The Norman Rothstein Theatre, as you may know, is very close to the Canada Line Oakridge station. Evil Dead: The Musical opened yesterday (October 29th) and will be showing until Nov 7th, with some midnight showings (including tonight and tomorrow, October 31st). Tickets are $ 32 per person and can be purchased online (not sure if there are any tickets within the splatter zone at $ 35 but you can check online – those tend to go fast!)
Based on Sam Raimi’s cult hit movie series (Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, Army of Darkness) five vacationing college students break into a secluded cabin in the woods. There they discover The Necronomicon, an ancient flesh-bound book containing blood-inked spells with the power to summon the demons of Candar.
After playing a tape recording with passages read aloud from the sinister book, the group unwittingly unleashes evil spirits who successfully turn them all into demons.
It’s up to Ash, the meek S-mart Housewares employee, to fight off the demons any way he can. Or… he’ll be dead by dawn. And if that wasn’t enough to get your blood flowing, it’s sung to show tunes such as “What the F*ck was THAT?” and “All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Cadarian Demons!”)
I may have tickets to give away, so check this post throughout the day. If I do run a contest, I’ll draw the winner sometime during the day at 4:00pm on Friday October 30th. An additional entry into the contest can be obtained by dropping a comment on this post.
And as usual, I do recommend that you check out the production (actually both!), because particularly at this time when the BC funding for the arts have experienced severe cuts, we need to support the theatre scene.
Several good friends of mine, including Jordan Behan (editor’s note – Jordan, so sorry I neglected you on the first round of this post, love you lots!), Mike Browne (fully supported by his lovely wife Carol Browne), Ben Johnson (not the runner, the do-gooder), Chris Mathieson, Gus Fosarolli, Michael Allison, Bradley Cooper (no, not the actor, the winemaker), Shawn Price and several others, are doing Movember. I am personally not fond of the mustache (firstly, because I’m so incredibly non-hairy that any attempt to a ‘mo will make me look ridiculous – and secondly, because I’m not one for scruffy kisses). But I’m a big supporter of Vancouver’s Twi’stache team, so you can donate to the whole team here, and if you click on any individual page, you can donate to any of the team’s members. Please support this noble cause!
Learn more about Movember from Canada’s Movember Foundation:
The Movember Foundation is a global not-for-profit charitable organization which runs the men’s health initiative, Movember.
The Mo (slang for moustache) and Movember, the eleventh month of the year (formerly known as November), come together each year to create the world’s largest movement for men’s health – bringing much needed awareness and funding to men’s health, specifically prostate cancer
My good friends Ianiv and Arieanna Schweber just recently welcomed their baby Aiden Riley Schweber to the world (Arieanna live-tweeted her labor and Ianiv also did some live-tweeting). I have had them on my mind all weekend (Aiden was born on Saturday October 24th, the same birthday as our good friend Stacie Smith Biehler) but I hadn’t had the time or opportunity to write a post about it.
I’m still buried under a pile of work, and would really love to have a clone of myself so that one Raul could stay here at my office working and the other could come and visit Aiden, Ianiv and Arieanna, but sadly, there’s only one of me, so it’ll probably have to wait until the weekend. In the mean time, bienvenido a este mundo, Aiden Riley Schweber! And congratulations to the happy family. As I had promised in an earlier post, I’ll do my best to be a good Uncle Raul to Aiden!
My friend Alex Lee-Behan recently informed me about a campaign for Patrick Stark’s “One Life: No Regrets” documentary, and the film-maker is hoping to get the attention of world-famous group U2. The band will have a concert on October 28th and Stark is hoping to get on stage with them as part of the documentary (for the ending, if I’m not mistaken). From the press release:
On October 27, at the Terry Fox Memorial at B.C. Place Stadium, Stark will create his own impromptu stage and sing his request to U2 – by performing 4 U2 songs, backed by a full band. “This isn’t like American Idol, where I expect a miraculous singing career to supplement my film work. I’m not even a singer. The point of this is to experience, create a memorable moment on film and have some fun in the process.”
Stark is more than willing to share the stage and is looking for hundreds to join him in singing the songs – Bad, Until The End of the World, Love is Blindness, and One. Stark believes, “If we manage to conjure up an amazing crowd, we have a better shot at getting the band’s attention and creating a magical scene for the film.”
Cameras will roll, rain or shine, on Tuesday October 27th at 2pm at the Terry Fox memorial at BC Place at 2pm.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to be there to cover the sing-along but I’m sure it’ll be a fun event.
I’ve been blogging since April of 2006 but I think that my site has become more popular in the past two years (2008 and this 2009). While I appreciate the popularity and the readership, every so often I sit down and reflect on why do I blog and I always come back to the same answer – I blog for myself. Yeah, I love giving away tickets for theatre shows, movies, etc. I love the comments that people drop on my site. But more than anything, I love the freedom of writing about whatever-the-heck-I-happen-to-be-interested-in-at-the-time.
I’ve always been passionate about causes associated poverty, homelessness, etc. with the Downtown East Side, and I had written about the Hope In Shadows 2009 Calendar, but as I was making my way out of Waterfront Skytrain Station, I realized that the 2010 calendar is already out. And I had no cash on me, so I couldn’t buy my 2010 calendar right there and then, from a vendor.
For those of you who don’t know what the Hope in Shadows Calendar is, here is some information, taken from their website.
Hope in Shadows is an empowerment and employment initiative that engages residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
The annual Hope in Shadows photography contest — which began in 2003 — gives Downtown Eastside residents the opportunity to portray their community through their own eyes. The winning photographs are exhibited annually and have been showcased in galleries throughout the province. Deeply compelling, these black and white images are a view to the humanity and spirit of a community that is often known only for its struggles.
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.
Our Mission
Hope in Shadows creates positive social change for people and communities impacted by poverty and marginalization.
You can view some of the great photos taken in the calendar in their Flickr stream. The great thing I’ve noticed is that Pivot Legal Society and Hope In Shadows Inc. have taken up the social media platforms, so you can find them on Facebook and Twitter. You can also find their YouTube channel here.
Please consider supporting this worthy cause by purchasing a 2010 Calendar. Thank you.
I was invited by Sarah Loewen to participate in The Indishpensable Challenge a few weeks back, and I hadn’t had the chance to report on it until this week. While I’ve been attending a conference and doing a substantial amount of client work, teaching and working on my research, obviously I haven’t had much time to cook, which is why doing this came so handy.
From their invite:
If you’re not familiar with Indishpensable, it’s a unique service based in Kitsilano that allows people to pick up a package of pre chopped, marinated seasonal and local ingredients. Each package includes easy to follow instructions to make a home cooked meal on-par with fine dining.
Because there isn’t any other service quite like it in Vancouver at the moment, some people question whether it’s truly easier and less expensive to buy an Indish dinner rather than try to make a similar one themselves from scratch. Obviously, we have a bias, but we’d love to test our theory…
And that’s where you could come in. With your love and knowledge of food, we would like to invite you to take the “Indish Challenge”.
The challenge was as follows:
Part 1: I tried one of the Indishpensable meals [this was complimentary].
Part 2: Indishpensable provided me with the recipe, and invited me to go out to and purchase the ingredients and make the same meal myself (offering to reimburse the grocery costs).
The factors that I (as a blogger) could use to analyze the experience included – how you would rate the Indish meal, the process of cooking a meal with everything already prepped, versus, the potential hassle factor of shopping around for the ingredients to make the same recipe. What is the actual difference in cost?
For my meal, I chose chipotle lime chicken breasts with roasted corn salsa ($13 per serving), served with grilled flatbread and cumin sour cream. It’s a meal that “appears” easy to make from the outset, but there is no real guarantee that it will be, quite frankly. I started cooking my meal but my usual semi-ADHD tendency (e.g. paying some attention to cooking, while blogging AND watching Criminal Minds) made me really realize that I do like this idea (the Indishpensable meals).
The great thing I found about the Indishpensable method is that it allowed me to actually do what I like doing (e.g. multi-task). It was also SO much easier having everything pre-prepared. I’m not sure I want to finish with part 2, which is going and doing the grocery shopping, doing all the preparation and cooking and so on. But I do think that it’s not all that expensive considering the cost of my time. I probably wouldn’t do it every week, but I’d probably at least try it a couple of times a month if I wanted to invite a friend over for a gourmet dinner without the hassle and with the amount of time I would save. And with a schedule like mine, this is a great option to be able to impress someone with a nice meal (withouth them knowing that I didn’t actually go through the hassle).
I also liked the fact that Indishpensable delivered the package to my office at The Network Hub and that they use environmentally-friendly ingredients all the way. I had the chance to bring the little portable container from my office to my home and didn’t have to worry much. Overall, I can see myself using the Indishpensable meals-to-go service.
Disclosure: The meal I enjoyed in this Challenge was complimentary and provided by Indishpensable. I did not receive any payment for the review. In this case, since I haven’t fulfilled the second part of the challenge (and I’m really too busy to go ahead and do the grocery shopping and it’d be a bigger hassle) so no reimbursement has been made either (nor is it needed). In every review I make, as indicated in previous posts, I retain full editorial control. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me via my contact form
I had the opportunity to go and try Latitude on Main last night with my good friend Jeremy Osborn, who just launched his new startup Good Energy. Jeremy didn’t get a chance to attend my birthday celebration so he took me out for drinks and some appetizers.
As for Latitude, I have to say that I really liked it, and I didn’t find the drinks extremely expensive (beers for $ 5, which is substantially cheaper than many other places). Latitude is a lounge, and I enjoyed just having a couple of Pisco sours and some chickpea fries with mayo. You can follow Latitude on Twitter here – I did actually encourage the owners to get on with the program and use social media!).
The music wasn’t overwhelming and the service was actually delightful. I will definitely bring other friends to Latitude, although I foresee that this will be a hangout place where I’ll share drinks with them rather than dinner (not because I don’t think dinner is good – I haven’t tried their larger plates yet, but just because Latitude gives a nice lounge-y feel).
Having switched my sleeping patterns around from being a late-night owl to waking up early, I hadn’t realized exactly what had made the shift successful. The truth is, after a few tests, I think I now know exactly what makes my body feel like I can do so much work during the day even if I’ve been waking up at 5:00am. I go to bed early. On a good night I’m in bed by 10pm, at the latest 10.30pm.
Except, of course, when I’m overwhelmed with work, thus having to go to bed later. But I have also discovered another secret to having a fantastic night of sleep. I use earplugs. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. I have finally discovered that, on the nights that I use earplugs, my sleep is much more profound and I wake up much more rested. For example, last night I went to bed at 10.30pm and I’m awake by 5:00am, and I feel quite energized. Off to have breakfast with JT and I’ll be at the office by at the latest 7:30am.
This coming Saturday, October 24th, I will have the privilege of sharing the stage with two other fantastic panelists. Gus Fosarolli (Marketwire) and Gillian Shaw (The Vancouver Sun) and I will be speaking on the topic “Old Media? New Media? It’s all Media“. It was an honor for me that Gus invited me along with Gillian. We will be discussing the new models of information and news co-production and the long-range implications of the transformative way in which news are distributed and delivered. You can still purchase tickets and register for the event (and tickets are REALLY, REALLY affordable) online if you follow the above shown link.
For those of you who know that Isabella Mori and I organized Mental Health Camp ’09 (and that we are already thinking about the Mental Health Camp ’10 as well as helping out with the other MHCs worldwide), you know that mental health issues have a special place in my heart. I have to confess that, as much as I thought I was well-informed about mental health work in Canada, I had no clue that Canada Post had a foundation for mental health. And I had no clue that they offered grants, either! Hopefully they’ll deem Mental Health Camp as a worthy effort to support.
The Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health was formed when Canada Post adopted mental health as its cause of choice in 2007. Thanks to the support of Canadians across the country and of Canada Post employees, customers and suppliers, more than $1 million was raised for the Foundation in 2008.
Canada Post has recently issued a special commemorative stamp to fund raise for mental health. Each booklet they sell generates $1 for the Foundation, or you can donate at your convenience. I was also very pleasantly surprised that Canada Post supports many other mental health-related charities. Awesome!
I am a very big fan of Indian food. I’m even more of a fan of buffet-style Indian lunch. And at this point in my life, I’m definitely a fan of Maurya. I had been to this great restaurant a few weeks back when my very dear friends B.S. and J. J. decided (on a whim) to get married. The reception was held at Maurya and we had a fantastic time.
I hadn’t seen my friend Andy in a pretty long while and wanted to get together for lunch. We had discussed meeting on the Broadway corridor as we usually hang out downtown (or on my side of town, on Main), so we settled on Maurya. He had never been and all my previous experiences with Indian food (buffet style) had been great, so I suggested that we try it. Quite frankly, I would have stayed and eaten more and more had I had more space in my stomach.
Maurya’s lunch offerings are usually filled with colours and flavorful. I chose butter chicken, tandoori chicken on biryani rice, a bit of dill salmon tikka and a sampler of the vegetarian dishes (which included samosas and mixed makhani). Overall, I think Andy enjoyed Maurya just as much as I did. And I’m sure we both wished we had larger stomachs so we could eat more!
I would strongly endorse Maurya for lunch, for less than $ 12.00 you have a fantastic all-you-can eat lunch. Quite obviously, you must be prepared for the subsequent food coma. Clearly, I had to wake up a bit later as I headed off to meetings after a very relaxing lunch with Andy. There’s something about sharing a good meal with a good friend, definitely.
I feel a bit guilty about not knowing earlier this year about the conference that starts this week“Resilient Cities: Urban Strategies for Transition Times”. Superbly organized by the Center for Urban Innovation, the conference looks like it’s going to be a fantastic hit. I feel even worse that I totally missed the opportunity to present at CANSEE.
I was invited to attend Gaining Ground: Resilient Cities by both Gene Miller (the main organizer of Resilient Cities) and Bill Weaver (Founder of the Media That Matters conference), both of whom I was delighted to meet at the Vancouver Observer relaunch. I’m really looking forward to the conference, it looks like it’s going to be great. Thanks to Gene and Bill for the invite.
Most likely, I will write either a day-summary or a liveblog of a couple of sessions, so track my tweets/liveblogs (and anything associated with the conference) by using the hashtag #GGRC09. You can learn more from the Resilient Cities conference blog.
And who knows, maybe I’ll give a talk at the next Gaining Ground conference!
I was talking to my Mom last night about the realities of our physical circumstances and I got struck by a bit of a longing. Mom just told me that she needs to keep her bone density levels in check and perhaps start consuming calcium supplements (women tend to have osteoporosis, particularly if they’ve lost much calcium with their pregnancies – my Mom had 5 boys, so she lost quite a lot).
I explained to Mom that I can’t pull all-nighters as easily as I used to when I was in undergraduate and through graduate school. I shared with her that, while I am still very energetic, and on a good day I can work anywhere between 12 and 16 hours days, my energy levels now would pale in comparison with the energy I used to have.
And that’s the crux of the matter – I’m not the superhero I once was. I saw myself, in many ways (and I do hope that people understand that this is metaphorically speaking), as invincible. Nobody had found my kryptonite, nobody knew of my weaknesses. And perhaps the most popular characteristic I have, and the one that may have lead to my increased popularity, is the one that is the most detrimental to me. For, as much as I am the Hummingbird, and I fly fast and touch many flowers throughout my day, I am the one that gets tired at incredible rates.
I’ve come to realize that, much as I would love to have endless supplies of energy (and much as it would appear as though I never run out of gas), the truth is – once I’m exhausted, and I say “I need to go. NOW”, that’s exactly what it means. Not a second, not a few minutes, not half an hour. I need to go home right there and then, and I need to rest.
Funny how our bodies tell us what we sometimes don’t seem to want to hear.
One of the biggest challenges for someone who works long hours, is both single AND lives alone, like I do, is to find time to clean up our apartments, keep them organized, do chores, laundry, and maintain a livable place. As you may have read before, I’m keeping a strict work schedule and a fairly good degree of separation work/home. Thus, I take at least a few hours a week (in one day) to clear up my clutter.
I mostly use Friday nights to clear my desk at the office and do some filing, but I usually reserve now Sunday nights to try and organize both my desk at work and my home. I end up doing some grocery shopping, preparing lunch and dinners and rarely do I get enough time to sort out mail, file receipts and put away flyers that are really not relevant.
So what I ended up doing most of the time was to throw everything in what I called The Box of Miscellaneous Stuff. That cardboard box that I would, at some point in my day/week/month/year, go through and clear out. Well, today (Sunday) I have spent the majority of the day doing exactly that.
I think it’s important for me to recommend to get rid of the Box of Miscellaneous Stuff, at least once a month. [EDIT – I forgot to mention that I use my recommended One Item, One Action process to clear the Box of Miscellaneous Stuff]. Otherwise, you’ll end up missing important deadlines, accumulate receipts that should be filed, etc. I’m paying for not having done it in a few months now, I have THREE Boxes of Miscellaneous Stuff. But I can claim a small victory today. I have cleared Box 1 and I’m halfway through Box 2. AND I’m done laundry.
My very good friend B.S. and her husband J.J. invited us last night to celebrate Diwali. This has been a tradition in our group of friends for the past few years, although last year, she didn’t organize it. But she was beaming last night and really happy that she did get to do yet another Diwali celebration for her closest friends.
The great thing is that, since we have now a very solid, core group of friends, we get to see most of them at these key, milestone celebrations. Our friends HZ and CS and their little daughter were there too, which was a very pleasant surprise as I thought I wouldn’t see them for the next 2.5 months (wow, that’s a heck of a long time).
B.S. prepared several of my favorite Indian dishes, including butter chicken, samosas, LOTS of traditional Indian sweets, and mango lassi (which is my favoritest drink – yes, despite my lactose intolerancy).
Overall, I had a great time as I also got to see my friends JH, SF and AF, who are also common friend with BS and JJ. I can’t really complain, although we did miss ML who was out with her family for her sister’s birthday celebration. In general, what I have found is that our core group of friends really looks forward to these milestones. Our next group gathering will be definitely Halloween or maybe New Year’s, but it should be a total blast.
Diwali or Dīpāvali[1] (Sanskrit: दीपावलि: a row of lamps[2]) is a significant festival in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and an official holiday in India.[3] Adherents of these religions celebrate Diwali as the Festival of Lights. They light diyas—cotton string wicks inserted in small clay pots filled with oil—to signify victory of good over the evil within an individual.
I have a lot of ideas brimming in my head and I wish I could just type them in coherent sentences, but I think we’re going to be reduced to bullet point form. Before anything else, I want to thank the organizing team of BookCamp Vancouver, as per the BookCamp wiki. BookCamp was an amazing event with lots of really valuable and interesting discussions around the book publishing industry. You can read my live-tweetage here.
I was just amazed at the fact that, while I have published books before (in Spanish, my English-language books are forthcoming), I have never been really involved in this industry. My reasons behind wanting to have a book published appear to be different to those of, you know, fiction writers, etc. This is an industry that I really haven’t studied either.
Overall, participating in BookCamp was interesting from the academic viewpoint and from the vantage point of someone who has written research that can/should/will be published in book format in one way or another. But first, let me thank those who made BookCamp happen:
Now back to the meat of my post. There were overall themes that came through and a few questions that were unanswered in my head.
– There was no discussion of libre-vs-gratis content production – I proposed to have it and nobody wanted to talk about it. Is it just me or is this a discussion that needs to happen and maybe I just didn’t find the way to make it exciting? How can we make money in an industry where content is produced and e-books are written and published, yet nobody pays for them? Remember that the question I am asking is about gratis (content produced, but unpaid for, reproduced freely) vs libre (content produced AND paid for, reproduction free of charge). Hat tips to Paul for providing the Wikipedia difference.
– What makes people want to pay for things? The theme that resonated with me was that print media (books) has a revenue problem, not a readership problem. This is a similar problem to the one that the newspaper industry is facing. Paul quoted Kirk LaPointe saying that “You are paying us for curation, editing, presentation of content”. As someone who consumes so much online content, does my information really need curating, editing, presenting and would I pay for someone to do that? This is totally related to my post on the economics of free – with so many free e-books out there, do people really want to pay for the printed, physical copy?
– Different strokes for different folks. Nobody seems to recognize the heterogeneity of each population (authors, publishers, marketers). The reasons behind why I want to publish a book are 100% different to the reasons to why a novelist would want to publish a book. I was really getting anxious at the discussions where everybody talked about publishers, authors and marketers as though each one of these were uniform and homogeneous. A consultant, for example, writes a book to demonstrate expertise. It becomes a marketing tool. I am an expert at something because I wrote a book. Obviously, this is debatable, but the general assumption is that this is the reason why speakers become authors, to establish authority. For a tenure-stream assistant professor, a book is the vehicle to disseminate research findings (with, obviously, the reward being tenure or at least, the promise of tenure). And the list goes on.
– The business model conversation comes along with the discussion on production. I found it interesting that notions of income streams and revenue streams were touched on – barely – I would have had a full day with discussions on business models. Morgan Cowie from BookNet was really good in her talk on this topic.
– The only drawback that I perceived was the obscene amount of jargon and acronyms thrown around. For a non-specialist in the field of book publishing, it was daunting. And I am not someone who gets easily scared! I do hope that by the next BookCamp I will be able to speak publishing-ese.
Awesome work by everybody. As in, seriously – BookCamp rocked. Great coordination. Fantastic to see friends of mine with whom I am close personally, like Monique Trottier, in a different capacity. I had never had the chance to work or participate in an activity where I saw Monique in her element. I suppose the same could be said about me if or when the folks from the social media crowd see me speak or coordinate a conference on environmental studies.
I learned lots, picked up some tips for when Isabella Mori and I organize Mental Health Camp 2010 (yeah, we’re already thinking about it) and thoroughly enjoyed my time. It was very much worth attending BookCamp Vancouver ’09 – thanks to the sponsors, it was 100% free and the lunch was simply outstanding (by Out to Lunch). Hopefully we’ll be able to score some funding for MHC ’10 so we can offer such amazing stuff.
protagonize: looking forward to my talk along with @bookoven at bookcamp today. awesome turnout to the event! #bcvan09
10:02
monicahamburg: In the BookRiff Media (http://www.bookriff.com/) session of BookCamp. Sounds like a very cool application to help create books. #bcvan09
10:02
kindleberg: In BookRiff session at #bcvan09, a marketplace for remixes of existing material (or ‘riff’) into a printable book: http://bookriff.com/
10:03
namastebooks: We are not at book camp today. Not physically, anyways. Sending good vibes your way. #bcvan09 #innovate #change
10:03
learnpublishing: bookriff – not only can you create a book, you can purchase already created books #bcvan09http://ff.im/9XiDi
CatherineOmega: Missing out on #bcvan09 — but that’s okay because I’m worn the hell out anyway. Learn about books for me, folks!
10:13
tragicrighthip: #bcvan09 online marketing isn’t about just the “cool” — it’s about getting people to engage
10:13
hummingbird604: Tris recommends Mozy, CrashPlan, Carbonite – maybe BoxNet (it’s more like a dropbox) – backup online your hard drive in the cloud #bcvan09
10:14
EngageBooks: Listening to Julie Morris talk about the wonders of BookRiff at BookCamp 09. Much more than a question of copyright. #bcvan09
10:17
BreaktheSpine: Mozi, Crashplan, Carbonite for back up; Box.net, SugarSync, PutPlace & Dropbox for shared folders. #bcvan09
10:17
Kirtim: RT: @kirtim – @jmaxsfu is there any mention of Google Wave yet?? Does anyone there have access? #bcvan09 (earlier tweet forgot hashtag….)
10:17
glenngaetz: open source: the recipient owns their own copy of that work – and can do what they want with it. #bcvan09
10:17
pjmartin: I’m at the Open Source Models in Publishing session at BookCamp Vancouver #bcvan09
10:18
rainzine: missing out on @bookcamp cos like usual too much to make and do leaves no time to talk about what I do or hear others talk about it #bcvan09
10:19
brawluk: Micropayment for content discussion. #bcvan09
10:19
rjwheaton: @loricat on publishers who don’t know how to get their books to readers. Couldn’t agree more: http://bit.ly/VIYD0 #bcvan09
10:20
paulcip: A key motivator in contributing to Open Source project is attribution #bcvan09
10:22
freyburg: Kind of meh about the fact I’m missing #bcvan09 but I’ll console myself by getting my eat and drink on here in Osaka. 🙂 #gluttonyjapanstyle
10:23
rjwheaton: confusion about Google’s pagerank logic at #bcvan09. this stuff should be part of marketing vernacular.
10:24
dbarefoot: “Open source software projects are more often hammers than finished cabinets.” #bcvan09
bryanhughes: @bookminder How did we miss this? RT @Miss604: BookCamp Vancouver is today, follow the topic #bcvan09 for updates: http://bit.ly/CZqbp
11:01
booksin140: RT @npbooks: A hashtag #followfriday Follow #bcvan09 for all the tweets from Book Camp Vancouver. Have a great time guys and gals.
11:04
jmv: Check out the Alcuin Society events at the Alcuin blog … big book events next week Thurs Fri Sat #bcvan09http://bit.ly/jA8qz
11:04
HarmonyJohnson: Excellent session in book marketing by @loricat & @AngelaCrocket – thanks ladies!!! #bcvan09
11:07
hummingbird604: RT @npbooks: Actually, you can follow all the #bcvan09 tweets here: http://bit.ly/11qL4I Thanks @hummingbird604
11:09
hummingbird604: Somebody tweet me a piece of chocolate or a muffin. Seriously, having breakfast at 6 am really cramped my style #bcvan09
11:09
glenngaetz: RT @hummingbird604: RT @npbooks: Actually, you can follow all the #bcvan09 tweets here: http://bit.ly/11qL4I Thanks @hummingbird604
11:10
kcdyer: Sheesh, got hashtag wrong: #bcvan09. Next up, DRM vs the Inevitablity of Free Content with @seancranbury. Fun! ps doing #siwc2009 email, too
11:13
LisaManfield: Excited to hear Sean Cranberry on digital rights management at #bcvan09
11:14
rjwheaton: RT @HarmonyJohnson Excellent session in book marketing by @loricat & @AngelaCrocket – thanks ladies!!! #bcvan09
11:14
LisaManfield: Oops, that would be @seancranbury on digital rights at #bcvan09
11:15
hummingbird604: Heading to the social media for authors and publishers session at #bcvan09
11:16
selfishchimp: Computer fail. Stuck interacting on old nokia. #bcvan09
11:17
honeymae: bookriff myths busted during session 1. DRM & the Inevitability of Free Content next. #bcvan09 off to a rocking start!
11:18
martinertl: Just finished moderating session on open source models in publishing, with @zakgreant and @kpwerker – lots of unexplored territory #bcvan09
11:19
BookMadam: Take away point in Book Riff session: “Fuckin’ awesome!” #bcvan09
11:19
rjwheaton: “The tools (Twitter, Facebook) are not a strategy” — great start to session on social media at #bcvan09
11:19
EngageBooks: Can Classic titles sell on BookRiff? Who gets the royalties, BookRiff or the publisher who uploaded the content #bcvan09
11:21
honeymae: @HarmonyJohnson Hi! Hope you are enjoying #bcvan09. Meet you the reg area at lunch?
11:21
martinertl: DRM and inevitability of free content: at session by @seancranbury #bcvan09
11:21
kcdyer: Kim’s rockin’ the house! RT @KimPlumley: Loving Bookcamp Vancouver connexions. #bcvan09
11:21
KieranFlynn: Ayyending the “what sells books in the digital age” at bookcamp #bcvan09
11:21
kcdyer: Waving at Dale from across the room! RT @dale42: Sitting with @monnibo waiting for #bcvan09 to start. All the book folk are here – awesome!
