The MESH Conference has become quite an institution in the city of Toronto.  As far as tech and marketing go, it’s the place to be at.  This year was choc-a-bloc with information including 3D World Wide Web to Cyborg Artists to Smarter Cities to Wearable Tech to Storytelling to the new 4 Ps of Marketing, the two day event was jam-packed with the current trends and a snapshot of what the future will look like.  Held at the Drake Hotel and 99 Sudbury, the event had a comfortable casual vibe to it.

Organizers of MESH

The highlight of the conference was without a doubt Neil Harbisson, a “Catalan contemporary artist, composer and cyborg activist.”   What’s unique about Neil is that he can hear and perceive colours normally outside human vision.  Harbisson was born with a condition called Achromatopsia which meant he could only see in greyscale.  So, in 2003, he had an eyeborg (cybernetic eye) permanently attached to his head and today, views himself as a Cyborg as a cross between cybernetics and his organism.  His life choices, his innovative way of being and he’s mesmerizing story truly had the MESH crowd spellbound.

Other great moments included :

Wearable Tech

Wearable Tech – “it was incredible to learn about the leaps and bounds being made in this field.  As one panelist stated, “Skin-based wearables will be in the next tech rage,” and another noted that miniaturization will be the key to wearables’ success.  However, the greatest insight came from the third panelist, who simply stated, “insurance is the tip of the iceberg” regarding use of your personal data.

3D World Wide Web in which Ross McKegney, CEO of Verold, spoke about how current technology which enables 3D strategy, visualization, presentation, websites, and so forth.  As he said, ” Some people tell stories with words and others with code.”

Speaking of storytelling, Closing keynotes Darren McColl and David Bradfield, Founders of Sapient Nitro, who illustrated the importance of storytelling to marketing, particularly for entrepreneurs and home-based entrepreneurs.

Two of the three founders of GivEffect (which DelectablyChic! profiled last summer)

Joel Brook of ExactTarget was already very insightful.  He shed light on thenew 4 Ps of Marketing (permission, preference, privacy & personalization), informed us that “Next year 75% of all new customers will come thru your website,” and that “Serving has become the new selling.” That is “serving customers” is what will drive them to keep coming back to you.

In between the great sessions and abundant insight, there were networking breaks and socializing.