mesh conference

McLean Mashingaidze-Greaves is a technology and media veteran whose latest venture is a rap video-sharing community called Rapspace.tv. Described by the Toronto Star as a “something of a CBC wunderkind” and as a “techno whiz kid” by FFWD magazine, MMG was executive producer of the groundbreaking interactive nightly CBC series, ZeD, a revolutionary format that landed 5 Gemini nominations in its inaugural season as well as selection in the prestigious 2003 INPUT TV conference (Denmark) and 2 Leo Awards (including Best Variety Show). Most recently, MMG created and executive produced Burning To Shine, an intimate documentary on the rapper K-OS collaborating with the CBC Radio Orchestra.

MMG was an internet content pioneer in New York City where, as founder of the urban dotcom company VMI, he was twice selected as a Silicon Alley “cyber star” by the Village Voice and Virtual City magazines. His new media work has drawn positive reviews from the likes of The New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wired and Crain’s Business Weekly. Former clients include filmmaker Spike Lee, music mogul Sean “P-Diddy” Combs and media giant Time Warner. MMG’s NYC days also included stints as VP of Content at HBO’s Volume.com, Associate New Media Editor at PAPER magazine and contributor to Essence, Vibe, BET Weekend & The Source magazines.

Nora Young is a writer and broadcaster, who pursues her passion for technology, culture, and armchair sociology on public radio, on television, in print, and online. She was founding host and a producer of CBC Radio’s Definitely not the Opera and more recently, has created miniseries for CBC, and documentaries for shows such as Ideas. She is technology columnist for CBC Radio and CBC Newsworld, and a frequent contributor to the Toronto Star. Her current passion is the relationship between mainstream media and social media, which she explores as an avid podcaster (foursevens.com/thesniffer) and a lazy blogger, (www.norayoung.vox.com). Nora is currently developing a new series for CBC Radio.