A few years ago (we’re closing in on almost 8 years if my memory serves me right) I met an amazing young man, who was working in his PhD under the same supervisor that I was working on (although we completed our PhDs in different universities). Even though we were born and raised in different countries, our upbringing was pretty similar. Our parents (both his and mine) are amazingly loving, very warm-hearted, caring and supportive.
A wonderful twist of fate brough him to Vancouver and he’s lived here for some time now. We share a lot of the same musical tastes, a love for good food, a really strong sense of loyalty and friendship and a knack for very similar research goals. Not surprisingly, we are interested in research problems that are not only challenging but also relevant to society at large. Today, Earth Day, is coincidentally his birthday. Interestingly enough (and given that the Earth is a global system) our research is focused on issues that are complementary (he is an expert in energy and I am a specialist in water issues).
Our friendship has strengthened through the years and has solidified to the point where I call him now my brother in soul. He has been my rock when I’ve needed him, he’s called me on when I’ve made a mistake and provided comfort and support when I’ve been down. He has celebrated my triumphs and consoled me when I’ve failed. And he never lets me get away with any faulty logic. Our families are now close as well (my Mom and my brother who have met him absolutely adore him) and have even met each other.
On this day, and every day, I just want to tell you, my dear brother in soul, how glad I am to have you in my life, how proud and honored I am of being your friend, how happy I am that you have found a soulmate in CS and how excited I am to be an uncle later this year. You are a gem, and I am very, very lucky to have you in my life. Love you lots.
Three years ago, I finally decided to launch a blog. I figured I would talk about environmental issues, and how they related to my life in Vancouver. I nicknamed my blog Random Thoughts of a Student of the Environment. 36 months, 2,103 blog posts, 23,044 tweets and hundreds of new people in my life, here I am. It’s been a fun ride. I’ve been thinking of what to do for my 3 year blogiversary. I am thinking of doing a contest of some sort (I’ll need to find sponsors, first!).
I am also thinking of doing something for the community at large, I am just not too sure what just now. It will be an interesting day, as I have a few commitments on that day too. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to do something live (like a tweetup or something), but not pre-planned or anything.
Ideas to celebrate my 3 year blogiversary (as well as sponsorships) are most welcome. Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Ryan Mooney, artistic director of Fighting Chance Productions, invited me to check out their production tick, tick… BOOM! a few weeks back, and since I couldn’t make it any other day, I finally managed to catch one of the shows tonight. JT was my companion for the evening, and I’m glad that he enjoyed it as much as I did.
I am really glad that the theatre folks are reaching out to social media types, as I firmly believe that this method of spreading the word out to potential audiences will prove really effective. I’ve been invited to review several local productions, including The 21st Floor and Metamorphoses. I love theatre. I used to act on stage, and I have dated actors before, so I know a substantial bit about theatre as an artistic expression. Sadly, I left theatre to concentrate on my dancing. But that’s another story.
Back to the show… the synopsis offered in the Wikipedia entry is pretty telling, so I’ll offer a short excerpt.
tick, tick… BOOM! is a musical written by American composer Jonathan Larson, best known for creating RENT. It tells the story of an aspiring composer named Jon, who lives in New York City in 1990. Jon is worried he has made the wrong career choice to be part of the performing arts.
While I am going to admit that I wasn’t sure about what to expect, I was very pleasantly surprised. The three actors who play the main characters, Jon, Susan and Michael, were extremely good. Very agile, nimble, and with great voices. I’m not going to say that there aren’t elements that can be improved (which I’ll share privately with the production themselves) but I should definitely highlight the high notes. I found the musical and dance performances extremelly well staged. For the size of the theatre stage (Jericho Arts Centre) I was kind of expecting less of what I was offered, so again, a very pleasant surprise. The acoustics worked relatively well, and the actors really gave their 110%. Kudos as well to the musical ensemble that backed them up.
I will definitely support Fighting Chance Productions in their efforts (they plan to put together a production of RENT), and if you have time between tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday, I’d seriously recommend to come down and check the show. Go support a local, engaged and hard-working theatre troupe. Thanks to Fighting Chance Productions for inviting me to the show!
Fighting Chance Productions’ Facebook page is here.
I am double-booked, so I won’t be able to attend, but I set up an automatic liveblog that will import tweets tagged with the hashtag #shebeen. You can check the liveblog by pressing “Play” in the window below.
