Why such a rise in prices?

Based on our previous experiences, we are convinced that this decision is a win / win for both the organisation and the attendees. Almost half of people that register to PodCamp Montreal each year don’t show up to the event, which has an impact directly on our costs. PodCamp Boston saw a disastrious situation happening for similar reasons 2 years ago, which forced the organizers to ask for an admittance fee. The fact that we are changing venue this year is also raising the cost of holding such an event. We are currently negotiating sponsorships that will allow us to improve the offer.

We think that charging 20$ for two days of conferences and networking… plus a free t-shirt… is an amount that is accessible to the vast majority of social media enthusiasts, podcasters and students.

We have taken the necessary steps make the organisation behind PodCamp Montreal a NPO. Know that this event maintains its nonprofit mission. The organizing committee members, who invest hundreds of hours each year to present you PodCamp Montreal, continue to give their time voluntarily. Any surplus money will be reinvested in future editions.

Why this new date?

Looking for a venue at the last minute forced us to present PodCamp Montreal on September 11th and 12th. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by our previous announcement concerning the dates.

Presenting the “PodCamp for Dummies” guide, Montreal edition. (Not that you’re a dummy. No. Really. We luv you!)

1. Sign up to participate at PodCamp Montreal. It’s free!
2. Send us your conference proposal. And yes, it has to be about social media.
3. Be patient… no… more patient… yes… that’s it… wait for the schedule to be announced (this will likely happen about 2 weeks prior to the event)
4. Party with your roomies / your girlfriend / your boyfriend when you get the confirmation that your proposal has been accepted by the organising committee. Party even if it isn’t accepted and come to PodCamp anyway. It’s worth it.
5. Tweet (or Identi.ca) like a madman / woman to tell the world that you’ll be speaking at PodCamp Montreal. Don’t forget to fit that all-important hashtag, #pcmtl, in your 140 character limit.
6. Start to panic. Now that you’ve bragged all over town (or Twitter/Identica) you’ll have to deliver the goods.
7. Prepare your presentation, which should be about 30 minutes long, leaving 15 minutes for all those questions and congratulatory remarks your talk is sure to inspire. There will be a 15 minute window between presentations so that people have time to move between rooms as needed.
8. If you want to use visual aids, you’ll need to bring your own laptop. If you’re a Mac user, you’ll also need to bring your thing-a-ma-bob (you know what I mean) so that your Mac can connect to our projectors. Each room will be equipped with a projector and a sound system.
9. If you don’t want to be filmed for our live webcast, you’ll need to let us know by email at info@pcmtl.com asap. You should know, however, that all your fans in London, Sydney and Johannesburg will be mightily disappointed.
10. All presentations are subject to live-blogging, live Tweeting / Identica-ing and sound recording by people in the room. We don’t control the animals. There might be so many flashes going off that you feel like the paparazzi has invaded PodCamp. Think about that when you’re picking out your PodCamp outfit. Remember, your mother or significant other may be watching!

Whatever you do, don’t forget to take the time to network. On top of all the great content being shared between the four walls of our conference rooms, there are fantastic discussions and passionate people to meet in the hallways and hidden corners of the PodCamp Montreal venue. Take advantage of them.

Thanks to PH Carmichæl for suggesting this blogpost.

The conference sign up form is also available. Be sure to fill out this second form if you’d like to speak at Podcamp Montreal in 2009. If you conference description is longer than 255 characters, you’ll have to email it to info@pcmtl.org.

We manage the schedule a little differently than other podcamps, given the bilingual nature of our event. We try to maintain a linguistic equilibrium by offering at least one conference in French at all times. And the subject has to be social media related, of course.

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A few requests :

• Please register using your full name. Pseudonyms may be charming, but they’re also problematic.
• Ensure you confirm your registration by responding to the email.
• Check your spam filters to ensure our confirmation request aren’t slipping through the cracks.

If you thought you had registered, but your name does not appear on the list, please email us at registration@podcampmontreal.org and we’ll get you sorted.