Miss604's Vancouver Blog
Review: Envy Hair Studio
I recently got my hair cut and coloured for the first time in 12 months from our friend Minoo at Envy Hair Studio on Denman. She is never too busy for John and me as we’ve been trusting her with our locks for the last 3 years - and I have to say she is a master colourist - she always gets it just right and makes sure you’re happy.
My “before” hair.
My “after” hair.
Envy has recently expanded with a few more staff as they used to get so busy it would take hours to get your hair done, which I always factored in when making my appointment. She’s recently hired on a new esthetician who is offering up a free massage with every facial treatment, which starts at just $28 (ladies only, first time customers only).
If you’re looking for a great local neighbourhood salon, check out Envy on Denman (and let them know Rebecca and John sent you).
Disclosure: I was not paid to write this review, or have any services done, Minoo has just become a good friend of ours over the years and I’d like to help her business grow.
WordCamp Whistler: The Toque
Prototype WordCamp Toque
My long-time friend and logo design specialist, Linus, has been brewing up a very special swag item that we’re offering to all those who attend WordCamp Whistler.
These toques are one-of-a-kind swag items (and the first WordCamp toques as far as we know) and they are being specially made by Linus for this event.
Linus was also responsible for my Miss604 laptop sticker and John’s now SkyTrain-infamous Johnny Canuck t-shirt.
WordCamp Whistler 2009 tickets are currently $35 (early bird price ends Friday) and we’re adding new speakers to the lineup daily so sign up today. Check out the website and our conference blog for more details - the only way in (and to get one of these toques) is to get your ticket today.
Vancouver Site Profile: Cool In Vancouver
I’ve been known for profiling dozens of local bloggers on my site however sometimes I get approached by new websites in town that simply want to get the word out and start building their audience. Instead of adding them to the lists upon lists of urls on my Link Love page I often offer up the option to do a quick interview for my readers. This way they get a link, and we all get to learn more about this new online spot in town. I’m well behind on a profile interview I did with EnglishBay.com (I have some messy audio to transcribe from that) so I’ll start with Cool in VancouverTM.
Interviewee
Shaun Frankson - founder of Frankson Enterprises.
“I have trade marked the name and phrase Cool in Vancouver and used the name for my online recommendation website. Currently I am the owner, I do all the filming and editing, I host the show, gather all the content, I do some of the blogging, and I do all the web design. But I have outsources a new dating blogger to give some magic bullets to all those dating singles and take a bit of the work load off of me.”
How long has Cool in Vancouver been around?
It just launched November 2008
What is it, what is it all about?
Cool in Vancouver aims to answer the epic question of “Where can I get cheap wings” and “What should we do tonight” by providing drinking, dining, and entertainment recommendations accompanied by online episodes of our top picks.
How would people use your site?
The site is really designed to be a visual what to do in Vancouver site. You can watch the episodes which feature our picks, or read about them through out the site depending on your preference. The main thing I strive to do is provide a spread of locations allowing everyone in the lower mainland to pick up something fun to do or great to eat with in a reasonable distance.
Essentially people use the site to help make plans. Specifically I want to give daters in the lower mainland some original ideas to help make a good impression.
What is the ultimate goal for your site, how would you like to see it grow?
The ultimate goal has always been to provide useful recommendations that people actual benefit from reading. The site is only 2 months old. Eventually I will have video footage of every location recommended. The entertainment picks will be the first thing to be hit hard in the new year. To many people don’t realize all the fun things this city has to offer. I hope to add additional features to keep
repeat visitors entertained.
What can people see, read, and do when visiting your site?
Cool in Vancouver is your hook up to the best drinking, dining, and entertainment recommendations. Instead of just providing a list of possible places, I narrow everything down to our top picks and provide a spread of locations through out the Lower Mainland.
I also have a personal beef with reading to much, so the site features online episodes in which I film some of the top recommendations and interview some of the hottest local indie bands and feature a live performance. I am also a huge fan of chicken wings, so I created a cheap chicken wing calendar for the site to ensure people can get cheap wings every day of the week. The chicken wings calendar is the most used section of the site and has become a regular resource for most of our viewers.
