Hummingbird604.com » blogosphere

The offline life of an online geek

Raul — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:30:06 +0000

These past weeks I have had a chance to meld both my online and offline social worlds, in various ways. I brought LMB over to Tanya‘s for Rock Band, and more recently, my very good friend HZ (who is pretty much like my brother) joined me for drinks with Duane, Ianiv, Arieanna, Rebecca and Trevor at Smiley O’Neils and then we headed to the BBQ that Jenn, Dario and Nadia and the crew at Invoke put together.

What I found really nice is that all my friends seem to be able to get along with each other, no matter how I met them. For example, HZ told me that he had had a really good time with all my blogger friends. However, other times I just simply spend time with different groups of people. In the future, I think I’ll have to be very careful with how many activities I schedule, because I tend to overbook myself!

Thanks are due to my friends, all of them, because they realize my time limitations and my physical limitations. I am now working really hard at learning how to ask for help when I need it, as I am usually the one who provides help, not the one who depends on others! And I get to enjoy more of my offline life, because both my online and offline friends understand me well.

Accepting suggestions for my 1000th post

Raul — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:10:28 +0000

I’ve been polishing the presentation for Fraser Valley WordCamp and in the process, I’ve come to realize that I am REALLY close to 1000 posts on WordPress (I lost 132 posts in the importing process, which was kind of awful, but oh well). Since I’m at 922 (this post included), I have been thinking of organizing a MargaritaCamp + NachoCamp + GinCamp to celebrate my 1000 posts.

At my current writing rate, I estimate that’s going to fall somewhere around the week of Blogathon, so I might have a middle of the week RaulCamp (or simply combine it with the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup!) because, after all, it’s all about me (inside joke, you’ll have to see the t-shirt to know what I’m talking about).

So, I’m opening the floor for suggestions for my 1000th post. I was actually thinking of holding it at a wifi-enabled site (like the Blackwater Cafe) or a bar so that we can celebrate the actual moment of pushing the “Publish” button on my WordPress Dashboard. Any interest in joining for said RaulCamp?

Third Tuesday Meetup – Media sponsor is Miss604.com

Raul — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:37:34 +0000

Just a friendly reminder that tonight at 7:00pm at The Network Hub (on Richards Street. Closest Skytrain is Waterfront Station) is Third Tuesday, with Monica Hamburg speaking about CrowdSourcing and Rebecca Bollwitt (aka Miss604.com) as the media sponsor. Rebecca will be live-blogging. This one is organize by Tanya Davis (aka NetChick) and Tod Maffin (CBC’s Chief Geeky Officer).

I will be attending and taking some photos and some notes, but mostly will be there just to hear Monica’s insights and to socialize with other social media folks. Check out an explanation of what Third Tuesday is here and Rebecca’s live blog here. I am very much looking forward to seeing a lot of you there, you know who you are!

Vancouver podcasters – An analysis and some link love on a Tuesday

Raul — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:18:08 +0000

I am (as many of you may know or may not know) a non-native English speaker. However, I speak six other languages in addition to my native tongue, so if you’ve heard me speak, you probably know that it is *really* hard to tell my accent. I speak good enough (this is commonly designated near-native fluency) to not only make myself understood, but to have been able to create deep friendships and share meanings and communicate my thoughts with fairly good precision.

Anyhow, the reason why I bring up the accent is that I have been incredibly tempted to podcast at some point, but I’m somewhat worried about my pronunciation. I am very fond of several local podcasts, which I will describe below very briefly, because instead I want YOU to go and check them out.

Several elements really attract me to podcasts.

1. The first element, the podcasters’ pronunciation. I have a huge admiration for podcasters who speak slowly and clearly.

2. The second element is the podcasters’ choice of background or associated music. If the music is not exciting, it is unlikely I will be excited about the podcast.

3. The third element is the choice of technology. As a non-geek (though this excuse is becoming a little bit overused, because I have indeed absorbed some geeky knowledge), I appreciate it when podcasters choose to embed the podcast and/or give choices as to the way in which I can listen to their product.

4. The fourth element is what I call the podcast design (maybe it’s not called that way but hey, this is my blog and my own analysis, so…there). Does it give me enough background? Do the podcasters introduce themselves? Why should I be listening to *this* particular podcast instead of another?

5. And the fifth element that attracts me to a podcast is the blog/webpage content. Yeah, I know you are surprised. Why would I care about the blog content, if what I am looking for is the podcast itself? Well, in an era of multi-taskers and adult ADD (attention-deficit disorder), do you *really* think I’m only listening to the podcast? No, I am also scanning your website or blog and trying to see the content. That doesn’t mean that I am *not* paying attention to the podcast, it only means that I am now associating the content you give me in print to that you are giving me now on audio.

Ok, and now on to some Vancouver podcasts that I think you should check out.

Lip Gloss and Laptops: I am a male, admittedly, but I do have a mother and I am very close to her. Since I was a child, I helped her choose her lipsticks. Because of her heritage, her skin tone is particularly difficult to associate with some lipstick colors. However, she always does find the right match and she looks beautiful. I grew up, did some catwalk and portrait/profile modeling and learned a bit more about colors, and skin tones, and aesthetics, knowledge that you can now find distilled and concentrated on Lip Gloss and Laptops. This podcast, helmed by Airdrie and Kerry-Anne is very fun and covers the cosmetics industry. You can check it LipGlossAndLaptops right here.

RadioZoom: My blog, by it’s very nature, is very random. One day you hear about how my weekend was, and the next you read me talking about the problems in the Ddowntown East Side, or pondering about love. Not surprisingly, these are some of the reasons why I love Radio Zoom podcasts. These podcasts give me a window into what used to be the life of John Bollwitt (before he moved to Canada to be with Rebecca), and what it is right now. John and Rebecca’s lives are always intermingled with music and radio, so RadioZoom gives your ears a peek into these. You can check RadioZoom right here.

PenMachine Podcast: I have lost one of my grandmothers and one of my dearest aunts to cancer. Thus, I have an inherent admiration and respect for those who are currently battling this deadly disease. Derek K. Miller is one of those brave people, a professional musician, a great podcaster and a role-model in many ways. I have yet to meet Derek in person, but just reading his blog and listening to his music makes me admire him even more. You can check Derek’s PenMachine Podcast right here.

Feel free to recommend other local podcasts (you can email me at hummingbird604[a]gmail.com – substitute [a] for @, or follow me on Twitter as @hummingbird604).