I’m a huge fan of the unconference movement. If you’ve never attended a conference that is also organized by the attendees (essentially, a self-organizing event), I would highly encourage you to join me at PodCamp Montreal. The event is being held on September 20th and 21st in Montreal at the Pavillon de De Design at UQAM (one of the major universities here, in Montreal). I’ve been holding off on Blogging about it until registration was open, and now it is. Registration is free (yes, you read that right… one hundred percent free), so why not take one weekend out of your life to meet, connect, share and learn from those interested in Social Media?

I was fortunate enough to attend the first PodCamp ever in Boston a few years back and my take-away on both the learning and social front were huge. I got a chance to not only figure out how to be a lot better at Podcasting, Blogging and leveraging the power of online social networks, but I spent the majority of my time developing solid friendships with people like C.C. Chapman, Chris Brogan, Christopher S. Penn, Whitney Hoffman, Julien Smith, John Wall, Bob Goyetche, Bryan Person, Mark Blevis and countless others. It was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful events I have ever attended, and I find myself constantly reflecting on the sessions and the social aspects of that one, particular, unconference.

I had the pleasure of helping to organize the first-ever PodCamp in Canada, PodCamp Toronto, so seeing others getting organized and bringing the event home to my beautiful Montreal makes me very proud. They deserve some link love (and here it is): Sylvain Grand’Maison, Julien Smith, Bob Goyetche, Jean-François Blais, Laurent LaSalle, Laurent Maisonnave, Hugh McGuire, Casey McKinnon, Harold Boeck and Michelle Sullivan. I’m also pleased to say that Twist Image has agreed to take part by sponsoring the event. If you can’t make it, but feel like supporting this type of weekend, I know that the main organizers are looking for additional sponsorship money.

The next big thing is to participate. Everyone who attends is also welcome to present (and trust me, this is what really makes the weekend one you will never forget). So, don’t just think about attending… think about presenting. I’ll probably present something entirely new and unique for this special event (I’m even open to hearing from this community about which topic would be of most interest).

The organizers have also set-up a Facebook Fan Page (naturally), which you can find here: PodCamp Montreal Facebook Fan Page.

I hope to see (and hang out with) you there.

Everything you need to know about the unconference is here: PodCamp Montreal 2008.