by Amanda Shiga on October 25, 2008
This past month, I’ve checked out a couple of Ottawa’s social media/techie-themed meetups for the first time. I was so excited to see both events filled to capacity and such energy and friendliness. Kudos to the organizers - you’ve done a fantastic job.
Third Tuesday
Third Tuesday is a meetup group aimed at social media enthusiasts. The group meets in the evening, usually at the Clocktower Pub or more recently, Fresco Cielo. The most recent speaker, Niall Cook, talked about Enterprise 2.0 and social media within corporations and government.
What can I say - the venue was filled to capacity with an enthusiastic and engaged crowd of professionals from marketing, PR, techie, educational and governmental arenas. The talk was great, and although I wish there had been more time for Q&A, it was wrapped up early enough to allow for some networking. I had some great conversations with friendly folks from Hill & Knowlton and the NAC. Very much looking forward to the next one.
Social Media Breakfast
Social Media Breakfast (SMB) is an ongoing early-morning event where social media enthusiasts come together to share, learn, network and drink coffee. This past week I attended Ottawa’s 4th SMB with my colleague Molly. Hosted at Gowlings, the room was packed.
There was a panel of three discussing various topics centering around community. While the responses were varied and sometimes contradictory, it was interesting to see different points of view from the panel and from the audience. The world of social media and accompanying strategies is something we’re all still figuring out - there are no black and white answers.
A great re-cap of the event and discussion can be found here, courtesy of Mel Gallant. I believe the next SMB will occur in early December.
by Amanda Shiga on September 24, 2008
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.
