mesh and the gender issue
With this year’s mesh conference just out of the gate, we’ve heard through the grapevine that some people are wondering why none of our keynote speakers are women. It’s a fair question, and raises an issue that we spent a lot of time thinking about when we were preparing for mesh ‘06, and thought about even more during our preparations for mesh ‘07.
There’s been a lot of discussion in the blogosphere about diversity in technology conferences, and we have been paying attention to it with great interest, because we were never all that satisfied with the results of our efforts to involve women in mesh ‘06 — and we came out of it determined to do a better job this year. The fact that a lot of this discussion has been taking place in public has helped us understand people’s concerns and how we could address them at mesh ’07.
So for almost a year, as we’ve been building our wish list of potential mesh ’07 speakers, we’ve been looking for smart, accomplished, enthusiastic women to invite to mesh ‘07. We’ve read everything we could find in the ‘sphere about potential candidates (Christine Herron, a venture capitalist and blogger, is a great chronicler of this issue), and we’ve reached out to people we know in the community for recommendations on potential speakers. And rest assured that there are **a lot** of women we’d like to — and plan to — invite to mesh ’07.
As far as keynotes are concerned, we started asking potential keynoters several months ago. During that process, we approached several women who we thought would be great for mesh – accomplished entrepreneurs, all of them. In one specific case, we actually spent a few weeks in discussions, trying to find a way to accommodate scheduling. But in each case, we just couldn’t make it work.
We remain committed to putting together the most diverse mesh possible. As we develop the remainder of our programming, we will continue to focus on attracting a diverse group of top-notch people. Many of them will be women. We’re really excited about the possibilities for this year’s line-up, and we think you will be, too. If you have suggestions about potential panelists and/or workshop leaders, we would love to hear from you. You can leave a comment here, or e-mail us at speakers@meshconference.com.
Tags: 2007, conference, mesh, women
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mesh 2007 is a go for launch!
Houston, we have liftoff.
For some time now, people have been emailing and calling and otherwise buttonholing us (that is, the mesh organizers — Mark, Rob, Stuart, Mike and me) to ask when the next mesh Web conference was going to launch, and we are pleased to say that moment is now.
Sorry to keep everyone waiting, but we think — and we hope you’ll agree — that it has been worth the wait 
Just as it was last year (memories and podcasts here), mesh 2007 will be an interactive forum for talking and learning about how the Web is affecting media, marketing, business and society, and we have lined up what we think is a killer combination of keynotes, panels and workshops to help make that possible.
At this point, we can tell you that the “keynote conversations” for the four streams will consist of:
- Michael Arrington, founder/editor of TechCrunch.com, speaking about new media and journalism in the age of the Web
- Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist.org, talking about how the Web is disrupting traditional business models
- Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman Co., on the tension between the openness of the Web and traditional marketing
- Tom Williams, founder of GiveMeaning.com, and Austin Hill, founder of Gifter.org, talking about the Web as a tool for charity.
So come to mesh and ask Mike Arrington what it’s like to build a new media entity that gets quoted in the New York Times and profiled in the Wall Street Journal — but one that has also been criticized for getting too close to its Web startup sources.
Come to mesh and ask Richard Edelman how it felt when his firm, a leader in Web-based marketing and public relations, came under fire for the behaviour of a blog launched by one of its largest clients.
Come to mesh and hear Jim Buckmaster tell you why Craigslist isn’t interested in making the $50-million (or more) in revenue that some analysts have estimated it could make every year if it wanted to.
And come to mesh and find out why Tom Williams and Austin Hill see the Web as a powerful force for social networking and social action.
And a big thank-you to all of our sponsors: Windows Live, Edelman, Yahoo, JLA Venture Partners, eBay, ITAC, Expedia.ca, Canada News Wire, gwp brandengineering, Cisco, Chapters/Indigo, MaRS and our friends at MCC Planners. Thanks for helping us to make this possible.
Tags: 2007, conference, launch, mesh
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Engines are running, ready for liftoff
It pains me to admit that it’s been awhile since we posted anything here on the mesh blog, and for that we — Mathew, Mark, Rob, Mike and Stuart — are eternally sorry. As penance for our sins, we have engaged in a variety of rituals (many involving a prescribed quantity of fine ales and lagers), which I won’t go into any further for fear of boring you.
Let’s just say that we have been working hard to get our ducks in a row for the next mesh conference, and you’ll be happy to know that we’re very close to being able to announce our keynotes and open the doors for advance ticket sales.
Last year’s mesh was such a fantastic experience for all of us, with what we thought was a great mix of speakers, panelists, moderators and other contributors — including the participants, of course, or the “people formerly known as the audience,” as Jay Rosen likes to call them — and some terrific social events as well.
We’re really hoping that we can reproduce that same kind of experience this year, and with your help we know we’ll be able to. So hang in there, and we’ll be letting you all know about the keynote speakers for this year and the details about ticket sales just as soon as we possibly can.
Tags: 2007, conference, launch, mesh
Posted in mesh news | 2 Comments
