Tag: baglan rhymes

Internet freedom differs from country to country which together with the constantly changing online landscape makes it quite hard to say whether Internet freedom is an existing phenomenon at the moment. People are social beings, we talk to each other, exchange information and emotion and this is what makes us human. The fast and easy access to information and the social interaction online has opened a door for Internet in our lives. At Webit.Festival Europe the Chief Digital Officer of AnchorFree Inc. Baglan Rhymes talked about the importance of Internet freedom. AnchorFree focuses on this topic because it aims to provide secure and anonymous access to information on the Internet to every single person on the planet. In reality, we take the online information and bring it into our physical world. This has an impact on who we are, our preferences, philosophies and the society we live in. In the world of today, the Internet is becoming less free. Many governments use it to take down content they don’t approve of or to launch cyber attacks against their critics or other governments. Censorship has taken control over free speech. It is important to understand the difference between the methods of suppression and those of censorship. Suppression of free speech doesn’t have to take sophisticated forms of technology. Most often it has a political or a legal aspect and it requires vigilance which governments and the police have. [caption id="attachment_5183" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The Chief Digital Officer of AnchorFree Inc. Baglan Rhymes[/caption] Censorship, on the other hand, takes a lot of technological forms. Such a complex and constantly evolving system as the Internet can be adapted for propaganda and manipulation. Social media in many countries is a very politicized and polarized tool which if used correctly can send a convincing but also a leading message. The media diversity shrinks and this results in many people turning into alternative sources of information. According to Baglan Rhymes:

“Social media has been spectacular in busting censorship and creating a challenge in the social sphere.”

In the United States this role of social media has an impact on economy and trade. The country is most successful when the packaging and the messaging of the goods sold overseas, not the government propaganda or the military force, export the values of freedom and creativity. In reality, some of America’s best products exported abroad are in the form of downloading an application, accessing a website, streaming a movie or listening to music. People don’t have access to the culture and the values of America if their freedom on the Internet is restricted. Important companies as Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook export many of their products via the Internet and this is the only way they can reach consumers. Therefore, Internet freedom should be a priority for the US policy. Research shows that now there are 2.5 billion smartphones and 5 billion feature phones. It is expected that in a couple of years these feature phones will come online. The digital weapons in our hands in the face of social media, blogs and Wiki will make the way people access information and consume it a matter of life and death. The Internet is powerful enough to influence a change in any government regardless of it being democratic or not. It is our responsibility to respect that power and not to take the Internet freedom for granted. As Baglan Rhymes said:

“Make no mistake - if we lose the fight in Internet freedom we have lost the battle in maintaining our humanity and promoting democracy in the world.”

You can watch her full lecture here:   If you want to keep up with the latest trends in the world of digital economy and technology, then Webit.Festival is the right place for you. Visit our website and book 2 in 1 of our Super Earlybird tickets for Webit.Festival Europe 2018. Feel the Webit vibe with some of the best photos from this year’s event! [easingslider id="4954"]

One of the most popular stages of Webit.Festival, the Marketing and Innovation Summit, is once again bringing together the top CMOs, CTOs and CIOs from the advertising world, broadcasters, publishers, and ad/media/digital agencies. During the 25th and the 26th of April, Webit.Festival 2017 is the place to be in Europe if you want to hear about the latest trends in marketing, media and how the digital transformation is continuously changing the whole business world.

Main topics on the agenda of the summit will be the rising use of virtual and augmented reality, especially in the digital entertainment, how consumer empowerment is driving new brand opportunity, brand social strategies, digital and programmatic advertising, metrix and data, video and mobile video marketing, the future of artificial intelligence in marketing, creating relationships with audience, benefits of storytelling in marketing and many more.

We have 3 new top-flight speakers in our lineup for the Marketing and Innovation Summit! They include top executive from one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world, the CMO of one of the biggest business media worldwide and the chief digital officer of Wi-Fi security and privacy providing company, so read our guide to taking part or find out more about our latest speaker additions below.

•  Victor Milligan, CMO, Forrester Research.

