Last week was an exhausting week.
Anyone will tell you that I typically give a summary of every event I attend usually the very night I get home. However, getting home late, then leaving before the sun comes up the next day 3-days in a row has left me with very little time to update this blog.
I want to sum up 2 events - the Mesh meetup that happened on November 15th and the BBPA event the following night where I had a chance to shake hands with Bill Osburn, CEO of Ford Canada.
First, Mesh. Attending the Mesh meetup on Wednesday night was great. No, it was amazing.
I met so many interesting people, so many that it deserves its own post. I did a whole wack of interviews and each person told me something unique and different.
But I do want to talk about the guys behind Mesh. They’re doing a heck of a job. You see, what struck me about Mark, Mathew and Mike (I didn’t get to meet Rob and I only shared a quick glance with Stuart) is that they’re not only passionate about the Web 2.0 space, but that they care about seeing the Web 2.0 community, well…mesh.
I was struck by their ability to create a sense of belonging. I’ve been to way too many conferences in my day and Mesh is one of the few where no matter your stripes, you fit in. The only requirement for entry into this club is that you have a passion for Web 2.0.
Mathew, Mike & Mark were all too happy to connect people with each other. If you had an interest, they knew exactly who to introduce you to. If you told them what you’re looking for, they knew immediately who you should talk to. The Mesh guys are the Google of Toronto’s Web 2.0 community.
First, let me say that organizing an event is a herculean task. You try to get everything right, but you still miss some things. With that said, I want to encourage everyone that if you think Mesh is missing something, tell them. I don’t mean blog about it and hope someone stumbles on it. I mean send one of the Mesh organizers an email.
Tell them:
- What they’re doing well (always start with a positive)
- Then, tell them what needs to be improved (not a rant, just a genuine suggestion)
- And more importantly, end your email saying how you can help fill the void
Let’s continue this spirit of belonging and create an atmosphere of support. The Mesh guys are doing it. Are you?
Technorati: mesh07, mark evans, mathew ingram, rob hyndman, mike mcderment, stuart macdonald, toronto, web 2.0, technology
November 22nd, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Thanks a lot, Leesa. Your comments are very kind. Now we are all blushing
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:23 am
[…] Update: I almost forgot - Leesa Barnes, who has helped mesh in a huge way with our - ahem - meshcasts, has a permanent place on my top 10 women in tech and media list. Related Posts […]
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:03 pm
[…] That includes interviews with Dr. Tony Hung of Deep Jive Interests, blogger Juan Gonzalez of global-culture.org, Norman Young of The Talking Company (which is in stealth mode), new blogger Rob Schaumer and Bernie Aho of Conceptshare — and those are just the beginning. There are more to come. Thanks again to Leesa for all her hard work, and also for the compliments she bestowed on all of us in a recent post she wrote about mesh. […]
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:09 pm
[…] That includes interviews with Dr. Tony Hung of Deep Jive Interests, blogger Juan Gonzalez of global-culture.org, Norman Young of The Talking Company (which is in stealth mode), new blogger Rob Schaumer and Bernie Aho of Conceptshare.com — and those are just the beginning. There are more to come. Thanks again to Leesa for all her hard work, and also for the compliments she bestowed on all of us in a recent post she wrote about mesh. […]
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:21 am
[…] During last week’s wonderful mesh meet-up, Leesa Barnes worked the crowd with her digital recorder and microphone doing a series of podcast interviews. She did a terrific job talking to a whole bunch of people about what they were excited about on the Web these days. We’ve posted some of them on the mesh Web site for your listening pleasure. Thank you, Lisa, for being so enthusiastic. You really added an amazing component to the evening. And thank you for your very nice blog post the other day. Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner […]