May 6th, 2008 by Mathew | No Comments

Video whiz and all-around wild and crazy guy Mark Mckay, who won our mesh 2007 video contest and wound up doing a bunch of video for us last year, came out to a recent mesh meetup at the Irish Embassy and has put together a great little highlight reel for us (and if you haven’t got your ticket for mesh or meshU, you’d better get cracking — they’re going fast!).

Thanks a lot to Mark and to Rob Manne and the other folks at Edelman.

Tags: conference, mesh, mesh2008

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May 4th, 2007 by Mike | No Comments

Without further adieu, Rob, Stuart, Mathew, Mark and I are pleased to announce the schedule for mesh 2007 is now live.

Looking forward to meshing with you soon.

Tags: conference, mesh, schedule

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May 3rd, 2007 by Mathew | 4 Comments

In case you haven’t been keeping track, it’s May already — and that can only mean one thing: the mesh conference is less than a month away. Check around the site for more info on the amazing speakers and panelists we have coming, including Mike Arrington of TechCrunch, Jim Buckmaster of Craigslist, Tom Williams and Austin Hill, Christine Herron, Techdirt’s Mike Masnick, Rachel Sklar of Huffington Post — and the list goes on.

Tickets are going fast, but there are still a few left if you hurry

One thing we’re doing again this year is the “15 Minutes of Fame” segment on each of the two conference days, in which three deserving entrepreneurs and/or their startups get five minutes each (hence the 15 minutes) to talk to the attendees about their idea and why they are the best thing to happen to the Web since YouTube. Last year’s winners included the gang at TakingITGlobal, as well as AreYouFrank.com, Favorville.com and Pixpo. Stowe Boyd wrote about the 15 Minutes here, and Tara Hunt wrote about it here.

Same idea this year: head over to the sign-up form and give us a pitch — in 250 words or less — about you and your company or idea, and tell us why we should give you five minutes in front of the mesh crowd to wow them with your brilliance. If you get selected, you get a free one-day pass to the conference as well as those five minutes of glory.

Tags: 15MOF, conference, mesh, signup

Posted in mesh news | 4 Comments

April 11th, 2007 by Rob | 7 Comments

Come out with the mesh guys and get your political blog on, Toronto!

We had a great time at the first mesh meetup, but there are still a few weeks left to mesh ‘07 and we’d like to get together again. And this time, it’s political.

Blogger and National Post columnist Andrew Coyne, blogging M.P. Garth Turner, former Paul Martin speechwriter (and of late writer, humourist and blogger) Scott Feschuk and Phil de Vellis, the creator of the “Vote Different” Hillary ‘08 YouTube sensation, will be doing a panel at mesh ‘07 on what’s happening now with Politics and the Web, but let’s get the conversation started early!

Whether you’re a political blogger, party stalwart, consultant or media observer, or like us just plain fascinated by the impact that the Web is having on the way we discuss, organize and create political change, come on out and join us and folks from the Toronto Web 2.0 community on May 9 for snacks and libations at The Charlotte Room - details and signup at the Upcoming site, and please help to get the word out by forwarding this post to someone you can beat at eight-ball. Worst case, you can settle your political differences the way we were meant to - over libations and pool tables.

Tags: Andrew Coyne, conference, Garth Turner, meetup, mesh, mesh07, mesh2007, Paul Martin, Phil de Vellis, Scott Feschuk, Toronto, Web 2.0

Posted in mesh news | 7 Comments

April 10th, 2007 by Rob | No Comments

Loren Feldman, one of the Web’s leading video bloggers, is president of 1938 Media where he is responsible for directing the overall operations of the company as well as corporate development and strategic planning. Prior to founding 1938 Media, he founded and published NY Hotshot magazine. and was a creative director with MusicVision, an interactive advertising agency, where he developed online advertising campaigns for companies such as Nokia and Scion.

Tags: 1938 media, conference, Loren Feldman, mesh, mesh07, mesh2007, video, Web 2.0

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April 10th, 2007 by Rob | 2 Comments

Garth Turner is known and trusted by millions of Canadians as an MP, author, broadcaster, columnist, speaker, successful entrepreneur and opinion leader. Over the past decade, Turner has authored seven best-selling books on business and finance, hosted the country’s most-watched business television show, and traveled nationally as a much in-demand public speaker.

In addition, six years ago Turner founded Toronto-based Millennium Media Television, which became the country’s largest independent producer of network television programming. In addition, he has owned and operated a string of businesses in the book publishing, commercial real estate, tourism and hospitality sectors.

On January 23, 2006, Garth Turner was elected as Member of Parliament for the constituency of Halton, Ontario. In previous years, Garth served as the Member of Parliament for the former riding of Halton-Peel from 1988 to 1993. During this time, he held more than 70 Town Hall meetings in all corners of the riding - a tradition he continues today - and went on to be a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party, then federal Minister of National Revenue. As Revenue Minister, he was instrumental in promoting a tax amnesty that allowed tens of thousands of taxpayers to pay their outstanding amounts with no penalty.

Garth is a strong believer in environmental protection, and served as a national director of the Vancouver-based Sierra Legal Defence Fund, which fights to uphold environmental legislation. He has served as national spokesperson for the Alzheimer Society of Canada, and has spoken across Canada on the need for better policies to deal with our aging population.

Turner is the country’s acknowledged leader in “digital democracy,” providing Canadians with the leading interactive political web site, routinely receiving two million hits a month, and featuring daily webcasting through the innovative MPtv, as well as an extremely popular personal weblog.

