I love Google, but when it comes to interface design, they can't chart their way out of a CSS catastrophe. I'm sure some of you have noticed this with the schedule page, which displays fine if you add it to your own calendar, but is nearly illegible on the site.

Fear not, friends! The complete speakers schedule is now available in easy-to-digest PDF format, right here on the Natural Selection Blog!

Check it out!

A couple more things to keep in mind when packing for the conference:

1. If you're a writer, bring printed copies of your writing samples. Former CUP NBC William Wolfe-Wylie, along with his colleagues Fred Rinne and Donna Harker will be offering one-on-one writing critique workshops throughout the length of the conference. A sign-up sheet will be available at the registration table.

2. If you're a photographer, bring your camera. There's a few photo-centric sessions that should come with a lot of interactive fun.

The conference is now only a few days away, and dammit if I'm not getting excited for it. Before you all pile into our fair city of Edmonton, there's a few things that you should keep in mind when packing.

1. Copies of your papers: These are most important for the design critiques, but also because everyone else will want to see what a sexy product you're putting out. And who doesn't love showing off the fruits of their labour?

The Gene Pool is a regular series of posts that profiles some of the speakers you'll get to meet at Natural Selection this year.

Adam Rozenhart & Scott C. Bourgeois

Adam is a former journalist and current social media apologist. However, he won't be apologizing for much longer since it turns out this stuff is actually pretty useful. Now he's a paid social media strategist, a writer, a manager of online communities, and — perhaps most importantly — a popular Edmonton podcaster along with his co-host Scott C Bourgeois. The only thing he apologizes for now is occasionally, accidentally burping. Everything else he does is absolutely deliberate and calculated. *burp*

Professionally, Scott is a radio broadcast journalist with Corus Radio Edmonton. In his spare time, Scott is a writer, lover, comedian, pop-culture junkie, actor and the co-host of popular Edmonton podcast The Unknown Studio along with Adam. In what little time remains after all that, Scott squeezes in games — like the delicious nougat centre of a hectic time-cake.

At Natural Selection, Tony will be speaking in the following seminar:

Getting Started in Local Podcasting: Local podcasters Adam Rozenhart and Scott C. Bourgeois wax eloquent (or so they think) about the total fluke that resulted in their becoming the proprietors of a popular, hyperlocal podcast. In this session, they'll discuss some of the highs and lows of the recording and publishing process, some of the technical steps (and missteps) common to new podcasts, and some strategies to turning your own podcast into something that people love — and will even pay you to advertise on! Presented on Sunday, January 17 at 4:45 p.m.

The Gene Pool is a regular series of posts that profiles some of the speakers you'll get to meet at Natural Selection this year.

Tony Esteves

Tony Esteves is a cartoonist based in Edmonton. He started drawing comics at the impressionable age of 15 and fell in love with the medium. He started at the University of Alberta's Gateway writing and drawing Metro 86?, moved on to do the critically acclaimed Cigarro & Cerveja and spin-off Primatology, whose comics were also featured in the Manitoban and U of T's Varsity, as well as other Canadian university papers. Tony made the move from university newspaper to web-publishing and found an audience to read what is now called webcomics. Last year, Tony completed his ten-year run on C&C and is working on his next webcomic endeavor. As well as new projects, Tony is involved with the local comic community in Edmonton, participating in school talks and charitable fundraisers.

At Natural Selection, Tony will be speaking in the following seminar:

Webcomics: A business model for digital publishing: With the print industry in decline, traditional cartoonists (and others) are impacted with loss of jobs and security. A discussion of internet successes, failures, obstacles, and goals of webcomics. How do webcomic creators compare to writers and musician in the internet age? Presented on Sunday, January 17 at 2:15 p.m.

If you can't get enough of the production process even when you're away at the conference, you should consider volunteering for the official Nash newsletter. Newsletter coordinator Danielle Webb has this to say:

Greetings Nash delegates,

I hope your holidays treated you all well. My name is Danielle Webb and I will be co-ordinating the daily newsletter at this year's conference. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?! Well, you, too, can get in on all the fun by volunteering your time and talents to such a worthy cause. I'm looking for writers and photographers to help fill the pages.

And, if you're worried we're not taking this whole new media thing seriously, fear not — we most certainly are. For the first time ever, the Nash newsletter will go online, and I want to introduce some official conference tweeters into the mix as well.

So, if you think any of your skills can be put to good use in the aforementioned capacities, please reply now and we can start talking about how you can help out. You can help as much or as little as you want (some stuff does need to be done beforehand, so you don't even have to give up conference time to help out, if you don't want). The newsletter is a great way to gain experience and have your stuff seen by over 300 of your peers.

Any questions? Just let me know! Looking forward to hearing from you. And, if I don't, see you in Edmonton!

