You may remember that I have written about Lip Gloss and Laptops a few times before. L&L is one of the podcasts I do follow, not because I actually have a stake in the cosmetics industry, but simply because I enjoy listening to the conversations of my friends Airdrie and Kerry Anne. We became friends through the Vancouver tech scene, and I’m quite glad I met them as they’ve managed to bring a lot of positive energy to my life. And, as I mentioned before, L&L is one of the best podcasts out there.
Lip Gloss and Laptops is recorded in the home studio of the Millers, and for those of you podcasting/music geeks out there, YES, I have podcasted from the Inside Home Recording studio. Derek K. Miller, musician, podcaster, and friend of mine, is one of the co-hosts of IHR, so I could barely contain my excitement when I came by to record the show. And kudos to Derek for figuring out how to set up for the guest-host (normally, L&L and IHR have only two hosts, so the set up changes when you involve a third microphone and set of earphones). Geekiness, FTW! 🙂
Airdrie and Kerry Anne made my experience as a guest host a really pleasant one. I had had a rough weekend, so I wasn’t really as prepared as I would have loved to be. But I think the show went ok and apparently, from what Airdrie told me at the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup, the audience liked it. It was a bit of a nerve-wracking experience. I’m not an expert in cosmetics, although I do know a lot about colognes. But having had experience with cosmetics when I did theatre and also, while going shopping with my mother, has taught me a lot. And it’s always fun to podcast with friends. This is my second time podcasting, as my very first one was during EPIC 2008 when I interviewed Adria Vasil for HappyFrog.
And if you want to find out more about what I talked about with Kerry Anne and Airdrie, go and listen to the podcast. RIGHT NOW. Ok, good. Now, let me know what you think 🙂 Your feedback would be greatly appreciated!
I recently learned about the recent merger of HappyFrog.ca with 3rdWhale from my good friend DaveO, but I hadn’t had a chance to write about it, as I’d been really overwhelmed with work. HappyFrog.ca was founded by Ron Williams as an all-encompassing directory-social networking resource for green businesses in British Columbia. The platform in and of itself is fun, and handy.
I have been a proud member of the FrogSquadders (I covered EPIC 2008 for them along with a great line up of local bloggers). I frequently guest-post in HappyFrog’s FrogBlog and they have given me great exposure in their newsletter as well. Funny how everything is connected in this world, I do know of the work of Boyd Cohen, the force behind 3rdWhale (although, surprisingly, I’ve never met him in person despite the fact that we both live within the Metro Vancouver area!)
I look forward to learning more about what 3rdWhale and HappyFrog.ca merged can do combined! One improvement that 3rdWhale’s page desperately needs is an “About Us” page. I am pretty sure that everyone wants to know more about how they came about and what they’re up to!
3rdWhale recently organized a PodMob (which I also promoted on Twitter), although truth be told, at some points I was overwhelmed with so much writing and talking about the podmob. The success of the podmob at Sushi Bento on Robson Street is in no small part due to the enthusiasm and positive energy of the people behind 3rdWhale, and I believe primarily it was Emily Jubenvill, who is “The Greenest Person in Canada”.
It’s great to learn about these new developments! Congratulations to HappyFrog.ca and 3rdWhale!
I love writing (as you can tell from my more than 1,260 blog posts so far) but sometimes, it is just hard to get started on the subject matter at hand. I remember that, when I presented a talk in 2001 in Berlin (Germany), I started writing the paper at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon, using my then Compaq laptop (my brother and I bought matching laptops at the time, before they were acquired by HP).
It took me the whole afternoon, evening and I seem to recall that I was up until about 3 or 4 am that night. My brother had gone away for the weekend (at the time, we were living together) and I had the whole evening/weekend to focus on the paper. I got it done at around 11am on the Sunday. That conference paper became the cornerstone of much of my research agenda to this day.
Many people seem quite impressed that I can write as much on my blog as I do. To tell you the honest truth, I write on my blog as I think. That is, if you read any of my entries, you might as well be sitting right beside me listening to my unstopping chattering. I set that as the goal of my blog: it should read in the same way as my normal conversation.
Sometimes I crank anywhere between 1 and 6 posts in a day and writing all that content doesn’t really take me much effort in terms of how long it takes me to write or even research and do the links for a post. This is not because blogging is oh-so-easy, but because I am so familiar with my own writing and the general links I use as sources, etc. that my writing now flows with ease.
The only problem tonight is that the writing isn’t flowing as much, so what I decided to do was to create the EndNote style (I use EndNote for academic reference management) for this specific book chapter. I also created the general heading structure and laid out the overall argument I am giving in the chapter. Finally, I pulled text that I had already written in other academic papers, making sure that I noted that it wasn’t all original text. Then I added a substantial amount of original thoughts. Now all I have to do (which I plan to do all Saturday) is to print it out, edit the language so that it’s not a direct cut-and-paste, insert enough original content as to make the argument flow, and then send it for proofreading/editing with some of my colleagues.
