We asked Keith McArthur ,Senior Director of Social Media, Rogers Communications about their involvement in this year’s event:

1. Why did you sponsor PodCamp?

Social Media is all about community and PodCamp Toronto is a great opportunity for us to connect with members of the community. It’s great to see old friends and meet new people who are plugged in and engaged with what’s new in the world of social media in general and podcasting in particular. This is a great opportunity to learn how others are using social media and to use these insights to improve the way we connect and engage with our customers. We’re also happy to be providing PodCamp attendees with a place to charge their laptops and handsets. Look for me and my colleagues in our red @RogersHelps shirts.

2. What are you most looking forward to at PodCamp this year?

One of the best things about PodCamp is the variety of people who attend. There are some of the world’s leading podcasters and social media experts as well as people who are brand new to this space. There are people from major corporations, people using social media for small business and hobbyist podcasters. And everybody is both teacher and student – everybody learns from everybody else.

3. What session/speaker are you most interested in seeing?

What I like most about unconferences is that sessions aren’t vetted or juried – which means there will always be some great sessions and some stinkers. What’s fun is that the big name speakers aren’t always the ones delivering the great sessions. If I had to choose one session I’m most looking forward to, it’s the live recording of Inside PR. Terry Fallis, David Jones and Martin Waxman do a great job. Much as I hate to say it, the show’s better today than when I was a co-host.

4. For PodCamp newbies, do you have any words of advice?

1) Meet as many people as you can. 2) Take some risks in your choice of sessions. 3) Remember that most of your learning will happen outside of the sessions.

We asked Arun Kirupananthan, about their involvement this year:

1. Why did you sponsor PodCamp?

Sponsoring Podcamp made so much sense for us. We utilize social media on a daily basis to stay connected with members of our WebsiteSpark program and totally believe in it’s power to bring communities together. Podcamp gives us a chance to connect face-to-face with the people we hear about digitally daily!

2. What are you most looking forward to at PodCamp this year?.

We’re looking forward to hanging out with local web developers and bloggers and learning about social media best practices. We also want to challenge web developers to compete for the title of FTW! Competition this year at www.webnotwar.ca/ftw .

3. What session/speaker are you most interested in seeing?

The optimizing Wordpress for Podcast session sounds really interesting.

4. For PodCamp newbies, do you have any words of advice?

Well, in this case we’re the newbies. We’ve heard so many great things about PodCamp and look forward to it!

PodCamp Toronto is proud to announce Flight Centre as one of our silver sponsors for PodCamp Toronto 2010. Flight Centre is a leading retailer of travel products and services for the leisure and corporate markets.

We asked Gregg Tilston SEO and Social Media Manager about their involvement in this year’s event:

Why did you sponsor PodCamp?
PodCamp is such an incredible opportunity to share ideas, have great conversations, and learn. Last year was my first PodCamp Toronto and I have been fortunate to attend various camps across North America. PodCamp Toronto is such an incredible meeting of the minds and Flight Centre’s proud to support this great weekend.

What are you most looking forward to at PodCamp this year?
Catching up with friends and meeting new people. Selfishly? Getting feedback on the Flight Centre social media strategy and learning new tricks.

What session/speaker are you most interested in seeing?
Pick one? Wow, there are so many but for sure I am looking forward to Evelyn’s “Building an Online Community is not Rocket Science” session and after just losing a best friend, Adele’s “Death and Digital Legacy”.

For PodCamp newbies, do you have any words of advice?
Walk up to as many people as you can and introduce yourself.

PodCamp Toronto is proud to announce Tungle.Me as one of our silver sponsors for PodCamp Toronto 2010. Tungle.me is a personal scheduling page, which lets businesspeople publish availability, accept appointment requests, and plan meetings—making scheduling meetings easy. Using Tungle.me, podcasters can eliminate the headache and back and forth email exchange it takes to schedule guest interviews and find a time to record.

We asked Jonathan Levitt, VP of Marketing about their involvement in this year’s event:

Why did you sponsor PodCamp?
Tungle.me is a free personal scheduling application that makes it easier to schedule meetings. We’ve heard from podcasters that one of their challenges is scheduling guests on the show and finding times to record with their co-host(s). Tungle.me is perfect for busy podcasters that want to eliminate the time-consuming back-and-forth email and phone calls it takes to find a time to interview guests and schedule recordings. We wanted to be here to support this community that contributes so much time and energy for our education and entertainment.

