The day kicked off with a keynote chat between Stuart MacDonald and Greg Hounslow, who handles social media for WestJet and told an astonished crowd that he used to single-handedly run the airline’s Twitter account and its Facebook page, although he has help now. And in addition to the Marcus-Marcus-and-Mark panel, we had a one-on-one with the guy everyone loves to hate (but not really) — Klout CEO Joe Fernandez, who made a lot of users mad when the online-influence ranking service changed its algorithm and everyone’s score dropped.

We also had a conversation with Steve Rubel — vice-president of digital strategy for Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations agency — and Dave Kerpen, who runs a social consulting firm called Likeable based in New York (and was also a one-time contestant on a reality show called Paradise Island). That panel talked about the benefits and disadvantages of Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, and whether there is room for another social network in most people’s lives.

Other panels and presentations included one looking practical tips for social media in the trenches — with Gail Gabrielle Ordogh of Real Sports, Sheldon Levine of Sysomos & Dorothy Steel from Invest Ontario, as well as a panel on the future of search with Kunal Das from Microsoft and Krista LaRiviere from gShift. We also had one that talked about how luxury brands are using the web and digital marketing, with Joanna Track from Dealuxe, Felicia Yukich from Four Seasons and Jason Lonsdale from TAXI.

Our keynote speaker Joe Fernandez from Klout was also kind enough to sit in on a panel about “big data” and the potential it has for marketers, along with Rod Smith (one of the original creators of IBM’s Watson supercomputer). And another of the afternoon’s panels looked at what life might be like in a “post-desktop world,” with Benjie Levy of Score Mobile, Nina Sohi from Blu Trumpet and Andrew Osis of Poynt. We also had a conversation with Scott Lake of Swix and Patrick Gladney of Social Media Group about the benefits of social analytics and how to tell what data is important to you and your business.

Thanks again to everyone who came and meshed with us — on to Vancouver!

Things are about to get a little mesh-y this week, and over at SMG we’re really excited about it!

SMG is proud to sponsor and be a part of meshmarketing, intermingling with some of the brightest minds in the industry and sharing some of our know-how along the way. What have we learned this year? First, that listening really pays off, especially online.

As a member of the meshmarketing panel: social media beyond monitoring , SMG’s Patrick Gladney, Director and Group Head – Research and Insights, will guide you through social media monitoring and what to do once you know what’s being said about you online.

What else have we learned?

That partnering with a top traditional media monitoring service not only adds value but allows for us to offer clients a complete multi-channel monitoring service.

That’s why we are so excited to announce our new partnership with Canada’s leading media monitoring service FPInfomart, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

What can our clients expect from this new venture? A complete holistic view of the communications landscape that is unmatched in the marketplace, enabling them to understand and act upon what’s being said in any channel.

Want to learn more? Visit www.socialmediagroup.com or call us at 416.703.3764

We look forward to seeing you at the conference, catching up and hearing all about what you’ve been learning too.

Months in the planning, meshmarketing is happening tomorrow at the Allstream Centre.

This is the third meshmarketing, which was started after people who attended the marketing stream at mesh asked for more in-depth and tactical sessions. They wanted to hear from speakers who could provide them with tangible and action-able insight and information to do their jobs better or differently.

With speakers coming from across North America, we have put together a line-up with expertise in digital marketing, content marketing, social media, mobile, data and influence discovery.

meshmarketing kicks off with a morning of thought-provoking discussions that features Stuart MacDonald in conversation with WestJet’s Greg Hounslow about the importance of community, while Mark Evans will sit down with IdeaPaint’s Marcus Wilson and Marcus Sheridan (aka The Sales Lion) about the growing focus and value of content marketing.

After lunch, Klout.com’s Joe Fernandez will provide some insight into why influence and influencers have become such an intriguing, interesting and controversial part of the digital and social media marketing landscapes. Anyone who has a Klout score, particularly those who their scores drop recently after Klout adjusted its methodologies, will no doubt be interested in learning more about the influence world by Fernandez, whose company finds itself within the eye of the hurricane.

