New tech that’s changing the world – A review of the top 10 award winners from #Netexplo 2014

I have had the good fortune to be associated with the Netexplo Observatory* since its creation. In case you have not come across it, Netexplo is an independent observatory that studies the impact of digital tech on society and business. Founded in 2007 by Thierry Happe and Martine Bidegain, the pinnacle event is the Netexplo Forum, held at the UNESCO HQ (Netexplo partner along with the French Senate) in front of over 1,600 people, including key figures and decision makers in business, media and universities. The Forum is viewed by some 30K through streaming. Via a global network of tech trend spotters, the Netexplo Observatory identifies and awards the most interesting new technologies based on their usage, how they are impacting individuals, enterprise, society and/or government. In short, Netexplo looks at new tech for how it’s changing our world.

Netexplo 2014 Forum

Each year, the Forum goes from strength to strength. At Netexplo 2014, held from March 26-28, we innovated by having one of the three days held entirely over the web, so a propos for a new tech conference. Another novelty this year: we decided to ask an elite external panel of new tech experts and influencers (see below for who they are) to review the top 10 award winners. The Grand Prize winner was Wibbitz, but all of the top 10 elicited strong reactions from the panel.

Discover below, via this interactive presentation (on Slideshare), the top ten Netexplo 2014 award winners and the external experts’ opinions. For each award, you will find a short write-up with a link and a summary of the experts’ opinions. On the following page, you can find a short video that explains the concept.

Netexplo 2014 – Elite External Panel

This panel of experts, who come from four continents (8 different countries), included in alphabetical order:

• Dr. Adriana Garcia Martinez, @drigarcia, Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Co-founder at Orbitalab, Fellow at Stanford University.
• Erik Hersman @whiteafrican, Nairobi, Kenya. Technologist, blogger and commentator who specialises in the impact and application of technology throughout Africa.
• Emiliano Kargieman, @earlkman, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Founder and CEO at Satellogic, Founder at Aconcagua Ventures and Founder at Core Security Technologies. Speaker at TEDx.
• Bernard Moon @bernardmoon, San Francisco USA / Seoul, South Korea. Co-founder & General Partner at SparkLabs Global Ventures, a seed fund. Partner at SparkLabs, a startup accelerator in Korea. About Bernard
• Dr. Shirshendu Mukherjee, Delhi, India. Strategic Advisor for the Wellcome Trust.
• Gerd Leonhard, @gleonhard, Basel, Switzerland. CEO at The Futures Agency. Media Futurist, Keynote Speaker, Author & Blogger. Website
• Steven Levy, @stevenlevy and on Google+, New York, USA. Senior writer at Wired, author of 7 books, including Hackers, Artificial Life, Crypto, Insanely Great, and The Perfect Thing, and most recently, In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives. Website.
• Toby Shapshak @shapshak, Johannesburg, South Africa. Editor and publisher of Stuff Magazine, Columnist for the Financial Mail, Strategist and Speaker (TED Global in June 2013). Website
• Greg Verdino, @gregverdino, New York, USA. Futurist, consultant, author, blogger and keynote speaker. Website
• Orli Yakuel @orli, Tel Aviv, Israel. Web Analyst, Blogger and Consultant at Go2web20. About Orli

Thanks again to the panel for dedicating their time and providing their valuable feedback.
Would love to have your own comments!
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*I am the International Media Director for Netexplo.