Web Summit is like an MBA in e-business in but a few short days; exhausting but fulfilling. Yet, for the 53,000 at the Web Summit, showing up is the greater part of success, with serendipity playing its ever-present role at an event like this. Online version for shares - http://www.communicatemagazine.com/features/2016-november/summit-of-success/

1. Feature: Lisbon Web Summit
Communicate November 201618
T
he Web Summit, as in the formerly-
known-as-Dublin Web Summit, has
successfully launched in Lisbon to
great local and international fanfare.
It was a monumental success for the
city and country, bringing an estimated economic
injection of around €200m, not to mention new
profile opportunities stemming from its success. The
good folk of Lisbon embraced the throngs of suits and
cases as they flooded the streets for the now renowned
Night Summits. The city handled the 53,000 visitors
without issue and the summit’s main stage became the
mantlepiece for global tech spokespeople to lean on.
Even the Vatican had it’s digital envoy on stage to talk
of the changing roles of technology and the internet in
an increasingly complex world.
In these times of mass media, marketing and the
proverbial message, it shows the power and indeed
influence of ‘showing up’ to such an event as the Web
Summit, now in its sixth year. To those physically up
to bolting from talk to talk, there was much to see,
yet it’s impossible to capture and track all the talks,
for the dozen or more simultaneous presentations,
pitches and panels run alongside each other. It’s
like an MBA in e-business in but a few short days;
At this year’s Lisbon Web Summit, Hubert Grealish, managing director of GWorks,
reports on AI, digital change and communications through uncertain political times.
What were the highlights of the global digital communications event?
Summit of success
exhausting but fulfilling. Yet, for the 53,000 at the Web
Summit, showing up is the greater part of success, with
serendipity playing its ever-present role at an event
like this.
Upon arrival at Lisbon, there was a brilliant
welcome with free wifi at the airport, with the links
to download the event app directly. One US tech
company founder who arrived via London said he was
travelling to Lisbon via ‘Brexistan,’ to look to ways
of building bridges out of the United Kingdom. He
said this was the only way to risk limiting the digital
business to but one bloc, but the Brexit vote defeated
his ‘open-in-Europe’ aspirations. There is much interest,
at least passively, in the prospects of what Lisbon
can offer. Especially after some degree of controversy
leaving its original home of Dublin, where remains the
main head office.
Opening the Web Summit, Antonio Costa,
Portugal’s prime minister, announced the government’s
plan to invest €200m in local startups as well as to lure
internationals to setup there. To a strained economy
this is a major commitment, yet one which needs to be
made, as the nature of ‘startup’ is in itself, the nature
of ‘hope.’ Hope, yes, though innovation certainly
plays a role in fostering startups. While it is far behind
From left: Delegates
watch the main stage
at the Web Summit,
KPMG’s use of Lisbon’s
iconic funicular cars,
the Night Summit in full
force and the Nook
in action.
Untitled-1 18 01/12/2016 14:30

2. Feature: Lisbon Web Summit
November 2016 Communicate 19
that of Dublin or other European capitals in terms
of inwards investment, Lisbon has the low rent and
close proximity to other cities, giving it the potential
to become a more prominent place for business.
Especially for startups and the hordes of increasingly
mobile, freelance and self-styled workers populating the
digital communications industry.
At Monday evening’s Digital Nomads dinner, there
was a great sense of occasion to annual events such
as the Web Summit.The informal networks that arise
through global events are often where real ideas are
shared and facilitated.
The bulk of serious foot-fall happens between the
many stages and panel areas at the summit with the
majority of actual networking and celebrating taking
place each night on one of the two streets specially
reserved to entertain the group after dark. A jovial
atmosphere ensued at all times. Even the US SXSW
contingent had a party of its own, to lure folk west
to its own unique event in March 2017. The night
summit is a sort of friendly football match, but for
tech talk. To the tens of thousands around, the famous
Portuguese hospitality made for an enjoyable week, a
positive sign for the summit’s first year in residence in
the Iberian capital.
Even non-technology firms may have a place at the
Web Summit. Moo.com was there with a full stand to
promote ye olde business cards. Bristol-based movable
meeting pod firm Nook.do found there was much
interest in its phone-charging, almost 2D cosy hubs,
where media, investors and delegates could grab a few
minutes of privacy without leaving the view of the
open floor. Some journalists found them useful for
their briefings as well.
Stephen Carroll, business editor at France 24 said,
“The Nook pods allowed us to get quiet focused time
with very busy individuals in an otherwise extremely
noisy and active environment.” A view echoed by other
media too as the units provided a quieter ‘Nook village’
of hubs to get a few mins work done or have a meeting.
CEO and designer David O’Coimin says he was
inundated at the WebSummit with queries of further
interest, as agencies seek to spruce up their offices
and one-to-one meeting zones. Yet, he was surprised
some of the media popped in to use them as well for
briefings. “It’s been very cool for me to have the CEO
of Renault Nissan Alliance being interviewed by French
TV in the Nook,” said O’Coimin.
Despite more of communications and networking
heading online, events still have a role to play. They
creat a sense of unity as attendees and business leaders
alike experience the unique opportunity to meet
t
The rate of innovation in
chatbots, AI and machine
learning will accelerate now.
The digital industry is gushing
resources into it at the same time
as some of the world’s greatest
thinkers – the likes of Elon Musk
and Stephen Hawking – are too
Untitled-1 19 01/12/2016 14:30

