updated: an e-chicken in every pot.com
In this regard, it seems that the US political scene is much further advanced than we are in Canada (hmmm…is it just me, or do the words "US political scene" and "advanced" just seem wrong in the same sentence?). At a minimum, things like using the web as part of an integrated campaign, a web site as a huge source of fund-raising revenue, and a political blogosphere with readership likely bigger than the population of Canada is having a real impact.
Also, when an organization like Amnesty International has someone who runs "Online Activism" there MUST be something to it.
Rob Hyndman is running the politics and society stream at mesh and has more thoughts on the topic today. I share more pointed thoughts here. Mark has a thoughtful post which ties in to the recent passing of Toronto civic politics icon Jane Jacobs ("what if Jane Jacobs had a blog?"), and Mathew has a nice round-up on the topic. Mike talks about why his Dad is a prime example of old school might-become new school political discourse.
It is early days on all this here in Canada. Help shape the discussion at mesh. Register now.
Update: tech.memeorandum seems to like our discussion. You would find us there, at the top of the page, filling every centimetre between the top and the fold. Oh my…
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the third way
We are trying to find the Third Way with mesh. Not your Father’s Oldsmobile of a conference, but not a fully unstructured thing either. We are trying to find a way to be respectful of the varying degrees of subject matter expertise among the participants, while being engaging and participative.
Mark publishes his conference wishlist here (not like that’s news for the rest of us 
) and Mathew talks about our approach here. And hey, I’m even into it on my own blog here.
What do you think?
new mesh wiki
Props to online man-about-town and mesh-mate-to-be David Crow for creating the just-launched and oh-so-slick mesh wiki. What can you use it for? Well, pretty much anything. It’s yours, after all
One suggestion I would make is that you use it to sign up to do things in the unconference room.
So check it out, and get to wiki-ing. Oh, and if you haven’t registered for mesh yet, I’m thinking that today is the day. Register here.
Here are posts by Mathew. Mike and Rob.
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blog as moneymaker? darn right
).
I guess it sort of depends on who and how you ask, right? I mean, if you were to ask many of the folks coming to speak at mesh, who happen to blog, whether "blogging makes money," many of them would likely say "Not directly, but indirectly? You better believe it."
I mean, think of the untold millions spent on traditional advertising and PR to create just the type of profile and voice that some people have built for themselves and their businesses via blogging and social media. How can you tally the value of creating your own soapbox? In traditional media, I guess overall marketing efficiency metrics are viewed as the most important gauge of the effectveness of spend, but can one really say, categorically, that traditional PR "makes money"? It’s tough. But when put in that context? Wow, blogging "makes money" in spades.
Does it do so directly? Not often. Just like only PR practicitioners, by a tight definition, are the only ones who directly "make money" from PR. But indirectly? Bloggers, their organizations and PR firms Clients, without question.
That’s the way to look at it, I think.
Dave Winer comments here, mesh speaker Paul Kedrosky here, and mesh speaker Scott Karp here. Mark thinks aloud here. Mathew goes deep here.
Certainly food for discussion in the marketing and PR streams at mesh.
updated: fifteen minutes of fame – mesh style
Would you like to take the stage at mesh? Share your neat-o new web service, pitch for VC cash, or just regale the crowd with your very own, "but Mom thinks I’m very funny" witty repartee? Yes? Then *you* need to apply for the mesh fifteen minutes of fame. Go here to send us your 250 word "pitch" and if successful, you will be one of three people each day to have 5 minutes to yourself in the mesh spotlight (so yeah, it’s not the full-on 15 minutes of fame just for you, as per Andy Wharhol – but hey, we’re in Canada, so think metric, okay? 
). Not only will you get the spotlight, but you will get in free on that day.
Mike talks about it here, Mark here, Mathew here, me here.
So what are you waiting for? Enter, already. And if you haven’t registered yet, how can you miss this? Register now.