Feel free to explore Cool in Vancouver including their blog (via Tumblr), video episodes and one of my personal favourite sections, coupons.
I also offer advertising on Miss604.com for local sites, businesses and companies. Please feel free to contact me about the many options available.
Welcome to Winter in Iowa
When John and I landed in Iowa I was surprised to see less snow on the ground than there was back in Vancouver. I’m so used to telling his relatives that we don’t get much snow back where we’re from in Canada, which usually results in incredulous looks, however this time around things are different. With the Lower Mainland being pelted with yet another layer of white powder, here in Iowa last night we had a mild ice storm.
Vancouver Snow - Photo credit: Keira on Flickr
It looked like it was raining outside, which to me (being a local West Coast gal) means that the snow is going to melt away and the streets will be covered in slush, boy was I wrong though. This certainly is a different climate than on the coast as when it’s -10C and the rain showers down in sheets in Iowa, it forms an instant layer of translucent and dangerously slick ice that coats every surface outdoors.
After the mild ice storm. That’s not shiny pavement, that’s pure ice.
We just took a walk down to the store and while it’s pretty much perfect road hockey conditions, I almost slipped and fell about 6 times. Coming back in the house I checked the temperature and it is -18C outside (with the wind). Rain in the winter is not to be taken lightly in these parts… and now I know.
The True Power of Social Media: eComm’s Challenge
The other day I was contacted by Lee, who is behind the eComm Conference in San Francisco., because he’s decided to start an initiative that will hopefully have a ripple effect, creating some truly positive change.
Let’s have a public test of the effectiveness of social media. Let’s do it with the aim of measuring the reach and usage of social media (and hopefully with some serendipity regarding the results). Let’s do it in a way that helps us understand the role and significance of social media on the emerging communications landscape. [eComm Blog]
How it will be done:
Rather than pick something hard to measure like “positive brand exposure”, I decided to pick something easy to measure for this test. The goal is to achieve 10,000 sign-ups to the conference updates. For everyone who signs up for conference updates, eComm Media will pay 0.50 cents to The Shelter Network (charity watchdog rating here). [eComm Blog]
Fact: “The typical homeless person on the Peninsula is just 5 years old. In fact, nationally the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population is families with children. Two-thirds of the people who are homeless in our community are families with children.” - The Shelter Network.
Photo credit: Sean Orr on Flickr
So what do you need to do? Simply sign up for eComm Conference updates by email, that’s about it. Once you have done so, the eComm Conference will donate $0.50 to The Shelter Network.
Given the outcome of this campaign, Lee has big plans for conferences going forward, “If this experiment goes well, then we can move onto fulfilling a higher ideal, which is that every conference should give 10% to a registered charity within a radius of the event location. I’ve got great ideas on how this may be realized.”
Shelter Network is committed to providing housing and support services that create opportunities for homeless families and individuals to re-establish self-sufficiency and to return to permanent homes of their own
Once again, all that is being asked of you, is that you sign up for updates about the conference, something that most social media people (or those reading this blog) would be interested in anyway. By entering your email address, you will be making a difference. Those of us in Vancouver know about homeless populations and the dire need for help and support - perhaps if we can get started with this initiative, we can pay it forward in our own back yard.
Step 1. Head to the sign up page
Step 2. Enter your information (email etc.) and select how you heard about this initiative
Step 3. Pass along this message by sharing the blog post link, writing your own post, email, re-tweet etc.
Step 4. Sign up stats will be shared on the eComm Blog
Step 5. Donations will be made to The Shelter Network for every person that signs up
Thanks in advance for your support and participation.
Other initiatives: Phones for Fearless and the TweetupHeatup
Taking in a Quad City Flames Game
Yesterday after many more family good times, we piled into the car and drove over to the Quad Cities (which consist of Davenport, Rock Island, Moline, and Bettendorf) to catch my first-ever AHL game.
Driving through the countryside from Iowa to Illinois we followed a breathtaking sunset that made the entire sky glow from orange to pink. Farmers’ fields spanned for miles while barns the colour of the ripest apples were perched next to veranda-wrapped homes. I also got my first view of the mighty Mississippi River as we crossed over it to reach the arena.
