Two apparently unrelated stories:
- On TechCrunch, a story on how Chile officials advertising their country to tech entrepreneurs
- and yesterday, I listened to a radio show, where the interview complained Montréal and Québec wasn’t properly presented to potential foreign visitors: information is sparse and confusing.
Of course, being in Montréal, one cannot help thinking what is going on for the city. This thought alone reminds us of all the blog posts, events, as well as the growth of a tech community for the past 3 years or so. For every post written by the likes of Paul Graham, Michael Arrington or Fred Wilson, a Montréaler would respond by a blog post telling it could be possible here too. Julien Smith, Ben Yoskovitz, Sylvain Carle, John Stokes, Fred Ngo and of course here on Montreal Tech Watch, many voiced their convictions on Montréal’s potential.
I’ve looked on why someone comes to Montreal. On top of my head, and in no special order:
- its french-speaking specificity, with many proud of its uniqueness in North America,
- immigration-friendly, open to differences
- it’s in Canada, in North America,
- it has 4 universities, with affordable education
- it’s Québec’s biggest city
- good healthcare system
- already big communities of French, British and other Europeans, french-speaking Africans, Mexicans, Colombians, South-East Asians etc.
- a video game city on the rise, and also established industries like aerospace, biotech, finance, television and film production etc.
Here are the reasons on why someone would choose to stay, again in no special order:
- there is the jazz festival as well as countless other festivals or events like the F1 GP. The Cirque du Soleil is based in Montreal
- the Canadiens
- people are nice and friendly. practically very low crime, no crazy americans with guns
- great cultural scene, with many creative people
- the plateau and old port look european so it would be hip to have a house there
- it’s cheap
- parks, nature and recreational centers just 30mn or 1 hour drive from Montréal
- good public transportation system
- etc.
That’s already a lot and one sees already how Montréal is completely different from Toronto, Boulder, Tel Aviv or Silicon Valley. I think a tech entrepreneur always has the choice to go to the Valley, but choose instead to work and do something in Montréal for one of those points, plus also personal reasons. I think thus that in order to succeed, Montréal should always be presented with its key characteristics in mind. You don’t win by saying that it has the biggest VC funds in North/East America. That’s not true. You don’t win by stating it has the fastest growing startups. Not true either. You don’t win by trying to convince people there are many startup schools, world-renowened tech universities, as well as the biggest tech conferences. Montréal would never win on this battlefield. And the goal shouldn’t be to create a community as big as Boston’s, because that’s an ideal reminding me of the frog who thinks he can be bigger than the ox, forgetting how different he was after all, and forgetting he has much better to do, right now.
So does that mean MTW will begin by covering the Jazz festival? or publishing articles on how kind Québecers are to foreigners? Will there be a 4 page feature on the design community in Montréal? Well, to be honest, that’s crazy and a lack of focus… but I wouldn’t mind having a separate section about those sort of things, or featuring a blog like State of Mind. So from time to time, the curious foreigner landing on MontrealTechWatch would know Montreal’s key characteristics. Food for thought, food for discussion.
Comments
Bernard Dahl July 08, 2010
Richard Zeidel July 08, 2010
Marketing Montreal from the inside-out…
Building Montreal into an international technology hub shouldn’t be about measuring our success or failure in the context of the Valley.
We’re an accented microcosm.
Montrealers stay in Montreal because of the spirit and passion of the city. We want to build our lives close to our family and friends and work in our hometown (which has has 4 seasons, tangible culture, a hockey dynasty, killer summer festivals, world-class restaurants, the laurentians, not to mention significant government incentives)
So here’s my $0.02 –
Success is the by-product of an exceptional number of failures….vigorous tries that don`t amount to anything…but feed the bubbling cauldron. Do it right the first time is insane advice
Montreal needs more tries. More startup failures; but also more successes. More money being reinvested into the community by successful entrepreneurs. More proven mentors working closely with the up-and-comers. Our community is nascent.
This city will give birth to successful businesses which will either scale or exit. Those teams will invest in the community and guide the next generation of entrepreneurs. And we’ll get to do it from Montreal – regardless of what’s happening in Mountain View, Redmond or Cupertino.
A valley address and a techcrunch mention do not a success make.
Mario Andretti said “If things seem under control – you`re just not going fast enough.”
Mike July 08, 2010
Also, one thing to consider, if more and more big businesses, especially tech, get attracted to the city the average wage will go up, and so will the price of housing and other goods. This will affect the entire economy of the city and by extension the cultural and social aspects that make us love this place so much.
