If you haven’t already heard, FASTforward ’08, the industry’s largest business and technology conference dedicated to search-driven innovation, will be hosted in Orlando, Florida on February 18-20, 2008.

FASTforward ’08 takes that topic to the next level to examine how search-driven innovation is fueling the User Revolution, a critical shift that is placing users in all markets increasingly at the center of the information universe.

FASTforward ’08 features business tracks that spotlight search technology in a variety of industries including media and entertainment, communications, retail, advertising, government, and financial services. Powerful and information-packed sessions and workshops—led by search and industry experts—will advance your knowledge and give you valuable insight into existing search-based solutions, search-driven innovation, and the future of search in your specific market.

As a valued and loyal FASTforward Blog reader, we invite you to join many of the contributors to this blog and participate at FASTforward ’08. Register now and you’ll save $300 off the regular FASTforward ’08 conference fee. To obtain your discount, please enter Promo Code “B1REG08″ when registering.

Join an international community of colleagues from a variety of business and government markets as well as FAST and industry experts to learn how search-driven innovation can put your universe of data to work for you.

FAST invites readers of the FASTforward blog to attend a free webcast:

“Hometown Paper In A Digital World: Serving Local Audiences As Well As Advertisers Through Search And Community” – An online panel with Editor & Publisher, Seattle Times and Philly.com”

The details:

Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Time: 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST

The discussion brief:

The newspaper model as we know it is under enormous pressure as it vies to effectively compete in the Digital Age. Today’s new world order of 24-hour cable networks and up-to-the-minute news-oriented websites is forcing the newspaper industry to develop advanced, innovative and more local services to its audience and advertisers.

The situation is exacerbated on the local level as traditional home town papers often lack the resources and reach to go toe-to-toe with larger media conglomerates. The only way for these mainstays of American publishing to keep the presses humming is to offer more customized, local and relevant content to its core audience.

Enter localized search technology. Many newspapers are leveraging this technology to: drive new revenue by expanding search-based advertising and driving web and print subscriptions; reinforce local brands by offering a rich, local content and portal experience; and increase customer loyalty by providing multimedia and personalized content delivery.

Join Editor & Publisher magazine for a live, interactive Web Seminar featuring a panel of industry experts who will discuss how local search technology is being incorporated into traditional service offerings. Hear directly from Philly.com and The Seattle Times about how they are using online publishing and unified search models to successfully leverage their existing print business.

REGISTER NOW!