I have been receiving requests for recommendations on where to get a traditional turkey Canadian Thanksgiving dinner in Vancouver. While I eat out a lot, and I’m followed by a lot of restaurants, I don’t think I have a central repository of where to eat Thanksgiving dinner if you are not cooking it yourself. Two restaurants so far answered my request for information on whether they served Thanksgiving dinner.
I know that the Glowbal Group and the Four Seasons Hotel’s Yew both will serve Thanksgiving dinners on Sunday AND Monday. If you are a restaurant (or know of any) that serves traditional Thanksgiving dinner (with turkey and the fixings) and/or Tofurkey too (because I do have vegan/vegetarian readers), I’d appreciate if you dropped a comment on this post. Thanks!
I am very lucky that I have never really been homeless. The closest I ever got to experiencing homelessness was when I came back from Mexico to Canada to do my doctoral degree, and I realized too late that I hadn’t really looked for a place to live in Vancouver. For the first few days, I stayed with my good friend Carlos and his family, but I absolutely felt the need for a place to call mine, the need for belonging. That sense of place that people associate with a place where to rest my head, where to prepare meals, food to put on the table. Even in the direst of times, I have never really been homeless and must admit I would really prefer not to be ever in that position.
Homelessness is a cause that really touches a nerve with me, and therefore, I am always eager to promote Homelessness Action Week, put together by The Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness (RSCH). This committee is a coalition of community organizations and all levels of government, with the mission of eliminating homelessness in Greater Vancouver through the full implementation of the Regional Homelessness Plan: Three Ways to Home.
You can check on this link the activities within the Metro Vancouver area for Homelessness Action Week 2010 (the fifth annual HAW).
Take action on homelessness. NOW.
There is A LOT of Mexican restaurants in Toronto. I didn’t know this until I went and visited!
The last night I spent in Toronto, I went bar-hopping with Ryan Taylor, Karim Bardeesy (both good friends of Meghan Warby, my lovely host in the T-Dot) and Meghan. The first Mexican restaurant we bumped into was “El Trompo”. I was pretty impressed with the variety of restaurants I came across while walking down Augusta Avenue (in Kensington Market, Chinatown).
The guacamole was absolutely authentic, and the rest of the food (and drinks) were absolutely stellar. And not surprising: El Trompo is owned and staffed by Mexican nationals. I actually ordered everyone’s foods and drinks in Spanish, which was kind of neat. I’ll definitely pay a return visit to El Trompo next time I am in Toronto, for sure.
October 8th, 2010 in
Toronto |
1 Comment
Every year, I make an effort to write about the Hope in Shadows Calendar, and to buy one. Supporting causes that improve the wellbeing of Downtown East Side residents is really important for me. As I was walking to my UBC office, I bumped into one of the vendors who sells the Hope in Shadows calendar (his name is Ronald McGrath, and from what he told me, he has also contributed pieces to Megaphone Magazine, which I profiled a few months ago). I told Ronald I would be writing about Hope In Shadows, and here it is!
Hope in Shadows is a charitable organization creating positive social change for people and communities impacted by poverty and marginalization. Our projects empower, educate, and provide employment training to low income people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and beyond.
Our flagship project is the annual Hope in Shadows photography contest – coordinated by the Pivot Legal Society – which gives Downtown Eastside residents the opportunity to portray their community through their own eyes. A selection of the contest’s best images is featured in the annual Hope in Shadows calendar which is sold on the streets of Vancouver by homeless and low-income vendors. Free training and support are provided to those interested in managing their own micro-business.
You can follow Hope in Shadows in almost every social media platform, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.
October 8th, 2010 in
Hope in Shadows |
1 Comment
While I am not personally a fan of moustaches (I wouldn’t grow one even if people paid me to do so!), I’m very much a fan of the Movember campaign. My good friend Gus Fosarolli will be growing a Mo again this year to raise funds for cancer research (but hey, he DOES look good in a ‘mo). I will be supporting the Movember Canada campaign with promotion and will obviously donate to my friends’ campaigns.
I had a chance to chat with Adam, the founder of Movember. He’s such a fine fellow! I also got an opportunity to see several of my good friends at the event (and I even made a new friend there – hi Phil!)
The Mo, slang for moustache, and November come together each year for Movember.
Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month. The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for prostate cancer. Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.
