SXSW 2006: Cyberplace

Dennis Crowley is the founder of Dodgeball, a New York based service that focuses on merging location-based services with social networks to help people connect with the people and places around them. Dodgeball was acquired by Google in 2005.

Dennis has developed and managed mobile applications for Vindigo, MTV Networks and ABC and was previously a member of Jupiter Research's technology and operations research group. He has recently been involved in the creation of Big Games such as PacManhattan and ConQwest(tm).

Dennis holds a Master's degree from New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program and a Bachelor's degree from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.

Scott Heiferman was named the 2004 M.I.T. Technology Review "Innovator of the Year" for his work as co-founder and CEO of Meetup. Meetup is revolutionizing how millions of people use the internet to organize local community groups with real-life meetings. Meetup investors include eBay, DFJ, Omidyar Network, Esther Dyson, and others.

Scott also started Fotolog (a billion-monthly-pageview online photo community) and i-traffic (the first ad agency dedicated to online media). Previously, Scott was "Interactive Marketing Frontiersman" at Sony, where he created Sony's first consumer online presence. Scott graduated from The University of Iowa and has posted a photo on his personal Fotolog every day since 2001.

Michael Sharon is one of four developers who created Socialight. He graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa in 1999 with a BA in English and Law. Since then he's worked as a strategist, consultant, writer and occasional photographer for high tech companies and low tech magazines.

He moved to NYC midway through 2002 and recently graduated with a Masters degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. His interests include new musical instruments, building sociable software and non-linear narratives.

Molly Wright Steenson is a design researcher who works with mobile technology and its social contexts, pervasive media and urbanism. She cut her teeth on the Web in 1994, and developed over 100 sites for companies like Netscape, Reuters and Scient. She co-founded the groundbreaking webzine, Maxi, in 1997. Molly was an associate professor at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Italy and is currently pursuing a Masters of Environmental Design (in history and theory) at the Yale School of Architecture.

As a member of the founding team for Squidoo, Heath works with lensmasters -- the people who make web pages using Squidoo's platform -- to learn how to build better lenses.

Since 1997, Heath has been building the Company of Friends readers network at Fast Company magazine, where he most recently served as editorial director of their award-winning website. Prior to his time at Fast Company, he wrote and edited for the San Francisco Examiner, Online Access, CIO, and Web Business magazines.

An active blogger -- liveblogging events such as the South by Southwest conference and other notable technology, business, and cultural gatherings -- Heath is also a contributing member of dozens of online communities. He hopes to meet you someday.