Kaiser – efforts such as WorkStreamer (http://workstreamer.com/) are attempting to do just that. I expect social tools to go drastically in that direction this year.

or maybe the better question is if the audience is ready for such things? for instance, would a ‘social calendar’ be a viable and useful app? what about real group collaboration of some sort? or will the nature of these platforms be that we’re going to see mostly mash-ups to build a more complex app?

If you didn’t win a pass, GigaOM readers can still get 15% off conference registration. Simply go to http://en.oreilly.com/gspeast2008/public/content/home and enter the code gspe08gig.

Just to remind our readers, GigaOM has Structure 08 coming up on June 25th in San Francisco which will delve into how to put cloud computing to work. Your comments validated how important this question is today. Also, we have our Mobilize conference in the fall. Contact us at program@gigaom.com if you have more suggestions.

All suits are @@sholes, we’re told. Developers just want to talk to developers. It doesn’t have to be that way, right? How can we make it easier to meet each other halfway? Let’s break down these barriers and infuse the industry with new ideas.

Ever read the Medici Effect?

Pick me! I really want to go.

Mobile Web – Carriers have invested billions in next-gen spectrum, the race is on between Wimax and LTE; competing development platforms such as Windows Mobile, Android, and Apple – as processing and power consumption becomes more efficient, combined with ubiquitous high speed data availability, we will see a wave of new applications and devices; being on the forefront of this will help readers see where things are going

Technology, Commerce and Politics – Topics relevant to this readership from the upcoming GOP and DNC conventions, as well as candidate positions on relevant issues. Additionally, how new media services such as social networks and engagement marketing are used by different campaigns, along with their effectiveness.

Fixed Mobile Convergence – In all of its manifestations and definitions, Gigaom is the type of place that can sift through the hype and make sense of who is offering what products and what those products will do for their potential customers. FMC is beginning to see momentum from large providers in the telco and software sectors that will can provide the name recognition, legitimacy, and muscle to penetrate FMC products deeper into mainstream markets.

SaaS – A source of great interest for the telco and software industries, the disruption of the market for storage, processing, and user interfaces and all of the benefits and new issues that come with them.

Energy related topics – Driven by growing energy costs and social consciousness around the environment, and the focus on these issues as a result of the election year. Topics ranging from cost saving products such as telepresence to lower energy consumption, and environmentally friendly materials for devices such as cell phones, to name a few

Advertising and monetization – How new services will be able to get beyond a “good idea” and begin to make money with their products. If the economy weakens there will be greater competition for capital and a higher demand on fiscal accountability and return on investment.

VoIP and Communications – VoIP continues to be an obfuscating term that describes a lot of different products and services. It is really an enabler for a variety of communications services ranging from cable telephony to live voice on a gaming console. New services will continue to launch, featuring varying value propositions, customer segments in consumer and enterprise, and very different business models. It will be interesting to see VoIP evolve from something that enables cheaper dial tone to something that enables new communications that were not previously attainable.

There are several such gems out there and it would create an interesting mix to your tech heavy conferences.

My biggest area of interest is in security issues related to cloud computing, social media and open source technologies. Security remains a concern for the increasing number of enterprise focused cloud and open source application developers, however the the obligation of cloud and open source application producers to protect their users may be less clear than with traditional commercial application vendors. With the opening of social platform APIs, attacks against user privacy is also a growing concern.

At the same time, the security industry is currently focused on protecting private networks against viruses, intrusions, and other attacks. A focus on application security outside corporate firewalls seems to be beyond the capability of most security product vendors.

While likely ahead of it’s time, a conference that bridges the gap between the quickly evolving worlds of open source, social media, and cloud computing and the security product vendor world would be extremely interesting in my mind.