It’s been a few months since I instigated the return of a Montreal technology news site. And today I’m pleased to announce that things are actively moving forward on the project.

NextMontreal.com will be a news and opinion site for Montreal technology.

The site won’t be launched for awhile, but you can stay up-to-date by following NextMontreal on Twitter.

I’ve assembled an initial team including myself, Phil Telio, Sylvain Carle and Patrick Tanguay. I’m certain more people will join this team in the very near future. We need more people to join.

I’ve got great sponsors already on board (I won’t name them yet!) and more on the way. As I said in a previous post, it’s important to establish financial stability, so people that dedicate their time to NextMontreal on an active basis are compensated. We won’t be able to pay everyone — but we hope the community will rally to support NextMontreal and we’ll bring on great volunteers to cover events, stories, etc.

NextMontreal won’t be exclusively about Web and mobile startups. Certainly the team involved spends most of their time in that world, but we want to expand NextMontreal to cover a much broader range of technology: gaming, life sciences, etc. We won’t get perfect coverage – there’s just too much going on – but our goal is to get substantial coverage across multiple tech sectors and communities in Montreal.

The site will be news-driven, first and foremost. We’ll have op-ed pieces as well from great columnists in multiple tech sectors.

We’re also very pleased to have Heri involved from Montreal Tech Watch. We’ll be working with Heri to make sure his content gets added exposure through NextMontreal. We’ll be exchanging ideas, stories, and working to collectively connect the various tech sectors in Montreal and raise Montreal’s profile as a vibrant tech center.

I believe there are 3 key audiences we need to reach:

1. Grassroots Recruits: There are more and more students and young people that have yet to discover Montreal’s tech world. Startupifier is a group of students from various schools / universities in Montreal that have self-organized to help out. This is a key audience for NextMontreal. We want to draw grassroots recruits into the tech community.
2. The Community Itself: Truth be told it’s not really a community. There are too many people doing too many different things to lump everyone into one giant “tech community.” But it’s clear that people within each individual community aren’t even getting the news they need.
3. The Corporate World: Tech companies (of any kind) need customers, investors, partners, acquirers, etc. All of those entities are in “the corporate world” (versus “the startup world”). I’m making broad generalizations, but I’m sure you understand what I mean. The tech community, especially amongst startups, does itself a disservice if it doesn’t draw in investors, large corporations and other organizations that have an interest in what we’re doing. And this is both in Montreal and outside. We need the corporate world’s attention, and NextMontreal will drive that.

Montreal needs a central tech news hub – and our goal is to realize that through NextMontreal.com.

Over the next little while, here’s what we’ll be looking for:

• Contributors. If you believe you can contribute to NextMontreal in some way, please let me know. We’ll need volunteers to cover events. We’ll need people in various tech sectors (that we’re not experts in) to partner with us to find interesting stories, report the news, etc.
• Story Ideas. If you’ve got an interesting tech story, we’d like to hear it. Doesn’t matter if you’re in Web, mobile, gaming, security, hardware, or something else. We’re looking for all sorts of stories. We’ll be covering the investor world and bootstrapped businesses as well.
• Sponsors. One of my primary goals for NextMontreal is that it be sustainable (even if I get hit by a bus, NextMontreal must live on!) Anyone interested in reaching the broader tech community in Montreal should speak with me about how we can work together.

Getting to this point has already been a challenge. And the future isn’t entirely clear either. This is a major undertaking with quite a few moving parts, lots of varying interests, and a very important mandate. Montreal needs NextMontreal. It’s why I decided to instigate the project in the first place. And I’m certainly not the only one that believes in it. My hope – over the next month or so – is that we’re able to coalesce all the necessary pieces and launch something significant, meaningful and valuable. Stay tuned…

About 2 months ago I put out a suggestion that we bring Montreal Tech Watch back to life or something similar to it. The site helped people a lot, and I’d like to see that happen again. I’d like people to be able to discover the startup ecosystem in Montreal, find jobs, find co-founders, share news, attract people to events, etc. All of that was happening with Montreal Tech Watch. I did discuss Montreal Tech Watch with Heri, but nothing came of it. I certainly wish him the best!

