Relatively new to the blogosphere, but kind of an old hat in the art world (and fairly well schooled thus far as well!), Beyond Robson has just discovered the increasingly famous Izzie Egan and featured the gallery manager of the Monte Clark Gallery in this week’s installation of Cityphile!
Check out the full article here.
I just got back from sunny Saskatoon (sunniest city in Canada: fact.) and let me just say that this “Paris of the Prairies” town of 200,000, in a province that’s 700,000 square km., has a lot happening and much to offer. Talk to anyone from there, and this, they have always known. It’s time for the rest of us to have a peek and take some notice.
This year marked the second annual Saskatchewan Interactive conference, organized and funded predominently by local businesses. The focus this year was “well beyond websites”, with a great blend of interactive gaming, mobile, and social media content. The conference started out with a dinner on the first evening for the speakers introduction, and then continued for HOURS, with all of us meeting, mingling and competing in front of several massive projector screens, where we could each have a go at Wii, Super Mario Brothers and even Pong!
I was invited to speak this year on an introduction to social media, web 2.0 and citizen journalism. The sessions were recorded and the organizing committee has a copy of each speaker’s presentation, so hopefully I can point to that very soon once they get it up on the official site.
It was an inspiring place to be. There were some great people involved: Keynote John Lester from Linden Lab, who brought us all into Second Life, a second Keynote, Mike Parkhill, Director of Education at Microsoft Canada, Ian Verchere, CCO of Vancouver’s Shift Control Media, Daivd Voigt from Mobile Muse, who talked to us about mobile culture and content, Roland Tanglao from Bryght gave his infamous EverythingCasting presentation, among many other educators, innovators and technologists from all over North America. Check the speakers page for a full run-down.
The buzz and energy has already begun in looking forward to next year’s conference, which, if this year was any indication, promises to be nothing short of fantastic.
I want to thank some people here: Barbara Rackham and Deborah Black of DBlack Communications and Ryan Lejbak from zu.com all played a key role in getting this conference up and off the ground, and their hard work was evident. It was great to have Roland from Bryght with his expert and veteran insight, and to show a newbie to the Toon around town. Thanks as well to Izzie Egan, Kris Krug, Robert Scoble, Raincity, Dave Olson and Marion Ryan – all of you had a hand in shaping my presentation, whether you know it or not, so thank-you!
And to all of those crazy cats from zu, an old home of mine and one that I miss, it was a treat to hang out again.
I hope to see you soon Saskatoon!
Last week I spent the afternoon hanging out at Projections with Nilesh Patel. I interviewed this director/producer for Capital Magazine on his award-winning documentary, Brocket 99 – Rockin’ The Country. The interview is live over at the Capital Magazine site. Brocket 99 explores the relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians, and the history and reactions from the infamous cult tapes of the 80’s, a parody on a reservation radio station.
If you’re in the Toronto area in April, Brocket 99 – Rockin’ The Country will be screening at the Real World Festival, April 11 – 14.
Tomorrow I am off to Saskatoon, and I can’t WAIT!
I am speaking at the Saskatchewan Interactive conference, which is pretty damn exciting, and I hope to share some useful knowledge and insight with the participants in attendance. I will be speaking about social media and user-generated content, in general: what is it? how do you tap it? what do you tap? what has it done? what can it do?…..
There seems to be a bit of disconnect across Canada. Go figure. But I’ve been, and spoken with people, from coast to coast over the past few months, and it’s interesting to discover that not very many people understand, or even know, what Web 2.0 is? I’m generalizing, yes, but while the tech folks in Vancouver and Toronto are trying to find and use another term for it all, because this one has been around for soooo loooong, there is a vast amount of Canadians who might like to hear a little about this stuff. At least hear it, try to grasp it and maybe even use it, and then decide if they like it, or can see the power of it. I hope to be a small part of the discovery for some of these people because it wasn’t too long ago that I was one of them.
I think the conference will be fantastic – check out what’s laid out for us all in the schedule.
On to a slightly more exciting aspect: I am going back to a town where I lived and loved living in for 2 years. I always maintain that Saskatchewan is one of those hidden gems of Canada, kinda like Newfoundland, and they’d like to sort of, maybe, keep it that way to a certain degree, kinda like Newfoundlanders. (psst! It really is a dry cold that isn’t so bad, and killer mosquitoes don’t really exist!)
I am most excited to see old friends and the folks at zu.com – they were an intricate part of why I loved living in The Toon, and I am happy to reacquaint with some stellar, lovely, genuine, salt of the earth people.
Can’t wait to hit The Yard!
I have been waiting for this morning for quite some time. Well, since Funeral was released back in 2004. And today, I sit at my favourite coffee establishment, wifi-ed up, next door to my favourite record store, waiting for 10:30 to roll around. I am still very much the music romantic at heart. I love to stand at play stations for hours on end, and walk out of a music store with 2 or 3 new picks – with the tangible items in my hot, little hands.
So the doors opened, and I was there to pick up The Arcade Fire’s latest, Neon Bible. And now I sit, headphones in, transfixed and inspired, all with the gorgeous smells of new paper and stiff plastic around me, the imagery of flipbooks and a flashy sliver and black CD, an actual CD!
This album is nothing short of epic – an emotional blast that has a bit of everything: it’s full, heavy, melodic, simplistic, passionate – I love this band. I feel as if their sound has matured and evolved to something more of what they first gave us with Funeral – is this even possible? The church organ in “Intervention” and “My Body Is A Cage” gives me goose bumps. On first listen, and second, and third!, I love every track.
