www.flickr.com
|
www.flickr.com
|
Join us!
We're kicking off the planning for our next Northern Voice conference, and we want YOU!
We need several new volunteers to help out with the planning, to bring and execute some fresh ideas, and to work together with existing organizers put on another sensational conference.
Our kick off planning meeting will be Wednesday, November 23rd, at 9am at the offices of Left Right Minds, and if you've ever wanted to join up, this is your chance. You should RSVP if you are a new volunteer, so we can get a count.
New (and existing!) organizers will be expected to take on one or more defined areas of responsibility, and be ready to give a significant number of hours between now and the event. There's no limit to your involvement here; we're not just looking for interns.
Ask any of the existing or previous volunteers: this conference is fun to organize, and the rewards are significant! Don't just be a logo on the T-shirt (though you'll get that, too) -- be part of the best blogging and social media conference around.
Questions? Ask in the comments or email us.
It is hard to believe that after so many months of planning, updating, manipulating, and running around like crazy people another conference has come to a close. I would like to say thank you to all of the sponsors, the volunteers, the organizers, and to all of those of you who attended. Like all great communities, you all make this conference possible and this year's success and credit goes to all of you.
This was the seventh year for Northern Voice and, like previous years, it was great to see people getting together to talk about what it was that drove their passion for publishing on line. I have read a few reviews here and there and listened to a couple of podcasts that talked about the conference and in every case the comments were positive. People enjoyed what the speakers were presenting, many liked the venue, and others talked about how the catering was awesome. (There were also a few words about how building your lunch was unique to the conference. I am not sure if that is true or not but, hey, we'll take it.) It was good to see such a positive reaction. If you find any reviews on line or you publish your own, please leave a link in the comments!
We also have the 2011 Northern Voice Post Conference Survey running around for you to fill out. We love the feedback we get after each conference and we use it to help us to make the conference the best it can be. Did I mention that if you fill out the form there is a chance you can win free tickets to next year?
Again, thanks to everyone and we hope to see you next year.
This is just a gentle reminder to make sure that you fill out the post-conference survey. If you attended the conference, we would love to hear what you think! (And you may score a set of tickets for next year, but I am sure you don't want to fill out the survey just for that chance, right?)
According to our ticket sales system, the following 49 cities are represented here today:
Abbotsford, BC, CA
Aldergrove, BC, CA
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Burnaby, BC, CA
Calgary, AB, CA
Campbell River, BC, CA
Chilliwack, BC, CA
Cloverdale, BC, CA
Comox, BC, CA
Coquitlam, BC, CA
Delta, BC, CA
Edmonton, AB, CA
Eugene, OR, US
Fairbanks, AK, US
Hamilton, ON, CA
Kailua, HI, US
Kamloops, BC, CA
Kelowna, BC, CA
Ladner, BC, CA
Langley, BC, CA
Lillooet, BC, CA
Maple Ridge, BC, CA
Montreal, QC, CA
Moorhead, MN, US
Morinville, AB, CA
Nanaimo, BC, CA
New Westminster, BC, CA
North Vancouver, BC, CA
Ottawa, ON, CA
Penticton, BC, CA
Phoenix, AZ, US
Port Coquitlam, BC, CA
Port Moody, BC, CA
Prince George, BC, CA
Princeton, BC, CA
Quathiaski Cove, BC, CA
Richmond, BC, CA
Sacramento, CA, US
Saint Catharines, ON, CA
Seattle, WA, US
Sechelt, BC, CA
Sherwood Park, AB, CA
Short Hills, NJ, US
Squamish, BC, CA
Surrey, BC, CA
Toronto, ON, CA
Vancouver, BC, CA
Victoria, BC, CA
Washington, DC, US
Sorry, West Van is not its own city, and East Van is not its own country. Have we forgotten yours? Let us know!
Northern Voice 2011 is almost here! It's this Friday and Saturday at the Life Sciences Centre, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, UBC main campus.
This email includes some important last-minute details.
Pa(aaaa)rty
===========
The party this year is on Friday night, not Thursday (hooray for trying new things!). It's going to be amazing; with lots of food and free drinks in a fantastic venue, The Academic, 1619 West Broadway between Fir and Pine.
There's a separate ticket for the party. Remember, if you bought an early-bird ticket or you're a speaker, your party admission is already included. Otherwise, you ought to buy a ticket now because we'd love to see you there.
Getting There
=============
Please remember we are at the Life Sciences Centre again this year.
Parking in the C2 lot just to the south west at 2250 Health Sciences Mall costs $6 per day.
Should that lot fill up, there are spots available at Thunderbird Stadium parkade for $14 a day. (Last year's lot, B-1, is becoming a new building now.)
If it's possible, we recommend you either carpool or take public transit. Both Google Maps and Translink's site enable you to plan a trip to UBC.
Registration
============
Registration will be set up in the main atrium. Please bring lanyards for your badge if you have any at home for reuse. Registration opens at 8:30 on Friday and Saturday (maybe a few minutes earlier if we're organized). Opening remarks are at 9:30am, followed by the keynote talk at 9:45am.
