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mesh is Canada's digital transformation and innovation event taking place in Calgary and Toronto each year.

Mar 22
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mesh Panelists: Jen Evans

By mesh news

While we’ve already announced the keynote conversations for mesh ’07, we’ve yet to announce panelists. So over the next few weeks we’re going to start doing just that in a series of blog posts. The posts will set out panelist bio information – more information about the sessions themselves will follow shortly. Panelist bio information will also available on the main page of the mesh site. We’ll start today with a mesh friend from mesh ’06 – Jen Evans of Sequentia.

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Jennifer Evans is a Toronto-based entrepreneur, writer, and technophile and the president of Sequentia Communications, recently ranked as Canada’s 24th (2005) and 27th (2004) fastest growing emerging company by the PROFIT Hot 50.

Prior to starting Sequentia, Jen co-founded DigitalEve International, a not for profit association for women and technology, and served as Executive Director its international and national organizations from 2000-2002. She is the co-chair of the White Ribbon Campaign and a board member of both Computer for Schools Ontario and The Beach School, and sits on advisory panels for the Software Human Resources Council (SHRC) and Women in Film and Television (WIFT). Jen was a two-time finalist for the Canadian New Media Awards and continues to function as a judge for the awards. She is a technology columnist for the Globe and Mail’s online edition and appears regularly on Report on Business television’s Tech Tuesday panel.

Jen has taught at the University of Toronto, York University, Humber College, and Ryerson. She is a graduate of Queen’s University and her international work experience includes Bermuda, Tokyo, the US, South America and Korea. She speaks regularly on women, girls and technology.

Jen’s expertise includes communications and marketing strategy development, online community building strategy and execution. Her favourite online community is Ain’t It Cool.

Jen is currently working on a book examining how customer communities develop online called The Momentum Machine, to be published in the fall of 2007.

Mar 18
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TechCrunch Hires a CEO

By mesh news

At last year’s mesh, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Om Malik in a keynote conversation about The Future of Media. At the time, Om was still with Business 2.0, but while we got not one inkling of it from him at mesh, he was on the verge of announcing the launch of GigaOm as a full-time gig. It’s been a venture that to all outward appearances has been very successful, and was a launch that no doubt gave gumption to lots of Web 2.0 entrepreneurs who followed, like our co-meshie Mark Evans, who made a similar jump by moving from the National Post to become VP of Operations of b5media (and who interviewed Om for that keynote last year).

This year, we’ve been luckier still with our timing. Mike Arrington, who is undeniably the poster-child for Web 2.0’s assault on the battlements of mainstream media, is our media keynote conversation at mesh ‘07 and has just announced that TechCrunch is hiring Heather Harde, Fox Interactive Media’s SVP of M&A, to be CEO of his growing empire (“Heather’s job will be to leverage the opportunities that we have sometimes let slip by, and to manage our organic and acquisition growth going forward.” “Acquisition growth” …. hmmm, our interest is piqued). Mike will focus more on the editorial side, he says.

(And in a nice bit of synchronicity for us here at mesh, Om broke the story.)

Like our friend Tony Hung, we think this makes a lot of sense. Mike’s joint is often referred to as a technology and business blog, but it’s been obvious for a long time that the brand can do much, much more. We are no doubt in for a treat now as he and Heather set about to do just that. And we’ll have even more to talk about with Mike at mesh ’07.

Congratulations, Mike.

Mar 15
Love0

The mesh Video Contest – We Want to Be in Pictures

By mesh news

Like just about everyone else on the Web these days, we’re dazzled by online video. We’re all spending more and more time watching it and we’re fascinated by the exhilarating growth of the Web as a medium for people to create, share and watch video. Online video has it all: the power to democratize the way video is produced and distributed and to radically transform an industry that many say is ripe for change, stories of spectacular business success and of high-stakes litigation that pits the old against the new, and the rise of new technologies that are changing our culture before our eyes.

At last year’s mesh we had a blast talking about the future of broadcasting with Jian Ghomeshi, Barnaby Marshall, Amber Mac and Andrew Barron. At mesh ’07, we’ll be talking about video even more, but we’d also like to spend some time showcasing video that helps us understand the power of the Web and its role in changing the way we interact with video. Last year, our (ridiculously talented) friends at Storystream produced some video shorts for us to do just that. And recently we were all dazzled by an extraordinary video about the Web produced by Michael Wesch, a Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University. And of course, who can forget such classics as EPIC 2014 and 2015, and The Master Plan?

So for this year, we’ve decided to hold a video ‘contest’. We’re looking for videos that capture the essence of Web 2.0 – whatever that means to you. It might be an ode on the power of the Web to bring new models of outreach to the world of non-profits and charities. It might be an essay about the Web’s ability to give a global platform to anyone’s creativity. Or something else entirely. Something to remember, though: our goal at mesh is to connect, share and inspire. 🙂

We’ll choose the winner in the lead-up to mesh ’07 – judging details to be announced. Oh, and we’ll fly the winner to Toronto (maximum travel cost is $1,000 in Canuck bucks), put them up in the conference hotel on us (room only – your, er, videos and everything else is on you), give them a ticket to mesh (wow – two days of breakfast and lunch, and cocktails on day 1, included – such a deal), and we’ll showcase their video at the conference. Naturally, this offer is void where prohibited, and perhaps even some places where it’s not.

If you’re interested, you should submit your video by May 10 as a YouTube response to the mesh ’06 media video. Only videos created for mesh will be considered – that’s right, new content only. There are no other rules about video content, except for the obvious ones. And any questions about what the content ought to be, or how long the video ought to be, will be cheerfully and enigmatically ignored.

If you’ve got something interesting to say about Web 2.0, we’d like to hear from you. And maybe we’ll see you at mesh.

Update: Cool – Mary’s set up a playlist of mesh videos at Dabble. Check it out.

Updater: We’ve been asked whether submissions need to be responses on YouTube. No, they don’t. If you want to use some other method email us at info[at]meshconference.com and we’ll make other arrangements with you. Also, we are looking for illumination and entertainment, so if we think that none of the submissions are sufficiently – well, illuminating or entertaining – to be shown at mesh, we do reserve the right to not select a winner.

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