Northern Voice 2007: Be there!

Interpret this as you will: blind nepotism or an authetic endorsement.

Northern Voice is on for 2007 and I’m excited about it. A bunch of good folks I know are organizing and I want to support them. I attended Northern Voice 2006 and Northern Voice 2005 and both events were easily the best value I’ve experienced for my conference-going dollar.

If I’m available to go to the UBC Forestry Science Centre (photos) on February 23 and 24, I’ll be there. Especially for February 23, Moose Camp, which is a more intimate, in-depth, loosely organized affair.

Heck, I may even throw my hat on the antler and present on something or other. And I recommend you go too if you’re at all interested in the crossroads of technology, society, culture and media.

Let the voting commence!

BarCamp Vancouver set to launch

The unconference I’m helping organize, BarCamp Vancouver, is set to run from 6 pm this Friday, August 25th, to 6 pm, this Saturday, August 26th. It’ll be 24 hours of full-on geeking out. We’ve capped attendance at 120, expanded from our original 90, so lots of folks are keen to participate.

And participate they will.

BarCamp Vancouver Costs and T-Shirts

Technically speaking, BarCamp Vancouver is free. However, we’ve built a budget with costs to cover, so we’ll be asking you to ante up a donation of $20 to support the event. For your $20 you’ll get a copy of the coveted BarCamp Vancouver t-shirt (PDF of the design, 644K).

BarCamp Vancouver Schedule

The schedule, such as it is, looks like this:

Friday, August 25, 6:00pm: BarCamp opens. We’ll do registration and a rooftop barbeque. I’ll be grilling and handing out beers sponsored by our very own AdHack. The venue is overlooking the harbour, the rooftop of the new Bryght / NowPublic offices, 1 Alexander Street.

Saturday, August 26, 8:30am: BarCamp events open with a continental breakfast at Workspace. Registration will be available and then we’ll get to sorting out the scheduling for the day. Sessions are planned to begin at 10am and will go all day. At 6pm we’ll shift from unconferencing to socializing (difference?).

BarCamp Vancouver Locations

Friday night barbecue at the Bryght offices, Suite 400 - 1 Alexander Street. Enter off Carall Street. (Map Bryght offices.)

The main venue for BarCamp will be WorkSpace at Suite 400 - 21 Water Street (Map Workspace.)

BarCamp Vancouver Sponsors

These are the folks who’ve put their money on the line to make BarCamp Vancouver happen. A huge thank you to all of them.

• Uniserve
• Business Objects
• Belkin
• Nitobi
• Elastic Path Software
• Bryght
• Raincity Studios
• EQO Communications
• WorkSpace
• Capulet Communications
• Midnight Kitchen
• AdHack
• Sxip
• Jones Sodas
• T-shirt.ca

BarCamp Vancouver: Registration Open for Aug. 25-26

As I mentioned before, I’m part of a motley crew organizing BarCamp Vancouver. (Here’s a quick overview of BarCamp Vancouver that I posted last week, with a bonus video from some key conspiritors in San Francisco.)

Over the weekend, with a minimum of hand wringing and forethough, we threw open the doors to register for BarCamp Vancouver. So if you’re interested, get on it. We’re limiting the number of attendees to 90 and 15 people have signed up already.

To register, as the instructions on the page say, click the button to edit the wiki page and add your name at the bottom in the list with everyone else. Simple? Not so much. If you have any troubles or reservations, please get in touch with me and we’ll figure it out.

If you’re coming, watch for my presentation on building a do-it-yourself (DIY) advertising community called AdHack, and be sure to tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘hi!’

BarCamp Vancouver: August 25

For the past few weeks I’ve been loosely involved in organizing an event called BarCamp Vancouver. Roland, Darren, Andre, Zak and I met up to get things started. We sat in the Bryght offices and had beer, pretzels and Pringles. Since then some other great people have jumped on the wagon and we’ll have to remember to bring more beer to the next gathering. Everything is set to happen over a 24-hour period from 6 pm, Friday, August 25th to 6 pm the following day, Saturday, August 26th.

So what is BarCamp?

BarCamp is an ad-hoc un-conference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees.

All attendees must give a demo, a session, or help with one. All presentions are scheduled the day they happen. Prepare in advance, but come early to get a slot on the wall.

Presenters are responsible for making sure that notes/slides/audio/video of their presentations are published on the web for the benefit of all and those who can’t be present.

Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.

And here’s a short video from Tara Hunt’s Horse Pig Cow blog that explains it.

So the Vancouver version of BarCamp will start where other BarCamps have left off, but will also break new ground in a new city. How? You’ll have to attend to find out.

I’ve created a posting for BarCamp Vancouver on Upcoming.org, if you like to look at listings and manage some of your social life like I do. But make no mistake! The de facto source of information, and the place to sign up if you want to attend, is the BarCamp Vancouver wiki. Operators are standing by now.

Cancelled: SFU New Media Workshops

I’m disappointed to announce that the SFU New Media Workshops have been cancelled. Monique has the full story on So Misguided.

The presentation I was scheduled to give, Getting the Money to Flow, could be available to anyone else interested in discussing how e-business works and how to make business work on the web. Get in touch with me if you’re interested at the Work Industries contact page.

mesh: Canada’s Web 2.0 Conference

A few prominent folks in the Toronto technology community have banded together to create mesh: Canada’s web 2.0 conference. I’ve been anticipating the conference that has become known as mesh for a few weeks now, since Rob Hyndman and Matthew Ingram announced they were pursuing the idea.

The mesh conference blog seems to be the best place to stay up to date on conference developments. Here’s the who should attend and why pitch:

Marketing and public relations: Billions of dollars of advertising is moving to the Web as fast-growing companies build world-class brands. Traditional advertising, marketing and public relations models are being turned upside down. Come learn from experts on the front lines of Web 2.0 about the new rules of the game and how to capitalize on them.

Media: The Web is changing the rules, and the media finds itself battling with new rivals such as eBay, Craigslist and Google News. To understand how these changes are impacting how news organizations operate, how they need to adapt, and how your job is evolving, you need to be at mesh.

Investors and entrepreneurs: In the Web 2.0 world, you don’t need seven figures to develop a product; and you may not even need five-figures to market it. This is transforming the dynamic between investors and entrepreneurs. Come to mesh - we’ll help you work it out.

Politicians and social activists: In the U.S., political blogs are new tools of mass destruction. In Canada, we’re just starting to sort out the influence of blogs and how to leverage them. If you are a political strategist, mesh will help you learn how to harness the collective intelligence of the blogosphere. If you’re a behind-the-scenes player, mesh will give you insight into how to engage the blogosphere.

I’m thinking of attending, both for the quality of the conference and to continue my once-annual-trip-to-Toronto tradition. I’ll start pricing flights and developing a budget in the next few days, then I’ll make the pivotal call to my Hogtown friends. Hi Craig and Adrienne!