TechCrunch Canada?
August 24, 2006 by Mark Evans
Filed under Business
Michael Arrington’s ever-growing empire now includes TechCrunch UK, which will focus on Web 2.0 companies in the U.K. I wonder if it’s just a matter of time before Arrington sets his sites on Canada or whether he thinks Maple Leaf 2.0 is just too worthy of a competitor. (editor’s note: tongue planted firmly in cheek). Maybe Arrington wants to strike up an alliance? That said, one of the challenges writing this blog is generating enough ideas/content. I’m not sure whether there just isn’t a lot happening or whether I’m not plugged in enough with what’s happening. I suspect it’s a combination of both, although there is probably more I can do to reach out to Web 2.0 entrepreneurs in Canada. If you’re one of those people or just someone interested in the space, I’d appreciate any ideas, insights, suggestions, etc.
Don’t be hard on yourself – his market is ten times your size…
Don’t be hard on yourself…and don’t forget you’re in Canada – his market is ten times your size… ;)
[oops, spell checked version]
Mark, its interesting that you make this point. When Om Malik launched his new blog with an “India” tab, I wrote in suggesting he also add a “Canada” tab. Afterall, we are the biggest US trading partner and many Canadian tech companies have enjoyed great success south of the border.
Despite this, Om/TechCrunch, etc. don’t seem to actively seek developments coming out of Canada.
Now, we can blame this all on big brother ignorance but I firmly believe the bigger culprit is the fact that we as Canadians don’t do a great job of promoting ourselves. I suspect much of this stems from the fact that we might suffer from little brother syndrome and don’t believe our creations measure up to the Silicon Valley machine.
You and I both know that isn’t the case but we’ve got to go beyond that and put together a system whose sole purpose is to brag and promote our homegrown talent. Per your “Hullo” post the other day, it is clear that even successful Canadian companies overlook the power of bloggers such as you/Ingram/Hyndman, etc.
Maple Leaf 2.0 is a step in the right direction. I propose we go the next step by holding a micro-forum whose sole purpose is to both change our conservative Canadian mentality and develop a real system for promoting and marketing our web achievements.
We do a good job of pulling news out of the US, now the time has come to push our news on to them. At the end of the day, they’ll appreciate it once they discover what we have to offer.
Thoughts?
Best,
George
george,
you’re right. we do a lousy job waving the flag, which has given me some frustration since the blog was launched. i’m just not sure why more canadian companies aren’t gung-ho about what they’re doing. maybe, well, we’re just too canadian. i’d be into looking at how to address this issue.
cheers, mark
Sounds good. Any idea how you would choose to approach this? George mentioned a forum….sounds like maybe a hub of dedicated content from Canada’s top tech stars might be a good way too…get the biggest 10 or 15 in Canadian tech and get them to blog and point their readers to the resource….just a thought.
How are those 10-15 and would they participate are a totally different story…
i guess it depends on how “forum” is defined. it could be a blog (mapleleaftwo.com) or a wiki where web 2.0 entrepreneurs could enter their info, or a web site with links to web 2.0 resources.
Good morning, guys. Glad to see Mark’s post has spurred some conversation.
My reference to “forum” (sorry about being so loose) actually means getting 10-20 influential people together in a face-to-face meeting (conference call for those who can’t be present) and brainstorming a solution.
The solution will ultimately be web based but sitting in a room for 4-5 hours is the way to start.
I’m definitely not an influential person in the Web 2.0 scene but I’d like to be involved by contributing my promotional ability. I think I’ve come a long way since Mesh – and that was starting from ground zero.
Teaming up with the likes of Mark, Mathew, Mike, etc. the sky is the limit. The fact that my name starts with “G” should also bring some great diversity.
We have the talent and great products. What we’re missing is the promotion and the gumption that goes with it.
So, when do we all get together?
Best,
George
This exact problem is why Sean and i launched the Canadian Tech Mob. http://www.canadiantechmob.com/
In just around a month we’ve got more than 50 members (and a bunch of people that still have to get their webring code inserted.)
We started it as something simple but are interested in exploring how to take it to another level. The web ring is interesting and effective with around 500,000 impressions of our like badge to date.
I’m working on starting a linked-in group so people without a blog can participate.
Would there be demand to create a “social portal” for this… kind of a Canadian MobSpace?
I’d be interested in exploring this further.
Reg
why not a mapleleaf 2.0 space?…:)…..in some respects, mesh is the ideal forum for people to discuss web 2.0 in canada. given it’s still nine months away, maybe a night at a pub could do the trick. perhaps “mesh presents….”
Reg, Canadian Tech Mob is a great idea for bringing together Canadian web companies. We plan to join once our new site goes up in mid-September.
However, with respect to the discussion at hand, we need to find a solution that gets our message and companies across to US players such as TechCrunch. Telling our stories to each other won’t open the doors we are looking to break down.
Mark, given the success of Mesh, I agree that Mesh would be the ideal place to rally the troops and march them into battle.
What we need to do first, however, is get a smaller group of people together and come up with a solution(s) that we can begin to implement as soon as possible.
Thoughts?
Best,
George