As my convalescence last week came to an end, my first task back-to-work was a write-up whooping up Northern Voice for UBC’s eStrategy newsletter. Reading it now, it’s clear I was still a bit delirious, with the writing more hucksterish than would normally be called for.

Then again, I want a sizable number of my colleagues here to experience NV. I really do believe strongly in this conference, not only as a top-notch event but as an instance of social, networked learning in its own right:

# The community makes it happen

One unique feature of Northern Voice results from its unique breed of attendee. Since most people at the event are avid webloggers, photographers, and podcasters, the three hundred people on hand take full advantage of UBC’s kickin’ wireless network, posting their opinions of the sessions, sharing the learning that goes on in the hallways, and uploading a truly astonishing amount of digital photographs. The cumulative effect of all this activity provides a clear sense of what grassroots-driven, networked-powered peer-to-peer media and learning is all about.

Hopefully, extreme rhetoric in the defence of social software is not a vice.