This last bit is a piece of advice I am happy to pass along. Despite the fact that I am an academic (or I guess, precisely for that reason), I *always* make a point of asking for advice and input on anything academic I write. ALWAYS. And my journal article/book chapter acceptance rates are really good. I think that this comes as a result not only from writing good research, but also being humble enough to ask for advice from your peers. That’s the only way you can get better. So I always ask my friends to edit my stuff, even if they are not academics, because they are always able to provide a fresh perspective.
Musings from Raul’s very tired mind at 3:30am after having cranked out a really good first draft of an original contribution (book chapter).
Hat tips to everyone who has collaborated with the organization of all Northern Voice conferences, but specifically, the 2009 Northern Voice. I’d like to remind you that abstract submission closes on December 19th. This coming year, I want to present.
So I had (what I thought) a brilliant idea on what to present at NV’09 (speaking about my experience coming from not even knowing what a blog was to reaching my current position as a Vancouver blogger). I was going to try and explain the realities behind blogging as opposed to generalized (civilian) perceptions of bloggers as isolated folks who write from the basements of their parents’ homes. This idea was well received by those who kindly offered to edit my abstract and give me feedback, but at the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup it didn’t seem to spark the same fire.
So, I’ll ask you, as a reader of my blog, or as someone who knows me in person and/or follows me on Twitter, what would YOU like me to talk about in Northern Voice 2009? Please leave a comment or feel free to tweet me or email me.
The great thing about knowing traditions and establishing them is that you can count on your friends to continue with them. It’s been a long-standing tradition that Jan Karlsbjerg writes a summary (recap) of the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup. This month, Jan follows up with the tradition, so I’ll just link to his awesome recap for the November 2008 VBM. I tried to do a little bit of a liveblog but didn’t work out ok 😉 I had a wonderful time though. Thanks everyone for coming!
One thing that I think Jan might have missed was the discussion that Shane and I had about potentially doing a large, combined Meetup.com. I am friends with the leaders of pretty much each one of the Vancouver relevant meetups that we all attend (Third Tuesday – Tanya, Real Estate Tech – Steve, Sales Performance – Shane, Young Professionals – Steve and Shane, Entrepreneurs – Minna) so I would think we could indeed do that informal, kind of end-of-the-year affair. Let me know if that would appeal to you all.
Technically it won’t be a liveblog because I’m not really listening to the conversations, but it was nice to see Eric, Alex, Tom (who are newbies to the Vancouver Blogger Meetup) and to see some familiar faces and friends (Airdrie Miller, Will Wertheim, Matt Collinge, John Biehler, Lorraine Murphy, Shane Gibson, Jan Karlsbjerg, David Drucker and Karen Hamilton.
I expected a few more people that had confirmed (John Chow himself included!), but I have had a really good time despite the fact that not everybody could make it. It’s hard to attend all the meetups when there is so much going on in Vancouver!
UPDATE – 8.37pm – Even though a few bloggers have left already, Matt, Eric, Jan, Lorraine, Karen, David and myself are still here. We are talking about WordCamp Whistler, and Northern Voice 2009. We also were talking about the podmob at Sushi Bento (I missed it).
The writers of an excellent New-West-based-and-focused blog, “10th To The Fraser” tweeted earlier this morning:
Where is the #motrinmoms effort for #netneutrality? Where’s the passion to put the same level of pressure on the CRTC as moms put on Motrin?
Sadly, nowhere to be found. Numerous (some of the best) bloggers in Vancouver and elsewhere wrote and tweeted about the Motrin Moms Twitter debacle (you can use Summize to find out about that discussion, I think the hashtag is #motrinmoms).
(c) Rob Cottingham, 2008 - Used with permission
I have read a few blog posts and tweets about net neutrality and the CRTC decision, but not nearly as many as I’ve glanced at with regards to the Motrin Moms debacle. I admit that even I hadn’t really written much about net neutrality until recently, when Steve Anderson sent me a link to his site, SaveOurNet.ca
I completely agree with 10thToTheFraser’s tweet that it’s unfortunate that the same level of effort is nowhere to be found. This can be attributed to several reasons. Let’s pose a few hypotheses (no need to discount any just yet):
1.- Bloggers/twitterers don’t care about net neutrality.
2.- Bloggers/twitterers don’t understand the implications of Bell Canada throttling bandwith.
3.- Even if they care AND understand the implications, they have better things to write about.
4.- The impact of Motrin’s ad on moms worldwide is larger than the impact of net neutrality on Canadians.
5.- …. [insert your own hypothesis]
Why is it that when it comes to galvanizing people’s opinion, we seem to be unable to do so? This irks me to no end. I have undertaken scholarly studies of environmental mobilizations, and have found that, unless the issue at stake is of PERCEIVED vital relevance (e.g. toxic emissions in the vicinity of your neighbourhood), environmental non-governmental organizations fail to mobilize the public. Inertia and inactivity are just too easy. It seems that the same is true for social media. ARGH.
EDIT – Hat tips again to Rob Cottingham who pointed me out to this blog post of Michael Geist.
Remember how a few months ago I raved about The Network Hub and praised their open office concept, their strong support of young entrepreneurs and the awesome series of events that they’ve been host to? And remember how I called it “my home away from home“?
The Network Hub open office concept
Well, as of this week, my home IS at The Network Hub. I now have a working space in the third floor.
As indicated by their mission statements, they care more much about the idea than the entrepreneur’s age or resume.
The Network Hub was established 2006 after observations of first time entrepreneurs struggling to find fundings from angel investors and venture capital companies. The Network Hub is a special kind of venture capital firm and incubator that care more about your idea than your age, resume and your business plan. [The Network Hub]
The Network Hub has been incredibly kind and supportive with the social media/PR/tech community for a long while now. They’ve been our gracious hosts and location sponsors at numerous events: Third Tuesday with Joe Solomon, the RMD Studio/JenTekk Solutions/PeerGlobe Solutions/Tazzu-organized, first ever WordCamp Vancouver, and several other Third Tuesdays, as a matter of fact.
The Network Hub provides a variety of support services for entrepreneurs, including office space, meeting rooms, and a variety of packages that suit the various needs of different kinds of entrepreneurs.
Moreover, The Network Hub are the awesome hosts and location sponsors of the Vancouver Entrepreneur Meetup every third Thursday of the month, which Pete Quily (ADD Adult Coach) kindly made me realize earlier this month, collides with my proposed date for the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup. I’ll have to deal with that overlap sometime in the next few months! I am pretty sure that I can work something out, since I definitely don’t want to hinder the attendance of entrepreneurs to VBM and viceversa!
If you are an entrepreneur who needs to get your idea off the ground, you should seriously consider coming over and talking to Minna or John. Particularly now that they have expanded! The Network Hub now occupies both the first AND third floors of 422 Richards (between West Hastings and Pender). You can also contact them via email.
I can already tell that my productivity skyrocketed. Just as an example, in less than 2 hours that I was at the office yesterday, I did much more than I had done in the past two weeks! Furthermore, the tenants are great. It’s fantastic to be surrounded by that much brainpower and positive energy! And what can I tell you about Minna and John and the whole team at The Network Hub? They’re simply AMAZING.
So, if you’re in the neighbourhood (downtown Vancouver) maybe we can meet up for coffee or lunch sometime and I can also show you the new digs!
Hat tips to Greg Andrews (TechVibes) and Darren Barefoot (Capulet) for pointing me out to Statistics Canada’s RSS data feeds. You’ll see – even though I’m a chemical engineer, during my Masters and PhD degrees, and in my post-graduate work I have done quite a lot of qualitative research.
My personality traits work to my advantage when using qualitative research methods. I am pretty good at interviewing people, analyzing textual data, coding using Strauss and Corbin’s axial coding methods, undertaking ethnography, etc. I am considered a specialist in institutional analysis because, well, I know how to study rules and routines. And the majority of these studies are undertaken by observing and interviewing.
The thing is, during the course of my PhD, I became REALLY quantitative. Since my advisor’s training was quantitative, he impressed it upon me. I’m quite grateful to him for doing that because thanks to his sage advice and training, I have examined wastewater governance and policy using quantitative methods (something that is rather atypical in this body of literature). And of course, there’s my love of game theory and econometric methods. WOWSA.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I drooled (just as Greg tweeted earlier this morning) when I saw StatsCan’s RSS feeds. Given the kind of research I do, economic, government, population and environmental indicators are the RSS feeds I grabbed. You can grab any others as you may see fit.
Unfortunately, and this is quite sad, I can’t get any quantitative data on water through those RSS feeds (or at least I haven’t been able to get any so far). I do know where to find some water-related statistics in Canada, but the state of the art in regards to accurate water stats in Canada is (as mentioned in Karen Bakker’s edited book) rather appalling.
If I manage to get my hands on some good data, you’ll see some pretty graphs here sometime soon.
November 20th, 2008 in
academic life,
environment,
food for thought,
public policy issues,
random thoughts,
sustainability,
wastewater,
water,
water policy | tags:
quantitative methods,
statistics |
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I’m a big fan of deep house music, and particularly of Black Science Orchestra. One of their best tracks, New Jersey Deep, is always on my iPod. The song whose video I’m inserting here is pretty much another one of those “tunes that define me“.
The rhythms in this song are completely along the lines of what I like to dance to, what I dance to when I am at home or in a club. Although I think the last time I heard this type of tunes was (believe it or not) at Bar None (in Yaletown, Vancouver)! Oh no, that’s not exactly true. It was at the Media 2O party (one of the best parties I’ve ever attended – only comparable to BarCamp Vancouver 2008 party!)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua_otcRfJDE&hl=en&fs=1]
Credit: All rights reserved - Outcome3.com
Did you miss out on a chance to acquire your own BarCamp Vancouver 2008 t-shirt? For a limited time, the BarCamp organizing committee is putting out a call for those who want to buy a BarCamp t-shirt for only $ 15.00.