The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia. The plan was simple – to bring the moustache back as a bit of a joke and do something for men’s health. No money was raised in 2003, but the guys behind the Mo realized the potential a moustache had in generating conversations about men’s health. Inspired by the women around them and all they had done for breast cancer, the Mo Bros set themselves on a course to create a global men’s health movement.
In 2004 the campaign evolved and focused on raising awareness and funds for the number one cancer affecting men – prostate cancer. 432 Mo Bros joined the movement that year, raising $55,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia – representing the single largest donation they had ever received.
The Movember moustache has continued to grow year after year, expanding to Canada, the US, UK, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and Finland.
In 2009, global participation of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas climbed to 255,755, with over one million donors raising $47 Million for Movember’s global beneficiary partners. We are proud to announce that last year’s Canadian campaign was the second largest in the world behind Australia, with 35,156 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas coming together to raise $7.8 million for Prostate Cancer Canada.
Consider donating to the Movember movement, changing the face of human health.
October 8th, 2010 in
cancer,
Movember |
2 Comments
I was approached a few weeks ago to write about the Let’s F!@k Cancer campaign, focused on early detection and prevention. Given that I’ve lost 3 members of my family to cancer and that I have loved ones who are battling it, I thought it’d be important to give this issue some coverage. The campaign is somewhat risqué because it uses the F word, but I also find it innovative.
I attended a fundraiser recently put together by the Let’s F Cancer campaign. It was fun to learn a bit more about the campaign and to understand what the organizers are trying to do.
FCancer was founded in 2009 by then 22 year old Yael Cohen after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. To support her mom, Cohen decided to use the “F word to fight the C word” and adorned this modern day proverb on a t-shirt. The movement has been embraced and the t-shirts worn proudly by celebrities, designers, philanthropists and supporters worldwide. A portion of the funds raised by FCancer will be used to fund early detection diagnostics in partnership with actress Fran Drescher’s NGO, Cancer Schmancer.
October 8th, 2010 in
cancer |
No Comments
My good friend Chris Parsons (UVic) is speaking right now at the St. Regis Hotel on Privacy in Social Media. I’ll be integrating the live-tweetage generated from his presentation into this liveblog.
I really love being approached by small theatre companies, and in particular Gateway Theatre which is located in Richmond, BC (an area that I normally don’t promote because I live in Vancouver). So, when Sherry Elasoff approached me to tell me about her company’s newest play, I got pretty excited. It’s Brighton Beach Memoirs.
It’s tough work being fourteen in 1937 Brooklyn, or so says Eugene Jerome (Dylan Kruger), narrator of Neil Simon’s classic Brighton Beach Memoirs. Set on the cusp of the Second World War, Brighton Beach Memoirs follows the Jerome family as they struggle for balance and solvency during the thin years in post-Depression America.
The play’s busy household includes Eugene’s gambling brother Stanley (Daryl King), his do-all mother Kate (Deborah Williams), overworked father Jack (Gerry Mackay), widowed aunt Blanche (Sarah Louise Turner) and her two teenage daughters, budding starlet Nora (Susan Coodin) and sickly Laurie (Chloe Doucet-Winkelman). While tensions rise in the cramped home, Eugene is consumed with one all-important question: when will he get to see a naked girl?
Director Natasha Nadir leads the creative team of: Set Designer Drew Facey, Costume Designer Barbara Gregusova, Lighting Designer Ereca Hassell, Sound Designer Alexander Brendan Ferguson, Assistant Director Kathleen Duborg, Stage Manager Lori Parker, and Assistant Stage Manager Ronaye Haynes.
You can get tickets online through Gateway Theatre‘s website or at the Box Office: 604-270-1812. Adult/Senior Tues – Thurs & matinees: $41; Fri – Sat: $43. Full-time students with valid ID: $24.50 any performance. Some special offers include:
Groups of 10+ Tues – Thurs & matinees: $35 each; Fri – Sat: $37
Value added performances:
Oct. 6th Dress Rehearsal – 50 seats available: $18
Oct. 12th Tea Matinee: join us at noon for light refreshments.
Oct. 22nd “Earsighted” descriptive performance for the visually impaired.
This is one of the few companies I have seen that partner with Kickstart Disability Arts & Culture to present audio described performances for people who are blind or visually impaired.