11:21
rjwheaton: “how do you develop a social media strategy if you have no participation from the author?” brilliant question #bcvan09
11:21
hummingbird604: I’m getting lots of “hi, I follow you on Twitter” in person at #bcvan09 – please introduce yourselves at lunch 🙂
11:21
paulcip: Next Book Camp Vancouver session – What Sells Books in the Digital Age (Emiko Morita & Margaret Reynolds) – #bcvan09
11:23
glenngaetz: How do you find the time to use social media to promote your work? #bcvan09
11:23
cudawudashuda: RT @BookMadam Take away point in Book Riff session: “Fuckin’ awesome!” #bcvan09
11:24
hummingbird604: You can sync various social media streams (Twitter-to-Facebook, etc.) for efficiency’s sake #bcvan09 #socmed4pub
11:24
kcdyer: What is DRM? Any lock on any file that prevents a person who purchased a file from doing with it what they will – via @seancranbury #bcvan09
11:25
kcdyer: Piracy is file sharing, not taking something from someone else — misuse of term? @seancranbury #bcvan09
11:25
paulcip: Kirk Lapointe, Vancouver Sun editor, is on the panel #bcvan09
11:25
adamgaumont: Van Sun’s @kirklapointe is on the book selling panel #bcvan09
11:26
adamgaumont: Also, reps from Duthie’s, Georgia Straight, D&M #bcvan09
11:26
AngelaCrocker: Joy Gugeler opening session on having Print Publishers and Online Partners Kiss and Make Up. #bcvan09
11:26
tragicrighthip: #bcvan09 how to sell books in the digital age panel starting off well. the ground is shifting indeed.
11:27
eagranieyuh: Panel discussion at Bookcamp: what sells books in the digital age. #bcvan09
AngelaCrocker: Joy Gugeler “print publishers as ambassadors” to vet writers for online content. #bcvan09
11:27
dale42: Hoping someone will post notes from @trishussey ‘s #bcvan09 presentation, sounded interesting
11:27
brendonjwilson: In DRM session at #bcvan09. I would expand definition of DRM to include tethered services, such as Kindle, where the device holds the file.
11:28
martinertl: Only thing worse than free content is no one reading your content #bcvan09
11:28
LisaManfield: “Free content is paid content that is free to be shared.” @seancranbury #bcvan09
11:31
craigriggs: Settling in for “What Sells Books” at #bcvan09. Great first session on open source models in publishing.
11:31
rjwheaton: well-facilitated session on social media tools at #bcvan09 courtesy of @somisguided
11:31
erin_braincandy: RT @martinertl: Only thing worse than free content is no one reading your content #bcvan09
11:31
paulcip: Lapointe – I’m old enough to remember when water was free and you paid for music #bcvan09
11:31
paulcip: Lapointe – revenue stream in trouble, going to be a messy decade ahead #bcvan09
11:31
adamgaumont: “I’m old enough to remember when water was free and you paid for music” — @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:31
bookoven: wow table filled with publishing types saying that readership is going up. #bcvan09
11:31
LexPublica: We’re at BookCamp Vancouver today! Wish we’d had more time in our session about open source; the chat heated up at the end. #bcvan09
11:31
ubermichael: Using Twitter and Facebook to promote books and media. Was hoping for using social media in the creative process not as marketing. #bcvan09
11:31
bookpromogirl: Back in action at BookCamp Vancouver #bcvan09.
11:31
paulcip: Lapointe – people assume they can get rich, expert content for free – hard to turn that clock back #bcvan09
11:31
rjwheaton: RT for the #bcvan09 crowd @mhp @wired: In-App iPhone Sales + iTablet = Publisher Nirvana? http://bit.ly/2oMtXh
tragicrighthip: #bcvan09 selling content packages and subscriptions as a revenue stream via digital publishing
11:34
paulcip: More than half of Van Sun website traffic comes from search engines, not regular site users @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:34
AngelaCrocker: Most welcome! RT @rjwheaton RT @HarmonyJohnson Excellent session in book marketing by @loricat & @AngelaCrocket – thanks ladies!!! #bcvan09
11:35
paulcip: People consume single articles on Van Sun website, as come from search engines, but don’t explore, linger on site @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:35
jenn: @ubermichael: Using Twitter and Facebook…in the creative process not as marketing. #bcvan09 (you should meet @1889ca)
11:35
peterarmstrong: Interesting discussion at social media marketing session at Book Camp #bcvan09
11:35
BookMadam: author: “are we creating myth that our work is shit when we give it away fir free?” #bcvan09
11:36
rjwheaton: social media for authors/publishers at #bcvan09: “tell a story, for the love of god”. yes: it’s all about narrative and audience.
11:36
adamgaumont: RT @paulcip: More than half of Van Sun website traffic comes from search engines, not regular site users @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:37
arianecdesign: #bcvan09 Scheduling tweets, adding value to your tweets.
11:37
hummingbird604: Listening and paying attention to what people are saying is one of the best things about social media #bcvan09
11:37
ubermichael: Takeaways: “finding on ramps to the conversation.” and seeded conversations. #bcvan09
11:38
hummingbird604: Good point by @glenngaetz on getting Twitter and Blog and Google Searches collected by RSS feeds #bcvan09
11:38
cudawudashuda: a little bit RT @BookMadam author: “are we creating myth that our work is shit when we give it away fir free?” #bcvan09
11:38
Talonbooks: #bcvan09 Thanks to John Maxwell, and Megan from SFU MPub program, for getting me in.
11:38
EngageBooks: Want to make scheduled tweets? Use Twitter application Hootsuit. #bcvan09
11:38
paulcip: You are paying us for curation, editing, presentation of content @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:39
glenngaetz: Social media: Listen first, then talk #bcvan09
11:39
suite101: RT @hummingbird604 Listening and paying attention to what people are saying is one of the best things about social media #bcvan09
11:40
Talonbooks: #bcvan09 Kirk Lapointe from Vancouver Sun sun said: “I remember the days when water was free and people paid for music.”
11:40
hummingbird604: I made the point about telling a story “for the love of God” – I hope it was a point well taken 🙂 #bcvan09 #sm4pub
11:40
paulcip: We are in a really messy age of transformation @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:40
hummingbird604: . @EngageBooks: Want to make scheduled tweets? Use Twitter application @Hootsuite. #bcvan09
11:40
EngageBooks: Want to see how effective your tweets are. Check your analytics by using Bitly #bcvan09
11:40
Talonbooks: Book people are dynamic thinkers. Getting the most out of #bcvan09
11:40
musecrossing: RT @EngageBooks: Want to make scheduled tweets? Use Twitter application Hootsuit. #bcvan09
11:41
musecrossing: RT @hummingbird604: I made the point about telling a story “for the love of God” – I hope it was a point well taken 🙂 #bcvan09 #sm4pub
11:41
kpwerker: Had neat chats with @ubermichael and @hughmcguire about crochet (RAD), open-license online publishing, and all sorts of fun stuff. #bcvan09
11:43
paulcip: There is enviro impact from trad newspapers, but look at impact of computers, e-waste, energy use of computers, PDAs @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:44
hummingbird604: Not a lot of laptops in the social media for authors/publishers session – great opportunity for the pen and paper #bcvan09 – love it 🙂
11:44
glenngaetz: there are ways to find something to talk about when promoting a book – even w/o author involved (be creative!) #bcvan09
11:44
AngelaCrocker: Thinking of online content as the bite, the snack and the meal. Lots of bites, few snacks, need more meals ~Joy Gugeler #bcvan09
11:45
tragicrighthip: #bcvan09 “it’s not an algorythym (sp) it’s an intuition” how to translate to online: this idea of handselling vs long tail
11:45
ssemaganda: This seems relevant #bcvan09 RT @cameronmoll: ★ On e-book vs. printed book sales, Mobile Web Design, and CSS Mastery 2: http://bit.ly/3IILbd
11:46
hummingbird604: .@trishussey Honestly, I love writing notes by hand – I find that sometimes my laptop gets in the way of idea tracking #bcvan09
11:46
paulcip: We have to deliver across all platforms, I twee like crazy @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:46
paulcip: You have to go wherever audience wants you @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:46
hummingbird604: great pointers – have the authors guest-tweet, but deliver in a way that is archivable and persistant #bcvan09
11:47
bookoven: @kirklapointe: “it’s going to be the cellphone…go where the audience wants you…if news is important, it will find me.” #bcvan09
11:47
paulcip: Reading a book in bed still cherished by kids, parents #bcvan09
11:48
paulcip: Twitter another way of having a conversation about a book #bcvan09
11:48
glenngaetz: Social media for authors: different styles work for different authors – try to plan what will work with the author’s style, etc #bcvan09
11:49
paulcip: Friend says big part of selling book was promoting on Twitter, personal barnds key @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:50
paulcip: It’s a fact of life, you have to get out there and “waste your time” (on Twitter) @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:50
kcdyer: AMAZING discussion around DRM with @seancranbury at #bcvan09 SO many interesting points!
11:51
tragicrighthip: #bcvan09 all roads lead to free for every conversation.
11:51
paulcip: Audience comment – people have to know about you to buy your book #bcvan09
11:51
LisaManfield: “Publishers should be talking to the public about digital rights and not hiding.” @seancranbury #bcvan09
11:52
kpwerker: .@kirklapointe quoting Craig Newmark: “Trust is the new black.” #bcvan09
11:52
paulcip: You’re giving things away, engaging people in conversation through Social Media @kirklapointe #bcvan09
11:53
glenngaetz: Social media: the conversation is going to be happening out there anyway – best we can do is nurture it. #bcvan09
11:53
paulcip: It’s not that people don’t want to pay for content, the infrastructure has changed #bcvan09
11:53
paulcip: Advertisers still don’t respect the online user @kirklapointe #bcvan09 Van Sun still gets bulk of revenue from print
11:53
BookMadam: #bcvan09 can the “book police” come into your phone and take the book off your “shelf?”
