What do you want mesh to be?
One of the real pleasures of being involved in mesh is hearing the ideas that people have for improving it. We get lots of comments – the great majority very positive, some critical but constructive, and others, well, not so much. But we really do appreciate and think carefully about all feedback, and use it to try and make mesh better.
So we’d like to ask everyone who came to mesh – whether you were a speaker or a guest – and anyone who didn’t come – whether because mesh07 wasn’t quite what you wanted or just because you couldn’t make it – to chime in and give us comments on what you’d like to see at mesh, how we could make it better, things we didn’t quite get right – or anything else you’d like to say to help us make mesh better.
You can leave your comments on this blog if you’d like, or just email them to us at info@meshconference.com. And once again, thanks for meshing with us.
Posted in mesh 2007 news, mesh news
19 Comments
During the wiki session there appeared to be a desire to explore the idea of using social media on the enterprise. Whether this is internal collaboration or knowledge sharing outside the firewall with business partners. I think Mesh could support another track focused on Enterprise 2.0 and I think Tom, Jevon and I should organize it 
I waited too long to buy my ticket and Mesh sold out. A live stream of the conference would have been a great alternative for those who couldn’t make it. (Yes, I know there are videos available for download)
Seeing as it’s a conference about the web and social media, a live feed with the ability to chat with others and maybe even have the speakers take some questions from the online chat room, would be a really great addition.
Great feedback, all – thanks very much.
I think there was a real split in terms of personality to the conference.
Day 1 was pretty flat, with most of the conversations (on the panel) focused on the newspaper industry, DRM and PR in today’s environment. I can understand the latter category getting attention and actually found it mildly beneficial, but the other two were indications of 1999 creeping into the conversation. Thankfully no one stood on a pedestal to declare this internet thing a fad… but it wouldn’t have been completely out of left field considering the focal point of the on-stage conversations I bounced around, to and from.
I’d actually prefer to not hear about Newspapers (the traditional version) or about DRM at Mesh again, because they’ve both been on course for disruptive changes for years… the debate is over, it’s just the newspapers and major labels who still believe it’s up for discussion.
Newscorp buying Myspace or or Terry McBride telling his roster to dump their label deals and distribute their music DRM free or EMI for that fact… those are newspaper and music stories. And if I have to hear Gian moderate another tech conference, it’ll probably keep me from attending… Sam The Record Man???
Day 2 was much better… the vibe was up, “newspaper” wasn’t the word of the day and interesting people were being asked interesting questions.
The breaks between sessions were a little long (seemed longer on day1), so I would suggest tightening that up or fill them with more people giving 5 minutes at a microphone to talk about their game. That way i know who to talk to when I’m looking for people to jam with.
Overall, Mesh is probably one of the more rewarding conferences in the CDN marketplace, but it fell short from achieving what the year prior did… I’ll give next year another crack in hopes that Mesh doesn’t fall victim to the hot/cold temperatures that trends online go through…
But I gotta wonder if hope alone is enough?? All this bitching probably means I should try lending a hand…
Hey guys – saw a great speaker yesterday with IAB – i’m sure you know of/seen him speak before. Mitch Joel of Twist Image from MTL. Great overview of all-things social media/Web 2.0-related. Perhaps a bit rudimentary for your Mesh audience, but a very engaging speaker and provides great context for blogs/podcasts/wikis/virtual worlds – and more importantly how to leverage these tools for marketing/advertising/PR and clients.
Thanks for asking our input – overall, I was really impressed with Mesh and will be back next year!
Hey,
I attended mesh for the first time this year and had a great time, learned a lot, etc. However, I have to agree with Allen Rozon and his comments that there was too much of a focus on the newspaper world. I’d have preferred to hear keynotes from companies who have implemented new technology successfully to enhance customer service, relationships, etc.
I also would have liked to have seen more workshops. I attended the podcasting workshop and found it really valuable…so maybe less keynotes and more practical “take-away” workshops would be good.
One comment about the 15 minutes of fame folks…it was really hard to catch the names of their products/companies. Perhaps the facilitator asking them questions could repeat the company/product names so they audience has a chance to write them down or look them up on the Web.
Thanks for organizing a great event. See you next year!
This is the second year in a row that I wanted to attend Mesh, but it was sold out and there were only a limited number of student tickets. I actually really wanted to attend since my PhD research work is looking at the intelligence behind the data within Web 2.0 and looking at virtual communities, and also to meet some of the speakers to discuss my research and ideas.
Most of the information about Mesh, I’ve read through this blog and the conference web site and photos. What I would recommend for next year’s Mesh, is to have podcasts at the end of each day that kind of gives a summary of what happened in the conference. Also, it would be nice to have podcasts of each speaker so people like me who can’t attend the conference can listen to what happened and get something from it.
I also agree about having some kind of online chat, or even a webcast of the sessions, and video that could be posted up to YouTube.
The Mesh team did a great job of encouraging audience participation – which is very reflective of Web 2.0 (where the audience has the tools to participate in conversations re: comments, wikis, etc)…
But how wonderful would it be if next year each session had live streaming video and chat so even more people could participate in Mesh?