To get a chance to win, drop a comment on this post or if you are on Twitter, retweet this post or tweet the following:
I entered to win tickets to Brighton Beach Memoirs at @Gateway_Theatre from @hummingbird604
I will draw a random winner tomorrow afternoon at 2pm (Friday October 8th). Opening night is precisely Friday at 8pm, so you should be able to be in Richmond by say 7:30pm). Good luck!
I left my heart back in Toronto (Ontario, Canada). I had visited Toronto many times back when my academic career was the only thing in my brain, and I would be flown in, attend a seminar/give a talk/attend a conference and then fly out. About a week and a half ago, I went for the first time with the idea of actually visiting Toronto for a change, and four days in, I was already in love. I could see myself moving to Toronto.
The truth is, 90% of the reason why I loved Toronto so much was the fact that I stayed with my good friend and astral twin Meghan Warby (whose birthday is exactly the same as mine, September 19th). She graciously hosted me in her downtown apartment and gave me the freedom to hang out and do as I pleased, yet she also organized a few nights out with her own friends.
I’m not sure I would have had such an amazing time if it hadn’t been for Meghan, and I am so glad I got to meet several of her friends (I am a sucker for smart people, and Meegs has lots of brainy friends). I also had a great time with my good friend Lisa Thomas-Tench, who toured me on the day I arrived (even though I was totally jet-lagged). I can see myself moving to Toronto. I liked the fact that it has 3 universities at least within public transit distance, I loved Kensington Market, and I loved the streetcars.
I’ll be back, Toronto, and in full force, you can be assured of that.
October 7th, 2010 in
Toronto,
travel |
2 Comments
I love a good burlesque show, but when it’s combined with “Grease” (the movie that propelled Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta to international stardom), I just can’t miss it. And while tonight is opening night, I have asked the producers if they can sponsor a giveaway for another night, and they have been amazingly kind to accommodate my request. So I am giving away a pair of tickets for the Saturday October 9th, 2010 show of Greece Does Greece. From the press release: “Created by Screaming Chicken Theatrical Society, Greece Does Grease is an original feature production filled with bawdy humour, heart stopping dance and wickedly fun live music.” This sounds like a lot of fun!
Inspired by the burlesque musicals of the 19th century when women shocked the world by appearing as scantily clad sexual aggressors in satires of the popular theatre of the time, Greece Does Grease tells the ancient story of the seasons through parodies of the music of Grease and Grease 2.
Persephone had a normal life, her days and nights filled with war, orgies and drunken revelry. It was enough for the other gods on Olympus but not for her, she wanted more: something more dangerous. She didn’t expect to find it singing and dancing in a glade with the Nymphs but it finds her and she is spirited away to the Underworld by Hades. Then all hell breaks loose.
What Greece does Grease written & created by Melody Mangler; directed by David Gould; choreography by Lauren Allen (aka April O’Peel). Produced by Norm Elmore.
When October 7th – 10th & 13th – 16th at 8:15 pm
Where The Waterfront Theatre, 1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver.
How $23 + service charge Brown Paper Tickets; $30 at the door. Not suitable for those under the age of 19. Age restriction will be strictly enforced.
Who A Screaming Chicken Theatre Society production. For more information go to: Screaming Chicken or call (604) 779-7782
To enter my giveaway, drop a comment on this post, or (if you are on Twitter), simply retweet this post or tweet the following:
I want to win tickets to Greece does Grease by Screaming Chicken Theatre from @hummingbird604 Check it out! http://bit.ly/9Ol1j4
I’ll draw a random winner tomorrow (Friday October 8th) at 4pm. If I don’t hear from the winner by 10 am of Saturday October 9th, I’ll draw a new winner. Good luck everyone!
Children’s education is a really important topic for me. While I teach at the higher levels, I have nieces and nephews of grade-school age, and I am outraged at some of the news I’ve been hearing on elementary school closures.
My friend Kate Milberry alerted me to a fundraising campaign project that her kids’ school (Laura Secord Elementary School) is putting together for a seismic upgrade. And they need YOUR votes! This Aviva Fund campaign is particularly relevant as
From the proposal:
Laura Secord School is located in East Vancouver in an inner-city neighborhood with a diverse mix of cultures and families actively invested in their community. The school began a seismic upgrade of our 88-year-old building in December 2009. Almost all of the existing playground equipment had to be torn down to make way for portable classrooms to house a student body of 650 elementary school students. All that remains for intermediate students is 1 basketball hoop, 2 swings and an old wooden structure. The school has had to implement separate recesses for primary and intermediate grades because of a lack of space and safety issues. We would like to see our kids be able to play together as a unified group again.
