O'Reilly
February 26, 2014

Solid Heralds the Merging of the Physical and Virtual Worlds

Sebastopol, CA, February 26, 2014—The "punctuated equilibrium" theory asserts that rapid bursts of change upend the leisurely pace of species stasis, creating events that result in new species and leave few fossils behind.

Technology has reached the cusp of such an event. Call it the Internet of Things, the Age of Intelligent Devices, the Industrial Internet, the Programmable World, a neologism of your own choosing—it amounts to the same thing—the intersection of software, the Internet, big data, and physical objects. Ultimately, our entire environment will be connected and intelligent.

To mark this seachange moment, O'Reilly Media introduces Solid Conference, scheduled for May 21-22 at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

"As big data moves from the Web into the physical world, it's more important than ever that people who deal with software and people who deal with hardware and machinery understand each other," says Jon Bruner, who chairs Solid with MIT Media Lab's Joi Ito. "Solid is about creating an interdisciplinary mix of the sort that everyone—designers, engineers, investors, researchers, entrepreneurs—will need to tap in the coming year."

Chairs Ito and Bruner have drafted a stellar lineup of innovators, funders, and visionaries for the conference, including:

Solid is more show than tell. "This isn't about sitting in a conference room and getting your brain freeze-dried by PowerPoint presentations," Bruner says. "You'll see demonstrations of real networked products and participate in intensive colloquies with those leading us into this new era. People who come to Solid won't just be attending a conference. They'll be walking through a portal to a new world."

Early registration discounts apply until March 20.

If you'd like to know why we're doing Solid, and what we expect to see emerge there, join us for a livestreamed conversation between Tim O'Reilly and Jim Stogdill, Solid's GM. You can register in advance of the discussion, which takes place on March 12 at 11 a.m. PT.

About O'Reilly

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