Toronto Archive

UGBT: Toronto Bound, Y'all!

Unfortunately, we had some plans fall through so we only have one day in Toronto and one Toronto event. So let's make it the best one ever, shall we?

Olivia and I have spent a few days resting, recuperating, and catching up on real work so we are ready to go in Toronto. The event is tomorrow night and sponsored by Bite PR. Sean Mills, of Bite, is long one of my favorite guys in PR (let's face it, one of the only guys in PR...) and he'll be on hand, along with the lovely and talented Kelly McCarthy and the new head of Bite's Toronto office Will Willis-- a guy so nice, they named him twice.

Bite was incredibly generous to tackle this event for us, so I want to make sure it's amazing. I think 45 people have RSVPed so far, but we can do better than that, right? Go here to pile on. I promise a good time with great conversation. Don't believe me? Go here.

This is actually the best endorsement my UGBT has gotten so far, and made me feel truly humbled to be part of the greater Web 2.0 movement: Des Moines, Kansas City and Omaha are planning a new "Highlight Midwest" event to bring together all the cool people doing cool stuff in so-called Fly Over states. I got an incredibly sweet note from Nathan T. Wright of Des Moines-- who calls these three cities the "Triangle of Awesome"-- with the info, saying, "Always remember that our cities got connected because of your book tour! Wooo!" That's what the UGBT is all about-- an excuse to bring like-minded entrepreneurs and passionate Web people together.

So, Toronto, it's your turn. I know close to nothing about the tech scene there, so come on out and show me what you've got. You can't let little old Memphis show you up, right?

UGBT: The List

Ok, y’all. The votes are in, cities decided and dates somewhat settled upon. The User Generated Book Tour is so far eclipsing my wildest dreams with most cities hosting several events. Most of the plan is still pretty fluid so there’s time to let me know what kind of event you think would be best if your city has been selected.

Again: There is absolutely no demographic study or statistical research that went into deciding the cities. It was purely based on enthusiasm. Think of it like a school assembly "applause meter" where the principal holds his hands above people's heads and you clap and then he decides who got the most applause. This is the qualitative—not quantitative-- book tour.  And together we’ll see how it goes! Again, props to my publishers at Gotham for funding a haphazard and unconventional tour despite a general industry disdain for tours of all kinds.

The schedule on the jump!

UGBT Updates: Toronto, LA

Ok, so LA isn't officially part of the UGBT, because the ground rules exclude LA, SF and NYC in favor of places publishers never send authors. So don't worry, it's not getting one of the ten slots. But, I did want to update LA folks on my signing down there. It's not going to be this weekend (Although I will Twitter my whereabouts Friday night. As always, you show up with my book, you get a signature and a free drink. How many authors give you that deal?)

It IS going to be July 8 at Yahoo's Santa Monica campus. Say what you want about them, Yahoo couldn't be more supportive of my book which amazes me given how much the book takes me away from my job at Tech Ticker. My bosses just get the importance of brand and crossover leverage in today's media world: The more successful my book, the more it helps Tech Ticker. Frequently old media is borderline hostile to reporters-turned-authors seeing time and intelligence as some sort of zero sum game. (Although, in my case, BusinessWeek has been amazingly supportive too, but believe me, this is not the norm!)

But I digress: Yahoo Santa Monica, 2450 Broadway, 4 p.m. I'll be doing a reading, but am more interested in an interactive chat about the Web and entrepreneurship so PLEASE come with questions! Books will be available, likely for my usual easy-to-calculate if loss-leading $20 price. Please, please, please bring as many $20 bills as you can gather. The book makes a great gift for people who don't know a single blessed thing about Web 2.0. I quote @ryangraves from Twitter this morning:

"...gave my 59 year old (non-tech) dad your book for fathers day...maybe he'll get on a social network! thanks again, great read."

Ryan: do keep me posted and I'll add your dad as a friend!

Oh, and Yahoo will have beer and wine too! Hope to see all of you there!

On to Toronto: You've won my heart with Twitter responses and emails. I'm definitely adding it to the UGBT. Details to come, but please keep the comments and ideas for what kind of event would work best coming!