I spent the afternoon with a few hundred other Canadian digi-types at the first-ever  Sympatico-msn Digital Ad Summit. First off, props to those mesh-sponsoring msn kids for pulling off a very strong event (nice work, Patrick - and thanks for the invite) and for attracting a very tech-savvy crowd. As a co-founder of mesh, and other big events in past lives, I have a deep appreciation of the, um, challenges of event production and this one came off very well.

Also kudos for presenting a very strong line-up, though I must say that Bob Garfield was a disappointment. I was actually really looking forward to hearing the whole Chaos Theory he espouses (and I subscribe to) regarding the implications of the turmoil in mass media, broadcasting and advertising. Unfortunately, he likely should have been stopped at the border. His talk, while rich in good stuff, was overshadowed by a condescending tone, out-of-touch Canada vs. US quips and punch lines which fell tortilla-flat. He seemed tremendously out of touch with the fact that his audience were among the most tech with-it folks in Canada. As opposed to those in, oh I don't know, North Korea, who might have been more likely to marvel at his digi-smart pronouncements. Shame.

That said, Steve Rubel kicked it (he's back in 2 weeks at mesh) as did Jeff Cole (whom my wife and I will have the pleasure of dining with tomorrow night. Oh boy, talking 'net future with the man presiding over all that data, while enjoying a nice bottle of Rioja? I'm like a kid with candy :-)). The gentleman from France who discussed mobile and media was fascinating, and while they are clearly miles ahead over there, I still can't get past thinking that we are at least three years away from it really taking off here.

Mark was there with me and shares his thoughts on Cole's talk. In all,  it was a great and thought-provoking event.

Tags: msn, sympatico, steverubel, jeffcole, bobgarfield, mesh06tags

One of the things we will be exploring at mesh is the impact that social media and the interaction that web 2.0 is enabling is having on politics and society.

In the US, for instance, political blogs have almost become mainstream, with some sporting weekly reach and unique visitors numbers which exceed all but a handful of major newspapers. The Huffington Post, Captain's Quarters...the list goes on and on, and the influence grows.

Not to mention the role that the web has played in political party politics Stateside. Dean for America, (now Democracy for America) Howard Dean's site during his last, ill-fated run for the Democratic nomination, has become viewed as the model for how to use the web efficiently for engagement and fund-raising. At it's peak, people were *paying*  to watch Dean eat a hotdog. Yup, really.

Canada is far away from that. In fact, you could say that there is huge evidence that Canadian political parties, steeped in senior back-room leadership who still might well have people print their emails for heaven's sake, are far out of that loop, despite superficial attempts to look like they aren't. Personally, I think unless that changes, they will have their communal butts handed to them online within two years.

In any event, politics and society is up for discussion at mesh. I have a post up on the mesh blog, and Rob Hyndman who is running that stream has some thoughts here. Mark and Mathew  also chime in. Mike just added a nice post about how his Dad is prime for taking his political thoughts online.

Hope to continue the conversation with you at mesh.

Tags: mesh06tags, politics, web2.0, blogging

Well, maybe not. But certainly worth aiming for, no? At least that's the hope we have for mesh, the little shin-dig me'n the boys are pulling together for mid May here in Toronto. I am frankly pleased to see some pushback from Euan Semple on the whole unconference meme that has been floating around of late. Not to say that an unconference is a bad idea, but rather that saying it is the only way is as bad as saying *anything* is the only way.

Mathew seems to be of the same view, and Mark has a nice laundry list of what he's like to see. We are trying for a lot of that. My comment on the mesh blog here. Also, seems that mesh-er to-be Stowe Boyd is in the Euan camp (or should that be "Camp" as in "XxxxCamp"?).

Us? Well, we are trying for balance and thoughtfulness, being structured enough for newbies to be able to "get it" while being flexible and conversational enough to be engaging.

Will it be a spectacular train wreck? Hope not.

Technorati tags: mesh06links, web2.0, conference

I just wrote the following over on the mesh blog. I sort of liked it, so I thought I'd add it here, too:

Lots of talk today about whether money can be made from blogging, with the WSJ publishing a story on it (just the type of story to get the often-inward-looking blogosphere fired into a navel gazing frenzy. But I digress :-)).

I guess it sort of depends on who and how you ask, right? I mean, if you were to ask many of the folks coming to speak at mesh, who happen to blog, whether "blogging makes money" many of them would likely say "Not directly, but indirectly? You better believe it."

I mean, think of the untold millions spent on traditional advertising and PR to create just the type of profile and voice that some people have built for themselves and their businesses via blogging and social media. How can you tally the value of creating your own soapbox? In traditional media, I guess overall marketing efficiency metrics are viewed as the most important gauge of the effectveness of spend, but can one really say, categorically, that traditional PR "makes money"? It's tough. But when put in that context? Wow, blogging "makes money" in spades.

Does it do so directly? Not often. Just like only PR practicitioners, by a tight definition, are the only ones who directly "make money" from PR. But indirectly? Bloggers, their organizations and PR firms Clients, without question.

That's the way to look at it, I think.

Dave Winer comments here, mesh speaker Paul Kedrosky here, and mesh speaker Scott Karp here. Mark thinks aloud here, Mathew has some great points here.

Certainly food for discussion in the marketing and PR streams at mesh.

Technorati tags: blogging, wsj, web2.0, mesh06links

From the look of most blog trackers today, you'd think that Larry and Sergei had finally developed the ability to walk on water and part the seas. Um, no, though they have launched an online Calendar tool which Om says is "quite capable." But, as my friend John Battelle says, the real deal here is that Calendar is further evidence of the portal-ization of Da GOOG. It's all coming together: The Pack, Base, Earth, Local, Google Finance, Google Real Estate. And, dare I say that my take on the aol deal is further evidence, too. Google needs to diversify revenue streams, and be in a position to hoover up more of the ad dollars that are heading their way as mass media continues to falter.

So I doubt that Calendar is The Answer, but it is part of the puzzle being solved before our eyes.

Mark Evans' thoughts ("part of a bigger picture") here, Steve Rubel's ("it's great") here.

Amen and hallelujah, I say.

Update: Paul Kedrosky has a good highlight/lowlight roundup here.

Updated Gratuitous plug: Om and Steve and Paul are all keynoting at mesh, Canada's next-generation web conference, of which I am a co-founder.

Technorati tags: google, calendar, mesh06links

Just blogged about this cool thing we are doing at mesh. Each day, we will have three people take to the stage for five minutes each, to talk about the cool thing they are doing, pitch for VC money - whatever. All the details here.

You don't want to miss this. If you haven't done so, register today.

Technorati tags: mesh06links, web 2.0, conference, toronto

I just blogged about us selecting The Delta Chelsea as Host Hotel for mesh. Renovated rooms, WiFi available, great location near MaRS. All details here. Mathew blogs it here and Mark here. Let's mesh...

Technorati tags: mesh06links

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