Being a technology enthusiast, and working in the sector, I have always looked forward to the main technology trade show in Vancouver. It’s been a bit of a let down the past couple of years as the quality of the shows has deteriorated (sorry @techlinz, just my opinion). At first it was called Techvibes, then renamed to the Massive Technology Show (which became less massive year over year), and then renamed to the F5 Technology Expo this year.

Thankfully this year was different. I was thoroughly impressed by the show this year, and I didn’t even see any of the seminars or Keynote presentations like Malcolm Gladwell. I could tell there was much more money put into the show this year well before the show began so I knew ahead of time it was going to be better. There was even an iPhone app designed for the show which was very helpful.

Now, to the experience itself: There were too many booths to mention in one post (a list of exhibitors can be found here), so I will mention the ones that stood out for me.

 
M2O: I met Tristan Jutras, Director of Marketing & Business Development, who I was initially drawn to because he was holding an iPad. After speaking with him for a few minutes, I learned that the majority of the staff members at M2O were formally Chalk Media employees that started this venture. M2O is a Digital Agency that focuses most of their efforts around video, and branches out from there to tailor their solutions for their clients. Based in Gastown, they are a flexible organization that competes with the likes of Cossette, Rethink, and other advertising/media organizations. Keep an eye out for them as they expect to grow quite a bit!

 
Partnerpedia: I’ve worked with Geoff Mair, CEO of Partnerpedia before he rebranded from Constructive Media. It was great to catch up with him and find out what exactly Partnerpedia is all about. Although I’d glanced at the website in the past, it was good to hear from him directly. Partnerpedia is a B2B Social Media platform that allows organizations to collaborate with each other. Although SalesForce is a major competitor, he says Partnerpedia is much more aggressively priced and more focused on the service than SalesForce (it’s an add-on service for them). What’s more, Partnerpedia has the ability to work with clients already using SalesForce.

 
Yelp Vancouver: My friend Crystal is the Vancouver Yelp Mayor, so this one was easily one of my faves. Yelp is an online community for reviewing local businesses – users can write up reviews, connect with each other, and plan events online. In my opinion, it’s a far better service than FourSquare or other location-based applications… but I’ll save that discussion for another post.

 
eCrypt Technologies: With all the buzz about mobile devices storing sensitive data on email these days, I can see services like eCrypt becoming massively popular in the next 12 – 18 months. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the low cost of entry (a one time fee of $29.95 per device) and that this will soon be available for the iPhone. Since I plan to upgrade to the new iPhone in June, I’ll be signing up for this service soon. Blackberry users, fret not – the application is available for it today.

 
Also included with the cost of admission to the trade show ($0) were a plethora of workshops scattered throughout the room. I missed a few that I really wanted to see but I did manage to catch Rebecca Bollwitt’s (@miss604) presentation on Blogging for Business. It was brief, to the point, and mentioned some important info for beginners covering the Who, What, Where, When & Why of Blogging.

If you’re a Vancouverite or live nearby and didn’t make it out this year, I’d recommend setting aside the time to do so for next year. It was a great way to spend the day, meet some new people, and learn about what’s new and improved in the online space.

Well, I’m off to the post-show networking seminar at Steamworks now – I think I’ve earned a pint!

Check out the F5 Expo website: http://f5-expo.com