mesh news

We are down to the wire, with mesh-the-first set to go next Monday and Tuesday. We are hoping that everyone will be coming ready-to-go, to meet each other, get involved and learn from each other.

I can tell you the five of us are both wiped and enthusiastic. There has been a *lot* to do to get this together – way more than we ever imagined (think: Brangelina wedding, pulled together by 5 “I’m best at providing direction” guys) – but pulled-it-together we have, with support from great sponsors and suppliers, and are all really happy that the mesh-ing will begin in a matter of days.

Some things you need to know (basically a round-up from emails I’ve been getting):

• Registration starts Monday at 8am. First session goes off at 9am. We will have coffee and yogurt available and there will be hundreds of people arriving, so feel free to start to mesh early.
• You do not need your online registration receipt (though feel free to bring it). Please just have i.d. available.
• If the credit card you used was in a different name than the name of the person registered, and you received a reminder email in the credit card name, do not be concerned. All badges are in the registration name. If there was any confusion as to which name we should be using, you have been contacted for clarification already.
• Following Day One, we will have a social mesh at MaRS. Following that, anyone so inclined is welcome to join in an after-party at The Drake. We will offer a shuttle between MaRS, the Delta Chelsea and The Drake until 10:30pm. A schedule will be posted, or just look for the big, yellow Expedia.ca bus.
• There have been some recent adds to the speaker’s roster. We will be posting the final, minute-by-minute schedule very soon  – in fact, I’ve held off posting this until now because it’s coming any moment. I will add it when it’s done. We will also have copies of the schedule for everybody at registration.
• MaRS has free WiFi coverage, though from my experience GPRS ‘Berry signal in the main below-grade meeting room is spotty.
• We don’t have a dress code, but expect that things will range from casual to business casual.
• We are not planning to offer day-of-event sales, mostly because we don’t expect to have any tickets left. That said, if you want to take your chances and just show up or bring someone else with you, we will try to assist, space available.
• We are recording the sessions for podcast after the fact, and they will be available on IT Conversations. We will let you know exactly when.

So there you have it. I’m sure there’s more that I / we are forgetting, what with us never having done this before. Our sincere desire is that this is the first of many more meshes to come, with more and more local talent in the spotlight.

If you get the chance next week, please say “Hi” to me or any of the others – but. more importantly, say “Hi” to each other. Creating a place for that to happen is a big part of why we are doing this in the first place.

We received many, many great submissions, which made for a difficult decision. Yet decide we did. Here are 6 great ideas, each different, yet each representing its own unique potential. Each Canadian, each hopeful, each – we think – worth watching.

Presenting, in no particular order, the mesh 15 Minutes of Fame Winners Circle, 2006:

• TakingITGlobal.org / Nick Moraitis

“…the premier online community for youth interested in global issues…Uniquely, a majority of our audience is in developing countries…Our membership tend to be social entrepreneurs who use TIG tools to coordinate social projects.”

• areyoufrank.com / Elissa Gjertson

“We’re bringing authentic branding + organizational courage to companies and non-profits around the world…all through the power of social media.”

• Favorville.com / Parveen Sangha and Daniel Salas

“Ever needed a helping hand? Not sure where to turn? Favorville.com is quickly emerging as an essential resource for people looking to network and exchange favors and advice with others. It’s a simple concept of facilitation: Favorville helps people help one another.”

• Pixpo.com / Colin How

“PiXPO lets people broadcast video, audio and photo web sites online with no uploads!…Our peer2web technology allows users to avoid all the hassles around uploading.”

• Devshop.com / Craig Fitzpatirck

“Devshop.com has a new approach to managing software projects that is so much more than just a task list with time estimates. Devshop can help software teams manage the top 5 risks that throw software projects off the rails constantly. …make it work, make it easy, and make it available to everyone, not just the enterprise.”

• Gary King

Gary is our Special Case winner. A high school student doing some neat things online, Gary turned our communal heads with pure tenacity in getting us to sell him an already-sold-out mesh Student’s ticket. Yes, we got many, MANY requests for these once they went, but Gary approached The Ask with military precision and a No-is-Not-an-Option attitude that had we mesh-ies talking about (our nickname) Gary the Kid. We all ended up saying that we wanted to meet this guy. So, for pure Eye on the Prize go-get-’em-ness – which bodes very well for his future – Gary gets our final 15 Minutes slot. More from me on Gary here.

Update:Mathew talks about why we did this, Rob talks more about the “why” of mesh and also pitches the unconference room. Mark chimes in too, and here’s something from Mike.

Congratulations to all. Each will receive five minutes in the mesh spotlight and complimentary admission for a day. We are all looking forward to hearing more from you at mesh.

Still not signed up? Register today.