Categories: Articles

PodCamp Comes To Montreal – Register Now

I’m a huge fan of the unconference movement. If you’ve never attended a conference that is also organized by the attendees (essentially, a self-organizing event), I would highly encourage you to join me at PodCamp Montreal. The event is being held on September 20th and 21st in Montreal at the Pavillon de De Design at UQAM (one of the major universities here, in Montreal). I’ve been holding off on Blogging about it until registration was open, and now it is. Registration is free (yes, you read that right… one hundred percent free), so why not take one weekend out of your life to meet, connect, share and learn from those interested in Social Media?

I was fortunate enough to attend the first PodCamp ever in Boston a few years back and my take-away on both the learning and social front were huge. I got a chance to not only figure out how to be a lot better at Podcasting, Blogging and leveraging the power of online social networks, but I spent the majority of my time developing solid friendships with people like C.C. Chapman, Chris Brogan, Christopher S. Penn, Whitney Hoffman, Julien Smith, John Wall, Bob Goyetche, Bryan Person, Mark Blevis and countless others. It was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful events I have ever attended, and I find myself constantly reflecting on the sessions and the social aspects of that one, particular, unconference.

I had the pleasure of helping to organize the first-ever PodCamp in Canada, PodCamp Toronto, so seeing others getting organized and bringing the event home to my beautiful Montreal makes me very proud. They deserve some link love (and here it is): Sylvain Grand’Maison, Julien Smith, Bob Goyetche, Jean-François Blais, Laurent LaSalle, Laurent Maisonnave, Hugh McGuire, Casey McKinnon, Harold Boeck and Michelle Sullivan. I’m also pleased to say that Twist Image has agreed to take part by sponsoring the event. If you can’t make it, but feel like supporting this type of weekend, I know that the main organizers are looking for additional sponsorship money.

The next big thing is to participate. Everyone who attends is also welcome to present (and trust me, this is what really makes the weekend one you will never forget). So, don’t just think about attending… think about presenting. I’ll probably present something entirely new and unique for this special event (I’m even open to hearing from this community about which topic would be of most interest).

The organizers have also set-up a Facebook Fan Page (naturally), which you can find here: PodCamp Montreal Facebook Fan Page.

I hope to see (and hang out with) you there.

Everything you need to know about the unconference is here: PodCamp Montreal 2008.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.