Watching television used to be a simple exercise: grab the remote, sit on the couch, select a channel, and then watch whatever was on (in the bad old days, you had to actually get up the change the channel). For content-makers, it was simply a matter of creating shows and then convincing the networks to broadcast them. Today, however, television is a completely new experience — not only are there thousands of channels, but we have seen the arrival of time-shifting and the arrival of “social viewing,” thanks to Twitter and other tools like the iPad and Internet-connected set-top boxes.

Watching TV is now an experience that can take place at any time, and can be shared with family, friends and communities regardless of their physical location. While the couch potato hasn’t gone extinct yet, more consumers clearly want to participate and engage with the shows they watch. What impact will this have on the television market and on marketers that have been using the same advertising model for the past 60 years? What are the key trends in social TV, and what are the opportunities and challenges that it offers as a delivery and consumption medium? How should companies be adapting to take advantage of it?

Those are some of the topics we’re planning to address with our panel at meshmarketing, which includes Dave Bullock, CEO and co-founder of Live Hive Systems — which designs and creates TV-related games and events; Francois Bedard of Plan B Development, a consulting firm focused on the future of TV; and Jonathan Savage, the vice-president of digital media at Score Media Inc. Come and join us!

See you there?

Rohit Bhargava, marketer, blogger, speaker and author of the much anticipated book Personality Not Included, will be at the Pogue Mahone Irish Pub, giving away signed copies of his book. Radian6 sez make sure you say hi to Tim Tozer from Radian6, on your way in. He’ll direct you to the reserved cocktail section for the event. They’ve booked room for 30 people to attend, so be there early to claim your spot.

Please come and join us after mesh for the mesh wrap party, hosted by our good friends at Edelman. Continue the conversation at L’espresso bar Mercurio at Bloor and St. George, from 5 to 7 p.m. on the last day of mesh – Thursday, May 22. See you there!!