Change is good and necessary, but there are many side effects to consider when you attempt to influence a single aspect of a large complicated system.
Heri July 08, 2010
Richard, I loved that line “Montrealers stay in Montreal because of the spirit and passion of the city”
I also like a lot the idea of mentorship. We should put up a program where an experienced entrepreneur can mentor new entrepreneurs. Most just have an idea but don’t know how to leverage local resources or even what to do when launching a startup.
Alexandre July 08, 2010
Was just commenting about this on Patrick Tanguay’s blog, in a discussion of tech events: Montreal’s geek scene is quite unique.
Not that it’s better, bigger, wealthier, or anything like that. But it has its specificity and that, in itself, is fascinating.
One thing we probably should be careful about is not to overpraise our city. Laurent Lasalle had interesting things to say about something similar, at Tulblog. Overselling a place can be very detrimental. Montreal may be up-and-coming but it’d make no sense to advertise it to every geek in the world as the one place to be. Many would be disappointed and there could be serious backlash.
One peculiarity of Montreal’s geek scene is that it’s in fact quite small, especially when you think about the city’s size. Some keep saying that Quebec City has a “village” feel. Montreal as a whole isn’t like that but Montreal’s geek scene does, IMHO. It really is a small world and chances are high that ywo Montreal geeks who’ve never met each other have at least several acquaintances in common.
Somewhat related to size is the “approachable” character. In Montreal (as in the rest of Quebec, I would say), we tend to value a type of mingling which isn’t based on glamour. We usually prefer it for people to be “on a first-name basis” with everyone else. We may be proud of those who succeed but it’s very important that they remain “human” and we’re very sensitive to any sign of someone pulling a “ox-sized frog” trick on us. We also tend to diminish accomplishments of our “folk heroes,” all the while being proud of what they have done. And, in the last twenty years, we’ve had a much more “protectionist” attitude toward our “celebrities” in the sense that we expect them to remain in Quebec, instead of going to France, Toronto, or the US. We haven’t had that many celebrities in the tech community but my impression is that we’d rather have them stay in Quebec as much as possible, instead of pursuing their dreams elsewhere.
Some people describe this as an aversion to success and there might be something to it. It’s typical of an actual “community,” what Tönnies called “Gemeinschaft” as opposed to “society” (“Gesellschaft”). Social cohesion is very important, in Quebec in general, and Montreal’s tech scene has some of that.
In fact, while Montreal can be defined as welcoming, the specific process by which we welcome outsiders is very specific. Not saying that it’s worse or better than elsewhere. Montrealers are, on average, as tolerant and as intolerant as the average of people in other places around the world. But there are many things to consider in terms of making your way into Montreal, including the importance of language, religion, tradition, and gender roles. Not to mention specific patterns of inclusion and exclusion, within the city.
Montreal isn’t for everyone, some people would probably not enjoy living here. But it’s also not a “cutthroat environment.” In that sense, it’s very different from other cities in North America. Possibly more “comfortable.” But, again, not everyone would enjoy this.
In a way, it’s probably easier to “make it” in Montreal than in other North American cities of the same size (Boston) or bigger (Chicago, Toronto, NYC, LA…). In fact, in some sectors (say, in some tech jobs or even in some musical scenes), it might be easier than in a city half the size of Montreal, like Austin. But it may be almost impossible to “make it big,” in Montreal. Specifically in the tech sector, it might be relatively easy to make a living as, say, a Web designer. But it could be incredibly hard to build a tech “empire” à la Google. Not that we don’t have enough “smart people” or that we don’t attract “the right kind of brains.” But there are multiple obstacles along the way.
Oh, sure, Montreal has its success stories: Cirque du Soleil, SNC Lavalin, Québécor… In the tech sector, Montreal has its own startups and some important employers from the outside. But the overall idea, here, tends to be: “don’t be too big for your breeches.” And there’s something special about small and medium business remaining small to medium. Doesn’t make for flashy advertising, but people who share these values could more easily make their way into Montreal’s tech scene than those who believe they can turn the city around by “throwing money at the problem.”
So… What does this mean for Notman House?
Heri July 08, 2010
well my point exactly is that we can’t oversell Montreal for what it is not currently. Maybe in 5 years, but that’s not Montréal right now.
As for aversion for success and the sociology aspect, my feeling is that there isn’t lots of pressure amongst the Montrealer techies to make it big internationally and become a Google crusher. As you say, it isn’t a cutthroat environment. One has to get the motivation within himself every day. That’s focus you have to develop and have.
