Podonomics

God, this argument again? Geez, we keep harping on the same problems over and over. When does this end?

Yes, there aren’t alot of women invited to speak at technology events and conferences. So, we create our own associations and conferences where only women can join or speak. And it raises our profiles. To other women.

Then, we pitch lame topics to conference organizers, such as Where are the Women, or How to Hire Women in IT. So, the conference organizer succumbs, puts the sessions on the bill only to have 5 people show up and 4 of them are the panelist.

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How many variations of the word mesh can I use between now and when Mesh begins on May 30th? As many times as I like, baby!

By way of Mathew, registration for Mesh is now open. The event sold out last year and it was wicked mint (thanks for the phrase Chris), so don’t miss your opportunity to attend one of the hypest (did I just use that word?), coolest (I’m stuck in the 80s), and most synergistic event to hit Toronto.

Here’s a quick line-up of the keynotes:

Michael Arrington, founder/editor of TechCrunch.com, Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist.org, Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman Co., Tom Williams, founder of GiveMeaning.com, and Austin Hill, founder of Gifter.org.

Tags: mesh, mesh2007, mathew ingram

The Meshcasts (Rob’s term) are up on the Mesh blog. Thanks to Uncle Seth for that wonderful song called To Be An Angel that I used in both the intro and outro.

I was having a devil of a time trying to find something that could capture the energy of Mesh and then I stumbled upon that song.

As I perused a few blogs that made mention of the Meshcasts, I couldn’t help but notice a miscegenation of the word Mesh with other Web 2.0 terms. Meshcast is just one, so let’s have fun with this.

Here are a few of mine:

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Borrowed the title of this post from Rob, who borrowed it from Leo. The Mesh mini-podcasts are coming. Seven in total, all under 10-mins. Not sure when they’ll be posted, but I’ll link to them once I see them on the Mesh blog.

Unfortunately, I was using an omnidirectional mic which picked up everything. Silly me, I should’ve taken my condenser mic instead. Because of this, there was little I could do in post-production to remove the background chatter and music.

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I heard through the grape vine about 3-months ago that DigitalEve Toronto, the rebranded Webgrrls founded by a few Canadian women about 5-years ago to encourage women to pursue careers in technology, was going down the tube.

Wired Woman seems to be going strong with 2 chapters (although they had about 3 or 4 chapters about 2-years ago).
Well, rumour no more. I just visited the DigitalEve Toronto website and they have a final message from the board of directors. The final word?

It has been decided by a unanimous vote by the board members to officially close the Toronto Chapter due to lack of interest and income.

Jeepers, Batman! Although frankly, it comes as no surprise that Digital Eve Toronto has closed up shop. In my opinion, women’s technology associations are no longer relevant for many reasons.
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I’m a little late with this, but I wanted to share that the boys are at it again. Mark, Mathew, Stuart, Mike & Rob have decided to organize Mesh in 2007.

If you want to meet the guys behind Mesh, they’re having an informal meetup in Toronto on November 15th. I’ll be attending and would love to meet some of you.

Plus, I’ll have my mobile recording gear in tow to do some interviews with those who attend. I mean, Mark asked if I would and of course, I couldn’t refuse. We’re going to turn the recordings into podcasts and feature them (and you) on the Mesh blog. Cool, huh?

I’ll be asking you both intelligent and silly questions. Nothing embarassing, I promise. Just be yourself because someone else is already taken (Mitch, I just love this quote you came up with).

So, if you’re looking for good eats, great company and your 15 MB of fame (thanks for coming up with that one, Michael), come on out and let’s pre-Mesh in the city.

If you plan to attend, leave your comments so I can keep my eye out for you.

Technorati: mesh2007, mark evans, mathew ingram, stuart macdonald, rob hyndman, mitch joel, michael seaton, podcasting, web 2.0, mike mcderment