Government of Canada's Deputy Chief Technology Officer at the next Third Tuesday Ottawa

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Third Tuesday OttawaIn the autumn, the Government of Canada announced a new initiative to integrate social media into its operations: GCPedia, a government-wide Wiki.

GCPedia has been up and running for several months. However, because it lives behind the Government of Canada’s firewall, you and I can’t see it or track how the experiment is proceeding.

The curtain will be drawn back briefly for attendees at the February 2 Third Tuesday Ottawa. Jeff Braybrook, the Government of Canada’s Deputy Chief Technology Officer, will talk about GCPedia and some of the more promising social media for government pilot projects.

I believe that social media holds tremendous potential to bring government closer to citizens. And I’m looking forward to the discussion with Jeff.

If you’re in Ottawa on February 2, you can register online to attend Third Tuesday.

And thanks to our national sponsors, CNW Group, Third Tuesday continues to be a free event.

I hope to see you there.

Niall Cook is speaking at Third Tuesday Toronto and Ottawa

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Third TuesdayNiall Cook, author of Enterprise 2.0 and Hill and Knowlton‘s Worldwide Director of Marketing Technology, will speak at both Third Tuesday Toronto on October 7 and Third Tuesday Ottawa on October 8.

Here’s the description from the Third Tuesday sites:

Enterprise 2.0: How social media will change the future of work

Social media has taken the Internet by storm, generating an unprecedented level of audience participation in corporate communications and marketing that were previously tightly controlled.

Niall Cook is Hill & Knowlton’s worldwide director of marketing technology and author of Enterprise 2.0, one of the first books to explain the impact that social software will have inside companies.

Join Niall as he introduces this emerging landscape and the key concepts that make up ‘Enterprise 2.0’. Using examples from well known companies in different industry sectors, he will illustrate how to apply enterprise 2.0 thinking to encourage communication, cooperation, collaboration and connections between employees and stakeholders in your own company.

This will be a rare chance to meet and talk with a social media expert from the U.K. You can register online to attend Third Tuesday Toronto on October 7 or to attend Third Tuesday Ottawa on October 8.

(Thank you David Jones and Brendan Hodgson for booking Niall for us.)

Join us at an Informal Third Tuesday Calgary Social Media Meetup

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Third TuesdayBrendan Hodgson and I will be in Calgary to speak at a Canadian Institute Conference on Social Media on September 24 and 25.

The prior evening, September 23, we’re planning an informal Third Tuesday social media meetup. We’re hoping to meet folks from Calgary who are interested in talking about the evolution of social media and how Calgary communicators, developers, marketers and designers are adopting and adapting it to serve their needs and those of their communities.

So, if you plan to be in Calgary on September 23 and you’re interested in an evening of discussion with others who share your interest in social media, register to attend at the Third Tuesday Calgary meetup group.

UPDATE: Kate Trgovac will also join us. She’s in Calgary on September 23 to present a day long workshop on social media.

Meet the AideRSS team at Third Tuesday Toronto

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AideRSSSince launching in July 2007, Waterloo-based AideRSS has been generating positive buzz among bloggers and analysts.

AideRSS’ PostRank algorithm provides bloggers and readers with a means to identify the content with which others have become most engaged. This saves readers time, enabling them to filter for only the most engaging content. It also helps content authors to focus on content that their readers want to have.

Now, Third Tuesday Toronto participants have a chance to meet and hear from the people behind AideRSS. Ilya Grigorik, Co-founder and Chief Technology Office, Jim Murphy, VP Development, and Melanie Baker, AideRSS’ Community Manager,  will speak at Third Tuesday Toronto on September 16.

Third TuesdayIlya, Jim and Melanie will talk about how they are building a company around Ilya’s PostRank concept. Melanie will talk with us about the approach she has taken to building and sustaining a community of users. And Jim and Ilya will give us insight into their plans for future growth and innovation.

I’m very big on AideRSS. I think that PostRank could well supply a significant piece of the social media measurement puzzle. And I’m looking forward to this session.

If you happen to be in Toronto on September 16, register online to attend Third Tuesday with AideRSS. Third Tuesdays are always a great place to meet and talk with others who are interested in new developments in social media. And the session with AideRSS will give us a chance to talk with the people behind one of the most promising Canadian social media startups.

Thanks to our Sponsor, CNW

As they have for the past year, CNW Group is once again underwriting the cost of the sound system. This is our largest cost item and CNW’s support enables us to keep Third Tuesday a free community-based event. Thank you CNW!

Read these posts for more background on AideRSS

Melanie Baker talks about the role of community manager at AideRSS

AideRSS’ Journey from Founders’ Dream to Professional Leadership

Ilya Grigorik explains PostRank

AideRSS’ PostRank Measures Engagement

AideRSS at DemoCampToronto14

What topics would you like to discuss at Third Tuesday this year?

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Third TuesdayWe’re extending the invitations to speakers for the first Third Tuesday Toronto and Third Tuesday Ottawa meetups of this autumn’s season.

This year, we hope to feature some of Canada’s best new social apps and the developers and entrepreneurs behind them.

Who would you suggest that we invite to talk about their social apps or Canadian startups? Leave a comment here or in the Third Tuesday FriendFeed room.

Join the conversation in the Third Tuesday FriendFeed Room

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FriendfeedI’ve set up a FriendFeed Room for the Third Tuesday social media meetups. I hope that this will be a place where Third Tuesday participants will gather to discuss the topics explored at each event, speakers you’d like to hear from, things you’d like to learn more about, and offer feedback and suggestions regarding the events themselves.

Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson have had great success in building a community engaged in sharing and discussion in their FIR Room on FriendFeed.

I’ve attempted to do the same thing with a Third Tuesday Facebook group. But frankly, I’ve found it to be an uphill battle to stimulate content in the Facebook group.

So, it’s time to try FriendFeed. I’ve already found that it’s easy to get a discussion going with my first question on the FriendFeed room. On Friday, I asked about possible speakers and topics. Within the next couple hours I heard from three Third Tuesday members Dave Fleet (yes, we work together), David Alston (yes, I use his product) and Eden Spodek (yes, I love her site.)

Third Tuesday Room discussion on FriendFeed

We’ll continue to announce the Third Tuesday Toronto and Third Tuesday Ottawa events on Meetup.com. Meetup has the tools necessary to easily and quickly organize and manage meetings. However, it’s conversation tools are not strong.

So, if you haven’t done so already, click over to the Third Tuesday FriendFeed Room and join the conversation.

Who would you like to hear talk about what they are doing in social media / Web 2.0?

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Who would you like to hear speak at a Third Tuesday social media meetup or the Social Media Breakfast?

Third TuesdayThe volunteers organizing the Ottawa Third Tuesday and Toronto Third Tuesday and Social Media Breakfast are reaching out to our contacts to in order to put together this season’s program. We’re looking for speakers who

  • have something unique and thought provoking to say about social media;
  • are developing social Web apps; or
  • have applied it to community building, communication, public relations or marketing.

Of course, the quality of an event series is driven by the participation of the people who attend. So, we want to invite speakers who you you want to hear address the topics that you find interesting.

We’ve had some great speakers in the past, including: Shel Israel, Shel Holtz, Richard Binhammer, Mathew Ingram, Michael Geist, Mark Evans, Colin McKay, Anthony Williams, Rob Hyndman, Michael McDerment, Saul Colt, Katie Paine, Marcel LeBrun, Stephen Taylor, Paul Wells, Marshall Sponder, Mitch Joel, Alex and Ali de Bold, Darren Barefoot, Jesse Brown, Brendan Hodgson, Giovanni Rodriguez, Danielle Donders, Ryan Anderson, Marc Snyder, David Jones, Terry Fallis, Julie Rusciolelli, Keith McArthur and Martin Waxman.

We’ve established a tradition of great speakers and strong participation from attendees. Please help us to continue in this way. Let us know who you’d like to hear from and what topics you’d like to have addressed.

If you're in Vancouver Wednesday, let's have dinner

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The Third Tuesday Vancouver organizers, Tanya Davis, Monica Hamburg and Tod Maffin, are organizing an informal summer Third Tuesday dinner gathering on Wednesday evening – the very evening I’m in Vancouver on my way to Seattle for Gnomedex.

Third Tuesday VancouverI’m planning to attend. And I’m looking forward to some good conversation with people like Tris Hussey, Christine Rondeau, James Chutter, Jenn Lowther, Miranda Lievers and Vern Baker

If you’re interested in good discussion about social media, online communities, communication, marketing and the new PR, why not join us?

You can register to attend on the Third Tuesday Vancouver meetup site. I hope to see you there.

Help organize the Third Tuesday Social Media Meetups

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A chance to give back

Are you interested in helping to organize a monthly event that gives social media enthusiasts in your community an opportunity to to meet others who share their interests, learn from one another, and hear from some great speakers on social media topics? If so, read on, because I’m going to ask for you help.

Third Tuesdays: social media and the culture of generosity

Third TuesdayOne of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in the past two years has been to be part of Third Tuesday. Third Tuesday has provided me with a great opportunity to mix with others who share my interest in social media and to learn from them.

During the past two years, some top speakers have been part of Third Tuesday: Shel Israel, Shel Holtz, Richard Binhammer, Mathew Ingram, Michael Geist, Mark Evans, Colin McKay, Anthony Williams, Rob Hyndman, Michael McDerment, Saul Colt, Katie Paine, Marcel LeBrun, Stephen Taylor, Paul Wells, Marshall Sponder, Mitch Joel, Alex and Ali de Bold, Darren Barefoot, Jesse Brown, Brendan Hodgson, Giovanni Rodriguez, Danielle Donders, Ryan Anderson, Marc Snyder, David Jones, Terry Fallis, Julie Rusciolelli, Keith McArthur and Martin Waxman. And that’s just the Ottawa and Toronto line-up.

By the way, all of our speakers donated their time and efforts to us. Our speaking budget is zero. So, a special thank you to our speakers! You truly have acted in the spirit of generosity.

A community needs organizers

Third Tuesday in Toronto and Ottawa were originally established by a group of bloggers who followed one another’s writing online. We thought it would be a great idea to meet in real life as well as virtually. And we thought that it would be even better if we could open it up to others who shared our interest.

In Ottawa, the founding group included Colin McKay, Ian McKinnon and Brendan Hodgson.The original Third Tuesday Toronto group included David Jones, Terry Fallis, Chris Clarke and Ed Lee. During the past year, Donna Papacosta, Michael O’Connor Clarke and Parker Mason have joined the group of Third Tuesday Toronto boosters and organizers.

In 2007, Third Tuesday groups started in Montreal, Vancouver, and New Brunswick. And now there’s a group of people who are coming together to organize a Third Tuesday Calgary.

Thanks to those who spontaneously organized Third Tuesdays in their communities: Michelle Sullivan, Mylene Forget, Chris Moore, Nicolas Cossette, Marc Snyder, Pierre Bouchard, Mitch Joel, Tod Maffin, Tanya Davis, Monica Hamburg, Lisa Rousseau, David Alston, Dan Martell, and Chris Nadeau.Woof. That’s a lot of people. That’s a lot of commitment.

Keeping it relevant; Keeping it inclusive

Every good event and group evolves with the times and with the changing composition of its participants.

A good community event should reflect the interests of the community it serves.

As we look forward to the third year of Third Tuesday in Ottawa and Toronto, it’s time to ensure that we don’t become stale and inward looking. And the best way to do this is to open up the direction and organization of Third Tuesday to a broader group of people.

So, if you share our enthusiasm for exploring social media and you’re prepared to contribute your time and energy to making sure that Third Tuesday serves the community, please consider being part of the organizing group.

What can I do?

What’s required of the organizers? Well,

  • Meet face to face twice a year. The rest of the time we connect and organize via email and Twitter.
  • Contribute your ideas of topics that people would be interested in discussing.
  • Have a network of people who could speak on one or more of these topics and be willing to extend an invitation to our speakers.
  • Be willing to act as M.C. at a session.
  • Be prepared to help coordinate the logistics (find us suitable locations; obtain gifts for guests, etc.).
  • Attend the events, look for new people and make sure they are introduced to others. This is about community and the best communities welcome new people and make them feel like they’re at home.
  • Spread the word about upcoming events and share what we’ve heard and learned by posting about each session on your blog.

Where do I sign up?

If you’d like to lend a hand to the organization of this year’s Third Tuesday Toronto, Third Tuesday Ottawa or Third Tuesday Calgary, leave a comment on this post or Twitter to “thornley.”

I’ll pull together a meeting of the organizers in early August.

What about money?

Of course, before you get involved with something like this, you’ll want to know whether it carries some type of financial commitment.

Well, we’ve been very fortunate for the past year in having a lead sponsor, CNW Group. (Disclosure: CNW is a Thornley Fallis client.) CNW has covered our largest single cost item, the sound system. We’re talking to them right now about supporting us again this year. More on that soon, I hope.

Pass it on

One final thing. If you’ve attended a Third Tuesday in the past and you’d like to see the series continue, please let other people know that we’re looking for others to join us in organizing. Twitter, post, podcast about it. Pass it on.

Third Tuesday Presents a Cross-Canada Blast of Social Media in June

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Third Tuesday, Canada’s social media meetups, will close out the 2007-8 with a great line-up of speakers at June events in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, New Brunswick and Ottawa.

If you are in or near Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Moncton or Ottawa, I hope that you will come out and join the discussion. You’ll meet some interesting people who are exploring the potential of social media to share, connect, build communities and organize collective action.

Finally, as we reach the end of this year’s Third Tuesday social media speakers series, I’d like to offer thanks to the people and organizations who brought this concept to communities across Canada: