Happy 4th of July to my American friends and family!

The United States of America celebrates on July the 4th (i.e. today) their Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. I have written before about how surprised I was that US citizens called themselves “Americans” and about the common practice of calling the US “America”. Canadians, indeed, are very prone to this practice, whereas Mexicans use the word “estadounidense” (which means, “from the United States“).

Having embedded myself more in the tech/social media community, I’ve actually started to make way many more friendships with Americans who have chosen to move to Canada for various reasons. Some of my very good friends in the tech scene are indeed American-born, but decided to move to the land of hockey, beer and maple leaf. I am very glad that they decided to do so, because I am blessed time and again for having such wonderful people in my life. I have 3 American nieces and nephews (born in the US), two of my brothers live in the US (and teach in American universities).

One of my very best friends’ 3 nationalities is American, indeed. I have fallen in love with several American citizens (I’ve also broken up with them too, but that’s another story). I have educated US-born citizens at the universities where I’ve taught and my research has taken me all over the United States for a variety of academic conferences and events. There are many reasons why I am happy to be happy for American citizens. So, as I said last year, and I’ll repeat myself over here:

To my American friends who are now residents of Canada, hope you enjoy the celebrations, wherever you are! And thank you, United States of America, for producing some very fine young men and women who are near and dear to my heart… Happy Fourth of July!

Blogathon 2009 for BC Cancer Foundation (registration open)

As you may know, I’m doing Blogathon for the BC Cancer Foundation and dedicating it to my good friend Derek K. Miller (who has been battling cancer for 2.5 years already, and recently celebrated his 40th birthday!). Registration for Blogathon 2009 is open already, and I just found out that the BC Cancer Foundation has a blog and a Twitter account! I’m excited about that. I’m working with the staff at BCCF and setting up my donation page so you’ll be able to donate soon. I’ve also contacted a number of great bloggers who will provide me with guest posts so that I can in turn, help other bloggers as well (I type really fast, and I will stay awake throughout the Blogathon anyways). If you feel like staying up and writing 49 blog posts for charity, sign up here.

Delhi 2 Dublin tomorrow (July 4th, 8pm) David Lam Park

Both my brother in soul (HZ) and myself are pretty big fans of Delhi 2 Dublin, a wonderful Bangra/Celtic mixture band. We have been to several of their performances, and I learned through the Vancouver International Jazz Festival site that they have a concert (free) tomorrow 8pm. Details here. A friend of mine, very close friend of mine is having a party at her house tomorrow night so I’m probably not going to be going to this particular Delhi2Dublin concert (or possibly will be just swinging by to have a chance to see some close friends of mine from the offline sphere). But I thoroughly recommend Delhi2Dublin so go and see them!

The elephant in the room: Disclosure and transparency in blogger relations

Last year was my first, full-on, head-first 12 months of being involved in social media, both online and offline. Several of the events I attended were focused on the topic of blogger relations. Great friends of mine who spoke about the topic include Rebecca Bollwitt, Darren Barefoot and Kate Trgovac (I liveblogged their talk at Cossette Convergence ’08). I also live-blogged Darren’s talk at Third Tuesday on blogger relations. Up until last year, I was really not very ‘up to speed’ with the concept of sponsored blog posts, blogger relations and so on (and here is my own full disclosure: I’m in the early stages of a project that will require me to engage in blogger relations). I have personally learned a number of lessons from seeing how respected and trusted bloggers deal with sponsorships and marketing campaigns, and I have developed my own set of guidelines for when I am invited to an event, or for dinner, or to review a product. Take for example, the recent review I did of Tokyo by Kenzo. Kenzo did not pay me for that review, it’s a cologne I’ve used and I just wanted to share that information with my readers. On the side of events where I’ve invited to participate, I always disclose who invited me. The case of the Brew 2.0 campaign made a big impact on me in the way blogger relations were done because Hill and Knowlton really emphasized that they weren’t expecting me to blog about it (I know that there may be a perception of implicit responsibility/pressure, but quite frankly I didn’t feel it that way).

I have had companies sponsor giveaways on my blog and I’m delighted that they choose to do so, because (a) it does help spread the word about some of their products/events/services and (b) my readers really like getting free stuff and (c) I *love* giving away free stuff to my readers! It’d be also a lie if I didn’t admit that I also love getting freebies (like any human being – I still haven’t met anyone who doesn’t). But when I do get a freebie, an invitation, a set of tickets or passes to attend movies/musicals/theatre performances, I *always* disclose that it’s an invitation on the part of the company. I know for a fact that I have a reputation to maintain as a trusted blogger, someone who discloses his affiliations and is transparent and accountable. I would like to believe I have a solid reputation, and I want to keep it that way. I’ll continue with my policy of disclosing whether I’ve been invited or whether it’s been on my own dime.

For the record, up to today, all the reviews of restaurants you’ve read here have been 100% paid either by me or by a friend of mine who has taken me to breakfast, lunch or dinner. When I attend a restaurant on their invite, I always will disclose that it was a review in which, while not paid, my dinner was taken care of. And the great thing about having developed trust and a steady readership is that anybody who invites me to an event or offers me free passes or anything knows that I retain editorial control.. If I don’t like something, I’ll say so (in a polite and nice way). And when I engage in a bloggers relations campaign (as I’m venturing out and getting my feet wet on this particular element of the social media consulting spectrum) I’ll also give anybody with whom I liaise editorial control. That’s how I think we can maintain credibility. And I’m quite determined to stay a credible source.

I was reading an item on TechCrunch on the issue of ‘sponsored blog posts’ and ‘pay-per-post’ by Brian Solis, and that was the reason that sparked my interest. Apparently the FTC has created some guidelines on transparency and disclosure. I’ve received some interesting responses to my query on Twitter, but I’d be delighted to hear your take on this. Thanks, and have a nice weekend!

I’m the Geek of the Week (The Georgia Straight)

I have been very fortunate in that I have been the focus of several interviews with various news/media outlets. I have always been very grateful for all the coverage I’ve received (on 24 Hrs Vancouver for the Michael Jackson/Twitter debacle, mentions of my contributions to Blogathon 2008 and the work I’ve done with Vancouver Bloggers Meetup, on The Georgia Straight for the work we did with Mental Health Camp and in general, my blogging experience). This week, I’m The Georgia Straight’s Geek of the Week and I am delighted that Stephen Hui (Tech Editor of TGS) was able to capture both my worlds (social media/tech and environment) in the same interview. Please follow this link for the interview. Thanks so much, Stephen! It was an absolute delight

On the acquittal of the adult in the Megan Meier cyberbullying case

Three and a bit years ago (April 2006) I started blogging (anonymously), because I wanted to share my ideas with the world. I wanted to talk about simple stuff, environmental issues, etc. I blogged as “Hummingbird604” on an anonymous blogging platform (Blogger, or Blogspot as some people call it). For a very long time, I refused to have photos of myself taken. I didn’t even want to have my last name out there linked to a website. It’s only been in recent years (and particularly after seeing the success that being more transparent and open has brought me) that I’ve allowed myself to have photographs published of me, to have my full name published and to have not one, but two public Twitter accounts (if you’re curious, yes I do have a personal, closed, non-public account that only a few people have access to). I have been on the receiving end of the ire of more than one person who has had the nerve to attack me online. For years, I thought that being anonymous (i.e. just Hummingbird604 and not Raul, and not having my last name published anywhere) would help protect me from any kind of online attack. Now that I’m very public, I recognize that this is perhaps a utopic desire. Truthfully though, I have never endured really severe cases (on Twitter, comments on my blogs or emails) of online negative behaviour. And my readers and friends on Twitter are very good at coming to my aid.

Cases of online bullying (also called cyber-bullying) have been documented elsewhere (one of the most famous was that of renowned blogger Kathy Sierra and cyber-stalking). One of the most recent blows to any sort of legal recourse against cyber-bullying was the acquittal of the woman who created a fake MySpace account to cyber-bully then-13-yr-old Megan Meier. Sadly, Meier took her own life (apparently she struggled with depression as well). What kind of adult would have the malice and ugliness of heart to do to Megan Meier what this woman did (or to any other child, for that matter) is something that escapes my comprehension. I am disgusted, saddened, sick to my stomach to say the least. I have very young family members whom I fiercely protect and with whom I have shared the insights and knowledge I’ve gained from studying social networking sites for the time that I’ve been involved in the social media community. I now know a lot about Facebook, MySpace, Flickr and Twitter, and that allows me to be able to watch out for my family and myself, as well as monitor potential danger for youth in my family who spend a substantial amount of time online. I get worried when I read about things like this and this.

I have previously indicated in several of my talks that law and policy (particularly internet law) has always been and will always be behind in the times when it comes to the online space. Dr. Michael Geist (who is a Canada Research Law in Internet Law) has written extensively about the topic of internet law and copyright, particularly, but not too much about cyber-bullying laws. I found this post of his about Hedy Fry introducing a bill targeting cyber-bullying but not much has been done nor will be done in the near future. According to Wikipedia, California has introduced a bill (Assembly Bill 86 2008) focusing specifically on online targeting (bullying).

Helpful resources against cyber-bullying in Canada and elsewhere include Cyberbullying.ca, the Stop Cyberbullying campaign, the Wikipedia entry for cyber-bullying (as opposed to cyber-stalking) & the Be Web Aware Canadian site. Other friends of mine have written excellent posts about this topic, including Duane and Rebecca. Duane was the one who alerted me towards the acquittal of Meier’s cyber-bully.

While I agree that Drew’s acquittal has prevented some negative precedents in regards to who is responsible for the cyber-bullying and for which actions (apparently she was being sued for hacking MySpace, basically – check this Ars Technica article for more background), I am really heartbroken, because Megan Meier’s cyber-bully will never be brought to justice. And that’s really, really sad.

What do YOU think, my dear readers?

Cologne review: Tokyo (Kenzo)

It’s kind of ironic for me to review Tokyo by Kenzo before reviewing my actual favorite from the Kenzo family (L’Eau Par Kenzo Pour Homme). But I had been sitting on these cologne reviews for too long (I most recently reviewed La Nuit De L’Homme (by Yves St. Laurent) and I had already spoken about two of the Kenzo variations (Tokyo by Kenzo and Kenzo Power) when I last guest-hosted for Lip Gloss and Laptops. I had also reviewed Euphoria for Men (from the Calvin Klein house) and have a few other colognes in my draft entries. But for now, Tokyo by Kenzo will have to do.

My first impression when I first wore Tokyo by Kenzo was the feeling that I was in the fast-paced, always bright and shiny capital of Japan. I have to admit, full disclosure, that I don’t particularly love Tokyo. My heart was broken by a historian who formerly studied Japanese Nichiren buddhism and Omotokyo, and who lived in Tokyo for over 18 months, so it’s sometimes kind of hard to disassociate myself from those negative memories.

That being said, Tokyo by Kenzo maintains the freshness of the Kenzo family (L’Eau Par Kenzo Pour Homme, my usual morning-mid-afternoon fragrance is one of the freshest colognes you can find). Contrary to L’Eau, Tokyo is intended to be worn in the evening/night. It has very strong woody notes (the high note was a bit overpowering for me). The middle and deeper notes had some ginger (as advertised on the Kenzo website) but I also found some hints of flowery scents (couldn’t quite capture what it was) and some citrus notes (clearly, keeping with the theme of the energetic city).

While I strongly approve of Tokyo by Kenzo as a night cologne, I definitely doubt I’d be wearing it in the near future. I have a broad range of colognes that suit my epidermal chemistry much better, like Envy (by Gucci), Drakkar Noir, Eternity (by Calvin Klein) and my trademark Herrera for Men (by Carolina Herrera). That said, I would strongly recommend Tokyo by Kenzo if your personality suits (i.e. if you are a man who likes going out at night and be flashy, bold, energetic and fun).

Ninkazu Japanese Restaurant (Richmond)

I had promised my dearest friends C, B and L that I would never reveal the secret about the ‘all-you-can-eat’ deliciousness of Ninkazu (located in Richmond, BC) but after finding them on UrbanSpoon I can’t really go on without telling the truth. Yes, Ninkazu is great. I recognize that part of the great experience was the fact that I had a wonderful time with my friends, but I’d also argue that the food was excellent. I particularly like their sushi rolls (California and salmon), their Dragon rolls and their nigiri. I don’t really hang out in Richmond anymore that much (because I really have been very busy and haven’t made the time to spend with C, B and L). But if I go soon, my next stop will be Ninkazu, for sure. Reasonable prices as compared to any other sushi place in the Lower Mainland.

On evolving in the social media space

I had a chance to liveblog two of the sessions of the recent “Chicks Who Click ’09” conference (one on “Breaking The Glass Ceiling in the Tech Sector” and one in “Privacy vs. Transparency in Social Media“). While I would have thought that I had listened to whatever my dear friends had to say already (after all, we all attend many of the same meetups, speak at the same events, have regular meetings with each other), I noticed a substantial number of insights, coming both from the audience and from the speakers. Of course, this may sound pretty non-sequitur, but the truth is, I believe that there is a point we all reach where we really can’t move much forward much more (i.e. the marginal increase in insight is small, while the amount of time spent on particular topics is high).

This preconceived idea of mine (i.e. the Peter Principle) was shattered this past Saturday. Even though I’ve closely followed the careers and social media insights of Erica Hargreave, Gillian Shaw, Monica Hamburg, Megan Cole, Alexandra Samuel, Rebecca Bollwitt, Maura Rodgers and Victoria Revay, I gained a substantial number of new insights at CWC ’09. For example, this is the second time I’ve heard Maura Rodgers (Strutta) speak about venture capital, investors and fundraising. Given that I have (most of my life) worked either for a university, a research centre, a consulting firm or for myself, I had rarely thought about having to meet with investors, “angels”, sharing a percentage of your business. Like this little tidbit, I was amazed at all the new things I learned from Rebecca, Megan, Alex, Gillian, Erica, Maura, Victoria.

I told Colleen Coplick too (as she made a few good points as well at the conference) that it was interesting how we have evolved in the space. Even I threw a few ideas of mine, findings that I’ve gained while spending time testing the platforms, the tools and sharing the same online space. For example, one of the things I shared is how my writing has shaped my readers’ behaviour as well. People who read my blog know what to expect, know what I’m going to let through and what I won’t tolerate (like bigotry, hate or aggression).

I couldn’t help but reflect on the notion I wrote about earlier on the networked production of social relationships

using social networking sites as mediating spaces that build bridges amongst individuals at the nodes of the network.

(although I’d now like to explore now two intertwined concepts = the networked production of social spaces and the evolution of each individual within the online social space).

I believe that as time has gone by, each one of us (the folks in the Vancouver social media/tech/PR scene) have evolved within both the physical space (we have gained more insight into the actual platforms) and the online space (we have tested the tools and created the online networks that then translate into the physical inter-relationships). I’m still not 100% sure how to tease out the main insight that I’m trying to draw here, but I firmly believe that there is still space for us to evolve even within our own physical spaces. Even if we are still hanging out with the same friends, attending the same events, there’ll be a turning point (a punctuated equilibrium) where the next evolutionary stage of ideas in social media in Vancouver will take place.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Please drop a comment on the blog.

O Canada! Happy Canada Day!

It was a dark and rainy morning of August, about a decade or so ago. I had already lived in Vancouver for a couple of years so I knew what I would be facing when returning to the land of maple leaves and hockey. I knew that I needed to leave Mexico yet again in order to fulfill my destiny, in the pursuit of my dreams. I had lost one of my aunts, my Mom’s sister, to lung cancer earlier that year. I knew that it would be hard for me to leave my Mom after such a devastating loss. I knew I was leaving behind a life of comfort and well-being (professionally speaking). I left behind a great job, well-paid, my friends from all the countries were I’ve lived. However, I went along with the ride, packed my bags and landed back again in Vancouver. For the past 10 years, I’ve moved back and forth between Canada and Mexico and every single time, people who ask me where is home, I always respond “Vancouver is where my heart is“. Canada is indeed my home. I *am* Canadian. Not by nationality, but by heart. Every time I travel anywhere in the world, and I arrive at the border, I always say that I’m coming home. And the beautiful thing is that the officers always tell me “welcome home“. It was in Canada when I first fell madly, utterly, completely and head-over-heels in love. I fell in love with a Canadian. I have enjoyed every single minute of my life in Canada, despite the challenges and the rough times. I have taught at one of Canada’s most prestigious universities. I have educated Canadians, and I have been educated in the Canadian public university system (my PhD is from a Canadian, top-tier university). I know that for many people, living in Canada is a escape from another country. In my case, this is not the case. I live in Canada by choice. I am skillful and well educated, so I really don’t necessarily need to live in a different country. I did not come to Canada escaping Mexico or any other country. I moved here because here is where I found what I wanted to do for my Masters, for my PhD, and here is where I’ve also worked to create a professional platform. I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who feels this way, but let me just re-iterate this: Thank you Canada, for all the opportunities, the challenges and more than anything, the friendships you’ve allowed me to create. On this July 1st, happy birthday to you, Canada!

Happy birthday, Steve Anderson! (@steveinfos)

There are some topics that are very ‘sexy’ for the community interested in the impact that internet has on society. However, I can’t say that net neutrality is really one of those topics. The ridiculous notion that internet service providers (ISPs) should be able to provide differentiated data transmission velocities depending on who is the client is the underlying rationale behind throttling. Steve Anderson is a media democracy consultant, advocate but above all of this, he is a wonderful human being with an amazing capacity to work really hard to make net neutrality a reality, and to stop large telecomms from throttling. In an effort to democratize media in Canada, Steve has founded the Campaign for Democratic Media. I consider Steve a personal friend of mine whom I admire and whose company I appreciate a lot, particularly when we are sharing a beer at the Lamplighter 🙂 – Steve, hope you enjoy your birthday (which, very befitting, is on Canada Day!) – Happy birthday!

On authenticity in social media

I have been reflecting on this issue for a long while now, particularly because for me, it is an important and relevant topic. I had a meeting this morning with a number of government representatives who were interested in social media strategizing. I mentioned the phrase “be authentic” as one of the key elements of success in the implementation of any social media strategy. Even if my primary professional activity isn’t social media, I *always* get asked a question that I always answer with “well, I think it’s because I’m authentic both online and offline”. The question is – “what has made you so successful? why do people follow you on Twitter and why do they read your blog”.

I don’t particularly think of myself as successful, but I would attribute any success I’ve had in social media (and in general, in every single realm, but particularly in the ones where social networking comes to play) has been the fact that the Raul you meet in person at a meetup/tweetup/social event or on the street (I bump into people who recognize me quite a lot these days) is the same Raul you read online both on Twitter and on this blog.

How do YOU, my dear reader, identify authenticity online? Comments, as always, very welcome.

Happy birthday Derek K. Miller! (@penmachine)

(Photo credit: Penmachine on Flickr). I remember a time when I started reading blogs (around early 2006) that I had read some advice on how to write from a guy who nicknamed himself Penmachine. He was, by all measures, an excellent writer and definitely knew what he was talking about. I started exploring his blog and found the many facets that comprise Derek K. Miller, now a good friend of mine. He’s a writer, a musician, a blogger, a podcaster, a geek, a father, a husband and overall, a fantastic human being. Derek is about ten times geekier than I am yet he has always been very patient when I ask even the dumbest questions… “hey Derek, how the heck do I separate the sound from the video on a PC?”. Derek’s podcast interview with Nora Young from Spark (CBC) is one of the best I’ve heard (on the concept of a digital legacy). Derek has even been kind enough to guest-blog on my site for Blogathon 2008, and I have high hopes that he’ll accept writing a guest blog for my 2009 Blogathon, which again will be for the BC Cancer Foundation. I had the pleasure of attending the BBQ that he and Air organized this past Saturday, and it was a great opportunity too because not only did I get to celebrate Derek’s birthday with his family, and many of our common friends from the Vancouver tech community, but we also got to do taste some tequila. Here’s to your 40th, Derek! Looking forward to more good times in the future!

FUN Camps for Kids

I recently received an email from FUN (Friends United for Nature) and given the environmental focus of my blog and my interest in non-profits, I thought I’d write about them. James was kind enough to send me a plethora of information about FUN:

Friends Uniting for Nature (FUN) Society is a not-for-profit organization that run summer day camps off of the UBC camps. We teach youth ages 8-16 about sustainability, the environment and leadership. We focus on providing fun hands-on education and equipping youth with the skills they need to become leaders in their communities. Each week camps have a different theme, such as “Energize This!” (renewable and alternative energy), “Food FUN” (the sustainability of our choices in food production, consumption, and nutrition), and “Water FUN” (Water games and activities, to highlight the importance of water and how we use and waste it).

Activities include learning bike maintenance, building and racing solar powered cars, planting and growing our on food and veggies, sports, and leadership workshops. We also stress the importance of taking what the participants learn home with them. We have daily activities for them to bring home and talk to their parents about and complete. What’s more though, is that we work through Ashoka Youth Venture Project to offer our participants guidance and actual funding to undertake actions once the summer has finished.

It is only our second year in operation. Despite not receiving any funding this season, we have actually tripled our enrollment capacity and opened a trial camp in Victoria. We have managed to do this through the help of a ton of incredible volunteers and community partners. The funding cut, however, comes as a blow to our scholarship programme. We want to make the camps accessible to all and last year offered a third of our total enrollment to underprivileged and aboriginal youth. We can still offer a limited number of scholarships, but the exact number will depend on support from local businesses and friends.

I think the FUN programmes are great, and I’m sure they would benefit from donations and/or volunteer help. To check more about FUN Society, click here.

DemoCamp Vancouver 7 (Social Platforms Edition)

While for some people this may be news, for me it is still amazing to realize that I’ve developed such great friendships with a large majority of the Vancouver tech, social media and PR communities. After all, I really don’t exactly do tech. My primary field is environmental research. I’ve started to do more social media after a year and a half of testing the tools, exploring the platforms and undertaking projects. Of course, things have evolved after more than a year and a half, and now for me, it’s kind of part of my every day life to attend tech-oriented events. DemoCamp Vancouver 7 is not the exception.

Resurrected by my friends from Bootup Labs, DemoCamp Vancouver 7 will focus on social platforms. The two main presentations will be carried out by friends of mine too: Andy Peatling on BuddyPress and Rastin Mehr and Arash Sanieyan on Anahita Social Engine. In addition to the social aspect to DemoCamp Vancouver (i.e. seeing my friends from the tech community that I don’t get to see at other events), I am looking forward to the social networking platform description. I’ve become geekier more and more so I’m really interested in learning about BuddyPress and Anahita Social Engine. DemoCamp Vancouver takes place on Tuesday July 7th, 2009 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at WorkSpace. Details on the event can be found on Facebook. I think you need to RSVP through EventBrite. The link should be there too.

Hot Stuff (I Want You Back) by the Pussycat Dolls

It’s quite likely that some of the people who read my blog will take exception to my publishing a video of the Pussycat Dolls (yeah I’m not all that fond of their image myself, but I can’t help it – I love many of their songs!) but since my blog is, well, MINE, I figured I’d post a video of the song by the Pussycat Dolls that I enjoy the most – Hot Stuff (I Want You Back). I could listen to this song for hours. Hat tips to my friend Tris Hussey who first Blip.fm’d it.

My signature drink – The Hummingbird

Today (Sunday) I spent the morning with JT (we switched things around and decided to go for brunch instead of doing dinner, movie, walk and stuff). We ended up at The Nice Cafe (as usual), drove around, went for a walk to Killarney Park and ended up at the Avalon Farm.

After mass, I came home with some groceries and as I’m making plans for dinner and lunches that I’ll be packing for the week, I figured I needed a drink that would taste summery. Since I think I ran out of tequila, I decided to go for a sangria. This is the concoction I ended up preparing:

1/2 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc white wine
8 organic strawberries (about 2 handfuls)
6 ice cubes, crushed
6 table spoonfuls of sugar (I like my drinks sweet)

Blend on high, serve in chilled glass, garnish with slice of nectarine. Salud! 🙂

HAT TIPS – To @vic_toria who named the drink – I’ll go with The Hummingbird!

“Privacy vs Transparency-Where do you draw the line?” (#cwc09 liveblog)

This liveblog will be launched right after Erica Hargreave’s session.

“Privacy vs Transparency-Where do you draw the line?“- Gillian Shaw, Rebecca Bollwitt, and Erica Hargreave. Moderated by Doyle Albee

Breaking the Glass Ceiling in Tech (liveblog) #cwc09

“Breaking the Glass Ceiling-Women in Tech Start-ups”-Megan Cole, Victoria Revay, Alexandra Samuel, and Maura Rodgers. Moderated by Jordan Behan

Chicks Who Click ’09 Live Twitter Stream #cwc09

I’m not yet at CWC ’09 but I know that by now, my good friend Monica Hamburg must be presenting on Twitter. So I figured I’d help by creating a live Twitter cascade with the incoming stream of tweets hashtagged #cwc09. It may help capture some of her talk

VEF Momentum Connect: Leadership event – June 24th, 2009

Minna Van is, in addition to being a good personal friend of mine, a very engaged entrepreneur who is very supportive of VEF Momentum. VEF Momentu is targeted towards younger entrepreneurs and startups in the early steps of their career.

Minna and Na’im invited me to their most recent event this past Thursday night at Nuba (the one on Cambie and West Hastings). I have to say that the food AND the service at Nuba are fantastic. The appetizers were abundant, I wish I could have enjoyed more but unfortunately, my stomach really couldn’t take more, because I had dinner like at 4.30pm. The event was really well attended and I had the pleasure of bumping into Paul Hillsdon, with whom I’ve been in touch ever since I started blogging but only met recently in person. Of course, Christy and Minna were there as were other of my friends who like me share offices at The Network Hub.

 

The talk revolved around getting results, especially during times like this… how do we prevent ourselves from taking an easy summer.

Jon starts with Michael Jackson. He saw him live in Sydney, Australia (on his History Tour). Going to this concert was unbelievable. The first moment, 100,000 people in the Stadium. All of a sudden, lights went out and all of the sudden, there was a giant screen and in comes, on a rocket ship, Michael Jackson. He starts flying through China, over the Great Wall, through Japan, etc. and he approaches towards Sydney. He goes through the city into the Stadium, there’s a blinding light. The rocket ship lands on the stage, door blows open, he stood there for like 5 mins, and he started doing moonwalking and Billie Jean, and the entire crowd started moonwalking. He is a true legend.

Jon does a quick poll of entrepreneurs. How many want to be entrepreneurs? How many ARE entrepreneurs? Have you written down a goal of how much money you want? How many of those who are waiting have written a date of when you want to be an entrepreneur?

In 1979 Harvard did a study of their incoming MBA class and they asked a very simple question – do you have clearly articulated goals? If you do, have you written them down? 13% of the incoming class had goals, they thought about them but not written down. 84% had not articulated their goal, and 3% of keeners who had a goal, written down.

In 1989 they did a follow up and did a survey of incomes of the incoming class. Those who had done goals were making twice as much money as those who had not. The keeners, the 3% written down were making 10 times more money. What he’d like to talk about tonight is the importance of setting goals and articulate them.

Why don’t people set goals? Jon thinks that people don’t set goals because they are fearful of failing and the rejection that comes with that. I set a goal… did you do it? No, I didn’t.

There’s two other factors. Fear of failure, fear of rejection. Also, people don’t know how important it is to set up formal, quantitative, hard goals. And then the third is “I don’t know how to do it quickly”.

1.- How do you set a goal? When Jon first started as a CEO he started Iron Point, 3 guys in the apartment. They snuck in every day, 6 phone lines. His office was in the bathroom. We needed goals, and not only goals, LOTS of goals. 7 pages of goals with 10 goals in each page. If you have 70 goals they are not real.

– Make it SUPER SIMPLE – Simplify your life. If you’re going to create a goal that is overarching for your business. You can create sub-goals under the larger goal. One goal for time period. You should have a goal for day/week at the most.

– Never create a goal that goes beyond 3 MONTHS – In our business today we have 40 employes, 3.5 into the business, setting goals into the quarter.

– Our goal has to be ideally 2, 3 goals. Example – 3 quarters ago, our focus was on performance. Our goal was “5x” (5 times faster). You want to create a question that anyone in the organization can be asked and/or ask. Is your work/job getting us closer to 5x.

– The problem is what you DON’T do, it’s not what you do. It’s what you are doing going to get me closer to this? We should be focusing on what gets you closer to the goal.

2.- You will get what you measure. Don’t set the wrong goal. Don’t set the wrong goal. It’s very important that you focus on the goals that get you where you want to.

– Overcommunicate your goal – To the point where it’s a joke in the business. Creates the environment that puts in people’s minds that what you really want to see is a grassroots level of that type of communication. Every time we have a new goal we have a new message in the bathroom stall. Half our team changes their email signatures that puts the goal. Someone pasted 5x on their door. If it’s not a joke, you’re not communicating enough.

3.- It’s all about measuring the outputs towards the goal – Jon is a fanatic of measuring outputs, not inputs. He doesn’t care how tough people are, if you are the smartest and most efficient, and you can measure the results and achieve them, then you’re good.

– People are focused on results – We are focused on goals, focused on what people are focusing. Measure the output towards achieving our goal. W

– Accountability agreement- I am accountable in sales for achieving the sales. Only if product can’t get me product, how can I be accountable. We treat people like adults, it goes both ways.

– When you are creating a goal, you have to create something that is transparent. You have to develop something that is transparent. You have to show me an agile, transparent goal. What we focus on is communicating the results of the goals that we set.

The red thermometer of United Way is updated every single day. Every week, detailed results are sent to every employee/investor/advisor of the business. It is absolutely clear where we are in terms of that goal. When you create that clarity in your business, you have created a way to measure that and it is amazing the behavior that you get to achieve it.

CONCLUSIONS.

The message tonight very simply is – I believe what goals get you to results. You have to articulate goals very clearly and simply, can’t be any longer time horizon than 30 days, over-communicate the goal to the grassroots level, and you need to be able to track the results of that goal every single day.

– Exercise – set down your goal – revise it every six months.

– Exercise – when will you be an entrepreneur?

– Exercise – set a personal goal for the next three months. He is going to post this on the VEF Leadership Linked In page. #mygoal a personal goal. Try it on a personal level. Feel free to Twitter it and put it on the LinkedIn and Momentum site.

QUESTIONS

I couldn’t really capture the questions, but Jon made it clear that you don’t want to over-achieve, you can fail, etc.

Minna’s question – how do you overcommunicate without putting stress on your team?
– You over-communicate and you want stress on your team. This is a startup. My company should not be a rent. There is no hard beat. If I am not running as fast as I can so that I can stand in my own feet. If you come work for me and we are hiring is really freaking stressful, but it’s fun and there are rewards.

– How if you are going from a grassroots perspective how do you prevent an easy goal to be set?

The type of people that we hire are the type of people who will fact you to win a sales battle. Competitive, assertive, so those are the type of people who will create stretch goals. In some cases, we have to rein the team in. Sometimes we tell the team “that’s unachievable, something better”.

Minna Van again – How many hours do you work a week?

My number one goal in life is to be a good father and parent. That is my number one goal clearly articulated. He works less than Minna does. How’s that for an answer?

