mesh12 Conference Presents New Ways to Connect Share And Inspire In A Digital World

^[1]Today’s digital landscape continues to introduce new, cross-platform ways to consume information, facilitate e-commerce, and market our products. The need to understand how these dynamic new channels can help organizations stay current, drive business and engage with consumers and citizens is more urgent now than ever before.

mesh ^[1], now in its 7th year, facilitates this need by providing a one-of-a-kind forum to help organizations embrace this evolving technology and understand the broader implications not just on the bottom line, but in society as a whole.

On May 23 and 24 at the Allstream Centre in Toronto, mesh will gather digital visionaries, leaders and entrepreneurs from a wide range of sectors to connect ^[2], inspire and share new ideas and opportunities in today’s digital age. Marketers, media, entrepreneurs and citizens who want to navigate through and benefit from everything the Web has to offer are encouraged to attend this inspiring two-day event.

“From its inception, mesh has been the premier gathering of its kind in Canada,” says Stuart MacDonald, mesh co-founder. “We’re excited about the next evolution of mesh, and truly believe this year will have something for everyone.”

mesh will continue to give attendees the opportunity to connect and network with key decision makers ^[3] within the digital media landscape, and expand its focus areas to include a variety of topics ^[4], such as education, design, politics, information overload, content marketing, health, books, health, social media and more.

Rather than the traditional keynote speaker sessions, panels and workshops, mesh has a new, interactive format in which multiple keynote events will be happening during a single track of programming.

Early-bird tickets are on sale now ^[5] for $579 until April 21. Then, they will be available at the full price of $679. Student tickets are available for $99. All prices are in CAD and do not include 13% HST.

This year’s mesh conference keynote speakers are:

• Clay A. Johnson – Author of The Information Diet and best known as the co-founder of Blue State Digital, the firm that built and managed Barrack Obama’s online campaign for presidency in 2008
• Rebecca MacKinnon – Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow at New America Foundation, author of Consent of the Networked and co-founder of Global Voices, an international citizen media network
• David Weinberger – Senior researcher at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, author of Too Big to Know and one of the most respected thought-leaders in the areas of technology, business and society
• Andy Carvin – Senior Strategist, Social Media Desk at NPR and co-founder of PublicMediaCamp

Additionally, Jean-François Barsoum, Senior Managing Consultant, Green and Innovation Strategies at IBM Canada will provide insight on environmental management, innovation, smarter transportation and climate change.

mesh will also feature a variety of interactive workshops and discussions including:

• Pinning Down Pinterest – Lead by Mark McKay, this session provides a quick tour of the Web’s latest phenomenon – what it is, who’s using it well, and how to best pin your future to Pinterest.
• The Future of Big Data and the Role of the Data Scientist – Max Shron, a consultant and the former data scientist with OK Cupid fame, will help cut through the hype and understand when, why and how to unlock the value of big data
• Walled Gardens and the Future of the Open Web – David Winer, an almost legendary figure in the history of the consumer internet, having developed both RSS and one of the first blogging platforms, will discuss his fear that the openness of the Web is being threatened by the closed platforms and walled gardens of Apple, Amazon and Facebook
• Content Marketing: Creating relevant, compelling, entertaining content for customers – In this hands-on workshop, Mitch Fanning will provide insight into the potential of content marketing, as well as a road map that companies can follow to get started and drive results
• Inbox Insanity: The evolution of the email inbox – Bruno Morency provides insight into where the email is heading and how email data is being used to develop new technologies and services