Search is no different than other technology or application development. At the most general level you are faced with a basic causality dilemma in the effort to improve and evolve. Where should the primary effort be focused, on the user or the technology? Despite differing approaches panelists from Technorati, Ask, Idee and Jukester agree that whatever route you choose the goal is the same, providing the user with the most relevant results in an easy to use format.

Virtual worlds, 3-D computer simulated environments, are moving beyond strictly physical interaction according to Michael Zyda, Director of USC Viterbi School of Engineering's GamePipe Laboratory. He discusses the possibilities of adding entirely new emotional components to games and training tools. Phillip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, follows with a demonstration of the types of content, and entire communities, being created by the 700,000+ residents of Second Life, a 3-D, fully simulated recreation of the real world.

Usama Fayyad, Chief Data Officer at Yahoo! believes that if the Internet is going to continue to grow, it will require a dedication to scientific excellence and the ongoing development of new scientific foundations. Many of the concepts and technologies upon which the Internet is based are still in the infancy stage, and display a lack of substance when challenged scientifically. Yahoo! has built a world-class team of scientists dedicated to the task of building this new science for the next generation Internet.

This panel discussion, also referred to as Web 2.0 Meets the Enterprise, takes on the tough questions about innovating in large, established companies. Drawing on experiences with firms and in fields where change doesn't necessarily come easily, Sanford, Polese and Park offer valuable insights into the many factors involved in innovation, including culture, pace, communication, business process, and intellectual property. Find out their perspectives on aiming for the right balance when it was time to introduce innovation in the traditional enterprise.

As one of the oldest and largest technology companies, IBM must continually transform itself to stay on the cutting edge of innovation. To lead this challenge, Linda Sanford draws on the experience and advice of CEOs and experts from across the disciplines to gain a global innovation outlook. In this talk, she shares the "six degrees of innovation" which can keep a company sharp and ensure that technology is combined with leadership to help solve real world problems.

On-line communities built on social software let people connect, share, create and communicate. How different are these virtual gatherings from collaboration in the real-world? Can users be trusted? This thoughtful panel delivers company perspectives on successful community building through mail, messaging, blogs, wikis and telephony. The panelists find the web is transformative in some ways, but still often parallels real life; success lies in harnessing the positive creativity of the majority while moderating the harmful tendencies of a few.

Craigslist is the electronic version of a flea market. Unlike the typical corporate site, Craig Newmark, founder and customer service rep for Craigslist, believes that the regular user is the person who can best police things and that the biggest mistake he could make would be a failure to trust. He admits that things aren't always perfect, particularly with spam and organized scams, but that by nuturing the good guys, the response will be positive.

Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems, sits down with Supernova host Kevin Werbach, to discuss the technology industry and what he views as the key opportunities for his company. He says Sun will differentiate between those who view IT as a cost center, and those who will use IT as a means of growing their business. Sun wants to focus on the latter, and with the proper investment in R&D, provide the products these companies will rely upon to connect themselves to their communities of interest.

As the internet becomes a greater factor in our day-to-day lives, the role of all forms of media is rapidly changing. Dan Gillmor leads a diverse group of entrepreneurs to discuss the evolution of the internet from a platform for text and pictures into a platform for every sort of media. [Supernova 2005 audio from IT Conversations]

Several new services offer free storage and bandwidth for creative works submitted by anyone. Among them are Open Media Network, described here by Mike Homer, and Ourmedia.org, described by Marc Canter. Quite different in their architecture, they share the goal of giving the masses a way to publish creative works. [Supernova 2005 audio from IT Conversations]