If we’re Twitter friends you’re probably more than aware that I attended  the Northern Voice conference last Friday and Saturday.

Northern Voice in a Nutshell

From the start, I knew that Northern Voice would be a different breed of social media conference. The opening remarks paid tribute to Derek K. Miller of penmachine.  Derek recently lost his battle with cancer. But rather than the traditional moment of silence, we all boisterously called out, “Goodbye, Derek.”  I never me Derek, but from the tributes and the discussion I over heard, this was the goodbye he wanted.

The unique nature of the conference continued with the Day 1 Keynote. April Smith of AHA Media spoke about Storytelling from the Heart of the City. April does amazing work giving a much-needed voice to the people living on the Downtown East Side. Her talk was truly moving and intense. But it coursed with optimism and joy, even as she recounted some of the desperate situations she and her fellow downtown east-siders have endured.

Saturday’s keynote was more light-hearted, but just as informative. Chris Wilson, was co-author of NCSA Mosaic, the first mass market web browser and a pioneering developer for Internet Explorer.  His talk, From Dial-up Modems to Post-”Social Media”: A Journey, recapped his 15 year voyage.  It reminded the audience how far the internet—and social media—have come in a relatively short time period.

Scheduled around these keynotes were several other presentations and panels on a variety of subjects. These ranged from photo-blogging to open government to community management and everything in between (and a few things beyond!).  Running parallel to the conference on Friday was MooseCamp, a series of participatory sessions focused on hands-on exercises and vigorous dialogue.

It’s About the Community

For me, however, the most important aspect of events like this are getting to meet the community.  It is awesome to meet the people you’ve followed on Twitter or the blogosphere and say hi, share a meal (or better yet… a beer) and learn more about people than is shared in a 140 character message.

This is the true power of social media.  it’s not the tech, it’s not the tools it is the authentic connections that are made—both online and off.  And boy, did I make a lot of great connections and budding friendships over the weekend!  I also love being surrounded by hundreds of people who ‘get’ social media. There is no explaining, justifying or correcting, just sharing. It creates a true sense of belonging.

This sense of belonging was amplified by Northern Voice’s focus on personal blogging. It wasn’t a business-centric or tool focused conference, rather it was a community-centered one.  In fact it was like what I envisioned for CenPhoCamp, but never quite pulled off.

All -in-all, it was an awesome event, and a great introduction to Vancouver’s social media community.  I can’t wait until next year!!