At the Make Web Not War Conference in Montreal

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As some of you have probably noticed via my twitter updates. I am currently attending the Make Web Not War conference in Montreal. The focus is on web development, social web and open data infrastructure of tomorrow. A refreshing change from typical corporate events, the energy at this ‘startup/web 2.0′ along with passion at this conference is to die for.

I loved the panel discussions on passion and authentic social behavior required to succeed in this world of Web 2.0 – 3.0. On a surprising note, I am shocked in awe to report that Microsoft has done a great job in promoting this conference in a very subtle community building manner. Their logos are barely seen, yet they are the main sponsor of the event.

Their Open Data architecture to enable open data collaboration is also an interesting concept. It does tie in with the Government 2.0 effort currently in place. FYI: Canadian cities sharing their data include: Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Naomi. Vancouver’s pilot is online at http://vanguide.cloudapp.net/. Sadly, it requires you to install Silverlight but worth installing to check out the implementation from true social web nature. Rocovery.gov is also a prime example of this shift.

If you are interested in learning more, follow the #webnotwar twitter stream. I’ll be posting my summary and possible integration with IBM’s Digital Strategy (in my opinion) when I get back to Toronto.