As my friend Kate says, and I agree completely, the real story is really about improving the green quality of their urban space and building community around physical activity, play and nature. From what Kate tells me, “the great thing about the playground is that it will be for the entire community (not just Secord kids/families) – a real place of community outdoors (and wheelchair accessible too).
I love their motto: “I take care of myself, I take care of others, I take care of this place.” You can vote for this project on the Aviva Fund page (requires registration, but it’s a simple enough process). Please consider voting for them! Vote now!
October 6th, 2010 in
charities |
4 Comments
Monday evening, right after I finished teaching my Environmental Politics and Policy class, I stayed behind in the classroom to check the news. I have been so busy I haven’t had enough time to really follow what’s happening in the world. I came across the news of the suicide of a gay teen who studied at Rutgers University, Tyler Clementi. The more I dug into the story, the more my blood boiled. I felt outraged.
Bullying is wrong in all its forms, and while it’s easy to blame cyberbullying on social media as an enabling agent, online technologies aren’t to blame: it’s society at large and its corrupt behavioral norms.
As I walked towards the bus stop, tears kept rolling down my cheeks. I pondered if my students would see me shedding tears and what they would think. But then I reflected on the reason why I felt so sad: young kids’ lives cut short, because they couldn’t cope with societal pressure and bullying. What are we doing to help them?
I called my Mom when I got home and told her about the story. Her heart broke too. I was relentlessly bullied in an all-male grade school (that’s why I had to learn martial arts). I told her “that could have been me, 15 years ago” and then she said “but you weren’t”. I thought to myself – what, exactly, helped me survive grade-school bullying? And I realized that it had never been my friends. My “friends” sided with my bullies. My brothers, on the other hand, jumped to protect me and never let anyone hurt me.
My parents were always there for me, and we were one strong family unit. I never had the support from my secondary school, nor from teachers, nor from counsellors. It was my family.
I have considered whether to develop an “It Gets Better” video (as per Dan Savage’s campaign), but I have been pondering whether it actually accomplishes anything. Because the truth is, I feel as though if I say “it does get better and I’m an example of it“, it will sound empty. What exactly does “it gets better” say? “I was strong and had the support network to survive, hopefully you do too?” … I am not sure.
All I can say is if there is any way in which I can help struggling kids who are being bullied, I hope I can find a way to help them. Because life does get better, and they should be alive to see it. My life is amazing, right now. And I was bullied when I was a kid, so in a way, I suppose I am an example of how it does get better. I still don’t know how to help…
1) For the longest time, I thought of TheChange as a completely different start-up than what it looks now. With ethicalDeal you have expanded the scope of TheChange. Could you please explain to my readers what your vision is of TheChange and how ethicalDeal fits into your overall mission?
Just like Groupon evolved out of ThePoint – a platform for collective action – ethicalDeal evolved out of TheChange – a platform for green social commerce.
We created TheChange to advance the green movement on a city-by-city basis across North America and ethicalDeal will lead the way. We’re launching in our hometown of Vancouver and then expanding to Toronto and San Francisco.
Both sites work to connect people with local green businesses, but each takes a different approach. ethicalDeal makes it easy and fun to discover the best green stuff in the city through the power of group buying and TheChange is a resource for local sustainability initiatives. Every company that is featured on ethicalDeal will also get a sustainability profile on TheChange. So the sites work in tandem and reinforce each other to achieve our shared mission of making green mainstream.
2) As you know, there’s a very stiff competition between group purchasing companies in Vancouver. What makes ethicalDeal special?
ethicalDeal is the first group-buying platform to feature a daily deal on the best green stuff to do, see, and buy in cities across North America. Our mission is to make green mainstream by making it easy and fun to discover the best green stuff in your city.