A smart angel or VC should probably think about getting together a startup school like Y Combinator’s or the one in Colorado. That way, participating entrepreneurs would get focus, and also would get motivated to be big by peer pressure and competition. If there isn’t a program like that, Montreal’s tech community will reflect what the city is: friendly, easy-going, latin attitude. Which is good also by the way
As for Notman house, I need an update on that!
Gabriel July 08, 2010
Events such as StartupDrinks, Startup Camp and NewTechDemo are great networking venues and personally have offered irreplaceable opportunities to meet some awesome potential mentors. However the relationships take a while to develop and the events themselves are often not the best moment to ask or give in depth advice. Perhaps a dedicated event might facilitate the conversations.
Would any other entrepreneurs be interested in participating or mentoring?
Eric July 08, 2010
As someone whose job is to ‘sell’ Montreal and attract foreign companies (not only in the tech sphere) to our city, you really hit the nail on the head with your listing of what attracts people to Montreal. My organisation, Montreal International publishes a list of indicators each year (http://www.montrealinternational.com/en/lastest-publications/greater-montreal-attractiveness-indicator.html) that aim to quantify and compare the reasons for coming to Montreal with other North American cities. Companies look to investing in a location for one or more of three reasons: lower costs; access to markets; access to talent. I feel that Montreal scores pretty well on all three of these.
Lower costs: yes, things are getting pricier and the arrival of more players in a market leads to a natural inflation in wages but, overall, and despite the levels of taxation that we endure, Montreal is still quite cheap compared to other cities on the continent. Average salaries are lower, office rents are lower, electricity is cheap, plentiful, robust and ‘green’ (debatable). The Quebec government has also been quite aggressive in devising programs and incentives to stimulate and develop certain sectors of the high-tech economy. The multimedia tax credit played a large part in getting Montreal’s game cluster off the ground. The e-business tax credit makes Montreal an interesting destination for companies looking at software development facilities and convenient near-shoring opportunities. Yes, it seems quite interventionist on the part of our government to get so involved in lowering the cost structures of our companies but the reality is that the majority of states, provinces, regions offer some sort of incentive in order to attract the best and brightest companies and talents.
Access to markets: I see this with a lot of European companies, especially French ones, that wish to enter the North American market or solidify their presence here. Montreal is a good stepping stone to entering North America. The city doesn’t feel too foreign (or American) yet business practices are very ‘American’ and access to the rest of the continent is easy. As well, currency comes into play as they are operating in dollars (whether they are American or Canadian dollars doesn’t appear to have much importance)
Access to talent: 4 universities, 120,000 people working in the IT industry – basically, we have the people that companies are looking for. Montreal’s tech industry is very diversified and this talent makes it interesting for companies looking at Montreal. Recent enrolment trends are not too encouraging at the university level, however. Over the past decade, less and less students have come out of our engineering and computer science programs. However, this phenomenon is not limited to Montreal. On the other hand, we have a very solid base of talent, people that have been in the industry, have evolved with it (how many former Bell/Nortel/Motorola/CGI/etc. people are there working at other tech companies now?) and as the tech scene grows, it becomes easier to bring back talent and recruit people from outside the city. And when they get here, they get seduced by all the things you mentioned, Heri, and choose to stay!
That’s just a short rundown of how we aim to position Montreal and bring in the right companies that can complement our existing businesses and help to grow Montreal as a tech hotbed. Of course, I haven’t addressed the entrepreneurial aspect of our industry. My experience tends towards larger companies, larger projects but I tend to think that by attracting larger players, this creates magnetism which raises awareness for Montreal and attracts yet more players, both small and large. The gaming industry is a good example of this.
Our main challenge remains making all these great reasons in favour of Montreal common knowledge in other tech hotbeds, so that Montreal is no longer a well-kept secret. Thanks to your work and the combined efforts of the other passionate players in Montreal’s tech community, hopefully we can get there.
Bruno July 08, 2010
I’ve been living in Québec for the past 32 years and Montreal for 12… so I know what I’m talking about.
The healthcare system had never been so bad.
In Quebec province, waiting average is 17 hours before seeing a doctor. Some Montreal hospital can get over 20.
It’s hard to have a family doctors. Most people do not have. People have go to supreme court to get access to private healthcare and save their live: http://lexisnexis.ca/ql/fr/recente/acs_detail.html?decision_id=268.
Union and left wing journalists (http://lecampduchangement.blogspot.com/2009/05/stupefaction.html) control the public opinions and people still want to rely exclusively on government for most things of their life.
