Thanks to Darren Barefoot, the friend/client/confidant of Raincity (who is currently serving as Vancouver's ambassador to Malta) - I attended an in-store, live to web, presentation complete with chat room and a phalanx of "experts" on standby to answer questions about which type of huge shiny entertainment tube hungry consumers should purchase.

While the event was very nice (we got to sign waivers and everythang), I am not in the TV market (well i am, but not for a big shiny four-figures one) however, as a marketer (note small "m"), i was very interested see a BIG company really trying to bridge the chasm between the usual marketing channels and tactics spouted down from the ivory tower, and us, the bloggy/poddy types who (as it turns out) collectively have quite an audience and (blush) are relevant.

Indeed, Barefoot's new media PR company was retained (I assume this was not charity) to roust up some attention for the series of in-store educational conversations and it gave us bloggy/poddy types a chance to talk - not about TVs - but about how "we do what we do" and oh yeah, "just what is it that we do anyhow?"

Here's what i noted:

Indeed, though there is a big batch of social media makers crowding up the folding chairs, we are all doing something different.

Roland is filming the whole thing, Rebecca is live blogging (with a little "help" from me), UBC's inter-disciplinary Phillip is here brewing up his thoughts, Buzz Bishop - who works for a paper paper and airwave radio - has a fancy camera (or is it a phone) rolling, DKM is here (with some colour in his cheeks which makes me think he might be making a new song one of these days) and a few other friendly faces and usual suspects - several shooters rocking the big lenses, many laptops clackety clacking along, me hi-jacking the Lab with Leo mic - it seems we are semi-inadvertently crowd sourcing the coverage by just fitting in where we can.

So while I am not going to buy a big shiny TV, I will raise my voice in celebration of Vancouver's hyper-groovy, decentralized, makeshift, social media production squad.

Also, kudos to the big 'lectornics retailer for dipping their toes into the revolution.

I'll celebrate by recording a podcast about Vancouver's groovitude with Jordan Behan (that's him gazing skyward on Leo's show) and Montreal's Marc Laporte.

Oh yeah, about the "debate" ... as Amber Macarthur of CommandN among other hats (wow, she gets to hang with Will Pate!) pointed out, when asked "what's next" in the TV world - (paraphrased here) the fancy-schmancy technology to display content is here (whether you choose Plasma or LCD) so the next thing to change is the people producing the content and the way things are distributed. I'm ready!

While Leo questioned hockey's validity as a sport, (argh) he did make up for it by making fun of Toronto a bit and giving it up for podcasters and talked about watching YouTube vids on his giant TV in his "studio/bedroom." Not sure how a grown up gets to spend so much time playing with gadgets but i guess that's his job eh.

UPDATE: Derek took heaps of snaps too