Our selection criteria: We look to feature eco-friendly and community minded restaurants, products, spas, health food stores, wellness centers, bike shops, bookstores, recreational activities, tours, hotels and more. We always love to feature products that have received third party certification (e.g., Fair Trade, FSC, EcoLogo, Organic, Oceanwise). However, products or services with a clear and significant environmental advantage (locally grown produce, services reducing or eliminating the need for motorized transportation) and ones that cultivate health and wellness (natural, holistic, preventative, and/or educational services and treatments) are also integral to creating a sustainable community.
You’ll also find that we leverage our platform and networks to promote community causes that are aligned with our values. Follow us on Twitter at @ethicalDeal and @engagethechange for info on local community events and causes that we support.
3) How can we ensure that the green companies featured aren’t just doing “green marketing” and billing themselves as being sustainable without really being?
This is always a hot debate as everyone’s definition of sustainability is different. I enjoy sharing the many different ways businesses can go green through our features on ethicalDeal. We love to promote mission based businesses, but we also approach mainstream businesses and highlight their eco options e.g. a restaurant’s oceanwise menu, a print shop’s eco options or a drug store’s green cleaning products.
We are here to celebrate what businesses are doing and to increase demand/supply for eco friendly products/services. In short, we’re here to make green mainstream.
4) What is your vision of Ethical Deal in a few years? Is this model of flash purchasing sustainable in the long run?
a) My vision is to be in every major city across North America, working to promote and get people involved in the local green economy in a relevant and engaging way. We will grow through partnerships and will always use our platform to mobilize positive change.
b) The flash/group buying space is very trendy right now, but trendy for the right reasons – it works. That being said, I know the model will continue to change in response to consumer and business demands, and that the key to staying ahead will be partnerships and innovation. We’re working on both, and are very excited that at a pre-launch stage we’re already being approached by major players from both the private and social sectors that see value in aligning themselves with our mission.
Sign up to ethicalDeal.com to discover your green city and enter to win a $500 Green Shopping Spree!
October 6th, 2010 in
interview |
2 Comments
Even though both my dear friend Isabella Mori and I ended up after organizing Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2010 absolutely and entirely drained and overwhelmed, we recognize the value of what we have created (building on what our good friend Airdrie originated at Northern Voice 2009). Recent sad news of increases in gay teen’s suicides have led me to believe that it is particularly timely now to have the conversation around organizing Mental Health Camp in other cities. Neither Isabella nor I have the energy, nor resources to organize them other than in Vancouver, but we are more than happy to offer our expertise and experience to anyone who is interested.
We are both aware of Mental Health Camp United Kingdom being in the works, and we are probably going to start thinking about Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2011 pretty soon. So, do me a favor please – share this blog post with anyone you know that might be interested in (a) collaborating in MHC Vancouver 2011 (either organizing or presenting), (b) organizing a MHC in their own city (regardless of the country), or (c) anyone that you might think might benefit from learning more about Mental Health Camp.
Thank you.
This past week has been incredibly challenging but also amazing in many ways. My goal coming into Social Media Camp Victoria 2010 was to give a talk on how we can model the online behavior of networks of transnational environmental activists. It was important for me to be seen as the academic and not the social media superstar. It was important that people saw me live speaking about world phenomena and trying to explain them using theory and empirical methods. I feel I succeeded.
I may still hold the Hummingbird604 aura around me, but I believe that now people will see that I am primarily, first and foremost, an academic who likes to do rigorous research to explain changes in environmental policy making across nations. And it was amazing to receive feedback and have so many good questions asked at my talk. The reception was great and the feedback amazing.
Thanks again everyone who came to my talk. It was absolutely delightful. And thanks to Janni Aragon for amazing moderation. You all rock.
Since I was stressed to the maximum trying to make sense of my presentation at Social Media Camp Victoria 2010 (it was a brand new talk so I wanted to make sure it was perfect), I neglected to write a blog post celebrating one of my absolute best friends in the world’s birthday, Minna Van (co-founder of The Network Hub and three other startups). It was really a great conference, but I am very sad to have missed her birthday.
Minna, you know I think the world of you and I believe you are the epitome of what a true friend is. You push and encourage me every day to be a better academic, policy analyst, researcher and educator. You go out of your way every day to make sure I am doing well and to help me achieve my goals. And you are generous not only with your time but with everything you do, not only with me as a friend but with entrepreneurs and society at large.
I am absolutely blessed to have you in my life and I look forward to celebrating your birthday this week. Much love as always.