If you are interested, please drop a comment here (or send me an email) with the t-shirt size you’d like.
Thanks!
Via the always resourceful Raincoaster, here is a board game quiz. Apparently, I am not only a Virgo (my birthday was in September, rational and analytic) but I am also checkers.
You Are Checkers
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You are very logical and rational. You are able to understand what is and isn’t a factor.
You’re able to compartmentalize and focus on the essentials.
You appreciate simplicity. You can see the layers of complexity and beauty in anything.
You are also playful and good natured. You don’t take life too seriously!
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Yes, I am super rational, and I think about what my options are, etc. But I have to be honest. I have played checkers but more than that I’ve played chess.
When I was being interviewed for The Georgia Straight article, I mentioned that it had been only this year that I had gotten involved in the Vancouver social media and blogging scene. However, it was back in the middle of 2007 that I sent an email to Rebecca Bollwitt asking her whether she thought that doing Blogathon. Her email response back to me was really sweet, encouraging and very positive. She even helped me set up the Blogathon badge on my (then) Blogspot blog. Ah, the memories!
Almost a year and a half and more than 1,200 posts later, I had the pleasure of hearing her distill the wisdom she has imparted to me throughout all the time that we’ve known each other into a short talk at Third Tuesday. I’ve been always very open and forthcoming in indicating that a lot of what I have achieved has been in no small part through what Rebecca has taught me. I still consider her my Blogging Jedi Master.
I would have live-blogged her talk (which was originally the intent) had it not been for the fact that (a) my laptop [on which I am writing this post now and that is NOT failing this time] was failing at the time, and (b) I didn’t get wifi on Rebecca’s (nor my) laptop, so I couldn’t really liveblog. Tris Hussey, however, did an excellent job of liveblogging Rebecca using CoverItLive, and I will seriously consider (after I buy a new laptop!) using the software. You can read Tris’ great coverage here.
What you are about to read are my notes on how Rebecca started Miss604. The text will read as though she is speaking, so bear that in mind.
So how did Miss604 start? Back in Boston – Miss604 would be the name that would associate me back with Vancouver. When I moved back to Vancouver from Boston, 2004 Miss604.com started. I’ve been in the information technology industry for over a decade now.
In 2006 my site started to pick up thanks to several elements. First, I was invited to liveblog a special concert by Matt Good. That same weekend, I signed up to BarCamp Vancouver, my first livebloggage of a BarCamp. I then switched from Blogger to WordPress. Got more involved with blogging. And the rest, as they say, is history.
How to grow your brand and your own presence online.
First off, some blogging basics.
1.- You need to read other blogs. See how people are responding, what people like to read, etc.
2.- Choose a topic you’re passionate about. In my case, Vancouver, BC, Surrey. I had my own voice and passion.
Quoting from Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008
Reasons bloggers start blogging
1 – 79% of people – to speak my mind in areas of interest
2 – 73% of people – to share my experiences.
3 – To Communicate with like minded people.
Blogging basics again
3.- Choose your name. Have a handle. Buy your domain.
4.- Sign up for your blogger account.
5.- You should join social networks (Facebook, etc.)
6.- Branch out – connect with others.
7.- Set up a blog that people can subscribe to.
The average involvement with social activities online – 5 things
– Comments
– Share videos
– Share photos
– Share links
– Read blogs
8.- You don’t need to get in EVERY single one application
– Rebecca recommends Viddler – videos – audience is in YouTube
9.- Find your audience. Then you have two choices – Go to your audience or have them find you.
Going to your audience
– Do links exchanges.
– Give people exposure and they will link back.
– Write a post including your thoughts on someone else’s posts. Link back on it. “Here are my thoughts on it.”
10.- Add people to your social networks. Check that they have a website, make sure you’re in every social network.
Having your audience find you
– SEO – Search Engine Optimization – try to use keywords and tags on your posts that are relevant.
– Make sure you are on Google. You can basically introduce your site to Google. You can add your site to Google Site Maps.
– Produce content on other sites. In 2005 and 2006 Rebecca wrote for Metroblogging (and still does, occasionally). You can find the specific sites and types of blogs where your message could be best heard.
11.- Once you have your audience, how do you keep your audience coming back?
– Make it easy for them to subscribe to your RSS feed.
– Be engaged and you will lose readers if you are not passionate about what you write.
– Keep writing about something you’ll want to write about several times.
12.- How do you measure the success of your blog?
According to Technorati
– First and foremost, your own personal satisfaction
– Number of comments
– Links
– To keep your audience you need to write often.
