High Road co-founder and president Mia Wedgbury will be talking about new ways to market the Toronto technology sector during the opening session of Toronto Technology Week (TTW) on May 28th.

There are many events every day during TTW, including mesh, the Canadian New Media Awards, the first Annual Municipal Wireless Applications Conference, and EnterpriseCamp. The events calendar on the TTW website provides an overview and more information about all events.

As part of a Globe and Mail special about “Technology in the GTA”, Mia spoke with Paul Lima about “some of the PR challenges and opportunities facing tech companies in the Greater Toronto Area” and “how this metropolis should position itself as a global high-tech hub.”

How should Toronto tech companies market themselves to the world?
First, they should stop being afraid of mentioning that they are Canadian and located in Toronto. They think being in Toronto, as opposed to Silicon Valley, isn’t good. But look at Waterloo and Ottawa – the tech companies in those cities have a much greater sense of pride. Why do Waterloo entrepreneurs talk about innovation and their city with great pride?
We have to be prouder about Toronto and talk it up more. But in some ways, this reluctance reflects Toronto’s image of itself. The Toronto Technology Week [May 28-June 1] is a great opportunity to talk about Toronto.

The full interview is available online here.

Apart from being a prolific blogger, Dave Forde is also the chair of Toronto Technology Week (TTW), a new initiative and event series that’s being held in Toronto from May 28 to June 1, 2007. Dave stopped by at High Road yesterday to give us an overview of the events and activities that will be part of TTW.

TTW is an umbrella initiative that brings together a series of Toronto-based technology events that include the mesh conference and the Canadian New Media Awards. IT associations like ITAC and other organizations with an interest in the technology sector are also looking to plan activities during TTW. Behind this initiative are The Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT), the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA), the City of Toronto and a number of people active in Toronto’s technology community.

“The purpose at a high level is to have one week dedicated to celebrating success within the sector, create a platform for Toronto based companies to share their story with Toronto and the world at large. To give you a very simple explanation, think of what Toronto Fashion Week or the International Film Festival do by bringing those industries together for one week for networking, celebration and education, that is similar to what we are looking for TTW to do for the tech sector.”

More information can be found on Dave’s blog and on an upcoming website for TTW that will include an events calendar and information on sponsorship opportunities and other ways to get involved.

For the launch of Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System, Microsoft Canada had built a Digital Ice House in Toronto where people could walk in and get a first look at the latest software. Here is a video of a walkthrough of the ice house.

Video: Microsoft Canada’s Digital Ice House

Found on the Canadian IT Professionals blog