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Pulling the Covers Off mesh ’11 (aka mesh 6.0)

By Mark Evans in Advertising/Marketing, Social Media 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

After months of work and sushi-powered meetings, we’re finally ready to unveil mesh ’11.

To paraphrase Ed Sullivan, we’ve got a “really big show” with terrific keynotes and a line-up of excellent panels and workshops. Before getting into the details, there a few new wrinkles for mesh ’11. They include:

- More workshops. Given the popularity of workshops, we have decided to offer six per stream. Yup, there will be 24 workshops in total, which will provide lots of opportunities for hands-on, interactive learnings.

- Moving to the Allstream Centre at Exhibition Place. After getting a feet wet by moving meshMarketing to the AllStream Centre last November, we decided to take the plunge with mesh as well. With more room and lots of parking, we think it’s an excellent venue that will make it possible to let more people come.

- A “Sponsors Village” in which the companies that support mesh will be able to strut their stuff.

So what about the programming? For starters, here’s the line-up of keynote speakers.

Society: Ron Deibert of the Citizen Lab will provide insight about state control of the internet, efforts in the Arab world to shut down the internet, and efforts taken to circumvent that.

Marketing: After wowing the crowd at meshMarketing, we felt compelled to bring back Gabe Zichermann, who will talk the online psychology, behaviour and motivation of online users, including the growing role of gamification.

Business: With the Web having a major impact on the work landscape, Mark Surman of the Mozilla Foundation will get into how companies can be social and motivate and keep younger, Web-savvy employees, who are used to moving around and doing things that motivate them intrinsically instead of extrinsically.

Media: Jeff Jarvis, a popular blogger and former journalist, will talk about how the media is changing, the rise of WikiLeaks as a press entity, crowdsourcing, transparency and other factors and where the future of journalism is headed.

As a bonus, we also have a “Super Panel” featuring Mona Seif, an Egyptian activist who will give us some insight into how digital activism played a key role in the political uprising ended the 30-year reign of Hosni Mubarak.

You can get more information on the mesh Web site about the rest of the speakers who will be appearing on panels and workshops within the media, society, marketing and business streams.

You’re probably wondering about tickets. Until April 20, you can buy early-bird tickets for $539 + HST. (After that, tickets will be $639 + HST). There are also 50 student tickets available for $99 each. You can buy tickets here.

Do Wireless Web Browsers Matter?

By Mark Evans in Browsers, Wireless 7 Comments Tags: , , ,

There’s lot of excitement about the wireless Web, particularly since the emergence of 4G technology is making the “pipes” bigger and faster. This has, naturally, generated a lot of excitement about wireless browsers.

But the question that needs to be asked whether the wireless browser matters or, for that matter, is that necessary. The reason wireless browsers don’t matter is simple: apps – be it for iPhone, Android or Blackberry devices.

Rather than fire up a Web browser to use an online service, it’s much easier and usually faster to use an app, particularly for services that are frequently used. The use of apps rather than a browser means wireless users can personalize their devices to meet their needs rather than having to a use-size-fits-all browser.

The availability and user-friendliness of apps means that my iPhone features apps that run GMail, WordPress, DropBox, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Yelp and Tungle. The only reason I would fire up Safari or Opera is to use something like Google Maps, searching for a telephone number or doing a Google search.

It means the wireless Web browser has become irrelevant. In fact, I could probably delete the browsers from my iPhone, and never really miss them.

Do you use a wireless Web browser? If so, why?

Can We Digitally Disconnect? Should We?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

As someone who makes a living from helping companies that do business on the Web, one of the necessary evils is spending a lot of time online. As much as I enjoy my work and find the Web to be an endless treasure trove of new things to discover and learn, I have a love-hate relationship with it.

On one hand, the Web is enthralling, exciting and enchanting to the point where hours can easily pass. With the exception of watching live sports, the Web has replaced pretty much my television consumption. The Web is the place where I work, play, watch, listen and get entertainment. I happily spend hours in my inbox and on social media services such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

On the other hand, the Web is a time-suck. It chews up hours of time that could be spent doing other things – be it spending time with friends and family, or enjoying activities or hobbies. Even when I recognize that the Web has me by the throat, it can be difficult to escape its clutches.

If recognizing you have a problem is half the battle, then I guess the realization of my conflicted relationship with the Web is a positive sign. The question is what to do about it in ways that provide more balance and healthier lifestyle while still providing the “screen time” needed to do your job and pursue personal interests.

