You can now ask for a Lift09 press pass if you are a journalist or blogger, and try to win one of the twenty free students ticket if you are lucky enough to still be at the university (i.e. away from the gloomy economical situation ;)

The first Lift Asia talks are here! We start with Bruce Sterling's though-provoking presentation that dealt with how virtual money systems are the financial services for the new urban poor.

Check the revamped and clearer video page, and subscribe to our videos feed (also available on iTunes) to have the latest Lift talks delivered to your door!

Here we go again! The Lift09 homepage is up, and the theme is announced: where did the future go? Where are the flying cars and home robots we were promised a few decades ago? What can we learn from these unfulfilled promises, and what has really changed?

We can already proudly announce that the legendary Vint Cerf, considered by many to be the "father of the internet", will be with us alongside a bunch of great speakers and artists. Grab one of the 50 super early bird tickets before it's too late, and see you in Geneva in February!

We are still receiving online registrations and people are showing up at the conference center BUT we have logistical bottlenecks (lunches, diners) that force us to limit attendance. Please be aware that we only have around 10 tickets still available and that you will probably NOT be able to enter the conference if you arrive unregistered! Please call Jinwoo Choi on 018-206-6344 if you want to come, he has the latest information on the situation.

Also, the open afternoon online propositions are now closed, but we added two more rooms and you will be able to propose a speech on the spot at the conference infodesk.

Please be sure to print + bring your Amiando e-tickets to get your badge at Lift Asia 08! You will help us all by making registration faster and allowing everybody to get into the conference in time to see the grand conference opening :)

^{This is an Amiando eticket example}

We again had 70 registrations today, three days before the official start of the conference... This is quite amazing, 40% of participants registered in the last 48 hours. Seems things work a bit differently in Korea than in long-term-planning obsessed Switzerland ;)

Let's see if we reach 400 participants - our original goal. The count stands at 351 as I post this early on Tuesday morning. Register now, we only have a few tickets left...

Lift will mostly do three things for you:

1. Show you what are the big changes set to happen in the next 1-3 years and that you should be aware of (because they will affect you).

2. Connect you to some of the most creative and inspiring people on this planet.

3. Inspire you by confronting you to unexpected thinking and people from various fields, a process that generates new ideas.

To get the most of your time at Lift I recommend observing these simple rules:

• Close your laptop
Shut down your mobile phone. You can email anytime, but you can listen to Bruce Sterling or Joongmo Kwon only 3 days a year.

• Smile
At conferences there are many people looking for an opportunity to meet someone, simply walking through the corridors looking for a friendly face. Smile, engage in conversations, see who is here and you will meet interesting people.

• Be curious
You have no idea what a certain presentation is about because the title doesn't mean much to you? GO THERE, it's probably something you should know that will be explained in an accessible way. You don't know who that speaker is? Listen to that person! You didn't know who were Sugata Mitra or Genevieve Bell before they spoke, but had you missed their talks you would be feeling very bad!

• Get out of your comfort zone
Don't only spend your time having coffee with that colleague you haven't seen in a while. Go for diner with that person after the conference, but put yourself in danger! Go and participate in the Lift experience, start talking to someone you have never seen, give a talk in the open afternoon... This is what will make your time at Lift unique and productive!

• Relax
We (the organizers) are the ones running around and there is a good reason for that: we don't want you to. Relax, enjoy the moment and the special atmosphere that has set Lift apart from other conferences.

There are still few open slots available in the Open Afternoon on Friday. Take your chance and reserve your spot now! If enough spots are free we will also offer sign-up for a spot on-site at the information desk in front of Tamna Hall in ICC.

Since we launched the new website, we haven't received any comment on our posts. What's up? You guys are suddenly silent, what we say is sooooooo interesting that you feel you can't add any value ;), or is there a usability issue?

I would appreciate, well, your comments on this. The link is just after this post.

14 presentations have now been scheduled in the open afternoon, with Jasmina Tesanovic and Hyokon Zhiang joining the ranks of the speakers. The latest news:
• we decided to book another room and accept more submissions
• and allow participants to make propositions on the spot. There will be a white board close to the info desk accepting last minute speakers.
• if you want to present your start-up we have some 10 minutes spots available

Here is the current program as of Sunday 1pm Seoul time: