This is an incredibly belated review of the mesh 07 conference, which was held May 30-31 at the MaRS Collaboration Centre. You can access audiovisual content over at the mesh blog or read a review by co-panelist Adam MacIsaac.

Unlike the International Open Forum on e-Learning and Standardization (my review here), this conference was far more oriented towards networking and business. Many of the people attending had startup experience so there were some very self initiating and creative personalities in the mix. (I emphasize the word “personality” because in this type of fluid and innovative environment, having a visionary, charismatic character and the ability to speak well and inspire others is paramount.) Although the majority of attendees were working from profit/business models with different values and goals, it was very educational to hear their perspectives (I was representing TakingITGlobal, a non-profit organization). The other panels and workshops and even casual conversations certainly sparked some good ideas for improving the TIG website.

TIG’s participation was centered on the panel conversation: The Always-On Generation - What Do Youth Do with the Web? which was moderated by Kimia Ghomeshi (Project Coordinator, CLC Canada).
The panelists were:
- Laila Adassi (Community Relations Advisor, TELUS Communication Inc.)
- Caitlin Ingram (our youngest panelist, representing a younger generation of users)
- Adam MacIssac (PEI Youth Engagement Coordinator, CLC Canada
- Hugh Switzer (Privacy Officer, TakingITGlobal)
- and of course, myself (I was an Online Community Consultant for TIG at the time)

We covered a variety of topics related to changing attitudes and behaviours regarding online use. The audience was mainly interested in the impact of social networking software/p2p software and how that related to young users’ relationships, youth consumer habits, privacy issues, and intellectual property. This broke down further into two main camps: concerned parents and those who were interested in the youth demographic as a consumer market although there were individuals who did not attend with those interests in mind.

My major concern with this panel was the tendency for audience members to overgeneralize youth. Although we were acting as representatives of young users, I felt that there was a tendency for our differences in perspective were overlooked, as if a group of people as diverse and broad as “youth” could be distilled into a singular voice. I did not agree with some fellow panelists responses as I’m sure they did not always agree with mine. (In fact, I recently read a blog review of the panel which I felt misrepresented our speakers and attributed views to me which I never endorsed, nor believe in. I was tempted to reply, but I always follow my number one rule to internet interaction: never engage online with someone when you are irritated or upset. It was also in that moment I realized I’ll never be able to fully control how I’m represented online - a topic for a different post!)

Overall, I felt the audience enjoyed the panel and they asked some thought provoking questions. Each panelist had a good chance to speak and the mesh schedule, which had very long breaks, allowed for the continuation of the discussion afterwards; panelists were approached by audience members well into the next day of the conference.