At this point it’s by no means exhaustive; some announcements just aren’t ready for prime time yet. So be sure to check back again soon!

Until then there are a couple of projects that I’d love to draw your attention to.

The first is ChangeCamp London, which is an event that I’ve wanted to do here ever since I heard about it a couple of years ago. I’m ecstatic about the team that is involved, and I’m sure its going to be a great program with definite benefits to the city.

Secondly is the annual PodCamp London that is coming up on May 8th. Be sure to check out the wiki for a list of speakers and sessions. I’m sure regardless of your skill level or interests you’ll find a topic that piques your interest.

And I realised two things;

1. I need to come here more often, there a collection of what might potentially be some interesting shops

2. The area is really a microcosm of London as a whole, spread too thin with abandoned and forgotten sections.

I know many people are working hard to improve the area, and I hope their efforts are rewarded. Since I discovered a store stocking authentic Montreal bagels, I know that I’ll be back in the neighbourhood before too long.

I’m involved in a couple of really fun projects in the City of London, one of which is PodCamp London. PodCamps are free unconferences; the attendees decide what sessions take place. There is no booked keynote speaker, and everyone is encouraged to move about during the day. Conversations and topic discussions spontaneously pop up in the hallways and information is shared in a casual and transparent manner.

Yet the planning of the event is still somewhat traditional. The community isn’t asked to provide input on every detail of the day. There are decisions to be made, and that requires an organizing committee. A group of people, who remain accountable to the attendees, and yet make decisions that will effect them.

That doesn’t mean that PodCamp London isn’t open.  The attendees have a huge say in how the day unfolds. However without a group of people making final decisions the event could never place. I think this illustrates two other important components of openness; transparency and accountability.

As I work on numerous projects, I push for openness. I also understand that I won’t nor should I be involved in every decision. There will always be things that have to remain behind closed doors and sometimes it is necessary to work within existing frameworks that don’t look like they promote any form of openness.

When we push for open concepts, whether it be government, data, or the organizing of conferences, lets make sure that we understand what we want to achieve. Openness is great, it just needs context to be effective.

What do I love about London and why did I choose to stay here?

Unlike other students at UWO, I grew up in the area (northwest of the city), and so I didn’t have “somewhere” else to return to when I finished my degree. Thats really reason number one.

Every since I became in involved in PodCamp London I realized the tremendous potential that their exists within this city. A few people have the ability to effect massive change and to make the whole city better. PodCamp was really just the beginning. The more I interacted with people and started to work together, I began to truly realize the potential this city had.

So, I love London and decided to make it my permanent home because of what it could be, not what it is now. I’m not going to sit back and wait for someone else do decide what it should be; I’m going to be an active participant in the process.

There are so many similarities in our own lives.

We sit on the metaphorical couch, knowing we should just get up and do that thing we’ve always wanted to do. But something pins us down. But just like my trip to the gym, once we actually make the move, we’re so glad that we did.

Whats holding you back?

I also think I need to read it again just to pick up all the thing I missed the first time through.

Sometimes its a struggle for me to get my thoughts expressed in a blog post. I’m not fully sure why either, I’ve got plently of ideas and opinions. It could be a laziness thing though.

Thats what this post is for. Kinda a wake up call to myself to get my butt in gear and put more content here.

Consider it an early new years resolution.

A variety of new Twitter features have made it even easier to find people in your neighborhood, city or region.  Twitter lists allows you to create a group of  people in a similar niche, or geographical area. Now with geotagged tweets that process is automated.

The release of Foursquare to a bunch of new cities takes interacting on online spaces and connects it with offline.

Social networks are realizing that online tools serve one purpose – to make connecting offline easier.

We  are starting to really see Jeff Jarvis’ ideas of hyper-local come to fruition (he focuses on the news industry, but I think there are ramifications beyond that).

But still a lot of people are just realizing that you can no longer hide behind the Internet.

The word ‘social’ is in social media for a reason.