Google guru and Mashable co-editor at Dublin Web Summit

28 Jan 2011

Dublin Web Summit’s organisers have revealed that Google’s head of marketing for Europe Dan Cobley and leading social media news site Mashable’s co-editor Ben Parr are to speak at the 5th Dublin Web Summit on 8 March.

The year 2011 is set to be even bigger for the Dublin Web Summit, with two half-day summits planned for March and June, in addition to the two-day summit in October.

The first of the 2011 series of events begins with DWS 5 on 8 March. The summit will concentrate on the themes of social media and the future of the tech sector in Ireland.

You’ve got to have vision

Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave said it is still his fervent wish to get Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to come to one of the summits. Having already succeeded in bringing over Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, Bebo’s Michael Birch and YouTube’s Chad Hurley to the last summit in October, he stands a better chance than anyone.

Dublin Web Summit has lined up Mashable co-editor Ben Parr and Google marketing guru Dan Cobley, in addition to a number of other speakers yet to be announced.

Parr, co-editor of Mashable, one of the foremost online publications with more than 30m viewers per month is at the forefront of changes in technology. In addition to his duties at Mashable, Ben is a tech entrepreneur and sci-fi author and has frequently been interviewed for CNN, BBC, Wired, Playboy, and The New York Times.

Cobley, Google’s head of marketing for Northern and Central Europe, is charged with connecting customers and businesses, helping both navigate digital space to find what they need. Cobley has previously spoken at TED, he’s also worked for Ask Jeeves, Pepsi and CapitalOne.

“Parr and Cobley will join a group of Irish entrepreneurs who will discuss the future of technology in Ireland,” Cosgrave explained.

“There’s so much Ireland can do to encourage growth in the tech sector. There’ll be a new Government by the time of the next summit so this is a great opportunity for renewal. We should be taking advantage of a huge growth sector both in the country and internationally,” Cosgrave added.

Ben Parr

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com