As CEO of Digg, Jay guides all aspects of the company’s development, growth and management. Digg has grown to more than 40 million visitors per month under his leadership and is now considered one of the top socially-focused Web sites.

Prior to Digg, Adelson founded Equinix, Inc (Nasdaq: EQIX), a leader in the data center and Internet infrastructure space. Equinix operates Internet data centers where more than 200 network service providers and hundreds of enterprises and content companies, including nine of the top 10 Web properties, locate their Internet operations.

A well-recognized expert on technology and the Internet, Adelson has spoken at a variety of industry events and investor conferences, including Future of Online Advertising, Tech Crunch 40, Supernova, Web 2.0 Summit, Tech Policy Summit, ISPCON, the Colocation & Hosting Summit, Next Generation Networks (NGN), NANOG and Gilder’s Telecosm. In May 2008, Adelson was recognized in Time Magazine’s Time 100 – The Most Influential People in the World.

Henry and his team at Bickbot.com create elegant iPhone apps that focus on making the user’s life easier. He’s a frequent speaker at mobile conferences all across the world. Henry is also part of the dynamic duo,Two Hungry Dudes, which scours metro Detroit for tasty dishes to photograph and review.

Christopher is responsible for setting General Motors’ communications strategy in the emerging social media that make up “Web 2.0” (blogs, microblogging, wikis, podcasting, user-generated video networks, social networks and others). He and his team coordinate and counsel authors for GM’s corporate blogs, build and manage GM’s relationships with influential voices from across the social media landscape and provide GM’s personal presence on networks like Twitter and Facebook, serving as the first online point of contact between many consumers and the company. Christopher and his team also develop new social media resources for GM content and information.

Blagica Bottigliero is an Emmy-winning blogger and 13-year veteran of the digital media space. In her role at Edelman Digital, Blagica counsels client teams on how to apply new trends and practices to their current Web activities. 

Before joining Edelman Digital, Blagica founded her own consulting practice, Bsolutions, where she assisted small and large sized business with their digital media strategies and conducted a series of Web 101s. She also launched Gals’ Guide, a resource for women entering the Big City after college. Blagica also became a member of the NBC Chicago Street team, where her new media efforts won her an Emmy.

Originally from metro Detroit, Blagica refuses to be converted into a Blackhawks fan or give up the dream of opening a National Coney Island in the Windy City.

Ken has more than 15 years of experience in the marketing and advertising industries, specializing in digital strategies and new media technologies. He’s currently working at the Digital Strategy and Social Media practice within Ernst & Young, where he collaborates with global brands across a variety of industries such as automotive, consumer products, media & entertainment, biotech, pharmaceutical, retail, technology and telecommunications to achieve their digital marketing objectives. He blogs at Web Business, is a member of 313Digital and is one of the principal organizers of Detroit Tweetups.

Evan's 12-year career in advertising sales began immediately after his graduation from Vassar College. His first job was as a sales assistant at Details magazine in May of 1997. Over the course of his career, Evan has worked for some of the best media brands in the world, including Conde Nast, Time Inc. and, most recently, the Walt Disney Corporation. He has a passion for ad sales, is a consultative seller and loves working with great marketers. Evan has created successful marketing programs for companies large and small, and he believes the best way for marketers to cut through the clutter is by associating themselves with great content in unique ways.

Beth Harte is a marketer, blogger, speaker, communicator, thinker, connector (people & dots), adjunct professor and Sr. Subject Matter Expert, Digital Marketing for Serengeti Communications. Beth has over 15 years of experience in integrated marketing communications, strategic planning, branding and five years of experience with social media. Beth speaks on a range of marketing, communications, and social media topics including brand monitoring and management, Social Media Measurement & ROI, and Public Relations 2.0. Beth's blog, The Harte of Marketing is featured in AdAge's Power 150, a globally recognized ranking of top media and marketing blogs.

With more than 15 years experience in both agency and client environments, Scott helps companies transform their brands to take advantage of what lies ahead through the seamless integration of strategy, design, media, marketing and research. His corporate and product branding experience includes category leaders such as AlixPartners, La-Z-Boy, Certified Angus Beef, NuStep, Terumo CVS, Federal-Mogul, Chrysler Financial, Yale University and the University of Michigan Health System.

One of the most sought-after consultants, speakers and thought leaders on marketing, new media and social media, Joseph Jaffe is chief interruptor of Powered, the newly created full-service social media agency with scale. Previously, Joseph founded and ran a strategic consulting practice called crayon, which was recently acquired by Powered. crayon's clients included The Coca-Cola Company, Panasonic, Kraft Foods and H&R Block.

Jaffe’s popular blog and audio podcast, "Jaffe Juice”, provides daily and weekly commentary respectively on all things new marketing. In 2009, he launched his first foray into video in the form of JaffeJuiceTV in an effort to prove once and for all that he does not have a face for radio.

Joseph has written three books: “Life After The 30-Second Spot: Energize Your Brand With A Bold Mix Of Alternatives To Traditional Advertising”, “Join the conversation: How to engage marketing-weary consumers with the power of community, dialogue and partnership” and “Flip the Funnel: How to use existing customers to gain new ones”.