And people are dying on waiting lists.
Healthcare is more than 50% of budget.
Quebec is in debt of 220 billions for 7 millions citizens… getting older and older. The third worst debt per capita after Greece and Japan.
Quebec is going to be the next Greece: communism, syndicalism, separatism and socialism will kill more of it’s own citizens… it’s crazy place!
Heri July 08, 2010
The healthcare system especially should be discussed. The resources are there, but it’s badly organized. I do have trouble finding a better healthcare system (Scandinavian countries apparently manage, but they have oil)
As for unions and left-wing journalists, that’s part of Quebec’s history. I, myself, don’t watch TV or read newspapers… As for Unions, I like what FTQ is doing, they are investing in tech
By the way, are you living/working in Montreal?
Heri July 08, 2010
Sebastien Provencher July 08, 2010
Seb July 08, 2010
I hope to get a chance to discuss all this with you over beer sometime this summer.
Gabriel July 08, 2010
Gabriel July 08, 2010
Heri July 08, 2010
Jean-Aymeri July 08, 2010
I agree with Alexandre “Something’s Coming.” not only in tech but also my field…in fashion, in industrial design, Montreal is Blooming…
Jean-Aymeri July 08, 2010
Thanks for the link Heri :) you can’t showcase Montreal State Of Mind whenever you want…
Evan Prodromou July 08, 2010
* Increase the number of people who work in tech in Montreal
* Increase the number of tech companies we have in Montreal
* Increase the visibility of our industry locally
* Increase the visibility of our city to tech people elsewhere
* Increase the total revenue of Montreal tech companies
* Increase the power and influence of Montreal tech companies
There may be other ways to think of “growth”; these are just a few that come to mind.
Second, and maybe more importantly, why should any individual tech worker, investor, or entrepreneur _care_ if the tech community grows? Why should I, or anyone, divert time and effort from my career/startup/family/life to grow the Montreal tech community?
* More jobs and better choice of jobs.
* More job candidates.
* More likely to get candidates to move here.
* Better local investment opportunities.
* More local money for entrepreneurs.
* Better able to raise money outside Montreal.
Finally, if we agree what growth is, and that it’s worth it to us individually and collectively to make it happen, then: what can we do to move those numbers upwards?
I think that’s the question that’s hardest to answer.
Lylan Masterman July 08, 2010
Ultimately, here are a few additional points that I think are relevant:
Pros for Montreal:
- people who love Montreal never want to leave and think there isn’t a better city to live in
- there is a sufficient amount of talent, and not too many other companies trying to recruit your employees away from you (compared to NYC/Bay Area)
- my “I like” statements above
Cons for Montreal:
- the ecosystem is small. if a startup doesn’t work out, plan b is not obvious. in the bay area, if you start a company or join a startup and then it busts, you have a ton of friends who will want to hire you if you’re good. this helps hedge your bet.
- the number of people who have “been there done that” and can act as mentors is limited. Especially when the “that” is something huge.
- fewer alumni from tech companies that have succeeded and have the experience & stability to take calculated big risks (ie: think about the Google alumni, EA Sports Alumni, Microsoft alumni, DoubleClick alumni have done… Montreal has some of this but there’s room for growth)
- higher risk aversion than in many other cities
- fewer venture investors and long flight from Sandhill.
- from what I’ve observed, knowledge about the competitive landscape isn’t always as strong as it could be
- income tax, sales tax, & weather
- it’s harder to recruit talent from other cities & countries, often for the reasons discussed above.
- mindset: fewer entrepreneurs appear to have the desire to build big businesses and to reject early exit opportunities
- mindset: the idea of working for a big established company is still often more respected than working for a startup by people’s friends & family – there’s less pride about working for a startup that wants to change the world
- fewer entrepreneurs understand how VC really works, and to properly pitch their startups to investors
- youth: there are fewer recent grads starting companies in Montreal than in many other cities. I’m not sure of the reasons, but it just doesn’t seem to be as strongly part of the mindset.
I love Montreal. I admire the startups that have succeeded. I admire the entrepreneurs who have tried & failed. The required changes will happen, but it will take time and it will take passionate people to cause action.
Heri July 08, 2010
I was thinking that it might take lots of resources to grow the community by just competing head-to-head with Boston or the Valley. Raw numbers do not favour us (number of startups, number of funds). Any direct comparison hurts.
It might just be worthwhile to present Montreal as a different city. Of course, you still have to present the key numbers and key entrepreneurship initiatives, because that’s what counts most, but in my opinion they should be present with the Montreal context.
