How could I say, after all of the amazing PodCamps I’ve been to, including the original PodCamp in Boston, that PodCamp Montreal is my favourite so far?

To me, PodCamp Montreal represents the best of what’s been done and the potential for what lies ahead.  It incorporated bilingual tracks and managed a fully-bilingual-easy-to-read-and-easy-to-use web site.  It attracted the perfect balance of veterans and newcomers (many of whom don’t yet produce podcasts).  The social events made it easy for people to mingle and facilitated making new friendships.  And, on that point, the people that came to PodCamp Montreal had the right attitudes to make the weekend great.

My three session highlights in no particular order are:

• Alexandre Enkerli’s session called Social Academia, which, in addition to the engagement within the session, sparked some interesting online chatter about extending the academic experience using digital technologies and how different types of professors and institutions are approaching its use.

• Wanker Girl and Miss Something shared their thoughts on digital connections in their session, Relationships 2.1.  They were insightful and transparent about their experiences — some of them positive, some of them positively scary — and what they’ve learned from them.

• Scarborough Dude shared reflections about himself and how he became the person he is in Finding Yourself Through Podcasting.  The session was not about technology, nor is the Dude about technology.  The Dude epitomizes the ethos of podcasting as he sees it and his authentic presentation style made it obvious why he’s become the spiritual leader of this community.

Congratulations to  Sylvain Grand’Maison, Laurent LaSalle, Jean-François Blais, Julien Smith, Michelle Sullivan, Hugh McGuire, Mitch Joel, Harold Boeck, Laurent Maisonnave and Bob Goyetche for organizing an outstanding event.