the conference is US$2,495, and will increase to $2,995 after March 28.