The Quad City Flames (formerly the UHL’s Quad City Mallards) play out of the iWireless Centre in Moline, Illinois. Last night they played the Milwaukee Admirals who are affiliated with the Nashville Predators.
No matter how much I cheered for the home team, that actually consisted of many good BC boys, I couldn’t bring myself to chant “Let’s go Flames”, being the true and loyal Canucks fan that I am.
For John’s nephews, mom, and brother it was our way of exposing them to our favourite sport and in some way, a little piece of where we’re from. John really enjoyed teaching them all about the calls, the plays, and a little more about what he does as a part of that ‘day job’ of his.
I enjoy a good hockey game on any level and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. The Flames had speed, a phenomenal goalie, and the boys were pretty happy to see a fight only few minutes into the game. In QC the fans were pretty die-hard and everyone deserved that OT win by the Flames. They had chants, slogans, horns, cowbells, and they pretty much had a “sea of red” with all those sporting jerseys in attendance although unfortunately I was also reminded of this article:
Abbotsford is actively pursuing an American Hockey League franchise, and is negotiating with the Calgary Flames and others to get a deal signed before the 2009-2010 season.
Local businessman Lane Sweeting confirmed in an exclusive interview with the Abbotsford News yesterday that the Quad City Flames, Calgary’s AHL affiliate, is just one of the teams being sought to fill the 7,000 entertainment and sports centre when it is completed in spring 2009. [Abbotsford News]
If more hockey came to our region we’d have the WHL Vancouver Giants, NHL Vancouver Canucks, WHL Chilliwack Bruins and AHL Flames — I must admit it felt pretty good to be so far away from home and still be among people who loved their home-town team and loved the game and I’m not even sure Canucks fans in Abbotsford would support the “Flames”… or would they?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
You can follow QC Flames news through their Twitter account, which I discovered after they added us both after the game last night.
CanadaHelps Contest Winners Announced
Earlier this week I launched my last contest of 2008/my first contest of 2009 where I encouraged all to share the name and cause of a charity they truly believe in. In exchange I am drawing two winners e-gift cards so they can each put $25 towards those charities through the CanadaHelps service.
I usually do draws either over video or by randomly picking a number (Twitter usually helps with this) so since I’m miles away from home I thought I would go the video route.
Congratulations to the winners: Colleen (supporting the CKNW Oprhan’s Fund and Rob (who suggested Science World)!
I’ll email you but if I don’t get the chance first, please send me your first and last name plus email address via my contact form and I’ll have your e-gift card send as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone who shared and participated.
Breakfast with Jeff Pulver in Vancouver January 2009
In June of 2008 I stopped by Subeez on Smithe to check out a breakfast event with Jeff Pulver. I didn’t know what to expect aside from a hot meal and “real time tagging” (in true social media meetup form) however I ended up walking away with a whole lot more.
“Jeff Pulver is the Chairman and Founder of pulver.com, and one of the true pioneers of the VoIP industry and a leader in the emerging TV on the Net industry. Leveraging well over a decade of hands-on experience in Internet/IP communications and innovation, Mr. Pulver is a globally renowned thought leader, author and entrepreneur… …Additionally, Mr. Pulver is the founder of FWD, the VON Coalition, PrimeTimeRewind.TV, Vivox and is the co-founder of VoIP provider, Vonage.” [Jeff Pulver - About]
Jeff Pulver is also one amazing person; after knowing me for mere minutes he seemed to understand what I was going through at the time and offered immediate encouragement, reassurance, and insights that pretty much blew me away. He contributed to the Vancouver Blogathon campaign and was also responsible for getting me on the bill at CES even though I’m unable to make it (since we’re in the middle of an Iowa visit).
I would encourage all those able to come and join us for Jeff’s next breakfast in Vancouver that will take place January 11th. Please RSVP on the Facebook event in case we need to make reservations or for people like Raul (who tipped me off about this event) who are not on Facebook, leave a comment and he’ll add you to the reservation number.
Also if you have a suggestion for a great breakfast spot for a big group of people, let us know.