Here’s a few small steps that I’ve been taking:

1. Resisting the urge to get an iPad. I accept the fact it’s an amazing device but the fear is it becomes a constant companion to consume online content given it can pretty much do anything – read books, listen to music, watch movies and television, read e-mail, access social media services, etc. Peter Bregman’s post on “Why I Returned My iPad” is a must-read for anyone not sure whether they really want or need one.

2. Leaving my iPhone at home. I, um discovered this technique by accident when I forgot to take my iPhone on a bicycle trip. It’s liberating to not have it, although it was initially strange not to be able to take photos, read e-mail or surf the Web.

3. Reading more books (paper ones, not electronic). When you spend too much time online consuming content, it doesn’t leave a lot of time to read off-line. The downside is you’re missing out on a medium that lets you learn and, as important, digest information in a way that doesn’t encourage multi-tasking.

4. When online, I’m trying to stay focused on the task at hand. I’m a multi-tasker; a bad one who flips from application to application, Web site to Web site, and social media service to social media service. The work gets done but the process seems scattered and not as productive as it can be. Focusing on one task at a time takes discipline but, at the end of the day (or hour) it is a better and more efficient way to work.

5. Enjoying other activities such as spending time with friends and family, doing sports (my passion is hockey) and doing new things (It’s amazing the things you can make with pears!)

6. Trying not to send work e-mail at night or weekends unless necessary. It’s one thing if I have to work at night or on the weekend, it’s another thing to digitally interrupt other people during “non-work” hours.

Let’s be clear, I’m work in progress. It is impossible to go from 60 to zero overnight but every small step is a move in the right direction.

If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out this NRP podcast featuring New York Times technology journalist Matt Richtel, who written a series – “Your Brain On Computers”- that looks at how multitasking on computers and digital gadgets affects the way people process information.

Who’s Doing Social Media Well in Canada?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 7 Comments Tags: , ,

As a rule, Canada trails the U.S. by about two years when it comes to the Web. For example, e-commerce lagged in Canada while it roared ahead in the U.S., and Canadian companies stood on the sidelines for far too long while Web 2.0 became all the rage south of the border.

In many respects, history is repeating itself when it comes to Canadian companies and social media. In the U.S., social media is increasingly become a key part of how companies communicate, market and sell their products and services. In Canada, not so much. Sure, there are a handful of active companies such as Rogers, WestJet and Molson but I would argue they are exceptions to the rule as opposed to examples of widespread adoption.

This inactivity was abundantly obvious in 2009 when the economic downturn was at its height (assuming we’re not heading into a double-dip). In fact, there was so little interest in social media activity that I intentionally didn’t position myself as a social media consultant because there didn’t seem to be enough business to justify it.

Fortunately, this situation has changed over the past six months. A growing number of companies, particularly smaller businesses seeking a competitive edge, are expressing more interest in social media. But we’re not talking about a wave of activity. It’s more of a gentle crest coming over the horizon.

Given the pace at which Canadian companies embrace new online trends, it’s no surprise that social media is following the same conservative path. Nevertheless, it’s still a little discouraging that there’s not more happening, although I remain optimistic it’s only a matter of time.

Any suggestions about Canadian companies – big or small – doing well at social media?

Much Ado About the Real-Time Web?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

real-time-web-300x298I’m doing a presentation this week in Burlington looking at the most interesting technology trends for 2010, and one of the no-brainer items is the real-time Web. The problem, however, is the more time I spend looking at the real-time Web, the more I wonder about why people are so excited.

I get that information published on Twitter, Facebook and blogs will be instantly and readily available. I get that news reporting will be instantaneous, and I get that search will become a lot more interesting because it will deliver up-to-the-second information. That’s all very exciting but is it enough to justify the hype surrounding real-time? In other words, is that it?

I guess it might come across as naive but shouldn’t there be a lot more involved? What is the significance of the real-time Web other than information gets published, delivered and consumed faster than ever before? How does that really change things?

In a sense, it’s difficult not be think that the hype about real-time reflects its potential as opposed to the current reality. Looking ahead, you can see that real-time could have a major impact on online collaboration. As well, the ability to analyze a huge amount of data in real-time will have a major impact on e-commerce, pricing and inventory management.

That’s all well and good but for now, real-time strikes me as interesting but not tangible enough to get caught up on the hype machine.

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