I decided against using ScribbleLive and for using Cover It Live as I can’t be online to approve tweets one by one. I will have to ask Rebecca how she set her ScribbleLive twitterfall.
Below you can find the live stream of tweets. If you attend the event and want to live-tweet, please remember to use the hashtag #shebeen so that your tweets can be imported. Thanks!
Monique – I know you’ll rock the house – good luck!
I used to have a tradition with my friend LJ, for many years: she would run the Vancouver Sun Run (which took place today, Sunday April 19th, 2009) and I’d take photographs throughout the run. Then she would meet me at the finish line and we’d go for brunch. While we don’t do that anymore, I am still fascinated by the Sun Run, and I found it funny that people I follow on Twitter such as Kirk LaPointe (managing editor of The Vancouver Sun), Chris Mathieson (executive director of the Vancouver Police Museum) and Noah Bloom (creator of Vancouver Tech) sent their tweets to the world while they ran.
I am an academic. I love looking at things through the eyes of research, even social media (see my latest analysis of social media marketing here). I don’t research social media per se, as I am a specialist in environmental studies. danah boyd is one of several researchers who has studied how youth use social networking sites as places to virtually hang out.
I have a feeling that scholars of the sociology of new media think that adults don’t use Twitter and other SNS as “places to hang out”. Sam Ladner (a sociology PhD in Toronto whom I just recently started following on Twitter) is currently working on designing a project to study Twitter as a social space. I am curious to see the results of her research.
Anybody who knows me and has read my blog more than three times should know that I use Twitter to virtually hang out with my friends and to build new friendships. It’s the new normal. I have obtained a lot of out of Twitter as a socialization space. As Dale mentioned, it’s the “online water cooler”.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the concept of Twitter as a virtual space. Do you use it that way?
Jet Takaoka, whom I had the pleasure to meet at the WaterDrop event that I spoke at, kindly invited me to the HOPE International Fundraiser Dinner that takes place tomorrow evening (Friday April 17th). The work of HOPE International is extremely relevant to my scholarly activities. As many of you know, a substantial point of my research agenda is on water.
Vancouver HOPE International Spring Film Screening and Fundraiser
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Westin Bayshore
1601 Bayshore Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia
6:30pm Reception and 7:00pm Dinner
For more information, and to reserve your tickets, please call HOPE International at 1-866-525-4673 and ask for Jet Takaoka (ext. 19) or John King (ext. 11). If you prefer email, use the following email addresses to contact Jet Takaoka: jet AT hope-international.com.
Join us as we enjoy a meal, music, the company of friends and an important opportunity to give. For more information on what HOPE International does:
Established in 1975, HOPE International Development Agency’s mission is to enable people in the developed world to connect with people in the poorest communities on earth through compassionate giving and other opportunities to help. This year alone, our work will positively impact the lives of more than one million people worldwide.
I am, as many of you know, a researcher of urban sustainability. Much of my research focused on understanding the transformation pathways of industrial regions. Mount Pleasant (and South East False Creek) is one of these previously-industrial-now-mixed-development areas in the city of Vancouver. Mount Pleasant is also where I call home, and I (as many of you know) am in love with this part of Vancouver.
Sadly, I have been unable to participate in the planning process for the Mount Pleasant area. For some reason, the meetings always end up being on a day that I am either overbooked, sick or otherwise unable to join. This time, I am using this post as a placeholder to remind me of the issues surrounding the development of Mount Pleasant, as I am currently linking to the website of the City of Vancouver’s page for the Mount Pleasant Community Planning Program. A schedule of the Community Liaison Meetings (CLM) is posted there.
At some point, hopefully within the next couple of months, I’m going to have to go through their Fact Sheets. It’s really incredible, the amount of work that has been done to understand my neighbourhood, and if I can contribute, by all means, I am going to try. I’m after all, someone who has made urban sustainable planning part of his research areas. It’s hard to fit everything, but heck, by all means I’m going to try!
The popular blog TechCrunch is blogging about the fact that Oprah Winfrey is joining Twitter and she will tweet for the first time tomorrow, during her show. Call me self-righteous, annoying, condescending, whatever you want to call me. When we live in a world where 1 billion people live in regions of high water scarcity. When we live in a world where we are SO far away from fulfilling the Millenium Objectives. When we live in a world afflicted with war, pain, suffering, poverty, I just can’t fathom why on the planet is it relevant that a TV celebrity will finally join Twitter.
Oprah has done a LOT of good, from the very little I have seen. She seems like a person with a good heart. The only, the very only reason why I would be interested in what she tweets is if she harnesses the power of Twitter for good. And no, I am not following her until I see whether she will indeed contribute to the world through her tweets.
Do I contribute to the world with mine? Maybe not. But all these celebrity tweeters and competitions for ‘hey let’s see who has more followers’ just make me want to puke.
A few months back, I remember having a Twitter conversation with Laura regarding eHarmony and their heterosexual-only policies. Several people had commented that these policies might have been the result of extreme beliefs that do not espouse equal rights for heterosexual and non-heterosexual individuals. But recently, I learned about the deployment of Compatible Partners. While I in no way am endorsing eHarmony (until I try any of their services, and even then, I will need to know more), I was pleased that at least, they are now offering service for same-sex couples. I am also pleased to see that the visuals are actually very positive depictions of relationships amongst same-sex partners. Love is love anywhere, people. Learn to embrace it.
I love Monique Trottier for many reasons, and one of the top ones is her vast knowledge of the book publishing world. She emailed me recently to let me know about Arsenal Pulp Books’ volume The Dictionary of Homophobia.
With the recent discussions on #amazonfail I am always excited to hear about open and frank discussions of topics that are often stigmatized (and yes, you may be surprised to hear that homosexuality is STILL stigmatized in many, many countries, and that it is seen as a disease, an illness, or a mental deviant behavior).
I had an opportunity to examine an excerpt from the introduction, (again, thanks to Monique), and I am pleased with the very fine, non-controversial, analytical approach that the authors have taken to examining homophobia, homosexuality and the sources of ‘fear of the queer’.
I was told by Monique that Arsenal Pulp might be interested in learning more about how to promote their books through social media. I applaud them on their interest. I am sure Monique will be sharing some of her social media and marketing insight, and they’ll learn lots from her!d marketing insight, and they’ll learn lots from her!
I was invited by the Doxa Documentary Film Festival organizers to attend a screening of the documentary “Recipes for Disaster” Thursday, April 16, 2009 (trailer below). The screening is at the VanCity Theatre (1181 Seymour St.) and begins at 7pm.
Recipes for Disaster follows a young Anglo-Finnish family as they rid themselves of all oil-based products for a year. The challenge proves to be more emotionally difficult than the family anticipates and John, father and instigator of the oil fast, must find a balance between living oil-free and keeping a functional family.
Filmmaker John Webster undertook this oil diet to see what happens when individuals take responsibility for their contributions to climate change. During this year-long fast, the family remains in mainstream society, continuing their suburban lives. But the emotional strain the diet puts on the family offers more drama and opportunity for self-analysis than predicted, and disaster sets in. As John teeters on the brink of extremism, his militancy threatens to pull the family apart. He must negotiate the fine line between fanaticism and staying true to his values.
I have two tickets to the screening of Recipes for Disaster, and I will give them to the first person who comments on this blog post. It should be a fantastic screening.
What follows is an unedited crib of my talk. I am also including my slides on SlideShare. As usual, the Creative Commons License is Non-Commercial, Attribution, Share-Alike. Please include a link to this blog post AND to the SlideShare site if you use my concepts/work/ideas. Thanks!
Good evening everyone. I am very honored to be sitting in a panel with excellent colleagues, who have accumulated substantial business savvy. It’s hard for me to speak after Shane Gibson, who is a phenomenal speaker. He is a hard act to follow. I was hoping I would be the last, but since I am in the middle, I just need to hope that you enjoy my talk, as I am 100% sure you WILL enjoy JP’s.
I will admit that my research has focused primarily on environmental issues and environmental public policy. I took up blogging as a hobby, and since I started (2006) I have experimented with social networking sites and social media tools enough that I now give consulting and advice on social media. I give this advice from the perspective of an academic who is very interested in human behaviour, not only in environment and sustainability, but also in regards to the impact of the Internet in society.
Slide 2 – As I was thinking through and finding the elements that connect my scholarly research with my social media consulting, I found a key insight. I am primarily interested in networks and the actors that comprise these networks, the flow of information amongst the nodes (or actors) and the ultimate outcomes of networked behaviour. I have in my research studied networks of environmentalists, as well as transnational coalitions of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs). Therefore, since I recently found out that the basic framework of my interest is the networked society, I have begun to study business networks and public policy networks. As a side note, I am very familiar with the literature on polycentric governance and policy networks, and with social network analysis (both the quantitative and qualitative elements).
Moreover, realizing that I was interested in the networked society has been on the back of my mind for over 10 years. I just hadn’t realized until recently how it connects both of my interests (environmental policy and social media). As Slide 2 shows, we live in a networked society, where we are no longer isolated, and we don’t live 9am-5pm lives. Nothing is purely private, and the boundary between private and public lives blurs. Given that business is all about networking, why not use the networking tools the right way?
Slide 3 – As this slide shows, and aptly within the fact that I am giving this talk on Easter Monday, I can show you how well connected Jesus was in this social network of the New Testament. Everything in society is networked and everything now is connected by electronic means. We are ALL connected to The Matrix.
Slide 4 – Coming back to what I mentioned before, the flow of information in social networking sites has 4 important properties:
Reciprocity
Durability
Traceability
Scalability
If you think hard about the implications of each one of these properties, you can very well apply them to your business setting. You need to be reciprocal. If somebody talks to you, answer back. Remember that the information that you put out there, stays on the internet for a really long, long time. So think before you hit “Publish”! Remember that the information you put out there can easily be traced back to you, and that once information flows publicly, it may escalate and you will never be able to put a lid on it, ever.
Slide 5 – These are some quick-and-dirty lessons for you on how to make the most of the properties of information flow in social networking sites for business. Apply some of these lessons to your own business and let me know how it went.
Slide 6 – The following six rules are the basics of what I call Social Media For Business 102. That is, once you’ve mastered the basics of blogging, Twittering, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc., you can move on to these lessons. In short, here are my top 6 rules of applying social media to business:
Rule # 1 – Not everything that is on the internet is true, so don’t follow every single online social media fad. Anybody remember Plurk? No? Neither do I.
Rule # 2 – Not everything that is on the internet is false, so beware of social media mistakes that may affect you negatively. Monitor your brand, and make sure that whatever statements people are making about you are actually true, otherwise, be quick to debunk them. And if they are true, and you made a mistake, apologize and fix it!
Rule # 3 – Be a human out there, even if you are behind a corporate brand. Don’t just push your own agenda, give people something to work with. Make sure that people know that people know that you are a Brandividual (as I mentioned in a previous post, referring to Kate Trgovac‘s excellent talk where she described the concept of Brandividual and spoke about a few excellent ones). I indicated a local example of brandividual with the folks of Build Direct (Rob Jones, Jeff Booth, and mostly, everyone at Build Direct ). I mentioned a Canada-wide example with Bryan Cox, Fergie Devins, Tonia Hammer and Adam Moffat from Molson (whose work in Brew 2.0 was very well enhanced with the amazing expertise of David Jones and Meghan Warby from Hill & Knowlton). Shane mentioned Zappos as an example of a global group of brandividuals.
Rule # 4 – Give back, give a little, get back a lot. Sponsor events, give out gift certificates, demonstrate loyalty to your customers and a genuine care for them. This will pay off handsomely, trust me.
Rule # 5 – Don’t be a one-night-social-media-stand. Just… don’t. If you are going to delve in social media, commit to it. Don’t romance bloggers and then ditch them. This is a really bad idea. Hell hath no fury like a blogger scorned. Trust me. I KNOW. As I mentioned already, Molson did a fantastic job with Hill & Knowlton on Brew 2.0 and it was a winning case study in blogger relations!
Rule # 6 – Be a good business through-and-through. No matter how good your social media marketing is, if you are not providing a good product and/or service, you are definitely going to fail. Good customer service and great products and services are the key to success. Engagement is key.
Slide 7 – You can read my recount of Brew 2.0 (and those of my fellow bloggers, all of them are linked on my post) for a quick-and-dirty of why it was so successful and why they remain successful.
Slide 8 – A local example of good brand monitoring and reputation management is Doolins (who by the way is a client of Shane’s). They followed up on my complaint and made me feel valued as a customer. Brownie points to them!
Note – during my talk I spoke about #amazonfail – I have a blog post about it so I won’t repeat what I said (Slide 9). Just know that it’s a good example of the importance of brand monitoring and crisis management. People should have learned the lesson with the case of Motrin Moms (although, of course, and as I have mentioned before, not every issue galvanizes public opinion thus launching mobilizations and activism – see the case of net neutrality!)
