The countdown has begun — to mesh, that is. In case you haven’t been following this blog over the past couple of months, mesh is the Web 2.0 conference in Toronto next Monday and Tuesday that I have been organizing (and I use that word loosely) with my friends and fellow bloggers Mark Evans, Rob Hyndman, Stuart MacDonald and Mike McDerment. We are coming down to the wire and getting awfully close to being sold out, although we could probably squeeze you in if you hurry.
Stuart has a rundown on the mesh blog of some of the last-minute information for those attending, including the fact that we’re starting registration at 8 a.m. at MaRS, and (partying being an important part of any Web 2.0 event) there will be a “social mesh” event in the atrium with cocktails following the day’s events on Monday, plus a party later on in the evening at the ultra-hip nightspot The Drake, for those who like to dance into the wee hours. There have been some last-minute schedule changes, but nothing too major — we’re hoping to have a final schedule up at meshconference.com soon.
It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago — February, I think it was — we all got together in a Toronto bar for a few drinks to talk about blogs and the Web and how it was changing our jobs (in the media and marketing fields), our interests (politics and society) and our businesses (big as well as small), and how it would be great if someone would have a conference where we could all talk about that kind of thing with other interested people. Not seeing one on the horizon, we decided to do it ourselves, despite the fact that none of us have any experience in doing that kind of thing.
And we’ve had some pretty amazing help along the way, not just from sponsors and suppliers of stuff (and our very patient families, of course), but from the people who have agreed to come and take part — like Om and Tara and Paul and Steve and Michael, but also people like Jason Fried and Matt Mullenweg and Michael Tippett and Andrew Baron and Warren Kinsella and Rick Segal (for a full list, check the schedule).
Now it’s almost time to mesh.