October 4th, 2010 in
Uncategorized |
No Comments
I’m planning to live-blog Scott Stratten (UnMarketing) keynote. Depending on wireless, laptop battery, etc., this may be a fairly verbatim. I am also hoping to have the hashtag’d tweets streamed into my liveblog.
There are few things that fill my heart with more joy than teaching. Very, very few. I am the seventh in a family of seven (Mom, Dad and five brothers) who has spent time educating people. Two of my brothers, my Mom and I all are university-level educators. I truly believe I was born to teach. So did my parents. And they had so much faith in their little boy that they encouraged me to volunteer as a literacy instructor for adults (I was 13 at the time).
I volunteered for 3 years with the National Institute for Adult Education in Mexico (Instituto Nacional de Educación para los Adultos) and teaching grew on me. I spent a few hours every week walking around the poorest neighbourhoods in our city, knocking on every door and asking if anyone would be interested in learning Grades 1 through 6, mostly reading, writing and arithmetic. I felt proud of my graduated students (all of whom were at least my parents’ age). And I think that those long hours teaching adults how to do basic math and read really imprinted in me the belief and want to become an educator.
I didn’t really do a PhD to have the qualifications to teach at a university (though I’m very proud of being a foreign national, graduated from a Canadian university, who teaches in a Canadian university too). I do recognize, though, how much having had great professors and mentors (from my Chemical Processes instructor to my doctoral dissertation advisor) influenced my career choices.
Even though in Mexico we celebrate Teacher’s Day on May 15th, I want you to join me on October 5th and congratulate the educators in your life on World Teacher’s Day. Because, let me tell you, we don’t teach for the money. We teach because we love it. And because, in transmitting our knowledge in hopes to shape the future generations, we also hope to make a good contribution to society.
Happy Teacher’s Day! And hat-tip to my friend Kulpreet Singh who alerted me to WTD’10.
October 2nd, 2010 in
academic life |
1 Comment
You may remember earlier this year I blogged about how the Tsawwassen Quay Market needed some serious improvement (particularly for those of us workaholics who need to be connected at all time). I am right now sitting at the Tsawwassen Quay Market (thanks to having missed my 3pm ferry enroute to Victoria for Social Media Camp Victoria 2010, where I will be speaking), and I found myself pleasantly surprised with two improvements here.
First, I found that my laptop can grab the BC Ferries signal when close to the terminal (I’m at the easternmost point of the terminal, where the Salt Spring Island Cafe is, and where the second surprise resides – SSI DOES have wifi). I don’t know if it will hold the signal if I move (SSI doesn’t have power adapters near by), but for now, it feels great to be able to at least download my emails, check my Twitter account, and respond to a few urgent notes).
I hope the improvements continue. A walkway from the terminal to the actual market would be outstanding.
October 2nd, 2010 in
Vancouver |
No Comments
A few months ago, I began talking with Lesel Radage of Grooster, a group purchasing local venture. I’m always keen to profile local entrepreneurs, and more so if they actually answer to my questions when they’re challenging (I am an academic, after all, I think about things in a more analytical way).
Lesel was very gracious in meeting with me and answer my numerous questions. These are four that I thought would be particularly interesting to my readers. Thanks Lesel for giving me an insight into Grooster!
1.- What makes Grooster different from other group purchasing agencies here in the Lower Mainland?
A. Grooster is a super lean start up, with just one full-time employee. The success of any business is directly related to the intimacy with which you know your clients and customers. I’m really looking to learn what our subscribers and businesses want, so that Grooster can adapt and change to provide a better model before we start to scale.
B. We really look to develop on-going relationships with the businesses we work with. We focus on working with our client’s objectives to develop promotions that are sustainable and meet the objectives they set. As a result, the deals you find on Grooster may not appear to be the best ‘price’, but the value to the business and consumer has been well thought out to ensure the best experience for all parties. Remember – cheapest price does not always mean best quality.
2.- Why did you launch Grooster in Vancouver, when the market for group purchasing seems so competitive?
The space is extremely competitive, but there is an amazing opportunity that remains largely untapped. Literally thousands of businesses are looking for new ways to reach new customers. The existing group-buying companies are barely scratching the surface of all the local businesses that want to participate in the space. Vancouver proper has a population of around 600K, but there are another 1.5M people in the metro area. Only in recent weeks has the odd offer from Port Moody or Coquitlam started to appear. The model as you see it today will change very soon, as companies are innovating and the game will change very soon. Fierce competition requires innovation, nimble operations and stellar execution – so far, Grooster is managing all three.