Slide 10 – These are some quick and dirty suggestions on how to use Twitter for business. Simply put, offer your audience information about your business in a way that is engaging and valuable. Don’t make Twitter etiquette faux pas. On that topic, next month’s Vancouver Blogger Meetup will be about etiquette. Join our meetup. It’s fun. Also, if you want to learn a lot about social media, join the social media meetup, Third Tuesday. You can contact my good friend Tanya Davis if you need more information on Third Tuesday.
Slide 11 – So, a few quick, last minute thoughts. I know I’ve already over-stayed my welcome, but I want you to know that if you do social media, you should go multi-platform. Only blogging won’t do you much good unless you use some of the other platforms. Ensure that you monitor your brand, there is Google Alerts and Summize/Twitter Search. Be bi-directional and reciprocal. I have preached this very, very frequently on my blog. I even touched on the importance of bi-directionality for Canadian politicians!
Most importantly, don’t be afraid of testing and experimenting with social media. Skittles failed miserably in their experiment, and see… they are still in business! So don’t worry about it. Just try it! And, as I mentioned in my talk, even if you live your life online, take it offline. Engage. Be real. And if you have questions – ASK!
EDIT – I had come across this report before, and JP just tweeted recently about it, so I am linking to it – a report on social media marketing.
My friend Rebecca and I both love Mexican food. While sharing an adoration for traditional Mexican cuisine (she, with her Mom-in-law and me, with my own Mom), we have also long known that it used to be always a struggle to find good and authentic Mexican food in ancouver.
Since a substantial number of our lunch adventures have involved Mexican food and we both love to try out new places, I jumped with joy when I received a phone call from her asking me whether I’d like to try out Don Guacamole with her. Obviously, I enthusiastically said yes. I enjoy Rebecca’s company and we hadn’t really hung out one-on-one for a long while. She has always been an extremely good sport with me, and has tried several places that serve Mexican food, including La Casita (Gastown), Delicados (downtown Vancouver), to now-closed Tequila Kitchen, to our favorite so far, before we had hit Don Guacamole – Salsa and Agave.
We met up at Don Guacamole, located on Robson near Jervis. The name of the place, of course, is associated with the Mexican sauce called guacamole (yes, we don’t actually consider it an appetizer!). I ordered a burrito con salsa roja (chicken burrito in a red tomato and chile sauce) [$ 9.50] and Rebecca ordered enchiladas verdes con pollo (chicken enchiladas in a green tomato sauce) [$ 13.50]. You can see on Rebecca’s photo our dinner plates as well as a complimentary flight of various sauces (including guacamole and salsa roja) that comes with your meal, and you can also see her margarita (lime margarita on the rocks) [$ 8.75]. I ordered a couple of strawberry margaritas (blended), which were amazing. If I can say so – Best. Margarita. Ever.
Credit: Miss604 on Flickr
Overall, my assessment of Don Guacamole is good. Some of the staff is definitely Mexican and they know how to treat their customers. Obviously, it also helps that I communicate with them in Spanish. The bartender prides himself in his drinks, and he must be fully praised. Small drawback? The place isn’t huge, and it has sports-bar-kind-of TVs. Considering I don’t want to watch a hockey game over dinner, that’s kind of useless for me.
But the food is great, the service is great, and I just would recommend to go there around 5pm (as Rebecca and I did). By the time 6pm rolled out, the place was packed (and we were already on our way to Vancouver Bloggers Meetup April 2009). Therefore, I’d suggest to just go there early. And if you do, tell them I recommended you, hehehe 😉
Via Nicole Garton-Jones (BC Heritage Law) I found out about Vancouver Law Day. Unfortunately, it falls right on the same day as Mental Health Camp so I won’t be able to attend. However, I’m more than happy and delighted to share these pieces of information with my readers. Both my parents are lawyers, so I’m always delighted to collaborate with smart folks in the legal profession (like I’m doing now with BC Vote).
On Saturday, April 25th from 10AM to 3PM all residents of the Greater Vancouver area are invited to come down to the Central Vancouver Public Library, located at 350 West Georgia Street (between Homer, Hamilton and Robson Streets). At Law Day, the public can learn what the justice system is doing to keep us safe on the streets and in our homes while upholding the rights of all Canadians under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. [BC Heritage Law]
The title of this post and the idea of writing about the matter should be credited to Gus Fosarolli, a good friend of mine who has been reading on the matter. So what is Amazon Fail? So, it seems (from what I can read) that Amazon has shifted their algorithm for ranking of LGBT literature on the basis of supposed sexually-explicit content. But it appears as though heterosexually-themed content that actually DOES have explicit sexual depictions is NOT ranked lower.
UPDATE – I’m amending this post with early, not-fully-ruminated thoughts on PR crisis management. I have been pondering about #amazonfail – is it unreasonable to expect responses from Amazon, on Easter Weekend? A few responses I got:
From Kate Trgovac – Today, yeah, I think it is. Easter 2010 (or xmas 2009), probably not. Between this & Motrin Moms, it’s a new era.
From Tara Robertson – don’t do crisis mgmt PR, but their business is web based and this was a major mistake, they need to respond.
From Karen Cook – PR team undoubtedly huddling in Amazon’s boardroom crafting appropriate response.
From Nobilis Reed – The world is now 24/7. Why do you think @werner has a Blackberry?
Raul’s early lessons for PR crisis management, brand management and brand monitoring
Bear in mind, it’s 2009 and we live in a web-based era, let’s face it. Internet 24/7.
1.- DON’T deploy anything new (business, algorithm, process) without ensuring that you’ll have AT LEAST ONE, high-ranked individual with enough PR/tech savvy to be able to address potential backlashes.
2.- DON’T assume that a boiler-template email response will appease customers.
3.- DON’T assume that just because it’s a weekend or a holiday, you can get away with anything. As mentioned above, the Internet is 24/7, particularly because the business is web-based, as indicated above by Tara and Nobilis. I agree with Kate that we are in a new world. However, I do think that Amazon should have learned a lesson from the Motrin Mom’s case.
I’ve been tracking the Summize search for just a few minutes, but the pace at which the results are coming out is definitely out-pacing me. I concur with Gus. It seems as though we are witnessing another Motrin Moms in the making.
This is why crisis communications and PR/social media teams are so important – for when people screw up. As someone who fights for LGBT rights, I take issue with anything that denies basic rights and discriminates. I’ll have to read more to see whether that was the case with Amazon.
Anybody who knows more about the topic, feel free to drop a comment. In the mean time, here is the definition of Amazon Ranked (yes, it’s tongue-in-cheek)
1. To censor and exclude on the basis of adult content in literature (except for Playboy, Penthouse, dogfighting and graphic novels depicting incest orgies).
2. To make changes based on inconsistent applications of standards, logic and common sense.
UPDATE – Commenters on my blog have started to describe in more detail what is going on with the Amazon Fail. Thanks! Keep’em coming. Also, my friend Tara Robertson wrote about the fact, her post includes links to action (send an email to Amazon, sign a petition).
UPDATE – Mark Probst’s LiveJournal includes the response from Amazon – following quote directly from his blog
In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.
Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.
Best regards,
Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage
I’m always interested in issues of democratization. Although my research has focused more on citizen participation in environmental public policy, I am also interested in media democracy (given that for the past three years, I’ve started to do some new media work).
I know my friends Steve Anderson, Rodger Levesque and Kate Milberry are involved, and it does relate to Media Democracy Day 2009. I’ll keep you posted on what I hear. For now, I think you would be interested in learning about the Media Democracy Wiki so why don’t you mosey over and check it out?
And if you are an organization/company that would be interested in sponsoring, please check their Sponsorship page. As someone who organizes events on a regular basis, I frequently need to ask for sponsorships, so I know how tough it is to raise funds for events like this, that are 100% volunteer-run. We don’t profit from these events, so any support would be great.
I met Andy Peatling (a UK-born, Vancouver-based developer and currently Social Engineer for Automattic, the creators of WordPress) a year ago or so, at the first Vancouver WordCamp. At the time, I clearly remember he asked me “are you on Twitter?”. At the time, I had just started to use the microblogging platform, not knowing it would become such a pre-eminent part of my life. And at the time, I didn’t know that Andy was such a talented developer. Not that I really needed to know that, either, heheh!
Credit: Miss604 on Flickr
Also, at the time, I didn’t know I’d become friends with Andy, considering that our professional careers are rather divergent. For developers and geeks all over the world, he is better known as the creator of BuddyPress (a WordPress Multi-User framework, better explained as Facebook meets WordPress). But for me, Andy Peatling is a good friend, someone whose company I enjoy, be it having beers at Public Lounge on Main or geeking out at Northern Voice, or simply chatting on IM. I don’t need to be a geek, and I don’t need to see all my friends all the time. That’s one of the things I have come to realize about the geek world… you don’t necessarily need to be in the same place, and you can still remain close to your friends.