What are you most looking forward to at PodCamp this year?
We have not attended PodCamp before so we are interested in meeting podcasters and aspiring podcasters and learning more about what happens behind the scenes in producing their podcasts. Maybe we’ll get some ideas for Tungle podcasts featuring how people use Tungle.me in their professional lives.

What session/speaker are you most interested in seeing?
Leona Hobbs’ session on “Hack Your Workflow for Productivity and Creativity” is an obvious fit for the Tungle team. We’d like to hear the live recording of Inside PR and a get chance to ask questions and be a part of the show. And, of course, having teams in Montreal, Waterloo, and Toronto, we have to hear The Montreal Burger Report.

For PodCamp newbies, do you have any words of advice?
Don’t be a wallflower – unconferences are about getting involved and going home with new ideas, connections, and knowledge. And, if you want to meet with someone at PodCamp, tungle them!

PodCamp Toronto is proud to announce Palette Public Relations as one of our silver sponsors for PodCamp Toronto 2010. Palette Public Relations is a Toronto-based PR agency that provides communications strategy and execution for a range of global and local clients. In addition to a thriving beauty and consumer goods practice, Palette has expertise in sustainability, corporate communications, social media and large-scale special events.

We asked Martin Waxman President and Co-Founder about their involvement in this year’s event:

Why did you sponsor PodCamp?
Palette PR is a sponsor of PodCamp Toronto because it’s one of the city’s best media events; a chance for the community to get together, share ideas, knowledge and information and, of course, meet your Twitter friends in person.

What are you most looking forward to at PodCamp this year?
If I can offer a plug – I’m looking forward to our live recording of Inside PR. We generally do the podcasts from our own homes on Sunday evenings and it’s really energizing to see my co-hosts in person – and to be able to talk face to face with some of our listeners and hear their reactions and points of view.

What session/speaker are you most interested in seeing?
There are actually a lot of sessions I’d like to attend. But one that particularly struck me is Death and Digital Legacy in Social Media. It may not be the most pleasant topic, but it’s a reality that we’ll all have to deal with, and as communications professionals, we should be able to provide thoughtful advice.

For PodCamp newbies, do you have any words of advice?
My advice for newbies is to get out of your comfort zone. Try to attend some sessions that you might not normally be drawn to, meet as many people as you can and then connect with them online so you can continue the relationships.

PodCamp Toronto is proud to announce Chevrolet as one of our gold sponsors for PodCamp Toronto 2010.

We asked George Saratlic, Product Communications, about their involvement this year:

1. Why did you sponsor PodCamp?

I’ve personally attended PodCamp the past 2 years and think it’s a great event. At Chevrolet and GM, we’ve been involved in various social media & networks for a while now. We like to be part of the conversation as much as we can, and see PodCamp as great opportunity to get involved in the conversation in Toronto and GTA.

Meeting great people and learning something from everyone.

Would I sound biased if I said the session by Chris Barger (technically kind of my boss;) hahaha, “The Social Web, Crisis Response & Reputation Rejuvenation in the Automotive Industry”. But, actually, I’m looking forward to Erin Bury’s session:  ”Community Management and the future of communications at companies big & small”.

I’d say, first off, relax. Plan out your days/sessions.  But, if you’re in a session, and you think it’s not what you expected or what you were looking for, get out and join another one.
Also… be social.  Meet new people and don’t be shy to join conversations.  Sometimes the best conversations happen randomly in the hallway or on the steps.

PodCamp Toronto is proud to announce Web Host Industry Review as one of our gold sponsors for PodCamp Toronto 2010. Web Host Industry Review is the largest news organization and consumer resource dedicated to the web hosting industry, publishing since 2000.

We asked about their involvement this year:

1. Why did you sponsor PodCamp?

We support local Internet related events and had a great response last year. PodCamp is a unique and practical event for attendees and the organizers make it very easy to sponsor.

Interesting, like-minded attendees and great networking opportunities.

Bill Sweetman, Vergel Evans

Have fun and don’t be shy. PodCamp is a lot of very smart and creative people looking to help you succeed.

