Conference for Digital Media Professionals: Mediabistro Circus

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that Mediabistro Circus, the two-day conference about digital media, in New York City on May 20-21, will be pure buzz. Just a frothy future-think kind of event where Internet thought leaders envision far out trends.

Well, okay, there might some of that. The two-day summit focuses on evolving trends in digital platforms – in other words, the future of all media – and how these trends are transforming news, commerce and entertainment. Think MySpace and Twitter, but also think Big Traditional Media thriving online. Attendees will be hip cohort from publishing, broadcasting, advertising, video, and music, plus related media omnivores.

And yes, the conference will be held at Skylight Studios, an event space in hipper-than-thou Soho that, admittedly, is popular with the arts and fashion crowd.

So, given all that, certainly there’ll be some fairly groovy chatting going on. Probably some people who wear white after Labor Day. People who use the word “space” in a sentence, as in “yes, they dominate the online cat food space.”

But – and here’s the point – the conference is set up to offer practical, tangible guidance. It won’t all be froth. The event is geared to help working professionals leverage the rapid changes in digital media with (as much as this is possible) real world techniques.

“It’s about getting some real tools so you can go back to the office and say, ‘Let’s get started on this project – and here’s how we can do it,’” says Kirsten Cluthe, the event’s producer.

To make the event more focused, it’s been organized with a single “track” – the two-day schedule has one event at a time, with a logical progression. The program schedule covers the chaotic new media universe in something resembling an orderly way.

For the event, Mediabistro (owned by Jupitermedia, the company that publishes Datamation) has gathered a constellation of media luminaries. Here’s a complete list. Among the big names:

Chris Anderson

Editor-In-Chief, Wired magazine, and author of the much-blogged book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More.

Shawn Gold

CEO of the recently launched Social Approach, a social media consultancy. Gold was formerly head of marketing and content development for MySpace.

Kate Everett Thorp

CEO, Real Girls Media. Within a year, one of RGM’s sites has become the 18th largest women’s community on the Web.

Richard Trumble

Executive Director, Digital Strategy and Operations, The Wall Street Journal Digital Network. Trumble also oversees the company’s offerings in the wireless space; he’ll be a panelist in the conference’s Mobile presentation.

Chip Canter

VP Wireless Platform Development, NBC Universal Digital Distribution. Canter recently helped launch 12 mobile video channels and over 60 mobile Web sites presenting content ranging from CNBC to “Access Hollywood.”

Robert Scoble

A blogger’s blogger, the onetime Microsoft evangelist is now head honcho at Fast Company TV, an online video network.

Here’s the Mediabistro Circus registration page.