I attended Brave New Web (http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/ww07/agenda.html) today at MIT. It was a best of breed event. As one panelist commented, “There’s more than 5 billion dollars of managed money in this room.”

The importance of thought leadership was the single take away. Rather than investing in marketing, these successful web companies invest in thought leadership: championing their category; producing useful content and adding to a discourse on technology, media and society.

Their focus on collaboration and dialogue exemplifies the values of the web 2.0 movement. It also made their speeches much more interesting. The CEO panelists of web companies emphasized their personal experiences, their hopes for their category (podcasting, video, online community, etc.) and the real challenges they faced. Their candor made it very worthwhile.

My favorite quote today: “Iterate in the marketplace not in the board room,” Jeremy Allaire, CEO Brightcove.