PodCamp Toronto is a facilitated, participant-driven event centred on digital and social media. The firstPodCamp was held in Boston in 2006. Since then new media communities in numerous cities have held PodCamps.

The PodCamp Toronto community is a diverse group of participants who are amateur and professional content creators and communicators. This includes folks from all kinds of different areas of new media - writers, producers, photographers, designers, podcasters, developers and bloggers.

When someone signs up to attend PodCamp they become a participant. Because we're an unconference, we ask our participants to provide the programming and sessions. To speak at PodCamp is to share knowledge, expertise and perspective while facilitating a discussion. Participants at PodCamp bring their curiosity and passion for digital media. Participants at PodCamp exercise the “Law of Two Feet". When a participant finds they are not learning or contributing to discussion, they must find a discussion where they can learn something by taking their "two feet" elsewhere. Participants also cross-pollinate ideas by spreading discussion ideas as they go. In addition to lots of conversation in the halls, last year, we had a vibrant Twitter stream of ideas emerging from sessions.

PodCamp Toronto is a not-for-profit event organized by volunteers and operated under a licensing agreement with The PodCamp Foundation.

PodCamp Toronto 2011 is a free event-thanks to the generous support of our tremendous sponsors.

“PodCamp Toronto resonates with hobbyists and professionals alike,” says Eden Spodek, a member of the volunteer PodCamp Toronto 2010 organizing team. “Yet, we share a passion for storytelling. That common thread is weaved into all of the sessions. There's something for everyone.”

Key features of the event include:
-  PodCamp Toronto 2010 is a free event. Costs are offset by event's sponsors such as SMG, Chevrolet, CNW Group, High Road Communications, Microsoft WebsiteSpark, Rogers, Voices.com, and Web Host Industry Review.
-  Anyone can register to deliver a session or volunteer to help by signing up at PodCampToronto.com. Sessions can be on any aspect of social media.
- This entire event is managed by volunteers offering their time, talent and efforts to discuss their passion for building community, blogging, social media, pod/vod casting and much more.

Over 1,350 people have signed up to explore the cutting edge of new media in this unconference setting. This means that PodCamp Toronto 2010 is organized by the participants for the participants. The participants design and manage the content of the sessions. “Our role [as organizers] is to set up an infrastructure to make the whole event work, such as organize a location and facilitate the schedule,” says Connie Crosby, a member of the PCTO organizing team. “However, it is up to participants to set the agenda for the weekend and develop the subjects and content they would like to see.”

It does not stop with the design of the event. “It is up to participants to pursue what they want to get out of the weekend the most, and find the conversations and sessions that fill those needs,” says Crosby.

With over 60 sessions scheduled, there's something for everyone. Some of the scheduled sessions include:

Crowdsourcing Technical Communities with CrisisCommons
with Heather Leson, Brian Chick, Rachel Young & Jeff Kolesnikowicz
CrisisCommons (Toronto) and CrisisCamp (Haiti)- Toronto is part of a large, International volunteer movement of technologists, social media/organizational knowledge workers, programmers and Geocode mappers working together to crowdsource collaborative open source technology. They aim to "help the helpers": disaster relief organizers from the large non-governmental organizations in Haiti. This session discusses their ongoing efforts.

Usability & User Experience with Jeff MacArthur
An overview of usability concepts for the web, mobile, and other devices, followed by several quick case studies and recent research in the area.

Recording and Livestreaming a Podcast from Two or More Cities
with Bill Deys & Will Spaetzel
During this practical session, learn how to manage co-hosts in different locations, get great audio quality and how to include an audience with a simultaneous live stream. Demonstrations of Skype, Audacity and uStream are part of this discussion.

BizCamp: Showcasing Intellectual Capital at RBC Global Asset Management
with Mircea Baldean
In this session, business meets social media. Learn how we chose to use the right digital communication vehicles and how to make them a dependable resource.

Learn more about PodCamp Toronto 2010 and register by visiting the event website. http://2010.podcamptoronto.com/

• PodCamp Toronto 2009 is an “unconference.” Unconferences are events where participants, rather than the organizers, create and manage the content of the sessions.
• PodCamp Toronto 2009 is a free event. Costs are offset by the event’s sponsors, and the event is organized by volunteers.
• Anyone can register to deliver a session or volunteer to help by signing up at PodCampToronto.org. Sessions can be on any aspect of social media.

Over 700 people have already registered to attend the event, and people have signed-up to host more than 45 sessions.

This is the third PodCamp to be held in Toronto. The first was held in February 2007. Over 300 people attended the event. The first “PodCamp” took place in Boston in 2006. Since then, the format has become popular worldwide.

Learn more about PodCamp Toronto 2009 by visiting the event wiki, the PodCamp Toronto blog and podcast.