SES Chicago – Professor Lawrence Lessig Keynote!

There are dozens of reasons to consider going to Chicago in December. OK… perhaps that statement was a bit of a stretch. As wonderful as the city of Chicago is, there are few reasons for anyone who doesn’t live there to travel there at the beginning of winter. If you’re a member of the search marketing community there is one enormous reason for planning to be in the windy city at a time of year when one would rather be on the west coast or in the tropics. Search Engine Strategies Chicago happens then.

Beloved by speakers and veteran conference goers, SES Chicago is considered the most intimate of the five flagship SES conferences. For people who really want to meet speakers and get a better sense of their ideas, outlooks and personalities, SES Chicago is the show to attend. The venue feels smaller than others in London, New York, Toronto and San Jose (though the physical floor space might be larger) and nearly everybody can be found by yelling their names across the threshold of Kitty O’Shea’s.

This year, attendees will get an extra special treat. Internet pioneer and noted IT intellectual Lawrence Lessig will be delivering the keynote address to open the conference on Monday December 8 at 9AM. Lessig is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. He has also taught law at Harvard and the University of Chicago. At Stanford, Lessig founded the Center for Internet and Society.

The rest of Professor Lessig’s resume reads like a history of cyberspace. He sits (or has sat) on the boards of: the Creative Commons Project, MAPLight, the Free Software Foundation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and, the Public Library of Science and Public Knowledge. He has also written columns for Wired, Red Herring and the Industry Standard. (source: SES Chicago Biography page)

Lawrence Lessig’s writings have been a big part of my self-directed ongoing education. Having the chance to hear him speak is going to be a treat. The chance to actually meet him in person (and, in my case, interview him for WebmasterRadio) is a rare opportunity, one that should not be missed.

SES Chicago takes place December 8 – 11 at the Chicago Hilton. Registration is still open and can be completed online. Hope to see you there.