I’m going out for dinner tonight for dinner with Gus, Tanya and Russ, but I will remember to have a few drinks to your health, Andy. I appreciate your friendship and look forward to seeing you sometime soon. And enjoy your birthday!
I know that some people were slightly scared about my choice of location for the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup (April 2009) since it seems that Shenanigans may have looked a bit, well… peculiar.
But since I hadn’t found a place for karaoke that was accessible to a vast majority of people (because, you know, I *do* get frequent requests to hold the VBM somewhere that is downtown or centrally-located), I chose somewhere that was very accessible to people downtown [EDIT – At first, I wanted to hold it at the karaoke place right in front, but Lorraine suggested Shenanigan’s. And I’m grateful to her for suggesting it!]. Yes, I know it sounds whiney on my part, but hey – I’m an East Vancouver boy. I don’t see the reason why I can’t hold the VBM in East Vancouver as often as I want. But I’ve been asked to go downtown or the West Side and so I’ve tried to do it.
At any rate, despite reservations, it seems as though everybody had a good time at the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup (surprisingly and strangely, nobody commented on my blog about it – but they did on Rebecca’s and Jan’s so I know through third-party confirmation that people had a good time). Hopefully we’ll do another VanTechKaraoke night, but this time, we’re going to get our songs in early in time.
I love the work of New Media BC, I always have. Even though I never thought of myself as someone who did “media” or even “new media”, I always liked what they did. Last year, I couldn’t make it to the PopVox Awards even though I was invited. That week was hell. I was invited to like, 20 different events. And I couldn’t make it to everything.
This year, it is my purpose to make it to the Pop Vox Awards, particularly since I unabashedly asked the community on Twitter (please forgive me everyone) whether they’d consider me worthy of a nomination in the Individual Standout Awards (Social Media). There is a tonne of people I know who are worthy of being nominated, and I would also be very flattered if I ended up in the nominations, let alone winning.
* Individual Stand Out: Industry Advocacy
This individual has helped put BC’s digital media industry on the map. Passionate and community minded, this person is helping to raise profile and promote partnerships.
* Individual Stand Out: Digital Education
This individual has played a huge role in growing the local new media community by spearheading innovative digital learning initiatives and/or developing an industry supported curriculum.
* Individual Stand Out: Social Media
This popular individual has gained a following through creative and wide-ranging social media usage.
* Individual Stand Out: Visionary Leadership
This individual continually inspires others with his/her vision, creativity and ability to bring people together.
I don’t think I have the credentials or time in the community yet to be a Visionary Leadership winner (people who have been in the community much longer than I have, like for example Kris Krug or even Darren Barefoot would be more deserving) – but I am really flattered that some people think I deserve to be nominated in the Social Media Stand Out. Not bragging, and not asking to be nominated or voted for, but I just loved the fact that a number of my friends nominated me for this category.
My friend Rebecca (who is in and of herself an example and a leader in social media in my own eyes) has a great, detailed post about the PopVox Awards. Check it out! Vote! There are all sorts of categories (including Do-Gooder, which I’m sure would include Lorraine and what she’s done for FearlessCity).
Rebecca’s post was just updated and that’s how I found out (via Jay Piddy) that Council decided NOT to let the Odyssey move to Denman Street. My biggest problem with this decision is that as I was reading the documents related (staff’s supporting documents to council, minutes, etc.) it was clear from the start that the decision was going to be to deny the relocation.
The biggest problem with this decision? As much as the opposing parties celebrate a win for a quiet environment (or whatever they celebrate), it sets a precedent. Now, wherever the Odyssey wants to relocate, its relocation will always be associated with a sense of “hey, they didn’t want you guys on Denman, why should we have you on [Name the new location you want]”
That’s one of the biggest problems with NIMBY discussions. Once it’s not in your backyard, it becomes a “don’t build anything on anyone’s backyard”. I am disappointed (yes, I know I wouldn’t be directly affected because I don’t live there) but truth be told, I am more worried about other issues that are, in my view, much more relevant (such as the series of gay-bashings in the West End).
Perhaps it is a good idea that the Odyssey doesn’t relocate to Denman Street. Even within the West End, gay men continue to be attacked, so maybe if it relocates elsewhere, a more welcoming neighbourhood perhaps? (South Main, close to the Main Street/Science World Skytrain station).