PodCamp Toronto is proud to announce CNW Group as one of our gold sponsors for PodCamp Toronto 2010.   CNW Group is Canada’s leading newswire provider, offering bilingual service and expansive networks that reach key media and market points locally, nationally and globally.  CNW is where both traditional and online media look first for direct-from-source content relevant to their communities.

We asked Amanda Laird, Communications Specialist about their involvement in this year’s event:

Why did you sponsor PodCamp?

We recognize the impact that social media is having on the public relations and media landscapes.  It is important for CNW to be a part of the community to learn how to best support our clients’ needs and the needs of the media who are coming to CNW for news releases and other content.

What are you most looking forward to at PodCamp this year?

Connecting with others interested in social media and communications.  Now that social media is the new normal it is interesting to learn how others are using it for work and play.

What session/speaker are you most interested in seeing?

It’s hard to narrow it down to just one, but it’s a tie between Saving Newspapers with Search and Social (for work-related interests) and Leona Hobbs’ hack Your Workflow for Productivity and Creativity (for more personal interests).

Advice for PodCamp newbies:

Just jump in with both feet and don’t be afraid!  Talk, learn, participate, you will be welcomed with open arms!

PodCamp Toronto is proud to announce Hover as one of our silver sponsors for PodCamp Toronto 2010. Hover is an email & domain forwarding service.

We asked Hover’s Michael Goldstein, VP of Marketing, about their involvement in this year’s event:

1. Why did you sponsor PodCamp?
Hover.com helps anyone who publishes any kind of Web content brand that content and promote it. PodCamp is a chance for us to hear from the publishers. Of course, we want people to know about our service. Even more, we want to understand what podcasters and social media contributors are doing, what’s worked for them, what problems they’re trying to solve and how we might be able to help.

2. What are you most looking forward to at PodCamp this year?
Hearing success stories. People who turned passions into day jobs. People who used their voices to help others. It inspires us.

3. What session/speaker are you most interested in seeing?
Looking forward to hearing Nathalie Lussier talk about her “budding business”. Again, one real person who is using the Web to do something she loves. It’s more exciting than all the trends and analytics in the world.

4. For podcamp newbies, do you have any words of advice?
Plan your sessions in advance if you can, but know that PodCamp is an “unconference” things change all the time. Bring your own power cord, power bar and duct tape to have your computer running. If you can tether your device you’ll be further ahead as Wifi can have its moments. As Chris Brogan (one of the founders of PodCamp) likes to say: don’t walk around sliding your business card in everyone’s hand. Embark on real conversations for lasting relationships and potential collaborations.

PodCamp Toronto is proud to announce High Road Communications as one of our Gold sponsors for PodCamp Toronto 2010. High Road Communications shapes integrated communications for technology and digital lifestyle companies, serving clients across North America from offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and San Francisco.

We asked High Road Communications’ Katherine Fletcher, SVP, Senior Partner & Managing Director, Digital, about their involvement in this year’s event:

1. Why did you sponsor PodCamp Toronto?
It’s a natural fit for High Road Communications to have an active presence as a sponsor at this year’s PodCamp Toronto, as we have made it a top priority to integrate digital and social media elements into all of our client work, and we’re excited to be a part of it. There is so much value in bringing new and social media innovators together to share experiences, learn from each other, and create great connections. We can’t wait!
 
2. What are you most looking forward to at PodCamp Toronto this year?
I’m impressed with the variety of topics covered in the sessions, and I love that this year’s PodCamp Toronto has attracted such a broad range of participants. Of course, one of the best parts of these events is meeting people that I’ve engaged with online in person, so I’m really looking forward to that.
 
3. What session/speaker are you most interested in seeing?
The great thing about PodCamp Toronto is that since it’s an unconference, you’re never locked into anything. Out of the 49 sessions currently listed, I’m working on my list of “see in person” sessions and “watch online” sessions. I’m really interested in anything on measurement and analysis, such as Aubrey Podolsky’s session on social media analytics, and Bob Nun’s “Getting ROI for Social Media”. And who can resist a session called “Death to Pie Charts”?!  Plus there are some awesome sessions on online community building, particularly with Kim Vallée, Erica Ehm and High Road’s own Eden Spodek.
 
4. For PodCamp newbies, do you have any words of advice?
Get engaged. See as much as you can. Talk to people. Find at least three new things to try when you leave.