11:54
kpwerker: 95% of ad revenue at Vancouver Sun derived in print, not online. #bcvan09
11:54
craigriggs: “What sells books” Authors: connect with readers/reader communities. Build your personal brand. #bcvan09
11:55
AngelaCrocker: Importance of communities online & offline to nurture writers and build relationships with readers. e.g. @siwc2009 #bcvan09
11:55
BookMadam: @kcdyer loved your book police point. #bcvan09
11:55
bookoven: @kirklapointe “stopping printing your paper is a good way to rupture your spleen.” #bcvan09
11:55
adamgaumont: 95% of Van Sun’s revenue comes from print; online revenues “paltry” — #bcvan09
11:57
martinertl: Participant: not trying to get books for free, just want to use fairly eg share with friends #bcvan09 DRM session
11:57
KieranFlynn: Great discussion about paper vs electronic books and newspapers! #bcvan09
11:57
hummingbird604: Today’s cologne tagging at #bcvan09 is brought to you by Herrera for Men by Carolina Herrera. If I hug you, you may get cologne-tagged 😉
11:57
EngageBooks: Ask your author to encourage fans to review their book on Amazon? #bcvan09
11:57
hummingbird604: RT @craigriggs: “What sells books” Authors: connect with readers/reader communities. Build your personal brand. #bcvan09
11:57
hummingbird604: RT @AngelaCrocker: Importance of communities online & offline 2 nurture writers & build relationships w/ readers. e.g. @siwc2009 #bcvan09
hummingbird604: I fully agree with @somisguided – we are ALL storytellers – #bcvan09 – publishers giving talks about socmed but at SxSW authors do too
11:58
dale42: @kcdyer People in this session are interested in the/your compuserve experience #bcvan09
11:59
ubermichael: I’m finding the Twitter stream #bcvan09 as interesting as the conversations in person.
12:00
hummingbird604: – Secure domain name for your book – Be human in socmed channels – Use the tools to get numbers & anecdotal evidence #bcvan09
12:00
paulcip: Gatekeeper monopoly of traditional media has all but disappeared @kirklapointe #bcvan09
12:00
rjwheaton: some really basic stuff at #bcvan09: secure domain names; write good html for SEO. isn’t there a central reserve of this info for authors?
12:02
hummingbird604: Literature is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none – Jules Renard #bcvan09
12:02
glenngaetz: I couldn’t agree more: RT @brawluk: “Listen more than you talk.” #bcvan09
12:02
AngelaCrocker: Celebrating our mutual Sesame Street learning moment with Joy Gugeler #bcvan09
12:03
ThinkTomdotcom: Why sit on a panel if you are shy, introverted and say nothing?? We want to hear u.#bcvan09
12:03
paulcip: Kids’ reading/interacting rituals are very different, we have to learn them #bcvan09
12:04
craigriggs: Bookseller: “Unless we learn the new [reader] rituals the book business is going to be hooped.” #bcvan09
12:04
kpwerker: “Don’t throw the granny out w/ the bath water.” -@kirklapointe on figuring how to cater to both print lovers and digital lovers. #bcvan09
12:04
adamgaumont: .@kirklapointe on print audiences: “don’t throw the granny out with the bathwater” #bcvan09
12:04
rjwheaton: Enjoy John Banville’s ego at lunch #bcvan09: “I’m not proud of any of my writing – it’s better than everyone else’s but it’s all botched.”
12:04
paulcip: Young adult lit is largest growing market (bookstore owner) #bcvan09
12:05
paulcip: Our young readership is exactly the same as it was ten years ago @kirklapointe #bcvan09
12:07
paulcip: Van Sun blogs satisfy niche markets, some command huge audiences @kirklapointe #bcvan09
12:07
muppetsightings: RT @AngelaCrocker: Celebrating our mutual Sesame Street learning moment with Joy Gugeler #bcvan09
12:07
craigriggs: Hallelujah: “Build a community of interest. That’s all that matters.” #bcvan09
12:08
paulcip: Blog readers are passionate, advertisers should be drawn to them @kirklapointe #bcvan09
12:09
nickb: some intriguing thoughts and ideas about the state/future of online publishing percolating around this morning’s bookcamp sessions. #bcvan09
12:10
Kirtim: RT @paulcip: Young adult lit is largest growing market (bookstore owner) #bcvan09 (yes – please to meet you Harry Potter and Edward Cullin)
12:12
musecrossing: RT @hummingbird604: -Secure domain name 4 yr book – B human in socmed channels – Use the tools 2 get numbers & anecdotal evidence #bcvan09
12:18
robertshaer: Have to run from bookcamp #bcvan09 to #viff for screening
12:21
rjwheaton: #bcvan09 mmm delicious BookNet nom nom nom
12:25
glenngaetz: Got #vegan tacos from la taqueria because no options ¡ #bcvan09
12:26
AngelaCrocker: Enjoying a surprisingly good lunch with @dale42 at #bcvan09 Thanks to BookNet for sponsoring lunch today.
12:31
ubermichael: Lunch at the unconference is surprisingly good. Thanks #bcvan09
12:34
jforrest: RT @hummingbird604: #bcvan09 Julie, Alexa – I’m capturing all the live tweetage from BookCamp http://bit.ly/11qL4I
12:38
Kristu_Du: What does it cost the Van Sun to get that paltry sum of advertising revenues? #bcvan09
12:39
hummingbird604: I agree, kudos and thanks to organizers RT @ubermichael: Lunch at the unconference is surprisingly good. Thanks #bcvan09
12:58
paulcip: Lunch winding down, settling in for Book Camp Vancouver afternoon sessions #bcvan09
12:59
paulcip: Next Book Camp Vancouver session: Getting to Zero: Who Gets Paid When Books are Free? (Sean Cranbury) #bcvan09
12:59
brawluk: Next up is “Getting to Zero: Who Gets Paid When Books are free?” #bcvan09
1:00
ubermichael: Up next: he state of the electronic book. Curious to see. #bcvan09
1:00
glenngaetz: Electronic books – looking forward to some exciting stuff #bcvan09
1:06
learnpublishing: Listening to Hugh McGuire and Nick Bouton #bcvan09
1:06
rjwheaton: a #bcvan09 theme: to (a) create content and use digital/online to deliver/sell or (b) create/articulate content in a collective environment?
1:06
learnpublishing: RT @nuttyxander Much as I enjoyed #tocfrankfurt, tweets from #bcvan09 starting makes me want UK Bookcamp 2.0 all the more.
1:07
hummingbird604: At @seancranbury’s talk on ‘who pays when books are free’ #bcvan09 – free means it’s paid for and it’s not locked down (no DRM)
1:08
paulcip: Free means that it’s paid for and it’s not locked down (no DRM) #bcvan09
1:08
rjwheaton: and btw the correct answer is not (a). so what does authorship mean? #bcvan09
1:08
dale42: Lunch was fabulous, thank you @BookNet_Canada #bcvan09
1:08
hummingbird604: RT @counti8: Looking 4 generic library stock photos? UBC Library took a bunch & Creative C’ommons’d them http://bit.ly/1H6rI1 #bcvan09
1:09
paulcip: Free devolves into P@P fears that pirates are out there waiting do download your book for free #bcvan09
1:09
paulcip: Free devolves into P2P fears that pirates are out there waiting do download your book for free #bcvan09
1:10
hummingbird604: Sean @seancranbury spent many years as a bookseller – “once you’ve given me your money I don’t care what you do w/my book” #bcvan09
1:10
kpwerker: Few (zero?) publishers in “When readers are more than just readers” session. Lots of online content producers, though. Hm. #bcvan09
1:11
paulcip: Growing research supports theory that piracy fears are overblown #bcvan09
1:11
ubermichael: More than half the people who buy ebooks and kindles are 50 or older. #bcvan09
1:11
martinertl: When readers are more than just readers: community created content #bcvan09
1:13
adamgaumont: .@seancranbury: how to monetize “free” e-books (i.e. libre, not gratis) #bcvan09
1:14
Ganga_Narayanan: @hummingbird604 @nickb @somisguided Sorry I missed #bcvan09 guys! Down with cold. Thanks for the tweet updates. Feeling jealous though!
1:15
arianecdesign: Interesting talk on how ebooks will affect publishers #bcvan09
1:16
hummingbird604: I agree – also, Out to Lunch is a great catering option, eh? RT @dale42: Lunch was fabulous, thank you @BookNet_Canada #bcvan09
1:18
adamgaumont: O’Reilly’s Kindle content is DRM-free #bcvan09
1:18
martinertl: In roomful of barbarians storming the gates of authorship and publishing: allowing others to remix, re-edit, re-write(!) your book #bcvan09
1:19
rjwheaton: @hughmcguire is somewhat unsettled and delighted to be talking to a room of barbarians rather than gate-keepers #bcvan09
1:19
paulcip: RT @adamgaumont: O’Reilly’s Kindle content is DRM-free #bcvan09
1:21
learnpublishing: What is more valuable to a writer: the professional (editor’s) opinion or the 300 voices from the web reader? @nickb #bcvan09
1:22
rjwheaton: great point at #bcvan09 about collaborative authorship going back beyond Homer. The fetish of individual authorship is a Modern invention.
1:23
glenngaetz: E-books: books may start to look more like software #bcvan09
1:23
paulcip: RT @rjwheaton: point at #bcvan09 about collaborative authorship going back beyond Homer. fetish of individual authorship is Modern invention
1:24
paulcip: Publishers looking at author’s online presence when making publishing decisions #bcvan09
1:24
BreaktheSpine: RT @rjwheaton: #bcvan09 re: collaborative authorship going back beyond Homer. The fetish of individual authorship is a Modern invention.
