View from the Industry

“Data is a tool and if you think about all kinds of tools, whether it’s a car or even something like a knife, a chef’s knife can make a Michelin star meal, it could also be a weapon of murder. So it’s the intention, and how it’s used is an important aspect there.”

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie discusses his use of data at fashion giant H&M

“When entrepreneurs are asking for super majority or super voting controls, we get to point at WeWork as an example of why that’s probably not the best thing for the organisation and the rest of the investors. With WeWork, we certainly learned that lesson around governance.”

SoftBank Vision Fund managing partner Jeff Housenbold explains why the company’s investment in WeWork was an “idiosyncratic experience”

Image courtesy of Brandon Hooper on Unsplash

“In many ways, Open Source has won. Most people understand that Open Source provides better quality software, at a lower cost, without vendor lock-in.”

Dries Buytaert, CTO and co-founder of Acquia, discusses the value of Open Source, hype on the web and software regulation

“This is a tribal, polarising figure; he is the chief of the red tribe and If you give me that Twitter feed, I can tell you exactly what he's thinking about why he's doing that, why he is saying that, and who he is trying to trigger.”

Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director, ponders US President Donald Trump’s use of Twitter

Image courtesy of Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash

“The participation, I think, of the attendees is much broader than ever before, because there’s no constraint or cost of travel and accommodation.”

Paddy Cosgrave, CEO of Collision and Web Summit, reflects on the company’s success in moving its events online and ponders the hybrid future of conferences