From the pinnacles of power by Fortune editor at large Patricia Sellers
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July 28, 2009, 12:09 pm

Top 10 quotes from Brainstorm Tech

by Patricia Sellers and Jessica Shambora

We took a break from posting our daily Power Point–Postcards‘ quote of the day–last week, but we collected more than a few good ones at Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Pasadena. Here are our 10 favorites,  from the mouths of media moguls, tech titans, Tweeters and more.

“It’s not really my thing. I don’t go to the dentist. I don’t do things that cause me to emote.” — IAC (IAC) chairman and CEO Barry Diller, talking about why he’s not on Twitter.

“We want to be like Ron Howard.” – Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, noting that he doesn’t want his two-year-old company to turn out like childhood actors “who grew up all freaky.”

“I shut down a website everyday because I send too much traffic from my Twitter feed.” – actor Ashton Kutcher, who has 2.9 million followers on Twitter.

“You can get so focused on expanding your current business model that innovation slows down.” – eBay (EBAY) CEO John Donahoe, on how the e-commerce giant stumbled.

“You can’t play catch up. The gig in the on-line world is how to capture new behaviors.” — News Corp. chief digital officer Jon Miller, on how he aims to revitalize MySpace, which has lost ground to Facebook.

“I’ve learned more about my daughters on their Facebook pages than I did while I was raising them.” — Walt Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger.

“I don’t think I could get my wife to say that about me, so I don’t think I could say that about a business partner.” — AT&T (T) CEO Randall Stephenson, on whether he’s completely satisfied with his company’s relationship with Apple (AAPL).

“[We’re taking] what used to be a goofy gimmick [and turning] it into great platform for storytelling.” — Dreamworks (DWA) CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, on 3D technology.

“Real value in a world of infinite choice is someone making choices for you.” — NBC Entertainment (GE) co-chair Ben Silverman, four days before disclosing that he’s leaving to partner with IAC’s Barry Diller on a new venture.

“The Internet puts people like politicians out of business.” Former Governor of Vermont and chairman of the Democratic National Party Howard Dean, explaining how new tools on the web like Twitter have disrupted the political game.

Did you notice something missing from this Power Point list? Women. We had some top women in tech with us at Brainstorm–Google’s (GOOG) Marissa Mayer, Ning CEO Gina Bianchini, Cisco CTO Padmasree Warrior–but guys dominated the stage and uttered the most provocative lines. Calling Carol Bartz! The Yahoo (YHOO) CEO, along with a tremendous lineup of leaders, will be with us at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit this coming September.

Umm the Ashton Kutcher quote was quite amazing, I wonder if it really happens! And thanks for the Quotes, Patricia and Jessica.
google sniper

Posted By James L, Perth, Australia : October 31, 2009 12:59 pm

“I’ve learned more about my daughters on their Facebook pages than I did while I was raising them.” …so true…people communicate a lot more wholeheartedly on internet these days than in person… :)

Sumedh

Posted By Sumedh, Pune, India : October 27, 2009 11:25 pm
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Pattie SellersPatricia Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Can Meg Whitman Save California?", Melinda Gates ("The $100 Billion Woman"), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). And she has broken ground with insightful pieces on career management issues such as ego ("Get Over Yourself!"), and "Charisma: Do You Need It? Can You Get It?" Pattie chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. And she has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women in Business" cover package since its launch in 1998. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big consumer brand companies.
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