We'll provide lunch (including vegetarian options) and have two coffee and tea breaks on both days.
Moosecamp
=========
Moosecamp is a self-directed, participatory, spontaneous subset of the Northern Voice conference. If you have something you'd like to share, present or discuss, we encourage you to check out Moosecamp, which will be running all day Friday alongside the prepared speakers.
You can see what's planned for Moosecamp here.
Housekeeping Notes
==================
This event will be recorded by lots of people with photos and video. Please don't capture or publish photos or video of children without their parents' permission.
Food and drink are not allowed in the classrooms, and we're not allowed to stick anything to the walls (particularly the wooden surfaces).
Consider bringing your own water bottle.
There will be yoga in the mornings, and a wine tasting on Friday night. Check the schedule for details.
Are you taking photos and blogging at Northern Voice? If so, we suggest using the following tags:
Blogs and Flickr: nv11, northernvoice
Twitter: #nv11
Thanks to Our Sponsors
======================
We're so so thankful for the conference sponsors, both new and returning. Their support enables us to keep the conference pricing as affordable as possible. If you see a sponsor at the conference, give them a hug, would you?
Headline Sponsors Who Really Deserve Your Thanks
* Mt Lehman Credit Union (7-peet!)
* Rogers
* Akismet
Ordinary Sponsors Who We Also Love
* TravelSmart
* Chevrolet
* Township 7
Tell a Friend
=============
If you would take a moment to blog, tweet or post to Facebook about the conference before you go, we'd appreciate it. It's also a great way to find out who else is going.
Follow us:
http://twitter.com/northernvoice
Like us!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_2245570954
That's All
==========
See you on Friday and/or Saturday!
TTFN
Your Organizing Committee
Your body, bend it, you will. Get in touch with your inner spiritual self, you must. Oh, wait. I'm confusing Yoga and Yoda.
Have fun with Yoga For Geeks each morning of the conference. Bend, twist and move in a way that's going to get your blood flowing, your lungs breathing and your soul thriving.
Just one more way we're bending the definition of conference. Ooooommmmm...
Update: This is the second time a yoga session will be held at Northern Voice. This time around, it's the wonderful Andrea Loewen who will be leading the attack on inflexibility and tension.
Here's a video from the first Yoga for Geeks leader, Sarah Pullman in 2007.
Want to present at Northern Voice 2011? Our main speakers' schedule is already filled, of course. But if you've got a presentation that you think is going to knock everyone's socks off, you can still try out for Moosecamp!
What's the deal with Moosecamp? We'll have some space set aside for these presentations that are voted on. If your presentation is popular, you get to run with it!
We'll have access to 2 spaces during the Friday (in parallel to the main Conference); a classroom-like setting (room for 30 or so, like last year) and hopefully also a space in the atrium. We're hoping that, if there are some hands-on or maker-type sessions (of which we've already got a few possibilities) that these might happen in the atrium space, and more discussion-oriented sessions in the classroom-style space, but as with everything Moosecamp, it's up to us all to decide, and things are flexible.
Got an idea for a Northern Voice presentation? Moosecamp it!
As Northern Voice approaches, consider the following important facts:
1. If you want a Northern Voice T-shirt or you want to attend the party, you have to purchase those separately, soon!
The party is on Friday night at The Academic
It's right after the conference, right near the venue, with door prizes, and it's really cheap. We encourage you to attend.
2. Why do we have to stop selling the T-shirts in advance of the event? Because we have to print them up in all the right sizes. So buy one now! Right now! Do it!
(If you bought an early-bird ticket, T-shirt and party are included, and you are a wonderful human being.)
3. Please, take a moment to tell a friend, a co-worker, the person you're borrowing wifi from to read this blog post... tell them you're going to Northern Voice, and why.
If you don't remember why, here are a few reasons:
In addition to the scheduled speakers this year, we've got
We're an all-volunteer run, personal blogging and social media conference, and every year, people say we have really good lunches.
Tickets are available at:
http://northernvoice2011.
Northern Voice wouldn't be complete without buttons. We're going to have them by the bucketful. You can't see what they look like yet, but we are fully confident they're going to be super cool.
We like buttons. Maybe it's because the word "butt" is part of the word and that makes us snicker like 12-year olds. Or maybe it's because we're just so darn proud of our blogging and social media conference that we feel the need to stick out our chests and let our button-emblazoned shirts let everyone know how awesome we feel.
And we do feel awesome.
Question: Do you like parties?
Answer: Yeeeeesss....
Question: Do you like blogging and social media?
Answer: Yeeeeesss...
Question: Would you like to come to the Northern Voice 2011 personal blogging and social media conference party happening on the evening of Friday, May 13th at the Academic?
Answer: AAAAAWWWWW YEEEEAHHHH! SIGN ME UP, TRAVIS!
Actually, you can sign yourself up! Buy a ticket to the Northern Voice party for just $25!
Your ticket includes:
While you're at it, make sure you've got all the tickets you need for our two-day conference -- and don't forget to pick up a "Bloggable" T-shirt
