Russell Beattie

I just got this email from Esther Dyson (well... not from her personally...)

Dear Russell,

I�m writing to remind you to register now for the High-Tech Forum, just about a month away from November 3 to 5 in Berlin.

Business conditions are tough this year, so I am putting together a program and gathering participants who will be truly useful to your business. As I travel around interviewing prospective speakers and attendees, I�m getting excited about the stirrings of good news I have seen. (Read about them at www.edventure.com/htforum/whyattend.cfm.)

...

I look forward to welcoming you in Berlin,

Esther Dyson
http://www.edventure.com/htforum/

So I checked it out and it costs $2,500!! (IF your register early) Holy crap. I'm not sure I remember how I got on this list... I think at one point I registered at her site because I was interested in receiving a copy of Release 1.0 - which costs, oh, $795 a year. Yowza...

The fact that I'm completely blown away by these prices makes me release 1) How far my salary has dropped off and 2) how far down in the business food chain I am right now. I'm a worker bee. I'm a drone... a non-decision maker. I'm not a mover, nor a shaker. This, in my opinion, is not good.

The cool thing about this email is when I was checking out the website I noticed that one of the companies that Esther is investing in is a Knowledge Management startup based here in Madrid called NewKnow. Very interesting! I just sent my resume over there to see if there are any opportunities. Yes I know I just got a new job, but I'm always on the lookout for something better. Being in a company that Esther Dyson is investing in would be great! Maybe even provide contacts, etc. The location isn't the best - it's located in a suburb outside Madrid, but we'll see. I'm sure the fact that I'm a Silicon Vally vet here in Madrid will get me noticed... whether it'll get me a call or a job, we'll see. ;-)

-Russ