5 Questions...with Mark Evans

I hope you've all been enjoying Toronto's tech and social media  stars.  If you know someone who you think deserves to be highlighted, please let us know in the comments section below.  Without any further adieu, here is our star for this week:

Mark Evans is the principal with ME Consulting, a social media and content strategic consulting firm that helps companies create, publicize and deliver compelling “stories” with a variety of audiences. Before launching ME Consulting, Mark was director of community with PlanetEye, an online travel planning service. His startup experience also includes Blanketware, a natural language search service he co-founded, and b5media, one of the largest blog networks. Mark spent 10 years as a technology journalist with the National Post, Globe & Mail and National. Mark is also one of the co-founder of the mesh conference. He blogs at markevanstech.com and twitterrati.com, and can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/markevans. 

What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?

I love what I do and the flexible lifestyle of being your own boss so, I guess, what motivates me is that if the business goes well, I get to keep doing what I'm doing. I spent a long time as an employee - and I enjoyed my time as a newspaper reporter and start-up worker - but running your own business is exciting, rewarding and terrifying (in a good way!) at the same time.

Do you have any success start-up tips for people wanting to create a name for themselves in your industry?

I think it's important to have a well-defined plan about your personal branding goals so you can be as effective and productive as possible - otherwise you risk spreading your efforts too thin. In other words, pick your spots - online and off-line - and then really work them. Another key is making sure you give as well as take so that you build a reputation as someone who makes a positive contribution. This will help create goodwill and a good reputation, which are crucial to anyone doing business.

In your opinion why is Toronto a hotbed for cool tech start-ups?

I'm not sure I would describe Toronto as a "hotbed" but I think there's certainly plenty of activity. A lot of it has to do with the enthusiasm and passion of people within the community, and their willingness to help each other. I realize enthusiasm and passion may sound somewhat cliche but they're key ingredients at a time when venture capital for start-ups is extremely challenging. As a result, entreprenerus need to work together to become successful. I would also give credit to people such as David Crow, who has help nurture the start-up community through DemoCamp.

What's your favourite tech toy and social media site and why?

This is an easy one - the iPhone. For a long time, I was a Blackberry user but I made the switch because the applications on the iPhone make it such a useful, valuable and entertaining device. If I had to pick a second tech toy, it would be my SlingBox.

In terms of a social media site, I'm a big fan of Twitter because it's a great communication and resource tool. It's nearly replaced my RSS reader as the way to discover new and interesting content. I'm also an ardent fan of blogs even though they might not be as sexy as Twitter, Facebook or Foursquare these days.

Who would you say is one of Toronto's social media/tech stars and why?

That's a difficult question but I would say Saul Colt is one of the leading players. He's creative, passionate, engaged and really knows the social media landscape. That said, there are a lot of really good people within the social media community doing some great things behind the scenes, and I would suggest they're the real "stars".