At Web 2.0 Expo in SF in April, they had a Twitter feed streaming during the conference so guests could Twitter about what they were thinking, questions they had, where they were going for lunch, resources they were in need of, etc. It was a great way to “enhance serendipity” among guests, you could say. Something like this would help Mesh attendees connect and network more easily.
The panels were great, and I look forward to more “trend-makers” on panels next year talking about new innovations, how the world is changing, pros and cons of technology, etc and how we can think differently about the web… Not as the big bad wolf that’s threatening music labels or newspapers – but that’s helping people in dev’p countries access information, letting people collaborate to find innovative solutions to business/science/social problems, etc.
Great work guys, and I can’t wait for next year’s event!
Good conference overall, but I do have some hopefully constructive criticism:
1. I found the streaming slightly frustrating. Day 1 was Social/Journalism and Day 2 PR/Business. As a result there ended up being slots where I wasn’t particularly interested in any of the sessions and times in which I had to choose between two that I wanted to attend. Mesh attracts a diverse audience, so perhaps having a business stream and a societal impact stream that are spread over both days would work better.
2. I would also like to see greater debate in some of the panels. During a couple of the panels I attended all of the panelists essentially agreed with each other, which can make for a less than interesting discussion.
3. Generally, I think Mesh should try to be forward thinking with sessions that try to anticipate what’s coming next rather than how the glaciers of the business and media world are trying/will have to try to deal with what is happening right now. I think the first Mesh did this well, but this year’s Mesh felt like a bit of a rehash at times.
4. Finally, it might be time to find a bigger venue. Mars is great, but we had 400 people at the first Mesh and 400 people at the second, that means that a lot of people who have come to either of the previous Meshes won’t be able to make it to the third if the capacity is kept the same. Having such a small capacity also means that those who have come to a previous Mesh have a big advantage when getting tickets. If you’ve just recently joined the Canadian tech scene, you probably have a slim chance of getting a conference pass. Obviously since the conference sold out so quickly, the demand is there.
[...] I’ll admit it – this reference made me laugh – a lot. Hat tip to Ryan. Related Posts [...]
I was lucky enough to attend both Mesh’s and I agree with some of the earlier comments that Day 1 fell a bit short and seemed to be very similar to mesh06. I felt the keynotes across both days were very strong, but the Day 1 sessions (at least those I attended) weren’t as strong as Day 2.
I think we might be getting to the point of needing a beginner and advanced stream, rather than the topic streaming. From speaking with various people in attendance there was a sharp contrast from those who are already in the space and looking for thought leadership versus people who are there to get exposed to it or to learn the basics.
I also agree with Allen above, that there was a bit too much reaction from the old guard rather than forward thinking ideas on Day 1.
Great conference guys. I got so much out of it and had a blast.
In terms of feedback, I agree with Ryan’s first three points:
1. Simultaneous streaming
2. More debate on the panels
3. More focus on the future
Good conference, it was well worth the trip from the west coast. Some feedback:
1. More diversity in terms of presentation format would be good – the “conversation” format is fine for some speakers, but is very dependent on the chemistry of the panel and the skill of the moderator. For some of the sessions the topics discussed never got below a surface treatment, or were a rehash of comments heard before/elsewhere.
2. More workshops. They allow for a different, less passive focus, and can more easily be targeted at different levels of expertise in a way that general sessions cannot.
3. Make more use of the screen – there were many times when I wanted to “see” what someone was talking about (particularly the 15 minutes of fame people).
4. Set up a way for people who don’t already know one another to find people they might particularly want to network with, rather than relying on serendipity. I have a particular interest in talking to people about developing a tagging solution for vertical search, but found it hard to connect with people working in that specific area. Something like a “seekers and solvers” app crossed with Twitter might work. People could text or IM their particular interests/needs beforehand or during the conference then set up meetings with other participants during the (long) breaks.
What an amazing conference! Thanks so much for all of your hard work!
I agree with many of the comments that perhaps it would be great to mix and “mesh” the content bit rather than segregate them into daily categories.
Also – one idea to help people connect might be to ask who would like their contact info published to a space on this site or a handout of sorts.
Thanks again, very glad I made the trip!
Michelle Davies
During the wiki session there appeared to be a desire to explore the idea of using social media on the enterprise. Whether this is internal collaboration or knowledge sharing outside the firewall with business partners.
First time attending mesh. It was an amazing experience to be a part of a panel and share my views on how youth are using web 2.0 not to mention the overall atmosphere of the conference.
Thanks again to the Stuart, Rob, Mike, Mathew and Mark for the opportunity.
I was at Mesh 2006 (loved it!!!) but missed 2007 due to travel. I’m not too sure what the emphasis was on in 2007 but in 2006 I found that there was more emphasis on blogs and less on social networking sites (the latter being what I am more interested in). I would like to hear how organizations are capitalizing from new opportunities created by sites like Facebook. A mix of Canadian, US and non-North-American views could be interesting too if speakers are available.
eHealth
Enjoyed the conference – it was good to re-connect with folks within the industry. My feedback would be to make use of the big screen by highlighting who the speakers are, the company they represent etc. It would have also been really great to display the website in discussion to make the discussions more interactive and memorable.
I would have also appreciated a program booklet during the conference which provided speaker profiles and further info on discussions.