1:24
AlienEm: … or careless with money, like me. RT: @ubermichael: More than half the people who buy ebooks and kindles are 50 or older. #bcvan09
1:24
rjwheaton: @tragicrighthip are you going to speak about territorial copyright at #bcvan09? Customers don’t care about rights. http://bit.ly/12as0b
1:25
BreaktheSpine: Roomful of barbarians storming the gates of authorship & publishing: allowing others to remix, re-edit, re-write(!) your book #bcvan09
1:25
somisguided: Roomful of barbarians storming the gates of authorship & publishing: allowing others to remix, re-edit, re-write(!) your book #bcvan09
1:26
BreaktheSpine: Out to Lunch did the catering! RT @dale42: Lunch was fabulous, thank you @BookNet_Canada #bcvan09
1:26
somisguided: Out to Lunch did the catering! RT @dale42: Lunch was fabulous, thank you @BookNet_Canada #bcvan09
1:26
zakgreant: #bcvan09 session someone asked, “Who’s afraid of the barbarians at the gate?” No hands go up. Then someone hazards, “We are the barbarians.”
1:26
ssemaganda: holding a kindle in my hands. wondering what this moment will mean in 10 yrs. #bcvan09
1:26
paulcip: RT @BreaktheSpine: barbarians storming gates of authorship & publishing: allowing others to remix, re-edit, re-write(!) your book #bcvan09
1:27
hummingbird604: Is anybody having the conversation of free (gratis) e-books rather than libre e-books? #bcvan09
1:28
paulcip: RT @hummingbird604: Is anybody having the conversation of free (gratis) e-books rather than libre e-books? #bcvan09
1:28
adamgaumont: Walmart to sell front-list HCs for $10 this Xmas season (!) #bcvan09
1:29
paulcip: RT @adamgaumont: Walmart to sell front-list hard-cover books for $10 this Xmas season (!) #bcvan09
loricat: Interesting how #bcvan09 sessions are really all one big conversation!
2:03
paulcip: Next Book Camp Vancouver session: New Business Models in Publishing and Book Selling #bcvan09
2:03
ubermichael: @selfishchimp there is passable coffee two floors down at a coffee shop. #bcvan09
2:05
selfishchimp: Lots of fear, especially among publishers #bcvan09
2:06
martinertl: Need to unpack roles of publishers and reassemble the requisite roles for new business models #bcvan09
2:06
somisguided: Free should not be free like kittens, it should be free as in libre #bcvan09
2:06
adamgaumont: Next up at #bcvan09: All about “content” with @tragicrighthip
2:06
kindleberg: #bcvan09 #ebooks Takeaway 1: Publishers will be less gatekeepers, more curators in the future.
2:07
martinertl: Roles for readers, authors, publishers look like they’re changing, but not when looking in historical context #bcvan09
2:07
paulcip: RT @adamgaumont: Next up at #bcvan09: All about “content” with @tragicrighthip
2:08
kindleberg: #bcvan09 #ebooks Takeaway 2: The line between “author” and “publisher” will become increasingly blurry.
2:08
jmaxsfu: “free as in use, not as in kittens” – @somisguided #bcvan09
2:09
mdiane_rogers: #bcvan09 Already enjoying @Raincoaster ‘s session at BookCamp.
2:09
paulcip: Industry aiming to shorten book publishing cycle from over a year to 3 months or less #bcvan09
2:09
julieszabo: Average production cycle for a book (including writing) 1 – 1.5 years. #bcvan09
2:09
paulcip: Moving toward on-demand printing in bookstores #bcvan09
2:10
selfishchimp: I think i’m the only librarian here. Also: my tech is horribly out of date. Only seeing DMs which makes me sad #bcvan09
2:10
paulcip: Backlist titles can be revived with on-demand printing #bcvan09
2:11
mdash: Deanna Mcfadden is crazy articulate #bcvan09
2:11
BreaktheSpine: Deanna McFadden rocks! Thanks for coming to #bcvan09
2:11
somisguided: Deanna McFadden rocks! Thanks for coming to #bcvan09
2:11
craigriggs: Two ways to speed trade adoption of e-catalogues: give good user experience and integrate with POS and ordering tools. #bcvan09
2:12
paulcip: On-demand can enable print runs of 1 copy #bcvan09
2:12
kpwerker: Someone asked, “Who’s afraid of the barbarians @ the gate?” No hands up. Someone hazards, “We are the barbarians.” (via @zakgreant) #bcvan09
2:13
somisguided: @mtamblyn Do you have breakdowns of categories related to ebooks? Talking about shortcovers at bookcamp #bcvan09
2:13
jmaxsfu: #bcvan09 @tragicrighthip is evangelizing e-content to a slighlty skeptical audience.
2:13
BookNet_Canada: RT @honeymae: wow it is possible to get excited about the future of ecatalogues! points: communication, integration user experience #bcvan09
2:14
kindleberg: #bcvan09 #ebooks Takeaway 3: Risk of increased suppression of controversial books will be offset by ability for direct sales to customers.
2:14
BreaktheSpine: Facebook fan page, twitter feed = handselling books #bcvan09
2:14
adamgaumont: .@tragicrighthip: socmed as handselling #bcvan09
2:14
hummingbird604: – Faster delivery, convergence, payment, monetizing, collaboration, medium aggregation, pre-release / production cycle #bcvan09
2:14
ubermichael: Nintendo to do print-on-demand versions of video games at kiosks in bookstore in Germany. Very interesting shift. #bcvan09
2:15
BookNet_Canada: RT @craigriggsTwo ways to speed trade adoption of ecatalogues: give good user experience and integrate with POS and ordering tools. #bcvan09
2:15
hummingbird604: Sitting with @jessehirsh in the business models session at #bcvan09
2:15
BookMadam: #bcvan09 @moniquetrottier “Free not as in ‘kittens’…” Best line of the day!
2:15
BreaktheSpine: RT @craigriggs: Two ways to speed trade adoption of e-catalogues: give good user experience & integrate with POS & ordering tools. #bcvan09
2:15
somisguided: RT @craigriggs: Two ways to speed trade adoption of e-catalogues: give good user experience & integrate with POS & ordering tools. #bcvan09
2:15
rjwheaton: RT Deanna Mcfadden is crazy articulate #bcvan09 (via @mdash)
2:16
AngelaCrocker: Concerned that Celebrating Success moderator is AWOL. Now moving … hope everything’s ok #bcvan09
2:16
paulcip: Public doesn’t care about publishers – little publisher brand power – recognize authors #bcvan09
2:17
hummingbird604: Findability in stores – it’s really hard to do @brendonjwilson at #bcvan09
2:17
ubermichael: “I don’t think readers care who published a book” maybe for fiction, but for nonfiction and technical the publisher really matters. #bcvan09
2:17
glenngaetz: Blogging: blogs need to be fed (I think I need to write more often on my undernourished blog…) #bcvan09
2:17
mynameiskate: I’m a little in love w/ @tragicrighthip at #bcvan09 her enthusiasm about content & publishing is infectious
2:18
glenngaetz: Listening to @raincoaster talk about blogging for authors #bcvan09
2:18
paulcip: RT @hummingbird604: Findability in stores – it’s really hard to do @brendonjwilson at #bcvan09
2:19
jmaxsfu: …@tragicrighthip says we’ve been on a B2B footing so long; webers to think differently. #bcvan09
2:19
hummingbird604: Convergence in terms of distribution – auctioning scripts, not co-developing #bcvan09
2:19
martinertl: RT @kpwerker .@kirklapointe quoting Craig Newmark: “Trust is the new black.” #bcvan09
2:20
learnpublishing: RT @somisguided Deanna McFadden rocks! Thanks for coming to #bcvan09
2:21
EngageBooks: Should publishers keep their catalogues in print or digitise them? What about a POD catalogue? #bcvan09
2:22
paulcip: You have to tell your story through mutiple media #bcvan09
2:23
adamgaumont: On blogging: you have to at least “web-squat,” occupy space #bcvan09
2:23
kpwerker: It’s not just once that Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been brought up. Fanfic, anthologizing… #bcvan09
2:23
hummingbird604: Another business model – different revenue split – 50/50% split with their authors – #bcvan09
2:23
arianecdesign: Deanna McFadden providing a lively forum for content & blogging. #bcvan09
2:24
hummingbird604: Automatic pricing system *you can opt in or out* content like this – you optimize your returns by pricing by X #bcvan09
2:26
hummingbird604: Is Bev Davies on Twitter? I see her here at the #bcvan09 session on business models for publishing, can’t recall her Twitter handle
2:28
hummingbird604: Um. People from the publishing industry, remember that there are some terms we don’t know. Please don’t use technicisms. #bcvan09
2:29
dbarefoot: And I’ve been using the wrong hash tag all day. Excellent. Not that I’ve been tweeting up a storm. #bcvan09
2:30
jmaxsfu: Deanna McFadden’s session is way too rich to cover via tweets. Wow. #bcvan09
2:30
hummingbird604: RT @jessehirsh: hanging out at bookcamp vancouver with @hummingbird604 becoming optimistic about the publishing industry #bcvan09
2:30
selfishchimp: Making books sounds allot like making sausages. #bcvan09
2:30
mdash: Kerry Taylor from squawkfox.com kicked off an interesting conversation on blogging as author practice #bcvan09
2:31
selfishchimp: Feeling like an anthropologist. #bcvan09
2:32
julieszabo: What does it actually cost to produce a book? The answer… “more than you think!” #bcvan09
2:33
jessehirsh: are books to cheap? should they be pay what you can? how much would you pay for your fave book? #bcvan09
2:34
Kirtim: RT @julieszabo: What does it actually cost to produce a book? The answer. “more than you think!”; #bcvan09 (but less then pubs tell us?)