– Apparently, the top 10 blogs in Technorati blog 10 times a day although Rebecca wouldn’t recommend that. Rebecca’s maximum eve was 8 posts in one day (Raul – my own maximum was 6, although I think Rebecca forgot to mention that not once, but twice we both have done 49 posts, through Blogathon).
– Most bloggers spend 5-10 hours blogging.
– 2-3 posts a week is a normal average.
13.- Keep the discussion going.
– A huge part of blogging is respond the comments and discussions.
– Don’t sit back – engage in the conversation. If someone provides new information you can include it and update your post.
14.- Make sure you have a contact form so that people can contact you, or a visible email address.
15.- Have a contest you can have people engage.
16.- Ask a question and see what the reaction is on the comments.
– Never be afraid to ask a question.
– You want to make sure that you are aware of what is being said online. Monitor your own presence online.
– Listen to what people are bloggging about etc.
– In the corporate realm, find out what people were saying about the company. Make sure to find what you are listening, be aware of what you find online and make sure that what you write is louder than everyone else’s writing (e.g. important that readers find YOUR blog before anyone else who might be talking about YOU).
17.- Don’t let the worry about privacy put you off. Don’t worry about putting your first and last name. Fake names are very off-putting.
Personal thoughts on the personal brand (Rebecca’s thoughts)
* There are some people who think that personal branding is a crutch that people use when they are unsure of their comapnys real value.
– People who use the concept of a personal brand to be accepted.
– People often associate with personal brands – funny smart intelligent
– They have two personas and the personal and the public one.
* You can have your business and personal site – as long as you are being YOU, you are your brand, no matter who you are or what you do. You need to be who you are and be proud of what you write. You are, however, responsible for what you have written. So you have to monitor comments and stuff like that.
* Set your own boundaries. How much attention you have to you pay.
Examples of owning your brand
John Chow – I make money online by making people online — If I want to go where I can learn how to make money by doing online business, John Chow is the go-to person.
Rebecca considers Tony Pierce her blogfather (who has been writing the BusBlog since 2001) – (Raul side note – I have to confess that I have rarely only — once actually — read Tony’s blog, I read a post where he mentioned some blogging rules, and that was the one time when Rebecca suggested that I read them. I wouldn’t agree with all of them, but from the stories that Rebecca and Duane have given me, apparently Tony is a super awesome guy and I would love to meet him at some point – I know that he does love the way Raimi The Minx writes and that he has been to Vancouver)
He wrote a book called How to Blog. Some rules he has
– Write everyday
– Write twice a day – dont be afraid of doing anything – if you are afraid, write
– Dont be upset if no one comments for a long time
– If people start acting mean, remember that you have a power to moderate a comment
Rebecca reminds the audience “this is your space online, you are responsible for it”
– Dont be afraid if you think something has been said before, but you can say it anyway using your own words, as honestly as you can. Your brand is you. Be proud of what you are putting out there.
Make sure that you have your reputation online in the best way. You need to make sure that what you are doing is out there. Be aware of what is being said online.
— End of the talk —
I would like to mention a couple of things that I personally have learned from Rebecca.
First, own to your brand. If you are going to be snarky, be snarky ALL THE WAY. If you are going to be “clean” in your blog (my own blog, for example, is super G rated – I don’t write about sex nor religion) then be clean, all the way.
Second, BE your brand. For example, part of my own (Raul) brand is the social aspect. I *am* friends with many of my Twitter followers, many of my fellow bloggers in Vancouver. That’s one of the aspects that characterizes me. I would like to think that part of the reason why people follow me and follow my blog is because of the personal side that I bring to my blog, and the social (in real life) aspect. I’m a very social blogger. And it’s not fake or anything, that’s who I am. Actually blogging gave me the opportunity to put my social personality to good use 🙂
Third, be transparent at all times. Disclosure is really important. Rebecca is very honest in her disclosure of sponsored ads, etc.
Fourth, blog if/when/because you want to. The posts that you write when you’re tired are the worst kind, so just blog when it’s right for you to blog.
Overall, it was awesome to hear Rebecca give a talk on how she became as successful a blogger as she is, and I am very proud of what she’s done. I was very mortified by the fact that I couldn’t liveblog her talk, but whatever, here are my notes for what they’re worth.
I seriously thought that tonight’s Third Tuesday was going to be at Republic, but I stand corrected. It’s going to take place at Granville Room (right across from Republic), 957 Granville St, at 7pm sharp. I do hope that they will have wireless. If they do, you’ll find my liveblog of Rebecca’s talk here.
November 18th, 2008 in
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As I was archiving and packing some stuff, I realized that I now have way many more tools to do the kind of research I do, and that, should I want to really engage in broader dissemination of my research, I can create a website, generate content for a blog, create an information-dissemination campaign, raise awareness of my latest research project, all through the magic of Web 2.0 tools. I had already talked about this with several of my geeky academic friends, but it hit me really hard today as I was going through some papers, I thought “oh, this journal article is online for sure – all I need to do is de.licio.us it and it’ll be there always for me“.