If you are not in Vancouver you can meet up with Jeff in the following cities in early 2009: Jan 13 - Los Angeles, Jan 14 - San Francisco, Jan 21 - New York City, Jan 22 - Boston, Jan 28 - London, Feb 4 - Philadelphia, Feb 5 - Washington, D.C.
Winter Classic 2009 in Chicago
I’ve been watching the NHL Winter Classic, which has the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings facing off on an outdoor rink at Wrigley Field in Chicago. It’s been great seeing the action along with a room full of Cubs fans to boot.
John found this clip a few weeks ago. “There is so much about this commercial that gets me excited and gives me goosebumps all at the same time. Also makes me shed a tear for the late, great Harry Caray[wiki].”
This game is pretty big news, and an excellent event to get the city of Chicago even more involved with their young team filled with stars. My sister in law even found an article about a Napa Valley winery that created a “Winter Classic Wine”.
On its face, hockey wine seems a bit like opera beer. After all, watching a player pull his opponent’s jersey over his head so he can throttle him blindly doesn’t exactly seem like a Merlot-sipping occasion. But the league’s VP-consumer products marketing, Jim Haskins, said the league’s fan base is more of a wine-drinking crowd than the sport’s blue-collar stereotype suggests.” [Advertising Edge]
The social media realm has also been really excited about NHL Director of Corporate Communications Mike DiLorenzo who has been Tweeting about the event and included early photos of the rink being setup.
Photo credit: Mike DiLorenzo on Twitpic
Photo credit: Mike DiLorenzo on Twitpic
It’s been a great game and the reference to Tiger Williams when Eager celebrated his goal was priceless. There’s nothing like an old-time hockey game and there’s also no place like Wrigley.
Related Post: A New Year and the Winter Classic (2008)
2008 in Review: July to December
This is part two of my 2008 review in photos, covering July through December. After writing 840 posts throughout the year and welcoming a half-million readers to my site, 2008 was a phenomenal year.
July 2008
July 2008 Archives
I was a media partner for Surrey’s Canada Day celebration (the largest of its kind in Western Canada) so John and I hung out in Cloverdale, enjoyed the sunshine and caught some great concerts. A few days later I arranged blogger day at Playland with a few super cool friends.
In July I also established a great relationship with the Vancouver Aquarium and had a few visits to explore the facilities and learn more about the great work they do. I spoke at and liveblogged WordCamp Fraser Valley, was a media partner for Surrey’s Fusion Festival, I was on Shaw TV’s Urban Rush to talk about Blogathon and the first-ever “Blogathon Vancouver” raised over $12,000 collectively for charities thanks to 12 amazing bloggers in town.
August 2008
August 2008 Archives
My first Seattle Mariners game, our big trip to Kansas City, and being a judge for the Grey Goose Arbiter of Cool contest made for an adventurous August.
We also took a soggy trip up Grouse Mountain and I flew to Calgary to be with my friend Tanya at a difficult time.
September 2008
September 2008 Archives
In September we kicked off a new season of The Crazy Canucks by doing a photoshoot with the Canucks. The result was seeing our faces across the city on the side of buses, on SkyTrain cars and at SkyTrain stations.
Photo credit: JMV on Flickr
Jeffery Simpson interviewed me for the Georgia Straight in an article my father said was the best explanation of social media and microblogging he’d read to date and our new company, sixty4media was a media partner for the Internet Marketing Conference.
A group of us bloggers were also invited Willy Wonka-style into the Molson Brewery for a night of tours and tastings. It was a pleasure to meet Mr. Rickard himself along with Mr. Molson.
Raul, me, and Gord Rickard - Photo credit: Tris Hussey on Flickr
September was a big month for blogging as I headed to Las Vegas for BlogWorld (with the help of DreamBank), interviewed one of my all-time favourite bands, Less Than Jake, and I participated in National Digital Media Day.
I also liveblogged the Project Tunisia fundraiser, and helped put on WordCamp at BarCamp.