Then, meshmarketing gets down and dirty with eight interactive and hands-on sessions and workshops that will provide people with what they need and want to change how they do business. It’s a chance to hear from not only experts but people in the trenches about what’s happening, what’s over the horizon and what businesses need to do and think to stay competition amid an ever-changing landscape.

Unlike other digital marketing conferences that focus on big picture/big thought issues, meshmarketing has been created for people who do digital marketing but looking for new approaches, tools, techniques and ideas on how to do it better, smarter, faster or more successfully. As well, a key part of coming to meshmarketing is being able to network and connect with not only people within your industry but people who work in other sectors who can offer a new or different perspective.

Tickets for meshmarketing are still on sale. Here’s where you can check out the schedule and the speaker line-up.

Speakers: Rod Smith (IBM) and Joe Fernandez (Klout). Moderated by Stuart MacDonald.

Why this panel? For many companies, data can be one of their most valuable assets. The insight and intelligence provided by data can provide a company with a wealth information to make strategic and tactical decisions to meet the needs of customers, attract more business and drive sales. The challenge for many companies, however, is effectively dealing with the wealth of data being collected so it can become a valuable asset as opposed to a lot of data.

This panel will give you insight into how to measure, analyze and leverage the growing mountain of data to make smarter strategic and tactical decisions. It will also focus on the most relevant metrics the best approaches and tools to use.

Links:

- A Conversation with IBM’s Mr. Big Data (InfoWorld)

- IBM Makes Big Data Easy for the Little Guy (GigaOm)

- Big Data, Bigger Brains (Klout)

Tickets to meshmarketing, which happens on Nov. 15 at the Allstream Centre, can be purchased here. Here is the complete schedule and list of speakers.

Speakers: Gail Gabrielle Ordogh (Real Sports), Sheldon Levine (Sysomos) and Dorothy Steel (Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation). Moderated by Michael O’Connor Clarke

Why this panel? For all the talk about best practices and tools, the best advice about using social media comes from companies and people on the front lines who can provide real-world insight into how to leverage social media to drive awareness, engagement, customer service and sales. Learn from people who work in the social media trenches every day how they do their jobs, approach different situations and achieve corporate objectives while using the right tools to be as efficient and productive as possible.

Some of the questions to be addressed include:

-          Why is it important to your organization to incorporate social media in your communications plans?

-          What has been your biggest challenge to date with social media use?

-          What advice do you have for organizations nervous about making the leap into social media?

-          Talking about social media measurement, what’s most important to you?

-          Of the other organizations, brands and companies you’ve seen working in this space, are there any whose social media efforts you particularly admire? Why?

-          Of the social media platforms in use at your organization, which is most important to you strategically? Personally?

-          Where does GooglePlus fit within your plans for 2012? Watch and learn, evaluate, test, actively implement, or ignore?

-          Speed seems to be a constant topic within social media. How fast do you think an organization needs to respond to audience comments, questions or complaints?

The Panelists: Steve Rubel and Dave Kerpen with moderator Mathew Ingram.

Although there are thousands of social networking services, the landscape is dominated by a small handful of players: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and perhaps Google+.

The question is whether there is room my new entrants. For all the talk about Diaspora and, mostly recently, Unthink, there hasn’t been a new kid of social block of any significance in the past few years with the exception of Google+, which is supported by Google’s digital dominance.

What would it take for a new player to establish a strong foothold? What would a new service have to offer and how would it have to market itself to capture the attention of social media users who are increasingly reluctant to wander from existing services? And what should brands do when a new service appears on the scene? Should they jump onto the bandwagon or wait on the sidelines until they know the new service has traction? Come see Rubel and Kerpen provide insight into the competitive social media landscape.

Tickets for meshmarketing can be purchased here. Information about the speakers and schedule is here.

Our partners have let make mesh a national conversation. Yahoo! And Desjardins were quick to lend their support to Calgary, Edmonton and our up coming Dec.5 event in Vancouver.

You would be hard-pressed to find a conference that appreciates its sponsors more then mesh so we’d like to say thank-you to those who have made this journey possible!