Before I engaged fully in social media, I wouldn’t even have thought about it and would have accumulated yet another printed copy of a paper. But thanks to Web 2.0 tools, I’ve become more and more efficient. Shane Gibson gave yet another example last night at the Vancouver Sales Performance Meetup with LinkedIn. All great tools for me, as a professional of environmental issues. Good times!
While I have become much more involved with social media in the past year than I had ever before (I am in almost every Web 2.0 application except for Facebook), I hadn’t really thought a lot about the issues with net neutrality until the day when I live-blogged Michael Geist’s talk at Saint John’s College (UBC) as a guest blogger for my friend Rebecca Bollwitt (Miss604) in April of 2008.
Recently, I’ve become more aware that my role in Vancouver’s social media scene is much more than just being the Organizer of Vancouver Bloggers Meetup. It is also part of my role to raise awareness about issues that affect those of us who use the Internet on a regular basis. Moreover, we social media folks are also substantially affected by these challenges.
Steve Anderson (the co-founder of the SaveOurNet.ca Coalition and National Coordinator of Campaign for Democratic Media) and Kate Milberry (SFU doctoral candidate, a good friend and an expert in digital activism) both reminded me of the need to think about social media as an ecosystem. As an expert in environmental issues, I often use ecosystems as a metaphor to analyze phenomena. I have to say that I had thought of social media as an ecosystem, but hadn’t thought of Canadian legislation on net neutrality as one of the challenges. Steve’s article actually gave me good insight on this issue. He writes:
The Conservative federal government is NOT inclined to support an open Internet. To keep a level playing field on the Internet we’ll need a robust citizens movement to put pressure on politicians and policy makers and shape policy that protects equal access. The social web community can provide the foundation for this burgeoning movement – perhaps even serve as a catalyst. Consider this a call to action.[SaveOurNet.ca]
Having engaged in academic activism myself, researched and studied environmental mobilizations, and often preaching to the public to become more involved in public policy, I am always up for supporting activism that benefits our society. So, I would sincerely encourage you to get informed, get involved, and become part of the white cells of the social media biological system. You can help, and if you have a stake in the future of Canadian internet, you probably should.
Photo by Wendy D. (c) Lyrics Stage
If you only see a play this season, “The 21st Floor” should be the one. Trust me on that one. Being a former stage actor myself, I have a very deep appreciation for well-created, solidly-developed, non-formulaic theatrical experiences.
The 21st Floor, a masterpiece created by Michèle Lonsdale Smith in a harmonious and skillfully coordinated effort with the rest of the cast as an ensemble, is an examination of the lives of 11 residents of a Coal Harbour apartment building. These apparent strangers have their lives intertwine (and at times, collide) by virtue of being neighbours in the 21st floor.
Lonsdale Smith and the Lyrics Stage Project have made sure that the play is consistent with their core objective: to tell stories that are relevant to the people in the time and the place where the play is being shown. This six-month project saw the light just recently (November 11th) but you should totally run and see before November 22nd.
“The 21st Floor” is an in-depth examination of the behavioral patterns of Vancouverites through the lenses of their domestic lives. What goes on in 2107 every night? Who is that blogger who broadcasts our daily comings-and-goings to the world? And the most important question, have we lost the opportunity to create a sense of community by choosing to isolate ourselves within the confines of our apartments? Are the doors to enter our souls closed, as demonstrated by our choosing to close the door behind us and ignore what else is going on in the 21st floor? All of these are questions that I believe the cast was exploring throughout the play.
The stage design was phenomenal, as the stage manager recreated a full floor with different apartments (although we could very easily see through). I was deeply moved and strongly connected with the themes of the play. As you may remember, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, I’ve previously written about the sense of aloofness in Vancouverites and asked the question whether Vancouver is a toxic city.
“The 21st Floor” will definitely resonate with long-time Vancouver residents, and I strongly suggest you to take an opportunity to go and enjoy the performance. The actors are simply phenomenal. I can’t single out any particular one of them, as all did a wonderful job of portraying the characters they were assigned to play. At no point does the play feel cartoonish. On the contrary, it’s such a strong, lived performance, that I really, really want to go and see it again.
I had the opportunity to enjoy “The 21st Floor” thanks to an invitation by Simon Ogden, of The Next Stage Magazine and the Marketing Director of Lyrics Stage Project. Amongst a gazillion other things he does, Simon blogs about theatre in Vancouver and is very passionate about helping raise awareness on the world-class theatre we have in our beautiful city.
One thing you should know is that the show is rated around PG 13 as it contains strong language, scenes of violence, nudity, and sexuality, with some occasional loud noises. The show’s length is 90 minutes with no intermission. But you won’t even notice. The play flows so nicely that you won’t need the intermission.
