Day 1 - April 7, 2009

Day 2 - April 8, 2009

Keynote and Panel Descriptions

Media

Media Keynote (9:20 AM)

Mike Masnick, the founder and CEO of consulting firm Floor64 and chief blogger at the influential technology blog Techdirt, talks with Mathew Ingram about the impact of the Web on media of all kinds, and managing the tension between scarcity and abundance.

David Usher Talks With Mark Evans (1:30 PM)

Join Mark Evans for a one-on-one discussion with one of Canada's most Web-friendly and connected musicians, the former lead singer of the band Moist. David Usher will talk about why he is interested in social media as an artist, and about how his use of these tools impacts him as a musician as well as allowing him to connect directly with his fans.

Hyperlocal Media -- Does It Work? (2:50 PM)

Nora Young, of CBC's show Spark, talks with David Topping of Torontoist, Tim Shore of BlogTo.com and Matthew Blackett of Spacing.ca about the challenges and opportunities of running a hyper-local media website business, and whether the latter outweigh the former.

The Future Of News (4:10 PM)

Are blog aggregation services the future of news, or are "citizen journalism" and "crowdfunding" of news the future? Can algorithms reproduce the functions of the traditional media, or are human beings essential? Join Mathew Ingram as he talks with Techmeme founder Gabe Rivera, NowPublic senior editor Rachel Nixon and Spot.us founder David Cohn about how the news media are changing and evolving.

Society

Society Keynote (10:45 AM)

Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva.org, the world's first peer-to-peer microlending site, talks with Rob Hyndman about Kiva's mission and her observations about social entrepreneurship.

How the Web is Changing the Way We Learn (1:30 PM)

Join Sacha Chua as she talks with John Philip Green of LearnHub, Justin Medved of the York School and Clare Brett of the University of Toronto for a discussion in the impact that the Web is having on the way we learn. Distance learning, new models of learning, rich media - the web is transforming the way we relate to information, educators and students and this panel will discuss the implications.

Social Media and the Political Campaign (2:50 PM)

The Obama08 campaign forever changed the way we think of the modern political campaign. Join Rachel Sklar as she talks with Glynnis MacNicol of FishbowlNY, Micah Sifry of TechPresident.com and Andrew Coyne of Maclean's for a conversation about how the rules have changed and how we can expect political campaigns to use social media in the future.

Using the Web for Good (4:10 PM)

From raising awareness and money for survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, to local grassroots campaigns to build community, the Web is changing the way we relate to and support causes. Join Darren Barefoot as he talks with Duarte Da Silva, Gavin Thompson of Microsoft and Sarah Prevette of RedWire for a discussion of recent local and global examples, and what they tell us about how we can use the Web for good.

Business

Business Keynote (9:10 AM)

Venture capitalist Howard Lindzon talks with venture fund advisor and blogger Paul Kedrosky about some of new online services, products and trends on the near and far horizon. What’s beyond Web 2.0, how the social media landscape is going evolve, and what’s happening in mobile.

The Benefits and Risks of Building for a Platform (2:50 PM)

Jevon MacDonald talks with Geoff Roche, Kevin Talbot of Royal Bank and venture capitalist Howard Lindzon about the pros and cons about building services and applications for platforms such as the Blackberry, iPhone, Facebook and Twitter.

Boostrapping a Startup (4:10 PM)

Michael O'Connor Clarke talks with Mic Berman of Embarkonit, Keith McSpurren of CoverItLive and Carol Leaman of PostRank about the ins and out of running a start-up at a time when financing can be a challenge. How do you hire the right people, create the right culture and drive marketing and sales in smart and cost-efficient ways?

Marketing

Managing your Ad Buy (1:30 PM)

These are challenging times to be an advertiser – or a publisher. Meeting business objectives on either side of the media equation is more difficult now than ever, and not just because audiences are harder to find and messages tougher to deliver. In fact, the headwinds of the economy are more like hurricane gusts in the media space. Join our panel of media pros as we talk about what’s happening now, what’s working, what’s not, display ads, social media and a host of other topics you need to know about today.

Using Online Word of Mouth (2:50 PM)

Today’s web is all about the conversation. But can you turn that conversation to your or your businesses advantage in a way that doesn’t cross an ethical line? We all know that word of mouth is what can make or break a business. Find out what works from these WOM thought leaders.

Managing Community Online (4:10 PM)

How do you develop and foster a community on the web? What strategies work best when you are trying to both encourage and support a community and business objectives? These and other questions will be tackled by this group of online community pros.

Workshop Descriptions

Media

Professionalizing Pro Video Content (1:30 PM)

Anyone can shoot some video with their cellphone or their Flip Mino HD, but how do you turn that into something that people really want to watch, and something that can build your brand as a video producer? Tyler Crowley, executive producer of Mahalo Daily, talks about ways you can make what you do more professional and appealing.

The Nuts and Bolts of iTunes (2:50 PM)

Join Greg Philpott of mDialog as he talks about how to take your video or audio content from the creation stage all the way through the various hurdles and roadblocks required in order to make it part of Apple's iTunes Store. He'll provide tips on how to approach Apple, and suggest things you can do to speed up the process of approval.

The Challenges of Monetizing Media (4:10 PM)

Social media and Web-based tools allow passionate amateurs to produce everything from clips to full-on TV shows, but passion isn't going to pay the bills for all that equipment. Mark McKay, a successful video producer at CTV, will talk about how to take what you are passionate about -- making video and multimedia -- and find a way to get paid for it.

Society

Social Media 101 (1:30 PM)

In this session, Andrew Cherwenka will simplify the increasingly complex field known as “social media” into a few basic topics, including how social media can make your life easier, who is using social media tools effectively (and who is messing up), as well as how you -- or your company -- can use it to build your brand. With demos and insights into popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to the introduction of lesser-known but powerful social sites and tools, Andrew’s Social Media 101 will spark useful ideas for all types of web users, from first-time newbies to savvy marketers.

Social Media for Non-Profits (2:50 PM)

Some of the most powerful applications for social media are within the non-profit community. Under-resourced, with broad and disparate memberships, non-profits can make effective use of social media for organization, communication and change. Where do you start? How do you go about it? How do you measure your success? Join Dmitry Buterin of Wild Apricot for a hands-on exploration.

Business

Social Media Analytics (1:30 PM)

Nick Koudas talks about the fast-growing social analytics market, and how the focus is moving beyond metrics and measurement.

Legal Bootcamp for Web Startups (2:50 PM)

Rob Hyndman provides insight about the needs that online start-ups need to consider from a legal perspective.

Marketing

Managing Personas Online (1:30 PM)

Search Engine Optimization (2:50 PM)

Saying search engines are an important part of your online strategy and tactics may be the understatement of the year. Roll up your sleeves and learn tips and tricks to make the most of your SEO investment.