October 2008
October 2008 Archives
In October I invited the lovely Colleen to join me at the Gibson’s Finest Iron Bar Competition, I interviewed the director, actor, and producer of the short film Centrigrade, and I had media accreditation (through my E!Online gig) for the Vancouver International Film Festival - (and I had my first ever dress sponsor (thanks to HBC) for the closing gala party). I was also able to cover a reception for the Gemini Awards in Vancouver.
This was also the month I started my weekly radio spot on Talk 1410am with Pat and Val in the afternoons.
October also had extensive coverage for the Provincial by-elections where I was able to interview several of the Vancouver Centre candidates and I liveblogged Interesting Vancouver.
November 2008
November 2008 Archives
In November I was on a panel at the Making a Scene conference, I covered a store opening/charity announcement, and I had a speaking engagement for a group of First Nations youth embarking on a social media journey.
I was also very busy preparing for the first annual Best of 604 awards although I was still able to report on the civic elections in Vancouver.
December 2008
December 2008 Archives
The Best of 604 awards raised over $1,800 for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and celebrated local web stars and heroes.
I started two traditions this year… Blogathon Vancouver (based on the original global Blogathon) as well as the Best of 604 Awards. I’m looking forward to both of these events that celebrate bloggers while also raising funds and awareness for very worthy causes. I’m very proud of the hard work my peers have put into all of these events in which I’ve been able to participate and I’m thankful every day that each of you choose to return to Miss604.com and read my content.
Related Posts: 2008 in Review: Vancouver Concerts, 2008 in Review: January to June
2008 in Review: January to June
I’ve decided to do a photo post for my official “year in review” but going through my iPhoto and Flickr archives I realized it would be impossible to only choose one photo to represent each month. I’ve decided to do this recap of 2008 in two posts, January to June then July to December (which will follow later) each with photos representing each month.
January
January 2008 Archives
Several big things happened in January, the first was meeting Tom Larscheid and John Shorthouse up in the broadcast gondola of GM Place thanks to John.
Another was being named one of the “Tech Women to Watch” by Raincity Studios (which was celebrated among with the other fine women named at Launch Party).
There was also my flash trip to Toronto to be a part of the victorious Team Blogger on CBC’s television show, Test the Nation. I met some amazing bloggers and podcasters from across the country (and traveled with some too) and got to meet Samantha Bee (our assigned celebrity and blogger).
February 2008
February 2008 Archives
Photo credit: Keira-Anne on Flickr
I visited my friend Keira’s favourite little place to play in the snow for the first time last February. Mount Washington over on Vancouver Island is pretty darn amazing and I had a wonderful time hanging out in her hometown to boot.
This was the month for Northern Voice where I live blogged, updated wikis, wore a sheriff badge, was on a panel, and captured my friend Dave’s now internet-famous talk, “F*ck Stats, Make Art“.
It was also in February that The Crazy Canucks did their first (official) podcast recordings from GM Place and I was on an episode of The Lab With Leo.
[Acquired From DownTheLab]
March 2008
March 2008 Archives
In early March I became an auntie for the 4th time as baby Jakob was welcomed to the world.
In March I went to the launch of the Union Gospel Mission’s website, John and I had our photo in the Wall Street Journal (thanks to Darren) and we took a weekend getaway to lovely and refreshing Saltspring Island.
April 2008
April 2008 Archives
In April I liveblogged the inaugural Bridging Media Conference that was a great success. I was on a panel at the Massive Technology Show, I liveblogged the Open Web Conference, and I was a speaker (and liveblogged) WordCamp Vancouver.
I met Pauline for the first time, took a trip to Osoyoos with John (where I wrote about Golden Beaver and Burrowing Owl Wineries), I watched Trevor Linden play in his last NHL game, and I took the time to address Cyberbullying.
May 2008
May 2008 Archives
I was a speaker at Convergence, I wrote a movie review for the 24 Hours newspaper, and I had media accreditation for New Music West.
I also started my Day Tripping series and along with Keira, had a lovely “mommy and me” ladies night out on the town.
June 2008
June 2008 Archives
This month I had several additions to my Metro Vancouver Park Series (including a few guest posts), and I got out to golf Ambleside for the first time.