Performances of The 21st Floor run Tuesday through Saturday, November 11th to 22nd at the PAL Theatre, 581 Cardero Street, Vancouver. You can reserve tickets online at www.ticketstonight.ca
If you’re not making a lot of $$$, you can go on Tuesday November 18th, as it’s “Pay What You Can” night. You REALLY, REALLY should go and see it. I strongly recommend it. And I do hope to have a chance to hang out with the actors after one of the performances, as I didn’t have a chance to do so when I saw the show. Everyone involved with The 21st Floor should be proud of their work. Maybe at some point, I might be able to participate in one of their plays (not in the near future, though! — too much stuff going on in my life)
UPDATE – You can check details on the UQ Events page!
I am an academic. I’ve always admitted that my thinking is strongly influenced by my graduate school training. Thus, it’s not strange for me to become fascinated with scholarly studies of popular culture. Not fascinated enough to actually do yet another graduate degree (sorry, I completed a PhD, that’s more than enough for me, thanks). But still, it’s fun.
I was tweeting back and forth with a few of my friends about the upcoming Star Trek movie, and some of them indicated that the first trailer was bad and that they didn’t hold much hope for the actual movie. Doing a search of the Wikipedia entry for Star Trek: The Movie, I found out that the creators read PhD theses on the topic. Yes, there are people who have written their PhD thesis on Star Trek!
Living with Star Trek: American Culture and the Star Trek Universe by Lincoln Geraghty, PhD dissertation, University of Nottingham
Somebody else already did the research for me, so read their post for a list of PhD dissertations written on the topic of Star Trek.
Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, also spawned a whole academic journal (Slayage: The Online Journal of Buffy Studies), and a field of academic research: Buffy Studies. I-kid-you-not.
Sometimes, I wonder if I’d like to be THAT famous or THAT iconic. Can you imagine? Hummingbird: The Online Journal of Studies about Raul. Now THAT is being self-absorbed!
November 17th, 2008 in
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Well, he did it. Not only did he become Vancouver’s next mayor, he did so with a Vision majority in City Council. That fact sure speaks volumes to the need for change within the Vancouver area. There were, of course, civic elections all over Metro Vancouver, but the focus was inevitably on Vancouver proper.
I wrote a post a few weeks back on homelessness public policy to which the lack of responses completely frustrated me, because I don’t think a lot of people understood that one key issue to address the homelessness challenge (a key element on which Gregor based a substantial portion of his platform) is establishing strong relationships (and by strong I mean, where there is flow of funds!) with the provincial and federal governments.
Unless Gregor is able to create a consolidated, all-encompassing, across-all-levels-of-government kind of public policy for the homeless, we are about to stay exactly where we are.
On the good news front, I am glad that people did take to heart the challenge of becoming engaged in their own, local-level, municipal politics (something I was worried about a few months back). Participation in this civic election was unparalleled and that pleases me.
EDIT – Thanks to Tod Maffin for spotting a mistake on my post – it’s fixed 🙂
I’m an East Vancouver boy and proud of it. Everybody who knows me will be a witness to how much I love to promote Main Street, East Vancouver, Mount Pleasant, and to my commitment I am to do work for the Downtown East Side. My friend Kris Krug tweeted recently that he had been asked to have his photography exhibited in a group event for the Eastside Culture Crawl.
So I’ve got now even more reasons (in addition to the fact that, well, I’m an East Vancouver boy) to attend the Eastside Culture Crawl. From their website:
The Eastside Culture Crawl is an annual 3-day November event that involves artists who live in Vancouver’s Eastside in an area bounded by Main St., 1st Ave., Commercial Drive, and the Waterfront. Painters, jewelers, sculptors, furniture makers, musicians, weavers, potters, writers, printmakers, photographers, glassblowers; from emerging artists to those of international fame… these are just a sampling of the exciting talents featured during this unique chance to meet local artists in their studios.[Eastside Culture Crawl website]
I would strongly encourage you to attend the Eastside Culture Crawl. If you plan to do so, drop me a comment and maybe we can organize a group to hang out there together.
It’s easy to write and write and write and talk and talk and talk about all the awesome things we COULD be doing to help our brothers and sisters in needs. It’s another thing to actually engage in contributing our time and/or money. Thus, I would like to encourage every one of my readers to purchase a “Hope in Shadows” 2009 Calendar. Consider giving a copy out as a Christmas gift, or a birthday gift.
The Hope in Shadows Calendar is a unique project based around a photography contest for residents in the Downtown East Side of Vancouver. The prize-winning photos are then used to create a calendar that provides a glimpse of the hope, spirit and courage of people living in one of Canada’s poorest neighborhoods. [Paraphrased from their website]
While the calendar is also sold in retailer stores across the Lower Mainland, I personally would prefer it if you bought your calendar from Street Vendors. You’ll see, these people are also residents from the DTES and engage in selling the calendar to make money for their subsistence. From their website:
The Hope in Shadows calendar is sold by street vendors, community groups and retailers. Trained official street vendors will have a blue and white ID licence with their name and photo on it with the Hope in Shadows logo and “08/09” next to the logo. The Soliciting for Charity licence number from the City of Vancouver will be displayed on the licence.
