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MESH 2012 drew Canada’s IT and Web insiders to the Allstream Centre for networking and discussion on the cutting edge of their field.  Plenty of attendees had travelled far and wide across North America to attend what has become a staple for the industry.

Clay A. Johnson (left) on Day 1 of MESH

MESH was founded in 2006 by five enthusiasts of the “Web and all the next-generation things happening … decided an event like this one had to take place in Toronto.” These five founders are Mark Evans (Principal, ME Consulting), Mathew Ingram (Senior Writer, GigaOm.com),Mike McDerment (CEO, FreshBooks Online Invoicing), Rob Hyndman (business lawyer, Hyndman | Law) and Stuart MacDonald (entrepreneur, marketer, founder Expedia.ca). This year, Sheri Moore (Partner, Creative Director, Moore Carlyle Consulting) joined the core team.

Once again, the AllStream Centre at CNE proved to be an ideal venue, perfect for big MESH talks, small breakout sessions, WIFI environment and delicious breakfasts, lunches and the unforgettable networking coffee breaks.

The 2012 topics were less glamorous than last year, focusing more on Internet Freedom, data, content marketing, social media, and the Arab Spring and Real-Time Journalism. A highlight was the talk on pinterest, the “it” social media brand of the moment.

Speaking with Victoria Jovanovic-Krstic & Carol Leaman (Axonify Inc.)

There was a lot of substance to the talks and meat to take away, plus plenty of opportunities to speak to, mingle and even dine with the speakers.  As this is a premier industry event, even the other attendees are fascinating with many leaders in their fields.

Day 1 special moments included Clay A. Johnson, founder of Blue State Digital, which built and managed President Obama’s 2008 online Presidential campaign, sharing his story; Brian Halligan, CEO Hubspot, who stated, “Google changed the marketing game; it used to be about the width of your wallet now width of your brain”; and Suresh Doss (Food Trucks fame) who spoke about how 20,000 people showed up at his Food Truck Rally’s just from the momentum of facebook and twitter.

Day 2 memorable moments ‎featured Mark McKay giving a sparking summary talk on Pinterest and how it has become #1 for sales referrals (and the #3 social media platform); Social Media WTF? workshop with Michael O’Connor Clarke (integrated communications and marketing specialist and co-founder Ho-Ho-TO); and the highly anticipated talk with Andy Carvin, NPR’s primary voice on Twitter, and Facebook, and a leading voice during the Arab Spring.

It was truly an unforgettable moment when O’Connor Clarke revealed his WTF stood for Website – Twitter – Facebook, which is the priority sequence for any good social marketing plan.

The lunches!

Although there was plenty of overlap in some of the data talks, overall there was variety to the schedule and some very insightful speakers.   A smaller event than last year, but one with some serious industry players. A worthwhile conference to attend.

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

Uncategorized allstream centre, ANDY CARVIN, BLUE STATE DIGITAL, BRIAN HALLIGAN, delectablychic!, HUBSPOT, mark evans, MARK MCKAY, mathew ingram, MESH, MICHAEL O’CONNOR CLARKE, mike mcderment, PINTEREST, rob hyndman, SHERI MOORE, stuart macdonald, SURESH DOSS

By T. U. Dawood

Once a year, Canada’s IT and Web insiders get together annually in Toronto to listen to cutting edge speakers and network.

MESH was founded in 2006 by five enthusiasts for the “Web and all the next-generation things happening.”  These five founders are Mark Evans (Principal, ME Consulting), Mathew Ingram (Senior Writer, GigaOm.com), Mike McDerment (CEO, FreshBooks Online Invoicing), Rob Hyndman (business lawyer, Hyndman | Law) and Stuart MacDonald (entrepreneur, marketer, founder Expedia.ca).

The Flyboy Cozy Couches

This year’s conference had a new venue, AllStream Centre at CNE, which was ideal for the larger crowd, the small workshops, WIFI environment and fantabulous breakfasts, lunches and numerous networking coffee breaks.

The MESH set-up with speakers discussing topics on stage

2011 topics included “the role social media is playing within political protests in the Middle East, the value and importance of influence, the changing work landscape, and the psychology of online behaviour and motivation.”

With the increasing importance of the web to marketing, loads of marketers attended and the conference keynotes and workshops were divided into four categories: marketing, media, society and business.  One interesting fact mentioned was that 80% of Canadians are now on Facebook!!!

Gabe Zicherman was a keynote speaker

The star keynote had to be the Marketing Keynote with Gabe Zichermann who spoke about gamification and its possibilities in various fields. Passionate, witty and a lot of fun, he kept the crowd riveted with his anecdotes about how the Farmville model can be applied to other, more traditional marketing models.

The ever popular Janice Diner who was speaker at MESH for the third time edified a packed audience on how to change a Facebook like to a buy.  She also shared well thought out and insightful examples on companies such as Diesel and Chanel that were using facebook commerce in innovative and profitable ways.

Rob Fishman (left) and Janice Diner (right) also spoke at MESH

David Armano and Valerie Maltoni spoke about Klout scores and how you can really measure influence. The Huffington Post’s Social Media editor Rob Fishman who had flown in from NYC spoke to a jam-packed crowd that was seated on floors and out into the hallway on the trailblazing newszine’s philosophies and social media strategies.  Much of their work with Facebook and Twitter has been homegrown and user friendly from day one.

There were some weaker speakers and sections as well.  The not-for-profits panel gave plenty of examples but wasn’t quite able to help audience members see a clear strategy or trend.  Similarly, Zoe Siskos’ How to Build and Nurture an Online Community spoke more about her trials and errors in experiencing different online communities rather than an inspiring, exciting and productive way for the community leaders in the audience to move forward.

The male-female ratio of attendance was 53%-47% which made for invigorating conversations and underscored how wonderful the web is for women, especially the ability to have virtual businesses.

Day 2 was stronger than Day 1 but overall MESH was one of the most worthwhile and current conferences in Toronto.  Very highly recommended.

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

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