In an age where it’s important for startups to define their customers, know their needs, and differentiate itself on the market, Montreal can be seen also as a “product”. As in any marketing product definition, it’s essential then to position Montreal vs other cities.
As for growing internally the tech community, which is getting more montréalers in new technologies, that’s outside the scope of the post, although I do think also there’s also a marketing job there to do, which to my knowledge nobody every did.
Seb July 08, 2010
Heri July 08, 2010
There’s probably something to do with http://StartupSquare.ca
I’ve also thought in the past getting student entrepreneurship centers on board; but I concluded back then that they would like a bigger “official” organization to work with, not just a bunch of geeks getting together in 5 à 7s. I could be wrong though.
joe July 09, 2010
Heri July 09, 2010
joe, you are welcomed to visit anytime although they won’t let you go through at the border armed
Alistair July 09, 2010
Well, here goes. Apologies for the manifesto.
You know how fashion brands have bags with city names on them? A Gucci shopping bag might say “Milan | Tokyo | New York | Paris | London”? Well, there’s a shopping bag list for tech, too: San Francisco, New York, Boston, Tel Aviv, Mumbai. And Montreal wants to be on it.
I think for the city to take off, there are a few things that need to happen.
Ideas:
The most important ingredient is innovation, where people are willing to take risks and try out new things — not just by building on the next Twitter or Foursquare, but by disrupting and changing the status quo.
While the stereotypical view of a startup is two college kids in a dorm, technology is so mainstream that nearly every business can be transformed by applying tech. For every Google or Facebook, there are lots of innovations going on — with a far higher success rate — in “boring” brick-and-mortar industries. How is tablet computing changing restaurants, for example? That sounds pretty dull, but I’d bet there are Billions to be had.
A desire to think big:
Having been involved in companies in Montreal, Boston, the Bay Area, and San Diego, it’s my experience that more people in Montreal like cushy, nine-to-five jobs than they do in the valley. Entrepreneurs have to be so consumed by passion for their idea that they forget what time it is. Many of our startups feel like lifestyle companies before they ever get going, which is a problem.
Canada needs to go big or go home. Lifestyle businesses aren’t what we mean when we say, “tech center.” I talk to a lot of companies that see Quebec as their target market. Fail. Similarly, I see a lot of companies who are building a feature of something else, rather than a whole product or service. That’s bad; they’ll be squeezed out by someone else.
A culture of experimentation:
We’re getting better at this one. In recent years, two things have changed the startup landscape. First, cloud computing means you can pay as you go, rather than raising money for capital. Second, social media and a relatively “flat” set of channels (like the app store) make it easier to get your first users and visibility. So those are off the table for everyone — not just Montreal.
Unfortunately, our desire to have a “safe job” undermines this sometimes. One of the downsides of a social safety net is that it doubles as a nice, comfy hammock. And one of the costs of a high tax rate is that it takes the edge off winning — I could make twice as much off a successful startup in the US as I could in Canada.
Which brings me to my next point:
Greed:
Like it or not, we’re talking about business. Someone has to make money. Many VCs have a dismal rate of return, and keep hoping for the next big win as their existing investments deliver anemic returns or stumble along on life support.
Gordon Gecko was right: Greed is good. The Lean Startup philosophies of trying things and getting to revenue fast apply here, and Montreal needs to be disciplined about that. I’ve met successful Bay Area tech founders for whom the threat of eviction made them start charging for their products, to their ultimate benefit. If you haven’t had to sweat payroll a few times, you probably don’t have what it takes to be greedy. Make money early and often. Sergio Zyman, Coca-cola’s CMO, once said marketing was about “selling more things, to more people, for more money, more often, more efficiently. That’s a lesson we should all take to heart.
Capital:
Sure, we need money. The government is doing some good things here, and companies like iNovia and MSU are definitely helping. As I pointed out above, the cost of launching stuff is affordable these days.
Geek entrepreneurs:
We need more technologists who get business, or businesspeople who get technology. They’re a rare breed; I share Evan’s concern about the lack of real talent with experience, which means we either have to import it or spend a lot of time on planes and conference calls.
I think Montreal has what it takes, particularly as technology becomes more and more about the interface. Anyone can build an e-commerce site; but Montrealers can make it cool, subtle, and pleasing. We get that, and we need to emphasize it. I also think we’re lucky to have a ton of people who are creating events for the community — there’s something to do nearly every night.