The best places to find a street seller include:
– Commercial Drive, especially outside the Skytrain station
– West Broadway & Granville
– Howe & Robson
– Capers on 4th Avenue & Vine
– outside any Choices supermarket
– Shoppers Drugmart on West Broadway
Please consider purchasing a Hope in Shadows 2009 Calendar and contribute to improving the livelihood of the residents of the DTES. Thank you.
Somehow, there are still people out there that think that they have the right to REMOVE RIGHTS from people. In this particular case, Proposition 8 (California) eliminates the right of same-sex couples to wed. I have previously written about how appalled I feel about such a progressive state voting AGAINST the civil rights of their LGBT population. San Francisco was the city where the very first openly gay man was ever elected to public office, Harvey Milk… hello, people?
Speaking of Milk (the San Francisco supervisor), the movie Milk (starring Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco as Milk’s boyfriend and Sean Penn as Harvey Milk) is premiering soon in Vancouver. Can’t wait to see it! The timing could not be more perfect. I think it’s time that people start being educated in that every human being has rights, and that LGBT people should also have the right to marry. The trailer for “Milk” is shown below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz2F3JtP6Cc&hl=en&fs=1]
I’ve almost always been a socializer, although I have had long arguments with my Mom over whether I ever had a time in my life when I was shy – she thinks I never have been shy – I disagree. When I was a teenager, I always was a student of the school “mejor tener plan que tener permiso” (translated as “it’s better to have plans than to have permission“). I would feel my weekend was ruined if I had permission to go out but no plans to go out with anyone.
I admit that, to this day, I still live by that rule. Although I no longer have to ask my parents for permission, I still prefer to have plans for the weekend than to actually actively SEEK what to do. I may not have the energy (i.e. “permission“) to do them all, but at least, I do have plans and I can choose what to do 🙂
So, on that note – what are YOUR Friday night plans?
November 14th, 2008 in
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Today has a bittersweet flavor, unfortunately. While it is one of my loveliest nieces’ birthday, it’s also World Diabetes Day. My Grandpa died of complications that the disease gave him. He was a strong man, he worked hard and was always an example for us. Grandpa was also one of the sweetest and kindest men ever.
Grandpa would stay up watching TV while I was doing homework, and would always ask me how I was doing and if I was ever going to sleep, given the long nights I put while doing my undergraduate in chemical engineering. He succumbed at the age of 86 and I still miss him to this day. Sadly, two of my Mom’s brothers are also affected by diabetes, so we (me and my brothers) are particularly careful to check our blood sugar levels all the time, and try to lead healthy lifestyles.
In 2007 and 2008, the theme of World Diabetes Day is Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. Type 1 diabetes is growing by 3% per year in children and adolescents, and at an alarming 5% per year among pre-school children. It is estimated that 70,000 children under 15 develop type 1 diabetes each year (almost 200 children a day). Currently, an estimated 440,000 children live with type 1 diabetes globally. Type 2 diabetes was once seen as a disease of adults but today, it is growing at alarming rates in children and adolescents. [World Diabetes Day website]
Two Vancouver bloggers have been raising funds for this worthy cause: Buzz Bishop (who is auctioning some stuff on eBay today) and Tanya Davis (who has organized amongst other things, a Comedy Night and a $500 prize auction). Both of them are going on Team Diabetes and will be running a half marathon. I admire their efforts and salute them for contributing to this very worthy cause. Please consider donating to their causes. Diabetes is a deadly disease and every dollar you contribute will help fund research that seeks to find a cure.
As the Organizer of Vancouver Bloggers Meetup, I have absolutely no qualms in promoting my group and inviting friends to join us for some coffee and good blogging/geek talk. But this coming week is filled with events as well that I think are worth highlighting. I don’t think I’m going to attend all of them, but at least, a few of them.
Meetups:
– Vancouver Sales Performance – Comedy and Technology for Sales Pros at Ceili’s Pub – Nov 17, 2008 (Probably will recap this one)
– Third Tuesday Vancouver – Rebecca Bollwitt speaks on Building a Brand, at Granville Room – Nov 18, 2008 (I’ll be liveblogging this one)
– Vancouver Bloggers Meetup – I’m the organizer, so of course I’m going to be there! – Nov 20, 2008, 6pm, Gene’s Cafe (corner of Kingsway and Main) – I will do a recap, but doubt I can liveblog it.
Non-meetup events:
– Green Drinks Vancouver – As usual, third Wednesday of the month. I’ve been to the past few ones and I’ve felt them really, really “networky” and less social than I have expected them. Sure, I’m on the job market, and sure, it’d probably help if I attended. But I’m feeling ABSOLUTELY NO DESIRE to do so. I’ll see how I feel by the time Wednesday hits.