I had media accreditation for the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival, I met Jeff Pulver at breakfast, I was on the CBC evening news (national) talking about and defending my hometown of Surrey.
John updated my WordPress theme,and I sponsored Joomla! Day in Vancouver.
We also went camping with Duane, got really soggy, but still managed to make campfire nachos.
If you’d like to continue this as a meme please do so, I’d love to see 2008 in photos by others as well.
Stay tuned for part two (July to December 2008) either later today or tomorrow as it’s action-packed with celebrity meetings, and tales of my plunge into self employment.
Related Posts: 2008 in Review: Vancouver Concerts.
WordCamp Whistler: Sponsors Needed
We’re nearing the 3-week mark until we kick off the first-ever WordCamp Whistler; a world-class conference in an amazing location all for the sake of networking, talking, and absorbing all that is WordPress (the world’s top blogging platform and system of choice for this site and many others).
However, we are still looking for a few sponsors at the various levels that can help us out with costs. In exchange (among other things) you’ll get link love, shout outs, and exposure to all guests and our global audience. Sponsorship packages start at $100 and go up to $2000 (where you will even get a small speaking slot to talk about your company).
Big huge thanks to 6S Marketing, Molson, and Automattic for signing on so far and for helping make WordCamp Whistler a reality.
Check out the sponsors page on the WordCamp Whistler website for more details and be sure to book your ticket as this is a not-to-miss social media event (heck, we even have awesome swag!)
Related posts: WordCamp Whistler 2009, WordCamp Whistler: Speaker Update
New Year in Iowa: Getting Settled
After a very long day yesterday our heads finally hit our pillows in small town Iowa. We’ve been reunited with John’s family and all of his nieces and nephews (that I can tell he misses dearly since he can’t stop playing college football on Playstation with the boys).
We didn’t accomplish much today but I did get in some shopping that included checking out every retailer from Walmart to the local fabric store/kitchenware/drug store (this was after we tried to get into the tanning salon/accessories shop but it was closed).
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love small town America.
2008 in Review: Vancouver Concerts
Thanks to my new adventures as a freelance blogger, I’ve been able to experience more concerts this year than ever before as a guest contributor for E!Online.
However, when not on the clock for E!, RadioZoom, or Miss604, we still made time to catch amazing acts just cause. Here are some of my top Vancouver concert picks from 2008.
March 2008
Nada Surf
John introduced me to Nada Surf years ago and although some in the crowd only knew their song Popular or the single the opening band had on the high school pop drama Friday Night Lights, it was a great show.
April 2008
The Black Keys
One of the loudest shows I’ve seen at the Commodore, The Black Keys were amazingly heart-thumpingly awesome. These two men from Ohio rocked our sock off and provided so much base our nostrils tickled and shot glasses bounced off tables in the packed ballroom.
Also in April, No Use for a Name played the Commodore with NOFX. I had an interview with NUFAN but I was double-booked that night (I think it was the VIDFEST launch). I’d pretty much give anything to get a double bill like that back in town.
May 2008
Von Bondies
I admit, I first heard of the Von Bondies when John introduced me to Rescue Me in 2005 (their song C’mon C’mon is the opening theme) but soon-after explored the rest of their catalog. It was another great show with a band we love to enjoy, in an intimate live venue.
June 2008
Matthew Good
Photo credit: Duane Storey on Flickr
Our pal Matt played an amazing full-band show at the Orpheum for his hometown fans. He went on to release Live at Massey Hall in the fall of 2008.
September 2008
Hanson
You didn’t think I would miss talking about how we hung out with the boys from Hanson do you? I brought Keira along with me for a podcast and online article interview with Zach, Taylor and Isaac.
September 2008
Less Than Jake
The absolute highlight of my year as Less Than Jake was the reason I created my first website in 1997 and 11 years later, I was interviewing them and covering their show at the Commodore. John took some great photos, which are in his set on Flickr.
What made this even better (and the concert of the year in my books) was that Reel Big Fish opened up for them. I couldn’t stop smiling (or singing or dancing) the entire night.
It’s a pleasure to experience such talent - whether by using my own credentials as a respected blogger and music podcaster, or simply being happy fan in the crowd. I look forward to getting out to more local shows this coming year and can’t wait to see who will be rolling through town in 2009.