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4. Feature: Lisbon Web Summit
November 2016 Communicate 21
and share congress. The summit’s organisers swiftly
recognised this years ago from their student house
in Dublin. They set out plans to do a then-modest
Dublin Web Summit, hoping to excite and inspire the
industry. Before then, how many self-styled ‘leaders’
of any type had been to a summit? The language
employed by the Web Summit is focused on value,
prestige and presence, though I doubt even its founders
could have foreseen just how much the tech industry
has taken that to heart. And surely there’s more to
come with the summit promised to Lisbon for at least
another two years.
The Web Summit now has such a strong brand, it
is country agnostic and free to roam anywhere it may
choose. As with the other events run by Web Summit
– Rise in Hong Kong, Collision in Las Vegas and
others – there will be more stages and events for these
increasingly global ‘mega meetups.’
Then there’s the fearful edge of artificial intelligence.
Still in it’s infancy, yet of great interest and focus.
Normally communicators don’t know how to
define such AI talks, though there were some amazing
innovations to see in this space. The rate of innovation
in chatbots, AI and machine learning will accelerate
now. The digital industry is gushing resources into it at
the same time as some of the world’s greatest thinkers –
the likes of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking – are too.
But the rise of AI will have implications on human
communications too. According to David Marcus,
Facebook’s vice president of messaging, adding a
chatbot to a brand or company page will increase
engagement threefold. That’s without any added
human resource on the company side. Though the
reality, at least currently, does not reflect that benefit.
Many users cite spam on Facebook’s newsfeed and have
tired of its forced Messenger talk.
Perhaps in the future, people will be able to tweet or
message their thoughts, without a phone or a keyboard.
But the world didn’t need technology to gauge the
shocked reaction to the US presidential election, right
in the middle of the Web Summit.
Dave McClure of 500Startups’ outspoken and
emotional call to ‘stand up’ to Donald Trump was met
with rousing applause and cheers. Despite all the buzz
of the Web Summit, Trump was on everyone’s minds
and everyone knew the world outside was changing.
Tech seemed to be sidelined for moment, with the
consensus being to lean in more and use the existing
tools to make the world better before things get
any worse.
Katz Kiely, founder of BEEP, who presented
on ‘people powered digital transformation,’ was
optimistic. She says we have the required tools
to make change, “We just need to join the dots,”
she said. The uncomfortable truth is clear that the
unexpected turn of events was in many ways driven
by technology. However, Kiely points out that the
solutions are available as well to engage: connectivity,
AI, behavioural psychology, and crucially, more
affordable data and robotics can all help manage the
explosion of conversations and engagements. This
will be particularly relevant in times of turbulent or
accelerating change, when hysteria or the collective
mood may shift quickly.
Design is increasingly powerful too, in conveying
digital disciplines and value. “The future is always
exciting, looking back and looking forwards is the
magic,’’ said Miranda Willer of London-based visual
design consultancy Pentagram, who spoke on the
importance of design at the Web Summit.
The Lisbon WebSummit is massive. The 21 stages
and talks mean its go big or go home. For brands, the
only way to cut through now is to go large and hit it
big. The event has well and truly arrived globally now,
showing it can mobilise to a new country with ease.
As with communications and product-market
fit planning, to win at events like the Web Summit,
brands need to hit some critical mass ahead of time; to
bring up their values. By all means necessary. Get the
product as tight as you can, hone the stories and put
in the required leg work on and offline, every moment
you can.
To the valid and increasingly pertinent innovations
in mass-emotional context, as with SEED and its
measuring of employee motivation and mood,
companies will likely seek to please and appease with
more AI and chatbot functionalities.
However, the most amusing and engaging tales and
brand stories will ultimately remain human. Indeed
at the summit, one startup lead described to another
what exactly a ‘hustler’ is. “A kind of illegal guy or card
player,” he said, reminding us that some events and
things in life will always remain priceless. n
015 16:02 Untitled-1 21 01/12/2016 14:30