3.- What kind of deals would you like to advance with Grooster? (e.g. local companies, small companies, etc.)
I am keen on featuring great businesses and business owners. I like to feature locally run, small companies both well known and off the beaten path. Meeting with business owners and hearing their stories is one of my favorite parts of this job. I like to feature retail and product based stores.
4.- Do you collaborate with any other group purchasing agency? Is the landscape too competitive?
I think that it is critical to consider collaboration with other players. I take the time to meet with other local and not so local entrepreneurs in the social, mobile, local advertising space. We share information and look for opportunities to work together. I am currently looking into a few partnership opportunities.
September 29th, 2010 in
local business |
3 Comments
My good friends K and L invited me for brunch to Habit Lounge for a post-birthday celebration, and I’m glad we chose this particular restaurant. I had eaten at The Cascade before (both restaurants are owned by the same folks) but I had never had a chance to try the food at Habit Lounge (despite living in the area).
I ordered a 3 egg omelette with chorizo, mushrooms, spinach and tomato ($10). This particular dish on their menu brings goat cheese, but since I hate cheese, they kindly removed it. When my food arrived to the table I thought my omelette looked smaller than my friends’ dishes (who had ordered just scrambled eggs), but overall, it was really tasty and I almost couldn’t finish it all.
I will have to come back to Habit for dinner, though I will admit I was a tiny bit surprised a family brought their little kid and the staff were incredibly kind to them. I have seen a dearth of restaurants in this city who cater to families who go out for brunch (I struggled to find a place where to take my friends with kids that would not be Little Nest yet again).
Definitely will do a return trip to Habit Lounge for dinner and/or drinks. Worth the trip. And the staff and service were really good.
I am in Toronto right now, in the middle of a Workshop Towards A Canadian National Water Strategy, surrounded by a number of incredibly smart scholars, activists and industry association representatives who have many, many years of experience studying and understanding water policy. I am in awe of the depth of knowledge and caliber of colleagues I am sitting with, and I am honored to be sharing the floor with so many passionate and great specialists in water. It’s also a very strong wake-up call for me, as an academic whose career is, despite my relative success, still in development. I am well-established in some topics I’ve done work on, but in others I am still learning.
I am still creating my research niche. It’s challenging, I believe, for anyone who strives to undertake rigorous research in any topic. I have, in the past five to ten years, been stretching myself extremely thin to try and maintain my finger on the pulse of the academic literature in four different fields: urban/industrial restructuring in clusters of geographically agglomerated firms, transnational environmental movements and their strategies to advance their goals, wastewater policy and cross-jurisdictional issues, and information-based policy instruments for pollution control.
The truth is, I sleep very little and work extremely long hours. I spend a lot of time reading a very broad range of journal articles, books and book chapters, working towards understanding the issues I am interested in. On top of that, I do my own research, I teach and I do consulting. AND I write a very popular personal blog.
I write this blog because I love showcasing Vancouver. I love communicating. I love telling stories, and mine in particular. But the truth is, as time has gone by, I have grown to realize two things: One, that most people don’t actually *know* what I do professionally, and forget that for me, this blog and social media in general, is my side gig. I do provide some consulting, teaching and training on how to use social media in non-profit, education and policy/politics. But again, social media is a tool that I use to advance my professional career.
But being a rigorous academic scholar is demanding more and more of my time, and I will have to devote less time to Hummingbird604.com, as time goes by and I take on more projects that advance my academic career. I need to devote more time to my academic work (I already devote Monday and Wednesday to my teaching, and Fridays I have now started devoting to purely research and not even do any social media).
It’s been a fantastic time and I’ve accomplished great things with social media. I have had amazing opportunities. But I think, in the relatively near future, my focus on Hummingbird604.com will wane (and hopefully, not stop). That doesn’t mean that I am no longer interested in writing about local causes (particularly charities), local businesses or even do media trips. Of course I plan to continue doing so. There’s even a few events that are coming up that I will be writing about (as you will see).