2:34
ubermichael: Publishing profit margin: 4%. Software margin: 30 to 40%. Wow. Glad I’m in software. #bcvan09
2:36
rjwheaton: Kerry Taylor from squawkfox.com kicked off an interesting conversation on blogging as author practice #bcvan09 (via @mdash)
2:37
hummingbird604: RT @jessehirsh: are books to cheap? should they be pay what you can? how much would you pay for your fave book? #bcvan09
2:37
hummingbird604: BookOven – a platform to manage people in collaborative writing projects #bcvan09http://bit.ly/37SPAC
2:38
BookMadam: Agreed! RT @mynameiskate: I’m a little in love w/ @tragicrighthip at #bcvan09 her enthusiasm about content & publishing is infectious
2:39
hummingbird604: There are ways to borrow from some cultural industries to apply to publishing #bcvan09
2:39
paulcip: RT @hummingbird604: BookOven – a platform to manage people in collaborative writing projects #bcvan09http://bit.ly/37SPAC
2:39
mauvepg: RT @mynameiskate: I’m a little in love w/ @tragicrighthip at #bcvan09 her enthusiasm about content & publishing is infectious
2:40
adamgaumont: RT @ubermichael: Publishing profit margin: 4%. Software margin: 30 to 40%. Wow. Glad I’m in software. #bcvan09
2:40
kindleberg: Interesting comment from publisher at #bcvan09: books are too cheap in North America. They cost double in Europe.
dale42: If publishing a book is like making sausage, do we need a slow-words movement? #bcvan09
2:41
paulcip: RT @ubermichael: Publishing profit margin: 4%. Software margin: 30 to 40%. Wow. Glad I’m in software. #bcvan09
2:41
jordanbehan: Q: What do you call the friends you make at #bcvan09 ? A: Your “tomies.” (sorry, had the hashtag wrong earlier)
2:41
hummingbird604: At @seancranbury’s session I emphasized – authors, publishers, marketers – all are heterogeneous populations and have diff motives #bcvan09
dale42: @kindleberg As a reader I found that comment a little offensive #bcvan09
2:43
EngageBooks: www.vook.com Is the combination of a video/book the future of publishing? #bcvan09
2:43
paulcip: O’Reilly good example of innovation in publishing #bcvan09
2:43
brendonjwilson: @ubermichael Glad you’re in software because margins are 30%? Just remember that it’s only so high because it’s hard…for now. #bcvan09
2:43
CEMcKenzie1: RT @mynameiskate: I’m a little in love w/ @tragicrighthip at #bcvan09 her enthusiasm about content & publishing is infectious – She rocks!
stitchtowhere: Morgan Cowie of Booknet giving great presentation on new business models in publishing. O’Reilly’s “rough cuts” are v. interesting #bcvan09
2:46
jessehirsh: have any publishers employed mlm – multi-level marketing, like tupperware parties to sell books? #bcvan09usborne.com?
2:48
hummingbird604: Great session with Morgan Cowie from BookNet #bcvan09
NewStarBooks: At Book Camp Vancouver today. Met @mdash at lunch time. #bcvan09
3:00
ubermichael: @jmaxsfu I’ve heard goo things about steamworks next door. Some sort of pub, I think. #bcvan09
3:00
AngelaCrocker: Overheard in ladies room after session 4 at #bcvan09 “my brain is exploding” Totally agree – so much change, so many great minds.
3:01
ubermichael: Listening to @brawluk evangelize Tumblr at #bcvan09
3:04
mhp: RT @craigriggs: 2 ways to speed trade adoption of e-catalogues: give good user experience and integrate with POS and ordering tools #bcvan09
3:07
paulcip: Next Book Camp Vancouver session: What the FAQ? Your Web Marketing Questions Answered (Darren Barefoot & Monique Trottier) #bcvan09
3:09
jessehirsh: @sarahbhood good point, but what about less formal and in ppls homes? let a thousand book clubs bloom? #bcvan09
3:10
3DayNovel: Feels like everyone is at Book Camp but me. Darn this needing to make a living. Next year for sure–it sounds awesome. #bcvan09
3:13
brawluk: Last session… pitching possible discussions. #bcvan09
3:13
Kirtim: hey #bcvan09 Looking at the potential for a #bookcamp in Guelph. Any feedback?
3:14
hummingbird604: I proposed to have the conversation of gratis (free content, free distribution) vs libre (paid content, free distribution) #bcvan09
3:16
AngelaCrocker: We are a room of “creativen souls” at #bcvan09 – final session pitches in progress.
3:17
eagranieyuh: Loved “Content is King” session with Deanna McFadden (@tragicrighthip @harpercollins). Full of energy and great ideas. #bcvan09
3:19
hsanderson: Rt @jmaxsfu #bcvan09 @tragicrighthip is evangelizing e-content to a slighlty skeptical audience.
3:25
pjmartin: One of the most significant benefits of BookCamp Vancouver is the continuing online discussion. #bcvan09
3:27
ubermichael: At What the FAQ – your web marketing questions answered. #bcvan09
3:28
learnpublishing: RT @3DayNovel Feels like everyone is at Book Camp but me. Darn this needing to make a living. Next year for sure it sounds awesome. #bcvan09
3:29
hummingbird604: . @dbarefoot and @somisguided talk about using an external tool to increase book findability by keyword #bcvan09
3:30
KieranFlynn: I’m in a session at bookcamp about funding to the pub industry in BC. #bcvan09
3:32
AngelaCrocker: Session 5 #bcvan09 with @dbarefoot, @somisguided, and Deanna McFadden on social media FAQs.
3:32
kpwerker: I wish there were plans for a big dinner after BookCamp. So much to talk about! #bcvan09
3:34
learnpublishing: RT @ kpwerker I wish there were plans for a big dinner after BookCamp. So much to talk about! #bcvan09 SOLUTION – Steamworks?
I attended one of the last shows of Gift of Screws at the Jericho Arts Centre (it closes on October 17th so you have ONLY TWO DAYS to go and check it out) and I am ever happy that I did. Thanks to an invite by my friend Simon Ogden, I was able to check it out tonight. In Gift of Screws, we witness two intense back-to-back plays (well, if you *really* have to go technical, we witness three plays, since What Then Must We Do has a play-within-a-play, thus becoming a meta-play). Bill Merchant is an incredibly talented man, and his Gift of Screws is a blessing. Bill makes both What Then Must We Do and Muzzle of Bees enjoyable plays by adding elements of laughter and humour to otherwise very heavy and loaded themes.
Yes, you will laugh at What Then Must We Do, an exploration of how some theatre directors are not as nice as we make them out to be. The main actress (portrayed by adorable and incredibly talented Nadine Wright, whom I had already met at The 21st Floor) and the fragile co-protagonist (uber talented Daniel Letto, a newcomer to the scene) fall prey to the dominant, sadistic and sexually corrupt director (an absolutely stunning and incredibly powerful Stephen Park). Not to forget, Matt Fentiman as lovely Franklin (who follows and obey’s the director’s every whim)… I’m not revealing why but at the end of the first play, I almost felt like relishing. Go check it out and tell me if you agree.
What Then Must Do allowed Nadine Wright (an actress that I already admired from her work in The 21st Floor) to explore the duality of being another actress within a play (in a meta-play, so to speak) yet to provide a convincing (and yet very distinct) portray of herself. Yet in no way does her acting (nor any of her fellow actors) seem overwrought. In fact, as I mentioned to Stephen, I almost hated him right on to the second or third frame of the play.
Muzzle of Bees (the second part of Gift of Screws) is not an easy play, and I have to commend all five actors for not only tackling themes that are incredibly thorny to explore (including, and not limited to exploitation, violence, submission, pain, male bonding, homophobia, slavery) but also for doing so while fully naked and with their head covered in hoodies. I was incredibly impressed by the actors’ ability to quickly go beyond the initial impact that the full nudity has on the spectator. Because yes, you can see five beautiful, completely naked men in front of you. But you quickly erase that view from your mind as the actors engage in a vivid exploration of what it feels to be vulnerable and a slave to external forces. Not being able to see and not being able to help each other creates a bonding process that is at the same time, intense but filled with fear.
The actors’ nudity and the fact that their heads are completely hooded, thus rendering them unable to use their facial expressions to convey emotions on to the viewer, indeed helps shape Muzzle of Bees. I have rarely witnessed such a crafty use of full nudity to express and display vulnerability, raw emotion and helplessness. All of the Muzzle of Bees actors are great, but especial kudos to Blaine Nosworthy and Shane Michael Leydon (both of whom I had a very quick chat at the end of the show).
Little trivia – Bumped into Cassidy Freeman (Tess Mercer on Smallville) as she was chatting with Bill Marchant at the end of last night’s show (which was the first opportunity I had to make it to the Jericho Arts Centre, with my super busy schedule). We had a nice little chat about Kitsilano, the fame and being recognized on the street (although I am in no way, shape or form as famous as she is). Cassidy is lovely and very down-to-earth. I commented on how sometimes people stopped me on the street and said “hey are you Hummingbird604” and I found it delightful that Cassidy responded “and of course, you tell them ‘uh, no, my name is Raul’, right?” which is, indeed, totally the case.