Update: We have apparently tapped a vein. The great ideas are certainly a-flowing into mesh central. Keep ‘em coming…
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delta chelsea is the mesh host hotel
Great news for out-of-town mesh-ers. We now have a Host Hotel, The Delta Chelsea in scenic, downtown Toronto. They have given us a great rate for Premier rooms which are newly renovated, have WiFi available, and the hotel is only about a 10-15 minute walk from MaRS. Plus, on Monday evening, we plan to run a shuttle from MaRS to the after-party at The Drake and back to the Delta Chelsea until 10:30pm – on one of those snappy, freakishly-yellow Expedia.ca airport buses, no less. See? I knew starting that up would come in handy one day
Book the Delta directly here with a form on their mesh-ed out special page, or do so by phone.
For those of you looking for something more hip, The Drake has rooms too, though they don’t have many and aren’t handy the venue. Now, if swish is your thing, MaRS has a deal with the Sutton Place Hotel, which includes a limo transfer from the hotel to the venue. Quote code 111mars when reserving.
General heads-up that there are a lot of big events happening in Toronto that week, so book early. And if you haven’t done so yet, register now.
There. Something for everyone.
Now I can stop being The Travel Guy.
Update: Mathew blogs about it here, and Mark here.
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introducing the mesh class of 2006
It’s finally done. The mesh schedule is finished. We are more than a little pleased with how it’s shaped up. In fact, looking at it, we’d be surprised if there’s a more impressive array of people to be assembled on this topic anywhere in North America this year.
We have pided the days into two streams per day, with Journalism and Politics & Society on May 15th, and then Business Start-up & Financing, and Marketing & PR on May 16th. We have everybody-attends conversations and seminars to kick off each day and stream, and then we break into concurrent smaller group sessions and workshops. We’ve also tried to give time for meeting each other, getting online etc. And there will be a social on Monday, and we are working on an after-party, too.
But back to the schedule. There’s a lot of content here, folks. Some highlights (and there are many) include:
- A political blogging session featuring Warren Kinsella, Andrew Coyne, Ed Morrisey and Paul Wells.
- A start-up vs. VC throw-down featuring Jason “I don’t need your stinkin’ cash” Fried and Rick “how do we re-invent the VC business?” Segal.
- A discussion around Corporate blogging featuring Jen Evans, Tara Hunt, Debbie Weil and Jeremy Wright. Debbie and Jeremy wrote the books on this stuff. Literally.
- A discussion on the future of the newspaper business, featuring Tomer Strolight, Angus Frame and Jordan Banks.
- A conversation about next-generation brand building with Yours Truly, Jonathan Erlich, Jim Coudal and Bruce Philp.
- A session on creating viable next-generation web businesses, with Leila Boujnane, Albert Lai, Mike McDerment and Malgosia Green.
And the list goes on. Future thinking about PR, How-to’s about Podcasting, What’s it mean for not-for-profit and online activism, Help for Marketing in a Post-Mass Market world…
It’s dense, deep and broad all at the same time. So check it out, and come.
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mesh go boom
Hey! mesh is mentioned on today’s vlog on rocketboom (hat tip to Amber). But don’t confuse mesh with the pimp rims thing – that’s somebody else .
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mesh effect
First off, we met online, via blog, and became friends. Then, once we decided to do this, we started using collaborative, easy-to-use and inexpensive tools to share, plan and allow registration. Then, we and others started blogging about it. Result? Well, I’ve had more people know of and ask me about mesh in the past few days than ever knew of or asked about Expedia back in the day. Seriously, back then, I could go maybe months before running into someone who had so much as heard of it, even when I told them about it (and maaaaan constantly repeating "yes, it *IS* like that Irish Travel’O'City thing, but waaaay better!" used to drive me batty. Reminds me, they still around? ).
How times have changed. Yesterday, at a 6-year-old’s birthday party just ten days after we launched, the girl’s Dad started asking me about mesh. Others have said things to me like "sure, everybody’s talking about it." That’s ten days in, with zero ad spend and no tradtitional PR. Wow.
The web has become such an inherent part of how people live their lives and so many conversations are spun up so quickly via previously unknown means that the pace and breadth of the change is stunning.
All very cool, challenging, business-and-society changing stuff, if you think about it. Oh, and *that* is a big part of why we are doing mesh in the first place.
