Today I attended the 1st day of Northern Voice. I was nervous about my talk on Alternate Reality Games, however the room was full and everyone enjoyed it. Here are some photos of my day.
Taylor Loren – @taylorloren
Why I play Alternate Reality Games talk
Derek Miller – @penmachine
Peter Andersen at PhotoCamp- @peteroa
More photos on flickr.
Tonight I joined the Society for Geek Advancement, which was created by Shira Lazar.
THE SOCIETY FOR GEEK ADVANCEMENT was founded upon the principles that we should all embrace our inner and outer geek and have fun while doing it. As individuals who love learning, innovating and believe in possibility as well as change, the second step of responsibility is to “be the geek that keeps on giving”. As a member of SGA, we work together as a global community to provide the tools and help others realize their true potential too!
As someone that is constantly using his Blackberry to update twitter, check Facebook, and read Google News, I am excited that this society now exists.
What is even cooler is that the society is connected with Room to Read, a great charity created by former Microsoft exec, John Wood, which partners with local communities in developing countries to build libraries, construct schools, and create local language children’s literature.
So get out there and tell others about the Society for Geek Advancement.
Yes, I am a Geek (and totally love it)!
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?….
Although YouTube can be thought of as a site to watch your favourite music videos, it has also become an environment for young people to express their creativity through singing or the playing of instruments. In the Toronto Star online, there is a story about Yunior Lopez, a 20-year old Toronto viola student that is one of 5 Canadians chosen for one of 90 positions in the YouTube Symphony that will play together in a live concert at Carnegie Hall in April.
The young Cuban-born violist grew up in the world’s gambling capital, where his scientist father had gone to take a job in construction. He said he picked up the viola at age 11, when he had to choose an instrument in his arts-school orchestra.
“I really wanted to play the cello, but I rode my bike to school and there was no way I would’ve been able to do it with a cello,” Lopez recalled.
He made so much progress that he landed a contract with the Las Vegas Symphony “at the same time that I was supposed to start my senior year” in high school.
Relevance: This is very cool. What other examples exist of social media being used to solicit talent?
Twitter sent @reply messages to email
Early this morning at 1:04am PST I received in my email @reply messages that I had been sent through the day. I didn’t change any settings on twitter so I’m unclear whether this is a bug or a new feature.
Anyone else have this happen to them?
Relevance: Trying to sort out why this happened
update: I figured it out. Apparently I signed up for a 3rd party service and forgot I had done that.
Today I dropped by Raincity Studios HQ to hand in my old mobile for the Phones for Fearless Campaign. I was happy to participate and everyone that is a part of it (Kris Krüg (@kk), Irwin Oostindie (@dutchphoto), Jenn Lowther (@jennmae), Dave Olson (@uncleweed), Lorraine (@raincoaster), Lani, Hendrick, Roland Tanglao (@rtanglao), etc.) are doing a great job to let people know about the cause and motivate them to participate.
This is an excellent example of social media (e.g. twitter, flickr, blogs, facebook) combining with community organising to help those in need in the Vancouver East Side.
Twitter has done an awesome job in spreading the word. See the blogs of Monica and Dave Olson for proof.
The campaign runs until January. It isn’t too late to participate, so find an old mobile and donate to the cause! See here.
How can you help?
1. Your used mobile phones – preferably with video, camera, wi-fi
2. Cash donations (* tax deductible) or new phone donations
3. Conversation – tell your friends on your blog, twitter, etc. – post a badge
Relevance: Participation made me feel good. Love this city!
Do you have an old phone? Please donate it to Fearless City
On Friday I followed on twitter as Kris Krug (@kk), the CEO of Raincity Studios, Dave Olson, Community Evangelist of Raincity Studios (@uncleweed), and Irwin Oostindie (@dutchphoto) used social media to generate interest in the Fearless City campaign.
The purpose of the Fearless City campaign (@fearlesscity) according to their webpage is for you to:
Donate your old mobile phones to help DTES artists share stories, and tap into life, jobs & family
How can you help?
- Your used mobile phones – preferably with video, camera, wi-fi
- Cash donations (* tax deductible) or new phone donations
- Conversation – tell your friends on your blog, twitter, etc. – post a badge
You can schedule an appointment for phone pickup on Tuesday. Just @kk or @uncleweed on twitter or send an email to Kris (kris@raincitystudios.com).
Relevance: Cool to see the power of social media bringing locals together to help those in need.
Northern Voice 2009: Get your moose on
One of my favourite conferences is called Nothern Voice. It is a social media and personal blogging conference here in Vancouver that occurs each February at the University of British Columbia.
Northern Voice is a two-day, non-profit personal blogging and social media conference held at the Forestry Sciences Centre, 2424 Main Mall, UBC main campus, Vancouver, Canada on February 20-21, 2009. This is the 5th annual incarnation of this event, see the 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 websites for previous information.
I was fortunate to have been chosen as a speaker last year and I recommend anyone that is interested in coming submit an application to be a speaker. It is alot of fun and a great opportunity to share your interests as a workshop, panel, or talk.
Northern Voice sells out every year so if you plan on attending, make sure you get your tickets as soon as they come out. Hope to see you there!