If you’re a local band and you’d like to introduce me to your tunes, get played on RadioZoom or have me cover your show, please feel free to contact me.
CanadaHelps Gift Card Giveaway
Help me, help you, help others! I’m giving away not one, but two e-gift cards ($25 a piece) and what’s so very special about these particular e-gift cards is that with your $25 you will be able to help one of over 83,000 registered Canadian charities through CanadaHelps.
For donors, CanadaHelps.org simplifies the donating process, making it easy, quick and secure. On any pages where you share personal information or perform financial transactions, CanadaHelps.org encrypts your data using Secure Socket Layers (SSL), allowing you to send and receive information without the worry of having it intercepted. Put simply, donors go online, select as many charities as they wish, make their donation and receive a tax receipt for each donation immediately.
For charities, CanadaHelps.org provides a cost effective alternative to setting up their own online donations facilities: there is no set up fee, no annual charges and charities receive immediate notification when a donation is received. Charities are only charged when a donation is actually made, thereby ensuring a charity is not paying for a service that is not being used. [CanadaHelps - About]
You can win my last contest of 2008 (and first contest of 2009) by sharing how you would spend your donation dollars if you won by either…
I’ll do the draw January 2nd at noon Pacific Time and hopefully we’ll have two lucky winners who can help kick off 2009 with some cheer and good will toward others.
In the meantime, feel free to spread the word about CanadaHelps!
Kim Cattrall to Speak at UBC
Megan Cole on Flickr & Kris Krug
One of the stars of Sex and the City and with numerous other credits under her belt, Vancouver Island’s own Kim Cattrall will be speaking at UBC next week.
Cattrall will talk about her career and issues such as women in the workforce, post-feminism, and self-image, at an appearance in Vancouver on January 7 (noon to 1 p.m.) at the Frederic Wood Theatre (6354 Crescent Road, UBC), where she’ll be interviewed by Jerry Wasserman, the acting head of the UBC Department of Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing. [Georgia Straight]
There is no cost for admission although you will need to call in advance for tickets.
If I were in town this wold be a not-to-miss event as Cattrall is engaging, powerful, and a strong career woman whom I’d love to hear speak and give insights.
Related posts: Sex and the City Movie Review
City and Colour Featuring Gord Downie
In 5 hours my husband will be home from work. 6 hours later we’ll be heading out to the Midwest. I’ve packed, I’ve cleaned and scrubbed the house (since we have a house-sitter), and I’ve booked a ride to the airport.
The internet was just down for many users in the Vancouver area (as I can see from all the Tweets) although just before it went out I found Sleeping Sickness and I’ve been replaying it ever since.
This song by City and Colour is good until Gord Downie makes a cameo - he then makes it great.
Twitter Tools Online From Stats to Search
It seems like many people got a Twitter account for Christmas; It’s great to see so many new faces, organizations, and businesses using this tool that connects so many across the globe.
For a bit of background…. “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.”
Over the last year or so I’ve reviewed Twitter clients and applications however it’s always those fun little web-based gadgets that create a bit of buzz. Here’s a quick list of some “fun” Twitter tools.
Just for funTweetCloud
Find out what you’re talking about the most on Twitter by way of a generated tag cloud. (http://tweetclouds.com/)
TwitterKeys
Since Twitter only allows for 140 character updates, why not use some fun little symbols instead? TwitterKeys is a super simple copy/paste guide to the usable symbols and tiny images you can use on Twitter.
StrawPoll
Create your own polls on Twitter and view the results on StrawPoll.
