Ottawa 2.0 - the scene

As an Ottawa native I sometimes complain about Ottawa’s conservative, government-town feel. While Ottawa actually has a lot going for it (beautiful spaces, proximity to skiing and Gatineau park, lots of great festivals), there’s an energetic community of people collaborating, hosting gatherings, supporting projects, stimulating growth, tweeting, blogging and generally getting together and doing stuff in the startup, techie and social media spaces.

This makes me happy. I’ve just starting to dive into what this scene has to offer - here is an informal, unordered and definitely incomplete list of some organizations and events creating energy in Ottawa. Feel free to email me any others.

• First of all…the Code Factory, which hosts some of the events listed below. The Code Factory is a coworking space that provides a relaxed environment in which to work, network and collaborate.

• The Ottawa Network - a grassroots non-profit aimed at connecting members of Ottawa’s high-tech community. They are very active and offer fantastic networking and educational events.

• CapCHI - Computer Human Interaction in the Ottawa area. This group hosts regular evening sessions targeted at user interface designers, researchers, educators, software developers, web designers, graphic designers and human factors engineers.

• Social Media Breakfast Ottawa - Every few months, social media enthusiasts and professionals get together to hear a featured speaker over coffee in the morning before work.

• Third Tuesday Ottawa - Also aimed at the social media crowd, this Meetup happens every third Tuesday of the month. The goal is to explore new developments in social media and online communities.

• DemoCamp - Members of Ottawa’s high tech community present their hardware/software prototypes or finished products and receive feedback from the audience.

• Talent First Network - an Ontario-wide initiative enabling the transfer of open-source research and knowledge from the academic sector to Ontario businesses. The TFN runs and supports events, projects, startups, internships, relevant masters theses and business competitions.

• OCRI’s Technology Executive Breakfast - targeted towards Ottawa technology execs, provides a forum to discuss business issues, hear guest speakers and stimulate the growth of Ottawa’s tech sector.

• Young Business Network - provides opportunities for Ottawa’s young professionals to connect and develop their network circles and business skills. They offer regular networking events and a breakfast speaker series.