July 7, 2008 8:14 AM PDT
Web 2.0 Summit now courting clean-tech start-ups
Posted by Martin LaMonica 4 comments

The Web 2.0 Summit--a conference of the Silicon Valley digiterati--seems to have changed its theme from "monetize the Web" to "save the world."

Tim O'Reilly, one of the Web 2.0 Summit organizers, on Monday posted a blog with details on the fifth edition of the conference coming up in November and its Launchpad event for start-ups.

The concept is to break out of the Web-only worldview and see if the ideals of the Web, like collective intelligence and innovation, can be applied to the world's woes.

"In an era of looming scarcities, economic disruption, and the possibility of catastrophic ecological change, it's time for us all to wake up, to take our new 'superpowers' seriously, and to use them to solve problems that really matter," O'Reilly wrote.

For its Launchpad event, the conference organizers are looking for start-ups in alternative energies, social entreprenuerialism, microfinance, developing economies, political action, and renewable technologies. Crossover with the Web is a bonus, but not a requirement, O'Reilly said.

Read the entire article here>
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9984478-54.html