But the frequency to which I will be updating this blog, and the number of “yes, of course I’d love to blog about your restaurant/theatre/dance/non-profit event” responses the people who pitch me will be less and few-and-far-between. Today’s workshop made me realize once again – I *am* an academic (and a good one at that). This is what I do, and my personal blog takes right now too much time for me to continue doing as much as I do in social media.
It’s been a great ride.
Whether I like it or not, I’ve been tied to the world of fashion in one way or another since my early teens. And when I got an invite to the Naked boxer brief launch, I definitely wanted to attend. Hosted at BoysCo on Robson St. I had an opportunity to chat with the CEO, Joel, and with several of the people associated with Naked (and with the swag I got, I tried them on – and they do feel extremely comfortable).
Here are a few photos from the launch. I also had a chance to chat with Bruce Turner (from Style by Jury fame) and Steve Belford (from Degrassi: The Next Generation and The Vampire Diaries fame). Both were really fun to chat with and extremely approachable. Kudos to Joel on his new product and all the best!
September 28th, 2010 in
local events |
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As many of you know, my birthday was on September 19th, and JT takes me out for dinner every year. This year, he told me “you can choose any restaurant you want… it’s YOUR birthday, after all!”. Normally, we would have gone to Water Street Cafe (which holds great memories for both of us), or the always awesome Crime Lab. This year, I wanted to try Le Gavroche. I have spent extended periods of time in Paris and thus French cuisine always holds a very dear place in my heart. The location of Le Gavroche has always puzzled me – a house within an area that is now pretty much condo territory. But the place is absolutely beautiful.
We arrived to Le Gavroche for a 5:00pm reservation, and were promptly served a tasty amuse bouche. I’m never too fond of amuse bouches but this one was pretty good (a vegetable-based mini-square).
We ordered a four-courses meal ($55 per person) without any wine to pair (I wasn’t feeling up for wine and JT doesn’t drink). My hors d’oeuvres was a lobster soufflé with gravy (I would never have ordered a soufflé as I hate cheese, but this was absolutely amazing). I also ordered a Spiced Vegetable Gazpacho, with an Avocado Mousse (delightful) as a premiere assiete. The gazpacho would have been better for a summer day, but it was delicious nonetheless.
For my main meal, I ordered a pasta with lobster and prawns that I totally should have written down the name of, but I forgot. And it was unbelievably good. I couldn’t finish it off.
And the dessert was as much to die-for as the rest of the meal – a flour-less chocolate cake that had me at “hello”.
While JT and I had a minor kerfuffle with Groupon (as you may remember my tweets), I’ve clarified the situation both with Groupon and Le Gavroche, and at some point in the near future, will come back to do a second try. I’d definitely recommend Le Gavroche for a romantic or celebratory meal.
One of the things I appreciate the most is work that challenges me to think beyond the boundaries of the work I currently do, and habitat restoration is one of those areas that really makes me ponder what other environmental impacts are affecting the urban environment I live within. Rachel Thexton invited me to join her in a tour of the Musqueam nation’s salmon habitat restoration project last week, and I jumped at the opportunity.
I learned a lot from the site visit and several conversations with Wade Grant and a number of folks from the crew who work in the habitat restoration project. It was really interesting to me to see how they link the Musqueam elders’ traditional ecological knowledge with the scientific understanding of salmon spawning patterns. Moreover, knowing that this particular stream is the only one that is still operating in Vancouver was particularly interesting.
I had a chance to meet 26-year-old Christina Nahanee, who has been working as a volunteer in this area since childhood and at 19, officially joined the Musqueam Conservation Ecosystem Society. She is now a team leader on the Musqueam/Gateway project, which is a partnership with the BC provincial government. Right now her team is working to replace a title TIDE gate between river and stream to provide an ideal environment for salmon to spawn.
Christina is out daily with her team, doing hands on work on creek clean up, planting native plant species around the creeks to shade and protect the waters, all to maintain a protected environment for salmon. She gave Rachel and myself a full tour of the creek area, and Wade gave us a look at the upper side of the stream. From our conversations, I learned that the salmon habitat that the Musqueam are restoring is actually a project for habitat protection, since they don’t actually consume the salmon from the stream (we were talking about this while touring the project).
Really cool stuff that we don’t actually get to hear often. I’m glad I’ve had a chance to observe this first hand, particularly because my research has barely touched habitat restoration and conservation, so this was a nice departure from my work in pollution control.
September 27th, 2010 in
Uncategorized |
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