Cheers!
Danielle

For more information, contact Danielle at ontario.bureau@cup.ca

The Gene Pool is a regular series of posts that profiles some of the speakers you'll get to meet at Natural Selection this year.

Bryan Murley

Bryan Murley is assistant professor for new and emerging media at Eastern Illinois University and director for innovation at the Center for Innovation in College Media where he runs the weblog Innovation in College Media. He advises the Pacemaker Award-winning dennews.com newspaper website at Eastern.

At Natural Selection, Bryan will be speaking in the following seminars:

Basics of Blogging: Why use a blog format in addition to traditional story forms? What does it mean "to blog"? Presented on Friday, January 15 at 10 a.m.

Using social media to promote your stories: Why use Twitter? Why have a Facebook page? How can this figure into revenue streams in the future? Presented on Friday, January 15 at 11:15 a.m.

New Media Discussion Panel: Does Twitter represent cutting-edge new media, or is it over-hyped and improperly utilized? In this panel discussion, participants will discuss the merits, the pitfalls, and the future of new media journalism. Presented on Friday, January 15 at 4:45 p.m.

What makes a media-rich web site?: Putting your stories online isn't enough to make a web site a "rich" content site. We'll explore what other tools can be used in hardware and software — both free and at a cost — that can extend your content. Presented on Saturday, January 16 at 11:15 a.m.

If you haven't done so recently, take a look at the schedule page. All four of our keynotes are now confirmed, and nearly all of the daytime seminars are locked in — the coming days will bring a few more surprises, but what you see now is fairly close to what the final lineup will look like.

The Gene Pool is a regular series of posts that profiles some of the speakers you'll get to meet at Natural Selection this year.

Carl Meyer & Nick Taylor-Vaisey

Once upon a time, Carl Meyer and Nick Taylor-Vaisey were student journalists. They both served with Canadian University Press and rose to the rank of Ottawa bureau chief. Walking the hallowed halls of Parliament, the Toronto-raised neophytes grew to love all of the cheesy democracy that surrounded them. They each stayed in Ottawa, where they currently live and work. Meyer works as an assistant editor at the Hill Times’ Daily PubliNet and, during his free time, he manages a website called Reports Canada. Taylor-Vaisey is a freelancer who tends to write about higher education and federal politics. He also works every so often as a producer on CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning.

At Natural Selection, Carl and Nick will be speaking in the following seminar:

The reporter's digital toolbelt: Surviving as a journalist means understanding every tool at your disposal. Governments make contracts, sources, data and finances available on various websites — but can you wade through that mess of online resources? Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Carl Meyer walk you through three tools: Proactive Disclosure, the federal lobbyist registry and Government Electronic Directory Services. Along the way, you'll see video of Ottawa's most connected reporters explaining how these tools help them every day. We'll also ask you to jump in and use the tools yourselves.

Featuring video from Allan Woods (Toronto Star), Susan Delacourt (Toronto Star), Steve Maher (Chronicle Herald), Bill Curry (Globe and Mail), Laura Payton (Embassy magazine), and David Akin (CNS). Presented on Sunday, January 17 at 10 a.m.

The Gene Pool is a regular series of posts that profiles some of the speakers you'll get to meet at Natural Selection this year.

Erin Millar

Erin Millar is Vancouver-based a freelance journalist and editor. She was a founding editor of Maclean’s On Campus, a website dedicated to daily news and in-depth features about universities and colleges in Canada published by Maclean’s, and currently writes a weekly column and blog there. Her writing has appeared in Maclean’s, Reader’s Digest, Chatelaine, The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, The Tyee, and others, and her poetry was published in the anthology “Touch the Flame." Erin is currently working on an advice book for college and university students. She has travelled in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe and Central America, and was most recently in Sri Lanka. Erin is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists and is represented by the Canadian Writers Group. She was CUP president in 2006-07.

At Natural Selection, Erin will be speaking in the following seminars:

Starting your freelance career: With dire economic times putting pressure on newspapers and magazines like never before, now is not the ideal time for fresh journalism grads to score a hot full-time job. Vancouver-based freelancer Erin Millar talks about how to get your start as a freelance journalist by reflecting on the past three years she has spent establishing her career, from her mistakes to her breaks. This is the session to bring your burning questions about freelancing, from how to pitch to what you'll be paid. Presented on Friday, January 15 at 11:15 a.m.

Research techniques for feature writing: This session will address advanced research techniques - from freedom of information requests to requesting court documents to navigating publication bans - by walking through how a six-month special report on university safety published in Reader's Digest was researched. Freelance journalist Erin Millar will touch on the challenges that arose while putting together the story and answer questions about researching crime and court stories, dealing with university public relations departments, and how to find safety stories on your campus. Presented on Friday, January 15 at 2:15 p.m.