CIRA has been a key part of mesh. The .ca domain is like a Canadian flag that says you believe in a safe, secure and trustworthy experience.  We, at mesh, are honoured they have chosen mesh as a key way to engage the Canadian online community.

Chevrolet is another partner supporting mesh on a national level.  While we might fly to get to some of these places, we drive a Chevy! In fact, if you can’t find Mathew Ingram on November 15, it’s possible he is still circling the block in his wickedly cool Volt, courtesy of our friends at GM.

Marketwire + Sysomos is the newest partner to mesh on a national level.  Their focus on integrating traditional media and digital and social environments to drive more meaningful conversations couldn’t align better with what the core messaging at mesh is all about.

We are also very excited to welcome Entrinsic to meshmarketing, an amazing sponsor that joined us at mesh11 last May. Entrinsic is a corporate social media agency run by Eli Singer, a long-time participant in Toronto social media and unconference scene.  Eli and Entrinsic are producing Social Media Week Toronto on Feb. 13-17, 2012.

When we were in Edmonton, we partnered with MiniGroup, and we’re excited to bring them to meshmarketing. Minigroup is a private platform that lets you share the right stuff with the right people without intrusion from strangers, friends-of-friends, or search engines…all from a single account. Welcome to Toronto MiniGroup!

While the content at mesh why we sell out every year, we know, secretly, you all love the snacks and swag mesh is so well known for! Please show our sponsors some love on Nov. 15^,. We can’t wait to see you all there!

Speakers: Patrick Gladney, Social Media Group, and Scott Lake, Swix

What’s it about: In many respects, social media monitoring is table stakes for most companies. Given the growth of the landscape, companies need to know what’s being said about their products, services, brands, competitors and industry, where the activity is taking place, and who’s leading the conversations.

But what happens after the social media data has been aggregated, filtered and presented? What do companies do with it so they gain the insight needed to make strategic and tactical changes?

Why you should attend: This panel is focused on answering the question “Now what?” so people can get a better grasp on what how they gain wisdom, insight and intelligence from social media monitoring.

Here’s where you can find more information about the speakers and schedule for meshmarketing, which happens on Nov. 15 at the Allstream Centre in Toronto. Tickets can be purchased here.

Presentation

Speaker: Hiten Shah, CEO/co-founder, KISSMetrics

What’s it about: These days, data rules the roost on the Web. The more data that can be collected about your users and how they behave, the better you can serve their needs with the right content, offers and advertising opportunities. But how does a company approach the mountains of data being collected? How do they make sense of it to make better strategic and tactical decisions?

In this presentation/workshop, Hiten Shah will provide hands-on insight about how to identify, understand and improve the metrics driving your business. Hiten will covers areas such as conversion rates and funnel paths, how to look at your traffic sources to get information about things such as signups conversations, upgrade conversions and referrals, and offer ways to answer questions about how Web site visitors and customers are using your Web site or application.

Why you should attend: For a growing number of business, data can’t be ignored. It needs to be collected, filtered, analyzed and provide strategic and tactical insight. This presentation is for anyone who wants real-world insight into how to leverage data.

The speakers: Kunal Das, Bing evangelist, Microsoft; and Krista LaRiviere, co-founder and CEO, gShift Labs.

The focus: Search is ubiquitous but it doesn’t mean that it’s not changing or evolving. The emergence of the real-time Web and social media is causing big changes what is being searched, what is being spidered, the content available, and when it’s surfaces. While Google still rules the search roost, there are new players on the scene such as Bing, as well as search engines focused on the real-time and social media marketplaces.

Kunal Das and Kristra LaRiviere bring different perspectives to the panel. Das is responsible for evangelizing Microsoft’s vision and strategy for search and inspiring top marketers, key agencies, and the wider search marketing industry.

LaRiviere, a serial entrepreneur, is looking to grow gShift, a Barrie, Ont.-based startup that is taking a new and different approach to search engine optimization by giving companies and agencies new tools to examine, manage and change their SEO strategies.

Here is the complete schedule and speakers for meshmarketing.

Tickets for meshmarketing can be purchased here.