Friday at Northern Voice is the unconference day, a self-organizing but surprisingly unchaotic event.
The turnout is impressive, and I miss getting a seat for the first session... which is cool. There are plenty of corridor conversations to be had... so many, in fact, that I miss the second session.
So I'm hell-bent on making the third session, which turns out to be a well-run discussion on multilingual blogs and web sites.
Session leader Jim DeLaHunt walks us through a conversation that, sadly, lasts only half an hour. We've only scratched the surface, but it's enough to make me want to explore further. I'm especially intrigued by the mechanics sites use for determining what language to present to a particular user:
The early afternoon is PhotoCamp. Funny thing how it seems Northern Voice has always had a huge photography component. I've never seen so many digital SLRs in one place. It nearly overwhelmed the presenters...
Miranda Lievers warns us about how strong overhead sunlight can cause a subject's eye sockets to be in dark shadows, and describes the condition evocatively as "raccoon eyes."
More than one speaker has a Facebook status update notification pop up while they're presenting... including one by a friend whose status line indicates they're watching the presentation.
The last session I hit is Megan Cole's Social Media Mecca - a long-overdue conversation about collaboration and community among social media consultants in the Vancouver area. Good on her for bringing it up; I only wish there'd been another two hours to keep the discussion going.
I'll be speaking about crisis communications and the social web on Saturday at Northern Voice, the kick-ass Vancouver-based blogging conference now in its fourth year:
Imagine a situation where all eyes are on you or your organization, and you need to communicate quickly, clearly and effectively... probably under severe stress, with a lot more noise than signal out there.
It's called crisis communications. And whether it's something as serious and far-reaching as a natural disaster, or as personal as the arrival of a newborn, you'll want to be prepared.
Discover how organizations large and small use social media to keep the lines of communications open when it matters the most. Learn how to use blogs to correct misinformation and get your message out. And find out why you need to build relationships and networks now... before you need to use them.
Moderating the event is the one and only James Sherrett. Come on, come all - I've had a blast speaking at Northern Voice in the past... even when I had to loop in a fellow panelist by holding a cell phone up to the microphone.
We're proud to sponsor NV again this year; the inaugural conference, back in 2005, helped to spur the birth of Social Signal.
If you're interested in Web 2.0, blogging, podcasting, online video, virtual worlds, social networks, photo sharing and the like, you won't want to miss it. And if you're a beginner who wants to get your feet wet, then Friday's Internet boot camp is an absolute must.
See you there!
Great news... Northern Voice is on again. Now in its third year, this Vancouver-based conference draws an international audience that ranges from novices to leaders in blogging and the web.
This year, Northern Voice - organized last year by Boris Mann, Brian Lamb, Cyprien Lomas, Darren Barefoot, Kris Krug, Lauren Wood and Roland Tanglao – has moved to bigger digs at UBC. It's running from Feb. 23 to 24, and if it's anything like the last two, it's going to be fantastic.
If you're going to be in or near Vancouver next February, check back on their site regularly for updates – so you can register as soon as it opens (the conference fills up awfully quickly). And if you aren't going to be in Vancouver in February, well, compare the winter climate here to yours and adjust your travel plans accordingly.