My Northern Voice 2008 Photos
Relevance: I love attending Northern Voice and I make new friends here every year.
MakeFive – What’s your top-five list?
Today I activated a MakeFive account which is a project from smashLAB, here in Vancouver.
Geography is becoming less consequential. Although your 65 year old neighbor may be friendly, you may have little to share with her. On the other hand, there are people who you’ve never physically met, who share the same ideas as you.
This is what MakeFive is about: an easy to use venue that gets us all talking with one another and making new connections. Users create simple “top 5” lists for anything that they are interested in, and then share their selections with others. This proves a nice entry point to discussions and connecting with like-minds.
MakeFive (www.makefive.com) allows people to create top-five lists on any topic of interest to them. I created a list on MakeFive of the five things in life that I can’t live without. I am still playing with it, however it looks like a fun place to share your interests and connect with other members.
I have previously met smashLAB at this year’s PopVox awards where they were the Winner of the Do-Gooder Award for Best Venture Dedicated to Social Change.
The site launched last Fall and smashLAB continues to make incremental changes.
Most recently they have added:
SpinVox Research on Facebook Shows Bad Pick-Up Lines Retain Charm in Canada
According to research from the world’s largest privately-held speech techology, SpinVox, it seems that the pick-up lines work in Canada.
The report has revealed the top five ‘worst’ pick-up lines in Canada to be:
1. “Do you have a mirror in your pocket? Because I can see myself in your pants.”
2. “You must be leaving the country if you’re packing that much ass.”
3. “Excuse me if I’m wrong, but is your name Yolanda?
4. “Inheriting 50 million dollars doesn’t mean much when you have a weak heart.”
5. “Excuse me, but I’m new in town, can I have directions to your place?”
Whether you rely on these old favorites or a more original opener, it’s worth starting up a conversation: the research, based on feedback from focus groups conducted among 1,000 Canadians, showed that for 37 percent of women, a well-timed chat-up approach will lead to conversation. (Regardless of how well the night is going, only six percent of the women surveyed said it would lead to an overnighter.)
They come to interesting conclusions regarding Facebook users.
With 120 million active users, Facebook is another great way to connect with potential dates online. Even if things don’t fare well initially, men may get a second chance: nearly half of the women surveyed will look up the men they’ve met on Facebook. Meanwhile, only 38 percent of men said they look for the women they’ve just met on the Internet, which sharply contrasts the 95 percent look-up rate of men in America.
I personally wouldn’t randomly message a stranger on Facebook looking for a date. I’ve been on Facebook since 2005 and Facebook is still a place where I interact with close real-world friends and maintain personal relationships with them there.
Does anyone use social media for finding dates? Do people feel comfortable using Facebook, twitter, or Flickr for this purpose? Were you happy with the results?
Relevance: As social media becomes more known to the public, how are these tools being used to connect people seeking partners?
Barcamp Vancouver 2008 (upcoming)
Are you excited? If not, you should be because Barcamp Vancouver 2008 is coming. Surprisingly, with tons of social media press, people seems to lose out every year when it sells out. You don’t want to miss out this year because it is going to be unbelievable and everyone will be there.
So, take out your sharpie and mark your calendar for Sept 26-27th. Then signup. It’s free.
It looks like this year Rebecca Bollwitt will be running WordCamp with Duane Storey.
What is Barcamp?
BarCamp is an ad-hoc un-conference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees.
All attendees are encouraged to give a demo, a session, a presentation, or help with one. All attendees are expected to be participants. All presentations are scheduled the day they happen. Prepare in advance, but come early to get a slot on the wall.
Presenters are responsible for making sure that notes/slides/audio/video of their presentations are published on the web for the benefit of all and those who can’t be present.
Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.
So, mark your calendar for Barcamp Vancouver 2008 from Friday September 26th 5pm – Saturday September 27h 5pm. Will there be s’mores? Should you bring a tent? Will you meet fun people that become friends for life? Well, I don’t know the answer to the first 2 questions, but the third is a definite yes!
I attended Barcamp Vancouver 07 for the first time last year and met alot of new people for the first time. I remember sitting on the couch meeting someone named Linda Bustos, talking about Malta with Darren Barefoot, and chatting about tagging with Todd Sieling. I was totally nervous giving a presentation as Kris Krüg played on a skateboard. As has become a tradition as I’ve attended events around campus, I took a picture with Rebecca. Good memories. It was also the first time using my Digital Rebel XTi.
I remember the Friday night as I arrived at the Alibi Room all existed to try out my new camera. I got ready to take a photo of Kris Krüg and I could figure out why I couldn’t zoom with my camera. That’s when he said “Phillip, it’s a fixed lens, you got to step back”. Hopefully I’ve improved since that night.
Darren Barefoot – Barcamp Vancouver 07
Roland Tanglao & Kris Krüg – Barcamp Vancouver 07
Me presenting – Barcamp Vancouver 07
Linda Bustos – Barcamp Vancouver 07
Relevance: Barcamp is about family, community, and sharing what you love to do in your life with friends.
Sunday Brunch at Havana