I also think we should stop worrying about whether our name belongs on the side of the tech bag, and go build cool shit that rocks.
Chris Arsenault July 14, 2010
RT @startupifier: RT @evanpro http://ur1.ca/0lr71 Heri has some good thoughts about growing #montreal tech community. I share mine in the comments.
StartupNorth July 14, 2010
RT @startupifier: RT @evanpro http://ur1.ca/0lr71 Heri has some good thoughts about growing #montreal tech community.
David Crow July 14, 2010
RT @startupifier: RT @evanpro http://ur1.ca/0lr71 Heri has some good thoughts about growing #montreal tech community.
Michal Berman July 14, 2010
RT @davidcrow: RT @startupifier: RT @evanpro http://ur1.ca/0lr71 Heri has some good thoughts about growing #montreal tech community.
Chris Arsenault July 14, 2010
Great to see how alive Montreal Tech Comunity is when Heri and @mtw is back in the game http://ur1.ca/0lr71
Luis Rojas July 14, 2010
RT @startupifier: RT @evanpro http://ur1.ca/0lr71 Heri has some good thoughts about growing #montreal tech community. I share mine in the comments.
Jevon July 14, 2010
RT @chrisarsenault: Great to see how alive Montreal Tech Comunity is when Heri and @mtw is back in the game http://ur1.ca/0lr71 << heri!!
hugoduncan July 14, 2010
RT @chrisarsenault: Great to see how alive Montreal Tech Comunity is when Heri and @mtw is back in the game http://ur1.ca/0lr71
Alexandre July 16, 2010
I did, however, get a chance to discuss this post and related issues with several people. There seem to be some points of consensus:
* Montreal has some specific characteristics which could attract specific kinds of people. (Sure, the same could be said about any context, but it’s still a basis for shared understanding that we’re talking about it).
* There are some things which are missing from Montreal if it is to become a central place for “great things” in tech.
* Not everyone thinks that Montreal should become so central (i.e., even those who’d like to see Montreal transform into a “World-class tech centre” understand that this view isn’t shared by everyone).
* One key characteristic of Montreal’s “tech scene” is that it’s relatively small. Of course, some people may see this limited size as a problem, others may conceive of it as an opportunity, and yet others see it as a factor in something broader. We still agree that it’s small.
It’s for similar reasons that I’ve been trying to map out Montreal’s geek scene. I originally thought the “usual suspects” of tech-related events and activities in Montreal would number around 100. It might still be true that this number could represent the most “influential” people in Montreal. But it was easy to list close to 400 people by following some links between individuals. Still haven’t put that list through social network analysis, but there does seem to be significant subnetworks within the overall network of people involved in tech, in Montreal.
I tend to be on the side which might say that a smaller group is more fun than a larger one. There’s opportunity for growth in the number of tech workers, but that wouldn’t be my priority (as per Evan’s questions).
Related to Jean’s point, I’d say a neat aspect of Montreal’s geek scene is that it’s integrated in other scenes. Can’t say I’ve readily noticed connections with fashion (not really my thing), but I did notice the presence of some food enthusiasts (more of my thing) and even of swing dancers (got several swinging friends). Obviously, part of these observations are purely subjective, at this point, especially given my use of a “snowball sampling method.” But I still find it interesting to notice that Montreal’s geek scene isn’t solely about employment in thte “tech sector.”
By the by, if someone has some tools to crawl the first degree of a Twitter list to create a social graph, let me know. Since I’m not a coder, I can’t use the APIs directly, and my searches haven’t returned anything very useful.
Montreal Tech Watch » Help MTW assess the Montreal technology landscape! July 27, 2010
[...] weeks ago, there was a major post on MontrealTechWatch, which lead to lengthy discussions on Montréal’s potential as a technology hub. It’s [...]
Alex @ MontrealTech.net August 19, 2010
They say Montreal is only good for two things: pretty girls and booze/partying. They are scared of having to learn French languages, and bike to work – they find it crazy that most people commute to work via bus / bike as they have been doing 401 going to Mississauga or downtown down DVP from their suburbia.
I remember the days of me going to university in Ottawa and coming out to party in Montreal over the weekends – I was like them – clueless fool. It took me about a year or so to get used to living (love) in Montreal as it is completely different city from Toronto and even Ottawa.
My 2 cents.. That is why I created http://www.MontrealTech.net and http://www.TorontoTech.net to bring to IT communities closer together and raise awareness.
A Petersen September 04, 2010
There are times when you really smile >> http://is.gd/eUCNm