In October, 2006, Turner was suspended from the Conservative caucus of Stephen Harper over policy and communication differences. He then sat as an independent MP, and distinguished himself as an effective force in Parliament, largely responsible for the government introducing pension-splitting for retired couples.

In February, 2007, he was welcomed into the federal Liberal caucus by leader Stéphane Dion.

Garth Turner is a member of Canada’s Privy Council; was educated at University of Toronto Schools, University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario; and has held positions with the Globe and Mail, Sun Media, Maclean’s, CTV and other major media corporations.

Tags: conference, Garth Turner, mesh, mesh07, mesh2007, Toronto, Web 2.0

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April 9th, 2007 by Rob | No Comments

Mark Dowds is an original thinker, entrepreneur, coach, and leader. He is known for his deep insight into people, relational dynamics, and his systems perspective on organizational development. His ability to explain and process communicational barriers and opportunities has helped many organizations navigate bureaucracy, retain staff, and create a high performing culture.

Mark has held several executive positions throughout his life and chose to move into consultancy and entrepreneurship to fulfill a vision of workplace democracy and engaged contribution. He works toward this vision by consulting with large corporations and funded start-ups while investing the remainder of his time in making young entrepreneurs successful. He has a trail of success and has launched over 50 new businesses in Canada.

Mark’s soft skills and smile often disarm people and make the space for firm and straight communication. His no nonsense style of facilitation helps clients get to their desired outcome while actively engaging in the process. He typically utilizes a dry sense of wit, humor, and creativity that makes for some great motivational and inspiring communication. He loves to see people’s eyes light up as they discover their passion and place at work and is committed to drawing out the best in each person he meets.

Mark has instructionally designed many eLearning and classroom training experiences and has published several books which gives structure to his hobby of writing. Mark is a certified NLP trainer from the NLP University in Santa Cruz, California and is currently completing his masters in Organizational Psychology focusing on systems psychodynamics. He has a certificate in Business Development and Marketing, a diploma in Care and Counseling, and a degree in Divinity. He sits on the Board of Directors for the Ireland Fund of Canada and Give Meaning Foundation.

Some of the clients Mark has worked with include Amex, Royal Bank of Canada, Rogers Communication, Youth Specialties, CIBC, and many funded start-ups. He hails from Ireland and resides in Toronto, Canada.

Tags: conference, Creation Step, Indoor Playground, Mark Dowds, mesh, mesh07, mesh2007, Toronto, Web 2.0

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April 3rd, 2007 by Rob | No Comments

Working with management teams, entrepreneurs and organizations, Leesa Barnes teaches insider tips on how to open doors, generate leads and make money using a podcast. She is President of Toronto-based Caprica Interactive Marketing and Leesa has helped businesses worldwide generate an income from podcasting.

Leesa’s practical advice is based on 13-years working in the technology field, most recently at Sun Microsystems. She’s a regular contributor to Globe and Mail’s Report on Small Business Magazine and was named by Canada’s Word of Mouth Expert as one of Canada’s Top Bloggers. She is currently writing her first book called Podcasting for Profit: Ways Individuals and Businesses Can Generate Income Through Audio & Video Podcasting (MaxPress, Fall 2007).

Tags: Caprica, conference, Leesa Barnes, mesh, mesh07, mesh2007, podcasting, podcasts, Toronto, Web 2.0

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March 29th, 2007 by Rob | No Comments

Amber joined “CityNews” and CP24 as its New Media Specialist in 2006, where she reports on new media and interactive trends for the evening news and hosts a half-hour web news program called Webnation. Before joining CHUM, Amber co-hosted and co-produced various shows for G4TechTV, was the Tech Columnist on CBC Newsworld and served on the judging panel at the 2000 Webby Awards. She also worked as a web strategist for Microsoft Canada and Razorfish San Francisco.

“Amber Mac” is also a popular blogging personality and maintains both her personal site ambermac.com and the Inside Popnology blog at citynews.ca. Originally from Charlottetown, PEI, Amber MacArthur earned her BA in English from Dalhousie University and her Bachelor of Journalism at University of King’s College.

Tags: Amber Macarthur, conference, mesh, mesh07, mesh2007, Toronto

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March 22nd, 2007 by Rob | No Comments

For the last 19 years, Kate has somehow or another been involved in marketing on the internet. Before the web was graphical, she used mailing lists and FTP sites to market educational software. Over her career she has had the privilege of working with top-notch companies (either agency-side or as part of the company) to develop interactive and creative strategies that engaged audiences. This includes companies such as Nike, Molson, Petro-Canada. Procter & Gamble, Canada Trust and the Royal Canadian Mint.

Kate is a believer in the power of online communities whether the community is as technologically simple as a discussion forum or as advanced as a 3-D virtual world. She is an active participant in a number of online communities, including Second Life as the avatar Katicus Sparrow.

Driven by her passion for social media, Kate recently launched her new firm, reInvent! Communications, to work with marketers who want to develop more authentic relationships with their customers. Her most recent assignment is providing digital marketing direction on a soon-to-be launched social networking product for families.

Kate has been a part-time lecturer in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information Studies. And she has also served on the Advertiser’s Council of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada. Kate writes about the intersection of marketing and technology on her blog.

Tags: conference, Kate Trgovac, mesh, mesh07, mesh2007, Toronto, Web 2.0

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