Montreal Tech Watch succeeded at pointing a spotlight on the tech startups in Montreal. For that, we owe Heri a great deal.

Things are picking up in Montreal. There’s a lot going on. And now more than ever we need a site similar to Montreal Tech Watch – dedicated to reporting on the big and small tech startup stuff going on in Montreal on a consistent basis. With that in mind, along with Phil Telio, we’re launching a new tech startup site for Montreal. In order to do it properly, we need to hire a Chief Editor.

There’s still a fair amount of details to work out, but here’s how I see it going down:

• The Chief Editor will be paid. I don’t believe the site can succeed with volunteers alone.
• This won’t be a full-time job, so part-timers can apply, but I would expect it to take a few days per week at least, possibly more.
• Phil Telio and I will be responsible for raising the money needed to operate the site. We have a budget in mind. We’ll be looking to corporate sponsors to help out. If there are any corporate sponsors out there interested in owning some real estate on what will quickly become a Montreal startup focal point, get in touch!
• We will look for volunteers to help write stories, participate at events, promote the site, etc. One person can’t do this alone.
• The site will most likely be run as a non-profit.
• The budget will be used to pay the Chief Editor, potentially pay other writers, infrastructure (site design, hosting, etc.) And we may be able to do some other interesting things too.

This new site won’t be designed as a “ra ra” platform for Montreal. Certainly, we hope it will have a positive outlook and promote Montreal, but it also has to be as balanced and impartial as possible. We need the site to tell real stories about what’s going on. It can’t be a platform simply for patting ourselves on the back. We owe ourselves more than that.

We want to launch the site as soon as possible.

So what are we looking for in a Chief Editor?

• Strong writing abilities. English and French (if possible). When applying, please send some writing samples, or links to stuff you’ve written online.
• A strong understanding of the current tech and startup scene in Montreal. Ideally you’re already a member of the community, and you’re ready to stand out. Even if you’re not a current active member of the Montreal tech startup community, you want to be involved.
• You “get” startups. Maybe you’ve worked at a startup in the past. Or you’ve started companies in the past. Or you just love startups and know what’s going on.
• You have opinions and aren’t scared about publishing them. It’s important that the site not simply be a cheerleader for Montreal startups. It has to be more than that. And people are attracted to a voice that’s strong, purposeful and opinionated.
• Strong Web skills in terms of using WordPress (our platform of choice), blogging, social media, social networking, SEO, traffic building. If you can hack around a bit in PHP all the better. Having some Web/tech abilities is helpful, but I don’t want people to not apply due to a lack of Web tech skills.
• Ability to manage others. We hope (and think) we’ll have a strong group of volunteers ready to write guest posts, attend events, etc. So you need to be able to manage people effectively.
• Good networking skills. You’ll need to be out and about, attending events, meeting people, etc. You have to enjoy interacting and networking.
• Passion for the Montreal startup ecosystem. Simply put: you have to love startups. And you have to be very interested in being at the center of the ecosystem in Montreal.
• Opportunistic. Frankly, you shouldn’t do this for the money. Yes, we’ll be paying someone but you’re not going to be retiring in Maui off this gig. So you need to be opportunistic, and recognize the benefits of being in the public eye and how to leverage that for your own benefit (be it your own startup, consulting gig, network, etc.)

The Chief Editor will be responsible for the editorial strategy and content behind the site. Phil and I won’t be dictating that in any way. We’ll be overseeing the budget and helping attract funds, and provide mentorship and guidance throughout the process. But the Chief Editor will be in charge.

So you in?

To apply, please email me at byosko@gmail.com. I’ll need writing samples (or links to stuff you’ve written), and a good sense of your current social media presence. And please focus on the points and skills described above. Thank you!