Colin's Blog My thoughts on everything.

Mesh08 – Day 1 (part 1)

Twenty-four hours ago I arrived at the MaRS Centre in Toronto for Mesh Conference 2008. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from "Canada's Web Conference" but I anticipated really great discussions about the issues that face the broader online media industry. I hoped that my understanding of the web would be challenged and that I may be able to offer my own thoughts and opinions to the conversations I was sure would be taking place. I was not disappointed - and the food was great to boot!

Beyond the actual conference content of keynotes, panels and presentations, I was very much looking forward to meeting many of the Twitterati with whom I've had some great conversations over that last few months. Again, I was not disappointed.

Keynote recaps:

Keynote: Ethan Kaplan - Warner Bros. Records
Ethan opened the conference with a peek at the world of record labels from the unique perspective of a technologist whose entry into that industry was predicated on him being a big fan of R.E.M.  Kaplan's R.E.M. fansite is now the official website for the band and Ethan has successfully turned his passions for music and technology in to a career.

Throughout the keynote, Kaplan was challenged to explain how, given the digital music revolution, we as consumers could be expected to ever pay for music again. The recurring theme in his responses was that the industry (both producer and consumer) has begun to change what has value. Emphasis is now much more on experience than artifact.

My take: Music, as a product, has become commoditized by the ubiquity of the MP3. The value now shifts to the artist as a product worth spending money on. Soon we will no longer be buying music as much as buying access to the artist experience.

Keynote: Michael Geist - Digital Activism
Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor and columnist, walked the conference attendees through many examples of the social media world facilitating activism and advocacy both online and off. Much of conversation during the Q&A period revolved around Geist's own activism project - fighting a Canadian DMCA - which was featured in his presentation. Many folks in the crowd were clearly concerned about the future of copyright law in Canada. I would have liked to explore some of the other examples Geist touched on, especially the ways in which social media is allowing activists in repressive regimes to be heard by a global audience. One issue that was raised but not really addressed was the notion that it's one thing to attract members and supporters to cause online in Facebook groups, etc. but how does one translate that into real action?

My take: While social media has helped social activism to become more effective and efficient, there is much work to be done.

Stay tuned for Part two with afternoon session recaps...

Related posts:

1. Let’s Re-Think a Few Things
2. MESH08 Day One (part 3)
3. MESH08 Day One (part 2)
4. Twitterbowl Analysis
5. Is Google really the new Yellow Pages?!?