As the CMO of Forrester, the American advisory company, executing technology and market research, Victor Milligan aims to drive clients’ growth by combining all kind of marketing operations, analytics and customer experience. Previously, Victor was responsible, again as the CMO, for the marketing development of two other companies: Nexage, a marketplace in mobile advertising relying on the forces of mobile revolution and programmatic technologies; and Lavastorm Analytics, a company combining enterprises-grade business applications with the potential of analytics. His professional approach lies on analytics as a key to early discovery of risks and delivery of transparency and liquidity to both buyers and sellers. Previously a Senior Managing Partner and Vertical Industry Leader at Gartner Consulting, another information technology research company, Victor developed and led $125M global vertical industry team. Before Gartner, Mr. Milligan led the architecture and planning team as Senior Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton for 9 years. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Vermont and have started his career in the US Air Force Space Command, contributing to the launch of the Global Positioning System, which is the base of so many location-based services today.   Bruce Rogers, Chief Insights Officer and Head of the CMO Practice, Forbes Media. Currently responsible for Forbes Media's Insights division, Mr. Rogers works on the company’s leadership practice engaged by blue-chip companies like IBM, KPMG, Google, EY, Deloitte and Cisco. He also deals with content and events for senior marketers. His career at Forbes started as a VP Marketing at Forbes Magazine in 1991, continued as Chief Brand Officer at Forbes Media in 2008 and led to his current role of Chief Insights Officer and Head of the CMO Practice at Forbes Media. Mr. Rogers is the author of a regular column on thought leaders changing the business landscape, several articles and reports. He is also the co-author of three books: “Profitable Brilliance,” “In the Line of Money” and “I Win You Whatever”. His business thoughts may be read under intriguing titles like “Publish or Perish”, “Using Thought Leadership to Grow“, “Why Companies Need a Chief Reason Officer” and so on. Bruce Rodgers is a member of several organizations such as Adtech, Business Marketing Association, SBV Solutions. Another proof of his effective marketing ideas is receiving the Gold Effie Award from the American Marketing Association. Baglan Rhymes, Chief Digital Officer & SVP Global Revenue, AnchorFree Inc. Ms. Rhymes’ CV is rich not only in job titles and successful work projects, but in continuous volunteering experience too. Ms. Rhymes has played a key role in the history of her current company - the Wi-Fi security and privacy providing company AnchorFree. She actively contributed in raising $53M in Series C funding and in launching four new products, currently representing 98% of the company’s revenues. Besides her main job title of Chief Digital Officer & SVP Global Revenue, she is an experienced speaker, lecturer and panelist in the field of entrepreneurship, innovation in technology and digital media. She contributes to the development and branding of some of the hottest tech startups in Silicon Valley. An active member of Forbes Agency Council, Ms. Rhymes is named as one of the most Influential Turkish Women in the USA. She is the author of several white papers like “Customs Union & Turkey”, “Customs Union & the Aegean Region”, “The Expectations of Turkish Newspaper Readers”, “The Role of the Universities in Establishing and Maintaining the Democratic Foundations in a Society: The Turkish Case". She has recently published her first, co-authored book - “Of Love, Autonomy & Wealth: Work and Play in the Virtual World”, named as one of the best in self-help and business. Previous speakers at the Marketing and Innovation Summit are top level executives like Ward Van Duffel, VP and General Manager Direct to Consumer Lego, Benjamin Faes, Managing Director PBS Google, Anosh Thakkar, CTO Philips, Jim Rosenberg, Chief Digital Officer UNICEF, David Moore, Chairman of Xaxis and President of WPP Digital, Jay Altschuler, Director Global Media Unilever, Pete Blackshaw, Global Head of Digital Marketing and Social Media Nestlé, Norm Johnston, Chief Digital Officer Mindshare Worldwide, Dr. Torsten Wingenter, Head of Digital Innovations Lufthansa, Tom Bowman, VP, Strategy&Operations, Global Advertising Sales BBC World. The Marketing and Innovation Summit is also great for networking – the next business opportunity could be waiting for you right there. Listening to the great presentators, you can also learn a lot about the way you’re a running your business and its marketing. So, don’t waste your time, these are all the important links you need: To buy your tickets for Webit.Festival Europe 2017 (EarlyBird expires soon), click here. To apply for speaking, click here. To apply for partnership, click here. To apply for exhibiting, click here. StartUP? Apply for the Founders Games Challenge by Webit.Foundation and get an opportunity for free festival tickets (500), free exhibition table (100) and opportunity to win 200 000 EUR (only 1), click here. To see the video gallery from Webit.Festival 2016, click here. To learn more about the events that are part of the festival, click here. To see pictures from our previous events, click here. For more information on the Global Webit Series and our events in Dubai, Singapore, New Delhi and Istanbul: www.Webit.Org.