But back to Gift of Screws… I was fully impressed with the agility of both plays, particularly because neither explore themes that are easily developed. I have witnessed other shows where, to reach points of resolution and breakdown, the actors take substantially more time than I saw in this play. This contributed to the agility of the show, and made it really enjoyable. Kudos to the cast and crew, and kudos to Bill Marchant for creating art that will stay with me for a long while.
Note: Gift of Screws has a few scenes with full nudity and coarse language. Viewer discretion is advised.
Disclosure: The tickets to attend the play were sponsored very generously by the team of Gift of Screws. This has not affected in any way my opinion of the play, though. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
I had the opportunity to talk to Alex Samuel and Rob Cottingham recently both at Twestival and at the launch party of The Vancouver Observer, and told both of them (separately) that I really look up to them in the field social media. They push the boundaries, challenge the status quo, they challenge themselves and re-invent themselves in this field. I would like to believe that my own work in this field is on par or at least, following on the tracks of these amazing folks, but today’s announcement just left me saying “WOW”.
In a move that promises to shake the way in which social media consulting is done, they’re (slowly but surely) open sourcing their consultancy. Alex and Rob explains in their blog post:
We’re taking the intellectual property we’ve generated and gleaned from Social Signal’s four years of consulting, strategy and development and making it available for free online, under a Creative Commons license.
What are the implications of this for the social media world? Many, I believe. But I would like to point out to the last part of the above sentence. Under a Creative Commons license. That means, that their intellectual property can be (depending on the specific license they choose) reproduced, built-upon, adapted, etc. NOT STOLEN. So, those sneaky evil types who may want to steal Alex and Rob’s acumen may find themselves on the other end of a really nice lawsuit should things go awry (please note that this analysis is mine and only mine, not Alex and Rob’s – knowing them, I am pretty sure that they aren’t the litigious type. I, being the son of two lawyers, on the other hand, very much am, hehe).
What this means is that yes, you may build upon what Alex and Rob have created (in this case, they’re open-sourcing one of their first products, the concept jam). But (a) you would be expected to credit them, (b) you would be expected to link to their posts, most likely (as it happens with any Creative Commons license) and (c) if the license is Share-Alike, you would be expected to share with the community your new concept. So, if you reproduce and adapt the concept jam in a way that grows the initial concept, you may have to share it with the world too.
This has HUGE implications for the community at large, in that the impact is definitely longer-lasting and much more far-reaching. I don’t believe this will reduce the amount of work that Rob and Alex will get, but it will definitely refine the way in which social media is done. Open sourcing their consultancy doesn’t mean that they’re giving their knowledge for free (a topic we debated here on my blog for a long, long time). It means that their knowledge base will help further the social media field.
Even though my leg is still hurting, I’m probably going to go get a bottle of wine and hunt down Alex and Rob and share a glass with them, because frankly, this is a bold, strong, daring, brave, valiant move and one that makes me even prouder of calling them my friends.
I completed my doctorate under the guidance of one of the best climate change experts in the world. However, as surprising as that may sound to most people, I did not write a PhD thesis on climatic change. Having said that, I am by no means unfamiliar with the research that has been conducted in the field. I used much of the theory and analytical methods around the climate change literature.
I built a framework to study how industrial restructuring happens in cities, and how industries adapt to multiple stressors. The framework itself it’s applicable to other issues. I have been puzzled by the debate around the issue of where the policy focus should be: on adaptation or mitigation. I by no means advocate that we continue with the ridiculous patterns of air pollution generation that our society embarks. But that doesn’t mean that I think that emission reduction is the only way to go.
I have been a firm believer of concentrating climatic policy efforts on adaptation rather than mitigation. However, I have never said NOT to focus on mitigation. But since climatic change is already happening, wouldn’t it be a smarter strategy to learn how to adapt to this ever-changing weather and to extreme climatic events?
Moreover, I like to remind people that climate change is NOT the only environmental problem we face, nor the biggest itself. It’s a political issue, for sure (look at the IPCC/Al Gore Nobel Prize 2007 win). It’s an issue that affects everyone globally. But it’s not the only one.
Finally, I would like to emphasize that I find the debate on adaptation vs. mitigation somewhat futile and irrelevant. We need to do both. We probably need to do more adaptation now simply because extreme climatic events are already happening, but that doesn’t mean that people should continue to have wasteful or polluting consumptive ways. We need a mix of policy instruments that achieve both goals of mitigating impacts and adapting to them.
YES, you read that right – Morgan Brayton of Social Signal fame! One of the nicest people out there and a brilliant woman – plus, as I discovered, a very funny comedienne. Out for Laughs took place yesterday night, October 13th, and I took JT along with me. It was a complicated night, as I was having a Skype conversation with Isabella and other two collaborators in Toronto about the possibility of doing Mental Health Camp Toronto, and I had to cut said call short as the show had been scheduled for weeks in advance and there was no way I could cancel. But I couldn’t cancel on the Skype call either, as I am very keen on having MHC grow. Yes, both Isabella and I are crazy enough to help with the upcoming Mental Health Camps. Don’t ask. We are both very committed to the community.
But I digress… so, where was I? Right. At The Cultch, witnessing a fantastic comedic show with some of Vancouver’s and Seattle’s best comedians. Some of them gay, some of them straight, some of them bi, some of them trans, and all of them adorably funny.
The event itself was a fundraiser for Qmunity, BC’s premiere resource centre for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, two-spirited and queer individuals and communities. I had a fantastic time, not only because I got to see Morgan in a completely different world other than the social media one, but also because all the performers were outstanding. If David Jones invites me again to another show, I am SO there.
While I have been a stage actors before, and I’ve done a bit of modeling, I have really never been the kind of actor that does TV shows. I am obsessed with them, though. I’m a Smallville and Criminal Minds addict. In the past month, I have had a chance to watch the live taping of two TV shows. Both of them are comedies. The first one (Always a Bridesmaid) is a really funny sitcom that follows the comings and goings of a wedding planner…
The lovely Emme Rogers (with whom I went to witness the Pilot episode) has a great post on the show itself. I enjoyed the live show, and it was a privilege to be part of it. In particular, because the show was agile, funny and really enjoyable. Also, I got to meet the producer and the cast, which includes Kirsten Van Ritzen (as Mariel), Donnelly Rhodes (as Bob), Veena Sood (as Blaga), Chelan Simmons (as Savanna), Vincent Tong (as Tommy), and John Emmet Tracy (as Nick). I saw Vincent on stage when I saw Altar Boyz, it was a lot of fun!
If you want more information on how you can attend a show, you can check Emme’s post. Just don’t leave me without any tickets because then I’ll be upset!
In recent months, I’ve been meeting with a number of people who don’t actually know who I am from the get-go. This is actually not surprising, as the interactions have been in person, face-to-face, mostly first-time meetups. These people don’t know the broad range of activities I engage in (from teaching to research to freelance writing to consulting) so they look at me through only one lens.
The question I most often get asked is not whether I make money from blogging (a topic my friend Derek K. Miller wrote about last year) but whether do I do it as a professional activity or whether I am a professional blogger.
I told my friend Lorraine Murphy about being this question a few weeks back, and she asked me point blank – “do you get paid for blogging?” – I answered – “well, only for the freelance writing I do for other websites“. And then she concluded “well, then you ARE a professional blogger“. But the thing is, I don’t get paid to blog on either this (my personal blog) nor on my research blog. Lorraine does consider herself a professional blogger and so she should, as she blogs for a number of sites as well (and does get paid)
I do have friends (like my good friend Arieanna Schweber) who ARE indeed professional bloggers. And as she said in an interview, it IS hard work. The last time I had this question posed to me I thought of a really short answer, but I couldn’t, so I ended up giving the long-winded answer.
If you ask me whether I take blogging seriously and in a professional manner, the answer is – yes, I do. While this is my personal blog and nobody pays me to write here (nor on my research blog), I do treat my blogging as a job and interweave it within my daily time allocation process. If I am running a contest to give away tickets for theatre, films, etc. I contact the sponsor of the tickets, the winner, do the draw, promote the contest. I take time out of my day to write content, not only for myself (whenever I want to write about something) but also when I think of stuff that can be useful to my readers, like my productivity tips, or something cool about Vancouver, or a restaurant review.
I respond to readers’ comments, I talk to people on Twitter, I promote the stuff of my peers online, and I do all of that within my daily time budget. I respond to questions from the community, I connect people over Twitter or through our blogs, I reach out to the community, etc. Of course, I give priority to my client work and I try to balance my freelance writing, as well as my teaching and my research, but broadly speaking, I would say that yes, I treat blogging as one more of my gigs, and I treat it with respect, ethics and with a genuine interest in my audience (my readers). Even attending social media gatherings, events, etc. are part of my daily allocation of work time.
I’ve had a few conversations with my friend Rebecca Bollwitt on this topic as well, and while her and John’s company Sixty4Media primarily builds sites, she does treat her personal blogging with the same degree of professionalism as I do.
I wrote this post mostly to clarify how I think of blogging and to express how seriously I take blogging, even if it continues to be my personal blog. It’s just enjoyable, and I think that work should be enjoyable, so I just take it as part of my job.
I have been invited by Rebecca Coleman and DSR Productions to see Evil Dead: The Musical. Some of you may know that there have been two productions in town at around the same time. I have been a big supporter of Vancouver’s theatre scene for a long while now and I definitely would encourage my readers to attend both productions. The DSR one takes place at the Norman Rothstein Theatre on 41st and Oak 
