Palm Desert

Kara Visits Demo09!

Kara Swisher in News on March 3, 2009 at 10:00 am PT

There was no doubt, given the continuing economic collapse and all the joy that brings, that Demo09 was going to be a much tamped-down and sober affair this year. But there were still a lot of interesting start-ups being featured in the main ballroom and demo “pit,” such as a cool “touch book” offering, a strange hooking-up-in-a-bar smartphone app and a plethora of ideas that obviously got their inspiration from the iPhone from Apple. As in: touch, swipe, interact! (Which is the official BoomTown motto, in point of fact.) Here’s a video I did of Demo09, which ends today.

Yahoo Tries to Bake Up Some Sales Excitement in the Desert

Kara Swisher in News on March 2, 2009 at 4:09 pm PT

I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name/It felt good to be out of the rain/In the desert you can remember your name/’cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain. Actually, for Yahoo, which is holding its big annual meeting of the company’s advertising sales staff in Indian Wells, Calif., maybe just a little pain since BoomTown is only a scant few miles away, as the crow flies, attending the Demo09 conference in Palm Desert. The Yahoofest will include an appearance by its energetic new CEO, Carol Bartz. Don’t worry, Yahoo PR, I will not crash the proceedings or be bribing the bartenders to get more leaks. But you Yahoos should still be careful with the wine in the hot tub anyway–as Carol says, loose lips sink ships!

Demo Duo Chris Shipley (Outgoing) and Matt Marshall (Incoming) Talk!

Kara Swisher in News on February 25, 2009 at 8:26 am PT

This past weekend, BoomTown revved up the Mini and headed out in the pouring rain to a Peets Coffee in Fremont, Calif., to the exact spot where Demo Executive Producer Chris Shipley proposed that VentureBeat founder and Editor-in-Chief Matt Marshall take over the longtime bi-annual conference where several dozen start-ups strut their stuff in front of an industry crowd. Shipley will still be running the show at Demo09, starting Sunday in Palm Desert, as well as the next Demo this fall, with Marshall working alongside until he takes over fully in 2010. Here’s a video of the pair talking about the changeover.