Joseph is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School, as well as the Society for New Communications Research. He also has lectured at NYU's Stern School, Cornell's Johnson School of Business and Syracuse University.

Since joining Egg Strategy, Dave has worked across multiple industries and categories, including food and beverage, spirits and health care. With assignments ranging from innovation pipeline development for brands such as Coca Cola and MillerCoors Brewing Company, to solving complex strategic planning and positioning challenges for the likes of the AdCouncil and Pernod Ricard, Dave strives to bring a strong dose of intellectual flexibility and creativity to every assignment.

Dave is an experienced moderator and facilitator, copywriter and innovation specialist. An entrepreneur at heart, Dave has founded and run several businesses, among them a boutique design house specializing in consumer goods packaging and retail display solutions. Works of his can be found at stores like REI around the world.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. Currently on the staff of corporate communications at Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more.

Scott is also an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking.

A digital communications and online community strategist, David carries extensive experience in online community management, social media, product development and projects that require creative solutions.

Living by the mantra, "leave no regrets", he chose to return to Michigan where he founded the Social Media Club Detroit chapter and is one of the co-chairs for FutureMidwest. He's been quoted in the Wall Street Journal Online, selected to be a member of the Detroit Chevy 2010 South by Southwest Team and has been featured in David Meerman Scott’s blog, Web Ink Now, and his book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR.

In nearly ten years of working on the Internet and in communications, Damian has worked with many memorable brands like General Motors, Proctor & Gamble, Heineken, Best Buy, La-Z-Boy and Coca-Cola. He is also a part of iDetroit, a group dedicated to shift Detroit from an industrial city to one full of a digital culture.

Damian brings a very diverse technical and communications background together to demonstrate his deep understanding of their applications. He has been working on ways to use mobile technologies to further innovate his communications efforts. Damian takes his passion for using social media and educates clients on how to use it effectively.

For more than 15 years, Tim has been driving online innovation to profitability for companies such as current clients Quiznos, Ford and eBay. Tim’s unique achievements include the development of the first real time hotel reservation system, one of the first ROI tracking systems able to tie all online marketing dollars directly to revenue, and more recently, the launch of filter-proof, in-line email surveys. Fluency Media’s surveys now attain response rates that are over twice the industry average.

Tim currently serves on the advisory board for New York City-based Hayfield Capital, and he recently joined the Great Lakes Angels.

Shiv has been with Razorfish since 1999 and has led digital strategy, user experience and social media teams in its Boston, New York, San Francisco and London offices. As the company's VP & Global Social Media Lead, Shiv helps the agency introduce its clients to social influence marketing and incorporating social media and social technologies to support marketing and business objectives. His role also includes developing capability and strategic partnerships, leading thought leadership efforts and encouraging experimentation with social media across the agency.

Shiv has been published widely, and he has spoken or keynoted conferences such as South by Southwest Interactive, Web 2.0 (New York), the Direct Marketing Association's Leader's Forum, OMMA Global, O'Reilly Graphing Social Patterns, the ARF Annual Summit and Digiday Social. He is author of the book, "Social Media Marketing for Dummies."

Ben Smithee is managing partner at Spych, a company that flipped the world of market research as we know it on its head. Highly regarded as a true innovator and leading voice in the qualitative research industry, Ben helps Spych lead the way in providing organizations and brands with new solutions for the rapidly changing environment of marketing and advertising. He has presented at some of the world’s leading research conferences, including the 2009 ESOMAR Qualitative Summit in Morocco, the upcoming 2010 AQR/QRCA Conference in Prague and this year’s SXSWi Festival. In addition, the Spych team works with the SXSWi Festival planning team, providing research solutions that continue to propel the its great success.

Sam Valenti IV is the founder and CEO of the media and arts company, Ghostly International. The Michigan-based record label has built a formidable reputation for artistic quality and innovation since its inception in 1999 and has earned accolades from the likes of Rolling Stone, Billboard and Entertainment Weekly.

Sam grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and was always fascinated by the city's musical transition from Motown to Techno. He picked up his first pair of turntables at the age of 15, adopted the moniker DJ Spaceghost and began tutelage under some of D-town's most notorious figures. Today, Sam’s Ghostly International label is a unique force in American independent music, balanced carefully between pop culture, leftfield experimentation and artistic tradition.

Christopher leads our Egg Strategy’s work across strategic growth disciplines including consumer insight, brand strategy and communications optimization. Additionally, he often leads innovation and strategic decision-setting sessions for a range of Egg clients, including some of the world’s largest and most innovative brands in the U.S. and internationally.

A specialist in all forms of qualitative research, Christopher directs a team of strategically-minded facilitators and ethnographers at Egg, designing creative and innovative methodologies that elicit deeply revealing portraits of human behavior. In more than a decade of project leadership at Egg, he has led engagements with clients such as Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, MasterCard, Bacardi brands and Royal Caribbean. Christopher also works closely with top advertising agencies such as Idea City GSD&M, Merkley Newman Harty, Berlin Cameron, and Ad Council in the course of brand positioning, image development, and communication development research.