BTW – I have enabled comment moderation, just FYI.
I have a lot of respect for Jan Karlsbjerg, not only because we both did PhDs (his is in Computer Science, though) and because we are both immigrants to Canada. He is a solid guy who always is there available to provide advice to novice bloggers and to welcome them. He is the scribe to our Vancouver Bloggers Meetup, and this is his April 2009 write up. Thank you, Dr. Karlsbjerg. Thanks as always.
One note that I must add. For me, Vancouver Bloggers Meetup is personal. This is MY meetup. I invest time in trying to find a good place. I organize. I communicate with fellow bloggers. I promote it on Twitter. So, yes I do take it personally when people attend. I’m always thrilled when people do come. But the most important thing – I organize it for YOU. For novice and experienced bloggers. For those of you who want to dip your toes in the online community and those of you who have done it for years. In that sense, it’s YOUR meetup.
People know me very well by now. They know that, if it involves jazz, good friends, drinks, food and a flexible, fluid opportunity to spend time with my people, I will most likely say yes. So when my friend Jenn Lowther (from 6 S Marketing) said “hey I’d like to invite you over for a Tweetup”, and knowing I’d see Chris Breikss and the whole crew (Rebecca, Lorraine, Gus, Tris, Shane, Stephanie, Jay, Scott, etc.) I was like “ok, sure thing. I can hang out for a bit”. You know I’ve been sick and weak (energy-wise).
So, I headed up to Capone‘s. Daniela (the marketing manager of Capones) and everybody were fantastic. 100 kudos to the bartender. Those crantinis were, well… VERY good. She never complained. The music… perfect. The food, awesome. The conversations, fantastic. I already loved Capone’s. Gus took Russ and myself for dinner here after I completed Blogathon (remember?)
I had a chance to see Wanna and Shane at the same time (they make such a cute couple), hang out with Chris, John Biehler, John and Rebecca, Lorraine and Shahee, the Invoke crowd, etc. I like these tweetups. No pressure, no mega-networking. Just good times. Capone’s was definitely on their game. Kudos to them!
As you may remember, I’ve been pretty sick and I couldn’t attend the Wines of Mexico Festival (despite having accreditation for it). Thus, I asked Gus and Russ whether they’d be my representatives, and they kindly agreed. Here is Gus’ review of the event. Enjoy!
This past week Russ and I, with the help of this gracious blogger, attended the Wines of Mexico Fest – Vancouver 2009. This was the first event where the most popular Mexican wineries got to showcase their finest wines outside of Mexico. The event was sponsored by the General Consulate of Mexico in Vancouver, ProMEXICO and the National Association of Vintners and was hosted at the Metropolitan Hotel.
As we entered the event, we were given our allotted wine glass and our first table was from Monte Xanic. They were the youngest of the three with just over 20 years experience. The name “Xanic” means “flower which blooms after the first rain” to the Cora Indians of the Nayarit region of Mexico’s Pacific coast. Their Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 was refreshing, but lacked a bit of strength for a wine that has been maturing for a few years. I believe that with more years they will improve their process and create great wines.
We continued to the Santo Tomas table which had the most selection of wines than any of the other wineries in attendance. Santo Tomas was established in 1888 and is the longest standing winery in Mexico. Their S.T. Unico and S.T. Duetto were excellent tasting reds, though I believe their Cierzo Cabernet Sauvignon was the best of the bunch I tried. It had a full body and contain medium tanins. If you are interested in a sweet red wine, their Tardo Valdepenas is a good choice. Their Chenin Blanc 2006 was very refreshing, the wine had a pleasant and refreshing palate with a nice light wheat colour and could easily be served with a cold weather dish. The wine is best served at a temperature of 10C.
L.A. Cetto Vinyards (the most recognizable in Mexico). L.A. Cetto was established 75 years ago and have won several awards in France, Italy, Spain, England, Canada and the US. Their Carbernet Sauvignon 2005 was the strongest of the wines and the most enjoyable.
I have to admit I wasn’t even aware that Mexico created wines, but from the experience I learned that the wines of Mexico come from the Baja California region between Ensenada and Tecate where the temperature is similar to Europe’s wine regions.
There wasn’t many food pairings or food samples beside a chocolate fountain from Chocoatl (we were not allowed to try their chocolates as they were only for “display”) and trying some cheese samples from Benton Brothers (amazing cheeses!!!). As this was their first “fest” in Vancouver, I believe next year will only be better.