Vancouver International Jazz Festival (June 26th – July 5, 2009)

I have always loved jazz, and I’ve attended several performances in the past few years. Vancouver always has great music festivals, and this is definitely not the exception. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Darren Johner from Tourism Vancouver regarding the TD Canada Trust Vancouver International Jazz Festival (Coastal Jazz) and we discussed the possibility of covering some of the shows of the VIJFl (which takes place from June 26th to July 5th, 2009 – in other words, starts tomorrow!).

Unfortunately (and through no fault of his own, but mine completely) we couldn’t make arrangements for me to see the shows. However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t promote the festival, and possibly attend a few of the free performances, like my friends from Delhi 2 Dublin who will be at the David Lam Park on Saturday July 4th. My brother in soul and I have attended the VIJF every year since he moved to Vancouver so I suspect we are going to hit at least a couple of the free shows. In the mean time, if you want to buy tickets for the festival, you can do so by looking at the website and checking by location. I am sure there will be some amazing shows you will want to check out. As I mentioned above, Delhi 2 Dublin is at least doing one performance, and there will be many others worth checking.

Closures of temporary shelters on June 30th – what do YOU think?

Those who know me well, know that (contrary to some people’s beliefs) I’ve advocated many other causes other than just environment. I co-organized an unconference on social media and mental health, I’ve raised funds for charities that provide meals for HIV-afflicted people and for cancer research. But I’ve also been a very strong advocate for a national policy on homelessness and for a compassionate approach to dealing with people who don’t have a home.

Recently, discussions on whether temporary shelters should close (particularly the one situated underneath the Granville Street bridge – I think that’s the one that people are referring to) have been heated, and some people have indicated that crime rates would go down should these shelters close.

I haven’t seen hard data (not even anecdotal evidence) on whether crime rates are high in the vicinity of homeless shelters. But I’m curious to know what people think? Do you support the Jun 30th closure of shelters? Or should they remain open?

NOTE – Be civil when dropping your comment. I will not hesitate to delete your comment if it’s inappropriate. Remember, I retain all editorial control.

In memory of Farrah Fawcett

I was too young when Charlie’s Angels went live, but it soon became a TV hit, and re-runs have continued to play even if they’re 30 years old. I always loved the song from the beginning and the premise (three gorgeous ladies who would solve crimes while still being glamorous and sexy). As a tribute to Farrah Fawcett (who recently passed away) you can find here the introduction to the first episode of Charlie’s Angels, courtesy of YouTube.

Rest in peace, Farrah Fawcett. You brought a lot of joy to many of us.

My Blogathon 2009 will be for BC Cancer Foundation again

My dear friend Rebecca Bollwitt just announced to save the date for Blogathon 2009. Both Rebecca and I have Blogathoned for the past two years in a row (and she organized Blogathon Vancouver 2008), and in many ways, Blogathon marked both the beginning of my friendship with Rebecca and the blossoming of my blog and my social media presence in Vancouver. I would think our shared story with Blogathon has done a lot to strengthen our friendship. In fact, it was Rebecca who first encouraged me to participate and who helped me, step by step, to add a badge on my side bar (ah, the memories! I used to have a Blogspot blog then!). In previous years, I Blogathoned for A Loving Spoonful (2007) and for the BC Cancer Foundation (2008). This year, I had thought of doing a split between something mental health related and something associated to cancer. But upon further reflection, I already co-organized Mental Health Camp and I think that should be my volunteer effort in the field of mental health for 2009. Besides, my dear aunt MVL passed away with cancer last year. Therefore, in memory of my aunt and dedicated to a very good friend of mine from the blogging community who is also battling cancer, I am Blogathoning again for the BC Cancer Foundation. More info on the BC Cancer Foundation:

The BC Cancer Foundation is an independent charitable organization that raises funds to support breakthrough research and care at the BC Cancer Agency. The BC Cancer Agency is responsible for cancer care and control for everyone in British Columbia.

Over 70 years ago, the BC Cancer Foundation, led by a group of prominent BC citizens, created what is today the BC Cancer Agency[BC Cancer Foundation About Page]

In 2008, many of my friends Blogathoned and I had a series of fantastic guest-bloggers. It was a really fun event. Towards the end of the home stretch, Rebecca, Duane, John and myself hung out at Duane’s place and did our blogging from there. It was a lot of fun. I will be setting up a page for donations with BC Cancer Foundation in the next few days, but in the mean time, I just would like to encourage all of my Twitter friends, followers, blog readers to consider donating to my (or any of the other very worthy) causes. We will also appreciate encouragement in the form of in-kind donations for prizes for the Blogathoners, and possibly snacks/coffee sponsors. Remember, it’s 24 hours straight of blogging. For a good cause.