ReadWriteWeb

This is Part Two of a two-part series. Part One: Study: Kids are the Road to Tech Innovation

Latitude recently completed a multi-phase innovation study, Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet, which asked kids across the world, ages 12 and under, to draw the answer to this question: "What would you like your computer or the Internet to do that it can't do right now?" In our last post, we highlighted three themes that recurred across kids' ideas for new technologies.

1. The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing (Tech = World)
2. Why Aren't Computers More Human? (Tech = Me)
3. Technology Can Improve and Empower Us (Me = World)

We also pinpointed three key recommendations for creators of new content and technology experiences (for both kids and adults):

Download the study summary (PDF) for Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet.

Last week at the ReadWriteWeb 2WAY Summit, our COO Sean Ammirati spoke to Betaworks CEO John Borthwick. Betaworks has funded and incubated a number of companies in the real-time Web market, such as TweetDeck, Bit.ly and Chartbeat.

The stories that we hear about teens and technology often border on hysteria. Technology is ruining their grades. It's ruining their eyesight. It's making them fat. It's exposing them to dangerous people, dangerous ideas. It encourages stupid, senseless behavior - the sorts of things that will ruin their lives forever.

Sure, it's easy to dismiss some of this as a fairly standard cultural response to new technology and to shifting cultural norms. Many of these fears echo those we've heard about other, older technologies - video games, the television, the phonograph, the telephone.

And yet the stakes do seem much higher now, in part because of the speed with which information can travel. A message - or more damning, a photo - can go viral, spreading gossip far beyond the school grounds or the local community.

This week we successfully staged our latest event, the ReadWriteWeb 2WAY Summit. A series of conversations mirroring the two-way nature of the Web, we welcomed speakers like danah boyd, Jason Calacanis and Baratunde Thurston. We also introduced breakout sessions spotlighting specific issues and speed geeking demos by a host of intriguing companies and teams.

Now that the dust has settled, we'd like to offer you a chance to revisit the event or, if you were unable to attend, benefit from it anyway by reading and watching our coverage of the speakers and ideas that powered the gathering.

As many print media outlets continue to struggle to find their place in an increasingly digital ecosystem, the satirical newspaper The Onion has managed to not only make the most the Web and social media, but also continue to expand into new markets and new mediums.

On the second day of ReadWriteWeb's 2Way Summit Tuesday, a team of Onion staffers walked attendees through the publication's history, from its fictitious beginnings in 1756 all the way to its modern experimentation with social media and expansion into broadcast.

Ramine Darabiha, product manager, Angry Birds Magic, announcing the game's new integration with the physical world.

Speed Geeking is a high-energy event where startups and established tech companies that we've selected give quick presentations to conference attendees. Every five minutes attendees switch to a new startup. It's loud, it's a little chaotic and it's a lot of fun. Over the years Speed Geeking has become a fixture at ReadWriteWeb conferences, but this is the first year we've had so many international companies participating.

Over the course of 2010, Latitude Research completed a multi-phase innovation study, Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet, asking kids across the world to draw the answer to this question: "What would you like your computer or the Internet to do that it can't do right now?" This study is part of a larger research initiative by Latitude that positions younger generations as a window into the future of technology, capable of informing tech experiences that resonate with people of all ages.

Download the study summary (PDF) for Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet.

Richard MacManus, ReadWriteWeb founder, and Mike McCue, Flipboard founder and CEO

What is next for Flipboard? The startup is rapidly growing, hiring new employees and forging new partnerships with publishers to create dynamic new content platforms.

The next step is to make a jump off the iPad and start monetizing the company. These are easier goals to say than to do, but CEO Mike McCue and does not want to jump too far too fast. As such, do not expect to see an Android version anytime soon as the iPhone is the next platform in store for Flipboard.