Twitt Groups
Being the 4th person to join the Vancouver “TwittGroup” it was pretty fun to spread the word and watch it grow. It’s a way to reach, comment and message all who have joined and also find new people to follow in your city. (http://twittgroups.com/)
My First Follow
Very quick, simple and straightforward, check out who you first followed on Twitter. (http://dcortesi.com/tools/my-first-follow/)
Just Tweet It
Very useful blog and website that contains directories of Twitter users. Find new people to follow and add your name to the list using personal, industry, or professional keywords so people can find you. (http://justtweetit.com/)
Statistics and Rank
Twinfluence
Find out how influential your tweets are (based on followers and reach) with Twinfluence (note: this is one of the online services that asks for your account name and password). (http://twinfluence.com/)
Twitemperature
This quick and easy gauge simply measures how hot your topics are based on your last 100 tweets. It checks to see if you are a part of the conversation and if so who else was talking about the same thing. Warning, this can change quickly and you can go from Volcanic to Wet Fish in a heartbeat (don’t take it personally).(http://twitemperature.com/)
Twitter Grader
Because people love stats (even if they say they don’t) and they also love lists (even though they say they don’t). You can type in your account name and get your “grade” then see how you compare to others in your city in terms of number of followers, updates etc.
Grader also gives you “suggested” folks to follow and a quick one-step “are they following me” check box. (http://twitter.grader.com/)
Tweetstats
This graphing system visually displays your update frequency and volume, while also providing details like who you “@” the most, hourly and daily stats. (http://tweetstats.com/)
Friend or Follow
This website allows you to see who you are following, who is following you, and who you are following who isn’t reciprocating. (http://friendorfollow.com)
There are several ways to keep track of the top “trends” on Twitter.
Hashtags or Twemes follow topics when people title their conversations such as #Canucks or #WordCamp.
Tweetstats has a tag cloud and a few graphs that represent the most mentioned keywords over the last 10 hours.
Twist allows you to search for any specific word then see its trending popularity on the line graph while also showing what’s “hot now”. You can also click on the word you’re searching and eventually visit every tweet that mentioned it.
Summize or search.twitter.com searches Twitter for any word, keyword, topic or person and displays when they were mentioned. It allows you to follow conversations and also view top topics.
I’m also curious about many more applications, like Snitter or even Power Twitter - since dragging/embedding Flickr photos into tweets sounds pretty fun.
It seems like there’s a new tool every week so with gaining momentum and exposure I’m pretty interested in seeing how Twitter will grow and develop.
Related Posts About Twitter: A Vancouverite’s Guide to Twitter, TweetDeck is Your All-in-One Twitter Manager, The Power of Twitter: Tweet Apps and Clients, The Power of Twitter, Brightkit Twitter Account Manager.
WordCamp Whistler: Speaker Update
There’s under a month to go until WordCamp Whistler! We’ve been busy updated the site, blog, getting a group rate for the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Resort, and also singing on some amazing speakers:
Keynote Lorrelle Van Fossen (aka Lorelle on WordPress), Dave Olson (Topic, Are you Worthy?), John Biehler (Topic, How To Sex Up Your Blog With Photos And Video), Dale Mugford (Topic, WordPress On The Go), Andy Peatling (Topic, BuddyPress), and possibly you! There are still a few days left to submit your ideas and topics.
Book your tickets today, we’d love to see you for this day of major WordPress networking, information, parties and hitting the slopes.
If you have already booked your ticket and will be joining us January 24th, or if you’d just like to help us promote the event, consider adding a badge to your site.
North Shore Rescue Donations and Volunteers Needed
Over the years many have been saved due to the hard work and efforts of North Shore Search and Rescue volunteers but the association is now in need of your help.
North Shore Rescue (NSR) is a Mountain Search and Rescue Team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The team consists of approximately 40 volunteers skilled in search and rescue operations in mountain, canyon and urban settings.
Our lovely North Shore mountains are beautiful outdoors playgrounds for all, 12 months of the year. Hiking in the summer (or doing the Grind) to carving up the slopes in winter. However, due to frequent sudden changes in our weather systems and many heading out unprepared for the terrain, rescue missions are an unfortunate reality.
Over the years North Shore Rescue has helped 1000s of individuals and returned sons, daughters, fathers and mothers back to their families - and now North Shore Rescue is asking for your help. NSR is having a severe shortage of donations and we are in dire need of assistance. Any donations you can provide will help NSR continue to provide rescue services to the Vancouver area. NSR is 100% volunteer run and depends on public donations to operate.
If you would like to learn more or donate online, you can visit the North Shore Rescue Blog or main website.