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mesh announces new keynotes and presenters

By business stream, marketing stream, mesh conference, mesh news, mesh14, News, society stream, The Archives

With just under a month before the ninth mesh conference kicks off in Toronto, May 27 and 28, the organizers announced the latest round of outstanding keynotes and presenters at this year’s event:

SocietyKeynote_NHarbisson

Neil Harbison redefines wearable tech, literally. Neil is a Catalan contemporary artist, composer and cyborg activist best known for his ability to hear and perceive colours outside of human vision. He was born with achromatopsia, a condition that only allows him to see in grey scale. In 2013, Neil had an antenna surgically implanted that now allows him not only to perceive colour as sound but to connect live to the colours that others can see. He’ll be talking about new communication possibilities that go beyond our traditional senses.

BusinessKeynote_BWertz      BusinessKeynote_JMacDonald

Boris Wertz is one of the top tech early-stage investors in North America and the founding partner of version one ventures. His impressive portfolio includes over 50 successful consumer Internet and enterprise companies, including Clio, Flurry, Frank & Oak, Indiegogo, Top Hat and Wattpad. Boris is also a board partner with Andreessen Horowitz and one of the founders of start-up accelerator GrowLab.  He and Jevon MacDonald, co-founder and general manager of GoInstant, will discuss the state of startup funding in Canada and where they believe it should be heading.

“We’re thrilled to have two prominent Canadian entrepreneurs, talents and investors on the stage in Boris Wertz and Jevon MacDonald,” says mesh co-founder Stuart MacDonald.

ClosingKeynote_DMcColl  ClosingKeynote_DBradfield-

Darren McColl in conversation with David Bradfield (closing keynote) – Darren (Daz) is co-author of Storyscaping; Stop Creating Ads, Start Creating Worlds (April, 2014) and chief brand strategy officer of SapientNitro, a new breed of agency redefining storytelling for an always-on world. He and David will discuss how to create an intelligent story system rooted in a creative organizing idea, that’s fueled by innovative technology and creates more meaningful brand-consumer connections. This session will help you activate much of what you’ve learned over the course of the conference.

Other presenters include: Erin Bury, 88Creative, Berry Wellman, NetLab, Melissa Shapiro, WattPad, Jean-Luc David, Alertly and more.

See the full line-up of speakers and the schedule.

Stay tuned for more news!

mesh conference 2014: Look who’s speaking, our new venue and startup scholarship

By News, The Archives

 It’s been almost 10 years since mesh organizers and creators Mathew Ingram, Stuart MacDonald, Mark Evans, Rob Hyndman, Mike McDerment and Sheri Moore came up with the idea for mesh.

And since then a lively group of thinkers, innovators and tech nerds converge on Toronto for two days in May to discuss and debate how social media and technology are changing the way we work, play and live.

This year’s conference takes place May 27 and 28 and, if you register now, the cost is only $499.

SpeakerKeynote_MarkLittleFirst round of speakers announced

If you’ve been to mesh before, you’ll know that each morning begins with a keynote or one-on-one interview with people on the leading edge of social business. This year, we’re featuring:

  • Mark Little, founder of Storyful, the world’s first social media news agency, talking about the future of news.
  • Maggie Fox, Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing at SAP, on how to deliver a unified digital experience to customers.

Other speakers include Tom Emrich, wearable tech evangelist and founder of We Are Wearables, Amber MacArthur, co-host APP CENTRAL, blogger at Yahoo! Tech, and creator of the “Trending Tech” column for The Globe and Mail; and Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield, who’s now working on new a social gaming platform.

Additional presenters and panels will be announced in the coming weeks.

New campus like venue

In keeping with the collegial spirit of mesh, we’re moving to a campus-like experience on Queen Street West with keynotes, sessions and networking at 99 Sudbury and the Drake Hotel.

mesh startup scholarship back by popular demand

The startup community has always been an important part of mesh. To help the newest round of startups attend the conference, we’re continuing our scholarship program. Boostrapped entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply by April 18 to qualify for a scholarship that enables them to join us, expand their connections, share ideas and be inspired.

Stay tuned for more news.