Most of this album was recorded in “the church” in Quebec – can they get any cooler? Maybe that’s why it feels eerie, spiritual and I feel slightly out of my skin listening to it. Pick it up, download it – however you get your music these days, get this album – a great Canadian gem.
Let’s face it: reading a blog has now become a bit of an archaic activity. With our online news sources, blog feeds and Google searches, there’s no time to really read and absorb all we would like to online, just as it goes when you have, or had, 30 minutes in a morning to read the 5 sections of the morning newspaper. It’s all about the scan.
But this blog, you should read. Spend some time with it. It is written by the gallery manager of the Monte Clark Gallery, Izzie Egan. I met Izzie last year, and she has since become one of my dear friends. So, as bias as this post may seem, I truly mean it – I love her blog. And it’s only 2 months old! Izzie comes from an art background, having acquired her Masters Graduate from the infamous and prestigious Sotheby’s in London. In a nutshell, she has a lot to offer and recognizes how the internet is changing the traditional art world. The blog is jam-packed with art knowledge, inspiration and recommendations, with a little travel advice to boot: a treat.
Izzie is also the founder of the Contemporary Collectors Club. Currently, participation is by invite only, but you can read all about it here, and discover how you can get involved.
From a somewhat rookie blogger to another – bravo to a unique and fabulous newbie to the blogosphere!
I have recently started to play a small role for Capital Magazine, videoblogging interviews with various artists and people who have a story to tell, people who are making social and economic change through art, film, music, television and life – most accurately, people whose stories deserve more attention. Here’s an excerpt from their site, better explaining Capital Magazine’s purpose and goals:
“Capital Media is a non-profit entity dedicated to the sharing of information and encouraging the spread of ideas, modes, and movements. Our collective is dedicated to the untold story. We strive to give voice to people and issues that haven’t been given adequate attention…. We aspire to promote the value of cultural movements, of people’s passions, interests and expressions, and most importantly, to demonstrate the worth of the story untold.”
I interviewed Sol Guy, the host and producer of the television series 4Real – a show that highlights young people around the world who are using art and culture to deal with pressing social issues. Several shows are already in the bag, with the likes of Joaquim Pheonix and K’naan, with more to go before it goes to air this fall on MTV Canada.
All you need to know is here in the inverview, so check it out over at Capital Magazine.
I am most excited about this so my dad can see that I am actually doing things out here in Vancouver – top of the fold Pappy!
NowPublic is a participatory crowdsourcing news organization that is based here in Vancouver. I like writing for this news network, believe in their goals, and think it’s pretty damn cool I ended up in the British Columbia section of today’s Globe and Mail because of my contribution.
Read the article here.
Find out more about NowPublic and join the masses.
If you’re in BC, there happens to be a photo that goes along with this article where I managed to get my dog Capo another step closer to being the most photographed dog on the planet!
After thought: For those of you that DO see that photo in person, the caption reads, “a place that gave me a voice”. I think that quote serves a great purpose for one of the postive aspects of NowPublic, but that doesn’t really sound like something I would say, plus, I *think* I’ve had a voice for about 30 years or so. I know that I DID in fact say, “the public wants a voice”. Alas, it’s a great article, and pretty swell to be top of the fold with my dog 
James Eberhardt, Marble Media, With His Wife
Flickr is one of the best photosharing sites on the planet, not to mention, all over the internet!
The Canadian New Media Awards has joined the masses and set up a new flickr account to share photos from years past. Check out some of the pictures added from the awards show in 2005 and 2006.
This will be one of the places online anyone can upload their CNMA pictures for this year’s show in Toronto this May for all to see and experience. You’ll be able to check out the Who’s Who of new media in Canada and download any photo from the site as well.
Get caught up on the CNMA Blog and submit a nomination for the 2006 award show now!
Getting Up Close And Personal With A Plane Wreck – Thankfully, This One’s For The Big Screen
Seeing movie trailers, cables, cameras, lights and crew members with walkie-talkies in hand has long been a common occurence throughout the streets of Hollywood North. Every person living in Vancouver has either been on a movie set or knows someone who is “in the business”, so this ain’t no novelty.
But stumbling across the wreckage from a plane, hunks of metal puked all over the beaches of Point Grey on Vancouver’s west side, was a spectacular site to behold. Eerie in fact. Once the initial shock is over, after about 3.7 seconds, one can quickly decipher, “Oh, this must be for a film”. Phew. The movie Passengers is shooting here in Vancouver until mid- March, starring Anne Hathaway, and this on-location film set took up residence along the Spanish Banks for the last few weeks. (Just around the corner from the burned out 747 is Wreck Beach, the infamous year-round hang-out for hippies and nudists with hot pizza, cold beer and plenty of herb.)
The film industry in Vancouver has had its’ fair share of ups and downs, but this set was a strong reminder, and was as in-your-face as it gets, that movies are made here: Made In Canada. And Vancouver’s sophisticated film studios and flexible outdoor backdrop aren’t just attracting feature films. The television series Smallville has long been a Vancouver-shot mainstay. Anne Heche’s new series Men In Trees resides here as well. And let’s not forget the days of X-Files, Dark Angel, X-Men, the list goes on and on. From the BC Film Commission list, there are currently 9 features, 12 televisions series, 5 MOW’s, 3 short films, 8 animations, 3 documentaries, and a handful of pilots and mini series. And this is the SLOW season!
So for all of us in Vancouver, when we’re slaggin’ the back-up of traffic and the no parking zones due to movie trailers and film sets, smile and remember that this industry keeps many Canadians employed and north of the border. And, hey, one of these days you may get lucky and stumble across a gnarly plane crash, or two.
I hope I never get that close again.