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This will be the fourth Picnic at the same location in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. So far, I personally thought the event in 2007 was the best, with the 2008 event being more commercial than the grass-roots feeling of previous years....more marketing people than before.
The magic word that Picnic needs to think about in 2009 is focus, perhaps cutting the number of parallel events which distract from the main conference. Videos of the 2007/8 festivals are now up on the Picnic website if you want to get a feel for it. The only clouds on the horizon are their constant drive for growth and the fact that very little is free anymore. Money is going to be extremely tight this year, so I personally hope it doesn't try to become a film festival, but keeps its focus on emerging media. I also hope they put more effort into improving the navigation of the Picnic website. It becomes very chaotic around the time of the conferences. Agree?
Kind of worried about the costs they have now decided to charge participants. It is becoming more of a business conference - a Feast of the Newly Famous than a Picnic.
If you're interested in games, social networks or both, you may want to check out the parallel session 'Games go Social' at http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1088990