mesh conference

With mesh just around the corner – May 23/24 to be exact – it’s an interesting time to take a deep breath and look back at how things came together this year.

As you may have noticed, we changed the format this year based on the idea a refresh would give us a chance to experiment with some new things and offer attendees different wrinkles. At the same time, we’ve kept much of what has made mesh so good – the networking, the opportunity to engage and participate in inspiring conversations, and opportunities to talk with speakers.

Here are five reasons why we think people should attend mesh ’12.

1. As one of Canada’s leading digital conferences, it is a great opportunity to not only see engaged and thought provoking speakers but gather with peers from a wide variety of industries to catch up, compare notes and meet new people. mesh has always been about giving people exposure to new ideas, trends and people, and it’s one of the things that makes mesh work so well.

2. We’ve got another slate of great speakers from around the world. People such as Dave Winer, David Weinberger, Rebecca MacKinnon, Clay Johnson, Dr. Mike Evans, Bruno Morency, Brian Halligan, Max Shron, Suresh Doss, D.J. Patil, Jon Lax and Zane Kaplansky provide mesh with a broad and, we think, unique group of speakers offering different slants on how the Web continues to have a huge impact on how we live, work and play.

3. The new format features a day and a half of single-stream programming in which all attendees gather in the main auditorium. At the same time, we’re offering a variety of formats: there are the fireside chats that have worked so well in the past, there are small panels (e.g. education), and we’ve introduced a new vehicle – the vignette – which are 20-minute mini-presentations focused on topics such as medicine, robotics and books. In the afternoon of May 24, there are workshops that have been a staple of mesh.

4. A return to our roots is a new hosted scholarship program for startups that lets 25 entrepreneurs attend mesh for free. All they have to do in return is have a few short meetings with our partners, Ernst & Young and Microsoft. We’re delighted to have received such an enthusiastic reception from startups. Meanwhile, we have a startup round-table happening on May 24 that will feature entrepreneurs providing real-world insight into what it’s like to launch, operate and grow a startup.

5. Finally, there’s the opportunity for attendees to open themselves up to new ideas. In our multi-tasking, time-strapped world, there aren’t as many windows as there should be to reflect, think, digest new thoughts, engage in conversation and be inspired to  embrace new approaches professionally and personally. mesh gives you all that and more.  While two days can seem like a big commitment, it’s a great investment…and for those of you who still need to work, there’s tons of free Wi-Fi.

So, join us on May 23 and 24 at the Allstream Centre in Toronto. Tickets can be purchased here.