in Montreal, Quebec, Startups

Running a startup blog isn't easy – MontrealTechWatch 2.0

Heri, the brains behind MontrealTechWatch, is calling an open meeting to discuss the future of the blog, and I think, by implication, the future of the Montreal tech startup community.

Heri has been writing MontrealTechWatch for just over a year, and in that time it has not only become probably the most popular startup blog in Canada (certainly the most popular city-focused), but he has also managed to really solidify Montreal’s reputation as one of the most exciting cities for startups in this country. For anyone outside Montreal, MTW is the first place to go to find out what is happening and who’s who.

“What I would like MTW to be is to turn it into an independent, self-sufficient entity, that would cover new technology, entrepreneurship, hackers, video games, events in Montreal and beyond. Also being a media entity is not a viable business model these days, so MTW is going naturally to take the path of working with local entrepreneurs and other members of the community.” – Heri

Heri is suggesting that MontrealTechWatch become more of an entity which can sustain itself and drive the interests of the Montreal community forward, and it seem he also wants to expand past montreal.

I can understand where he is coming from. Maintaining focus and continually keeping fresh content on a blog is hard work and over time even something as simple as a blog about startups or a tech community can really start to take up a substantial amount of time. Eventually things have to change and the work needs to get distributed.

This is an opportunity for the Montreal community to step up. As I see it, this is a moment of truth. Are you willing to put in the work to preserve something as great as MTW? No other city has been blessed with such a focused, active, and quality focal point. (in Toronto we have David Crow, but he is a moving target, and sticky notes never hold well)

Good luck Heri. I have a feeling this is the beginning of something great.

  1. Jevon, i like the MontrealTechWatch 2.0 name you gave — hints that it’s generated by the community. although I also think the first year was the beta version.

    by the way, there is no plan to expand beyond montreal. when I wrote “beyond”, this meant focusing in Montreal, but still collaborating and opening to the world, and being conscious that there are other great initiatives outside Montreal.

    I really hope that we find a few, diverse, commited, key members for MTW and create a lasting entity. The vision is again in MTW’s logo, a watch tower for the community.

    to StartupNorth readers, I invite you to do the same thing for your city, in the same way that Scott Lake is doing startupottawa

  2. Jevon, i like the MontrealTechWatch 2.0 name you gave — hints that it’s generated by the community. although I also think the first year was the beta version.

    by the way, there is no plan to expand beyond montreal. when I wrote “beyond”, this meant focusing in Montreal, but still collaborating and opening to the world, and being conscious that there are other great initiatives outside Montreal.

    I really hope that we find a few, diverse, commited, key members for MTW and create a lasting entity. The vision is again in MTW’s logo, a watch tower for the community.

    to StartupNorth readers, I invite you to do the same thing for your city, in the same way that Scott Lake is doing startupottawa

  3. MontrealTechWatch 2.0 (beta)

    That would cruise along everything else in Web 2.0 world :)

  4. MontrealTechWatch 2.0 (beta)

    That would cruise along everything else in Web 2.0 world :)

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Webmentions

  • MontrealTechWatch 2.0 | Montreal Tech Watch April 14, 2008

    […] Thanks to Jevon McDonald for the inspiration for the title. We are indeed working towards a MontrealTechWatch 2.0, although the website will have a permanent […]

  • MontrealTechWatch 2.0 | Montreal Tech Watch April 14, 2008

    […] Thanks to Jevon McDonald for the inspiration for the title. We are indeed working towards a MontrealTechWatch 2.0, although the website will have a permanent […]