The Media Futures Conference was a one day exploration of the dynamics and trends shaping the future of media. Attended by 250 people representing a cross-section of disciplines and roles, it hosted thought-provoking presentations, panels and lively debate, while showcasing innovative projects.

Please see the Discussion and documentation page for all references to documentation.

The full text of Alex McKie’s Research in the real world talk has been published in the Overview.

Video of the What is the media for today? debate has been posted to the Reports and Commentary section, thanks to Robin Hamman, along with links to many Weblog posts about the session, including one from panelist Charlie Beckett.

A link to slides from Philip Slade’s ‘Talking to teenagers’ show and tell has been added to the Track 3: Provocations and Show and Tells page. Martin Huckerby’s provocation from the same session has also been added: “It seems we cannot predict massive change without presuming that the medium affected will necessarily vanish, when precedents suggest that adaptation is far more likely” he argues.

A link to Bill Thompson’s reflections on the Track 2: Openness and innovation session he chaired can be found in the Reports and Commentary section. “We need to explore the complex relationship between expressiveness and creativity and openness, and perhaps be a lot clearer about what we mean by ‘open’” he writes.

Wireless Internet access will be available for Conference attendees, provided by BT OpenZone. The service will be being tested, so don’t rely on it working, but it should work fine. We will be encouraging you to contribute to the event ‘Twitter channel’, post reflections to the session pages, and write about the event in your Weblogs and elsewhere. For more information, see the Discussion and documentation page.

The conference site has now moved to the Prepare stage and we would like to encourage you to review the overviews posted by many of the presenters for their keynotes and introductions. In his opening keynote Dr Brian Winston will argue that “[Predictors] see technology as conditioning society… it is actually the other way round”. In the What is the media for today? debate Andrew Keen will argue that “[W]e increasingly regard citizenship in terms of self-expression rather than self-knowledge”. And in his closing keynote Norman Lewis will argue that “We ought to take a sceptical view of the notions that user generated content or ‘open innovation’ paradigms represent the starting point or solutions for future innovation in the Media”. The Programme page links to all presenter and session information, including preparatory reading, listening and viewing.