When Beau Ambur acquired the Flashforward Conference and Film Festival, he had a vision for what he wanted to do. “The vision is to inspire everybody to do what they are really capable of doing with Flash™ technology and what Flash is able to do as a whole.” Beyond bringing the 9-year-old conference home to its roots in San Francisco, Beau has a few ideas about how to make this conference one to remember.

Beau envisions not an alteration, but an expansion, of the current Flashforward Conference platform. In past years, the conference has focused on education and development; and while Beau has no plans to eliminate this, he hopes to extend education to include inspiration. “I want to create a platform for those interested in Flash to learn and develop themselves and do more and more with the technology. While I think that education is still very important… I’m looking at the bigger picture, and the impact of the future of the Internet and interactive technology as a whole.” Essentially, the aim of this ‘new platform’ is to encapsulate and embrace how very pervasive the Internet has become and how it has affected everything.

To achieve these aims, Beau has applied a “3-P” ideology; Passion; Professionalism; and Partnership. 2008 will focus specifically on Passion. “Passion is pushing the limits. Passion is obsession. For many it is the creativity to express themselves in a unique way.” This year, the conference aims to ignite something; to inspire attendees to tap into their passion; to create, generate and envision ‘outside the box’.

Beau realizes that passion can only carry one so far. “The longer view is where professionalism and partnership really come into play. It’s been a passionate community since its beginning in 2000.” Beau hopes that his new conference platform will encourage attendees to walk away seeking an equilibrium between “bringing professionalism into the industry while being fun and creative. All the while, recognizing the collaboration, partnership, aspect – how well you work with others – not just get along, but develop broader alignments. That’s the energy the community can use to turn the industry into something that is broader and spans across different entities.”

Flashforward alumni and fans needn’t be worried about the new conference platform. Beau isn’t ignoring the success of the previous roadmap. There will still be familiar names, familiar topics, and the conference will remain centered on Flash technology. “We are very much aiming to have the same community spirit and energy around being able to connect with people that has been there throughout the years.” Beau stated. The goal is not to take away from previous conferences, but simply to bring new value, interest, energy and direction to it. For returning and new members alike, the goal is to “really create one experience as a whole. As Flashforward it will still have a lot of the same feel and elements; and we’re aiming to reinvigorate the experience in new ways.”

For returning members, expect something fantastic and fresh. For new members of the community, get ready for an experience unlike anything else. All Flashforward2008 attendees should prepare to leave San Francisco with a new sense of your own passion and vision.

See you in SF!
Maya & The Flashforward team

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 7:22 pm and is filed under Flashforward News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.