Greatest Minds in Technology Head to Thinking Digital Conference

NEWCASTLE-GATESHEAD, England, May 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- Kurzweil, Greg Dyke, 'Fake Steve Jobs', Multimap Founder & More to 
Speak

Some of the sharpest minds in technology, digital marketing and mobile
will head to North East England from around the world later on 21-23 May to
discuss the ideas and technologies that are set to fundamentally alter the
way people live and work.

Ray Kurzweil, a futurist who predicts computer intelligence will surpass
human intelligence in 2029, Aubrey de Grey, a biogerentologist who says we
can engineer a cure for the ageing process, and Greg Dyke, the former
director general of the BBC, are amongst the eclectic line-up of speakers at
the inaugural Thinking Digital conference, which will take place at the Sage
Gateshead, NewcastleGateshead, on 21-23 May.

Delegates will also be treated to what are expected to be the first UK
demos of Microsoft's much-anticipated Live Mesh - which synchronises data and
connects multiple devices.

An exclusive audience of 400 people is expected at the two-and-a-half day
event to hear from an eclectic mix of speakers including key players from
some of the world's leading digital agencies and media organisations, such
as:

- Sean Phelan, the founder of Multimap

- Sean Clayton, software plus services lead at Microsoft, who will
be demonstrating Live Mesh on stage

- Dan Lyons, the senior editor of Forbes magazine, who was outed
last summer as the man behind The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs, a satirical
blog about the CEO of Apple

- Gerard Grech, strategy and business development director, Orange
Group, Content Division

- Matt Locke, commissioning editor for Channel 4 Education

- Jessica Flannery, chief marketing officer for Kiva.org, a web 2.0
social enterprise that helps entrepreneurs in developing nations

- Tara Hunt, community marketing guru, co-founder and chief
marketing officer of Citizen Agency

- Daniel Pink, Al Gore's former speechwriter and author of A Whole
New Mind, which charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern
economies

Herbert Kim, programme director for Thinking Digital, says the broad
scope of the conference makes it the first event of its kind in the UK: "As
technologies get more and more sophisticated and complex, they're driving an
ever-greater need for concerned and informed individuals to meet face-to-face
in order to better understand the changes in our world, digest the future
trends we face, and think creatively about what we can do."

The conference will kick off on the afternoon of 21 May with a series of
workshops. The talks will begin on day two, with sessions on the future of
media, the 'network effect, technology and even happiness. The final day will
include sessions on globalisation, mobile 2.0 and management in the digital
age.

The Thinking Digital conference is being organised by Codeworks, North
East England's centre for digital innovation. It will take place at the Sage
Gateshead and Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art on 21-23 May. For more
information and to book seats, visit http://www.thinkingdigital.co.uk

Notes for editors

About Thinking Digital

The Thinking Digital conference is an annual event where 400 outstanding
individuals gather to take part in an exclusive conversation about
technology, ideas and our future. The conference is run by Codeworks, a
centre for digital innovation based in North East England. See
http://www.thinkingdigital.co.uk for up-to-date information on speakers.

Sponsors & partners to date include: Microsoft, BT, BlueBoomerang.com,
New Media Age, Chinwag, TechCrunch UK, E-Consultancy, The Journal, BBC
Backstage, Madgex, the Mobile Entertainment Forum, Nigel Wright and Twenty
First Century Media.

All media enquiries:

Lewis Harrison; Codeworks; +44(0)191-556-1128; +44(0)7867-674-994, 
lewis.harrison@codeworks.net