Mesh for Success

What exactly is “Web 2.0,” and how are Canadians contributing to this brave new Internet culture?

That’s the theme of Mesh, Canada’s first Web 2.0 conference, set for May 15 and 16 in Toronto. You will hear from industry thought leaders, meet entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, and get a better understanding of the impact of new developments online. As the website says, “Meet the next generation of Web ideas, leaders and companies at mesh.”

It comes highly recommended for entrepreneurs, investors, and software developers; marketers, public relations practitioners and the media; and for those in academia, politics, public policy, NGOs and non-profits.

And since it involves Web 2.0. which is all about participation and collaboration, the bumph goes on: “Participate in keynotes, panels and workshops, and create your own conversations to get the knowledge you need.”

The cool thing is that this is not a normal business conference. It’s just been pulled together in two months by five active participants in the city’s tech scene: Mark Evans (senior technology reporter, National Post); Mathew Ingram ( technology and business writer, Globe & Mail); Mike McDerment, CEO of 2ndSite Online Invoicing; Rob Hyndman; business lawyer, Hyndman Law; and Stuart MacDonald, entrepreneurial founder of Expedia.ca.

(I wonder if Mark Evans remembers coming to see me for career advice when I was managing editor of the Financial Times and he was writing about local sports in Brampton? I certainly hope he’s forgotten about the time I beaned him in the back with a baseball.)

My next column in PROFIT magazine probes some of the roots of Canada’s resurgent Web 2.0 culture; I’ll link to it here when it comes available. Meantime, if you’re keen on the subject (and you should be), you’ll find more information on this conference, a speaker’s list, and registration details at http://www.meshconference.com/