Bringing Montreal Tech Watch Back to Life

Montreal needs Montreal Tech Watch. When the site was active it provided a great deal of exposure to Montreal, and helped build a stronger community. There’s a lot going on in Montreal for tech startups and entrepreneurs, but without adequate reporting, too much of it doesn’t get the attention deserved.

This is not to blame Heri or anyone that was involved with Montreal Tech Watch. I can’t emphasize that enough. Heri did a lot for Montreal, more than most. And the site took a ton of work and there was no pay. I completely understand Heri’s dilemma. But Montreal needs Montreal Tech Watch.

I have some ideas for how to restore Montreal Tech Watch and/or start something in a similar vein. But it’s going to take a lot of support from Montreal entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, sponsors, etc.

I’d like to see who is interested in bringing back Montreal Tech Watch (or a similar site dedicated to the tech, entrepreneur and startup scene in Montreal). If you are interested, please comment on this blog post. Tell me (and everyone) what you liked, didn’t like, where you’d like to see Montreal Tech Watch (or a similar site) go, how you could help, etc. I’m going to be reaching out to people in a little while to see what we can do.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it!

April 6, 2010 Posted in Montreal by Ben Yoskovitz

http://www.DenisCanuel.com Denis Canuel

Well not entirely true.. With createyourproglang.com, you can make your own French programming language thanks to @macournoyer

Sorry about the plug
http://twitter.com/MaxFinder Max Finder

I loved Montreal Tech Watch but I would like to see more emphasis on students.

-More student intern/job postings.
-More material catered towards students.
-Information about student/university conferences and networking events.
-Information about student startups in Montreal, possibly giving them their first iota of publicity.

Sorry to plug, but something like this perhaps: http://startup.eggsprout.com

But I think it would be much more effective however if it was integrated into MTL Tech Watch, the “MTL startup information hub”. Student content is essential, as is having MTW up and running.

48+ comments and no one mentioned “student”. Just saying

And I know I'm biased but what can you do.
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Nothing wrong with being biased, we need more noise coming from the student population. We're certainly seeing that – and it's a very good thing.

I agree that part of MTW's mandate should be to connect startups and students, and really the entire community of people interested in Montreal tech + entrepreneurship.
http://johnbeales.com/ John B

English is the lingua franca in technology, I agree, and, eventually, anyone wanting to really advance in technology will have to become comfortable in English, but I still think that a new revival or next generation of MTW would benefit from being bilingual, especially when it comes to bringing new people into the industry who are interested but haven't really taken the jump yet, and who may not be willing to take the jump into a community that, at least to me, seems to be pretty English-centric, even for Montréal, (and I'm an anglo from out west!).

I'm not saying that we should translate the archive, and I don't think that lack of bilingualism should stop posts from being published, but if MTW had been written entirely in French I wouldn't have been reading it, and wouldn't have found the opportunities that I have found over the past couple of years, and I can't help but think that there are a lot of francophones out there in the same situation I was in when I discovered MTW.
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http://martinleclair.com Martin Leclair

We could (iWeb) provide financial support to such an initiative, but the problem is always the commercial side of it if it's associated with a commercial partner. Heri knows where to find me if there are ideas or if iWeb can be of any assistance in order to revive MTW. I would be happy to see something coming out of this thread !
http://engg.entrancecorner.com/admission-area/exams-details/1035-IIT-JEE-2010-Answer-Key.html Manish

great idea ..thanks

Find out more on IIT JEE 2010 Answer Key

http://engg.entrancecorner.com/admission-area/e…
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Martin – It's great to see companies step up and throw their support behind something like MTW and Heri's work.
http://markhusey.com nurul

Not too sure how I ran across your blog but glad I did find it. Think I was searching for something else on the search engines. Not certain I agree 100% with what you say, but have bookmaked and will pop back to understand to see if you add any more posts. Keep up the good work.
Anonymous

Adorei o post.
http://www.winterweddingcompany.com/ Winter Honeymoons

For me, blogging takes a lot of time. It's fun and I loved it for the first 2/3 years, but I never planned it to be my primary activity
garydpdx

I discovered Montreal Tech Watch late last year, just when it stopped publishing. I was happy to see a site for Montreal much like Rick Turoczy's Silicon Florist blog in Portland, Oregon. So I can see the desire for MTW's resurrection.

Silicon Florist's name is a take-off on Mike Rogoway's Silicon Forest blog on The Oregonian, their major newspaper. (Silicon Forest is the Portland tech industry's nickname.) The takeaway on how these sites maintain themselves, is that they are linked to their owner's line of work (journalism, or marketing). While some people have expressed caution on having news on the scene controlled by a 'tech mafia', I do not think that either Montreal nor Portland are large enough that someone with enough connections can become dominant. And given the nature of the Web, if you don't like what an 'establishment' site is doing … start an alternative!

- Gary Dare
http://www.allaboutuk.co.uk UK Business Directory

thanks a lot for your valuable sharing ,right from the beginning till end it was really very informative .i can witness the experience and steps you have taken to accomplish this wonderful work.
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Ben Yoskovitz

I'm VP Product at GoInstant.

I'm also a Founding Partner at Year One Labs, an early stage accelerator in Montreal. Previously I founded Standout Jobs (and sold it).

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