mesh ’07 Launches

I like the lift-off metaphor that my friend Mathew uses in his post today on the mesh ’07 conference. “Lift-off” evokes both a sense of effort and accomplishment, and also of excitement about what lies ahead. And that’s pretty much how I feel about mesh. Last year’s conference was a ton of work, but the mesh team – Mathew, Stuart, Mike, Mark and me – had a lot of fun doing it, and the folks who came to the conference seemed to like it a lot too. And since then, almost to the day, we’ve all been jazzed thinking about the next mesh. Just like last year, we’ve had lots of meetings, thousands (yes, thousands) of emails and endless chats and conference calls with each other to organize mesh, and just like last year, we’ve had a ton of fun doing it.

And so here we are, ready to go for the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto on May 30 and 31. Tickets are on sale now, and we’ve just posted this year’s keynoters:

Michael Arrington, founder/editor of TechCrunch.com, speaking about new media and journalism in the age of the Web

Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist.org, talking about how the Web is disrupting traditional business models

Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman Co., on the tension between the openness of the Web and traditional marketing

Tom Williams, founder of GiveMeaning.com, and Austin Hill, founder of Gifter.org, talking about the Web as a tool for charity.

It’s a great line-up to kick-off the conversations we’ll have over the two days of mesh.

We also have a terrific list of sponsors this year – folks who recognized right away what we wanted to do with mesh and who’ve been very supportive – a full list is in the right column of the site.

We have lots more work to do and over the next few weeks we’ll be rolling out more of the new new stuff – further details about mesh and who will be coming, and lots of other stuff as well. So stay tuned, either by subscribing to the mesh feed or by signing up for email alerts. And if you’re planning to come, think about getting your ticket early. We sold out last year, and based on the constant flow of email, lots of folks have us on their calendar for this year, too.

What I love about mesh is the opportunity it gives all of us to meet a wide variety of fascinating people who are as excited as we are about the boundless possibilities of life online. Enthusiastic, talented, positive, creative people; lots of conversation; and two solid days of imagining what we can all do together with this energy and these extraordinary technologies. You should come and join us this year – come and mesh.