Category Archives: Technology - Page 2

Raincity Lads Give Props to Vancouver Lassies

Lipgloss and LaptopsComing out of the holiday season, the women in the Vancouver Tech world were welcomed into 2008 by a gracious (and overdue) blog post, written by Krug, and compiled and inspired as a collective effort with Dave O..

While the TechVibes digi people to watch list was accurate and nice to see written, there was a big miss, in my humble opinion. It was quickly spotted and noted by the Raincity Dudes (and Romina!), hence, their follow-up list of Tech Women To Watch – thanks guys for jumping all over this! Note To Photo: Lipgloss and Laptops Lady Tech Gurus Kerry Anne and Airdrie

Speaking of “Women Who Tech”: this is a TeleSummit event happening at the end of March that I think could be interesting for all you women out there. Currently, it is only available to US residents, but the organizers have ensured me they are working on having Canadians enabled to participate as well. You can make a panel suggestion for the event here.

The Three Week Summary Of Missed Blog Posts

Vancouver Dec 2, 2007Wow, has it really been over three weeks? Have I lost the luster? Has life really gotten that complicated that I don’t even (gasp) blog on my own space any more?

Yes, life can sometimes get a little complicated, or, like some people in my world right now it seems, a lot complicated. And blogging about pretty much anything kind of becomes unimportant and can seem trivial to a point, unless of course you turn to the blog to unload some of what’s happening in life around you. Not my first choice. And let’s not dismiss the fact that lately my snippets of info and connecting come mostly in the form of FB updates…

It’s now T-Minus 8 days, and for the first time in over a year, I am going unplugged, unreachable, unplug-in-able, off the map, dedicating a whole week to sun, yoga and mint in my drinks.

But before that, here’s a whole slew of stuff that’s been going on that I’ve had every intention to write about:

  • Keeping it all in perspective: The most refreshing thing in my last few months has been having a sister in Africa, doing what I wish we all could. Reading her tales and living her experience through her photography has been nothing short of inspiring.
  • Last night was the second Launch Party, this time at Republic. The list of sponsors was quite long, which is excellent. Unfortunately, I was there briefly, but happy to sneak in a catch-up with Michael, say a quick hello to Rebecca, Dwayne and John (wish we chatted more actually), yakked with Dave a bit, strutted with the Strutta gang, hung with pal Cinci, caught a brief glimpse of Boris in the corner (sorry I didn’t get over there, but you were hiding!), and cruised by James while making my exit. My favourite part was having Weston FINALLY reveal his top secret Something Simpler project, Pul.se: it’ll be your new best, best friend on Facebook, currently still in alpha/beta tester mode. Who’ll need *actual* friends or google when you’ll have your Pulse tell you all need to know about your favourite music? and films and…. more on that later. (Here’s where I need Pulse to help me link to the future blog post.)
  • Michael and Paul were on The Lab! – airing in January.
  • DemoCampVan 04 was a few weeks back now, but was a goody. I think almost 100 people rolled in, we did get a healthy stint of demos, Battledecks was back in full force and seemed to be a hit, and the DEMOBEER at Flux went off pretty well! Who’s steppin’ up for the next one to buy a round for the gang???
  • Why do the women in East Vancouver like to ride their Sunday bikes with no helmet and zero lighting at night? They are crazy and could suffer life-long brain injuries. What gives ladies?
  • Kinzin: 2007 Facebook Rockstars. Check the blog for all the news. AYN is about to hit (read this next part with your pinky finger at the corner of your mouth) ONE MILLION users. muhahha-muhaha.
  • KINZIN BUILDERS NEED APPLICATION TESTERS – yes, more apps to come… testers please – WE WILL GIVE YOU GIFTS FOR YOUR TIME!!
  • I spent an afternoon with the Digital Media Masters program students, talking about social media, tools, old and new media, networks, the boomerang… but that deserves its own blog post, cause they are doing great things over there and I’d like to talk more about that.
  • The new Daft Punk Live is purely spectacular.
  • Check out the Twigg&Hottie Christmas hot sheet and pop by Vancouver’s hottest fashion boutique to pick out your *hot* seasonal outfit!
  • My bro finally gets back tomorrow and I am super stoked.
  • The wonderful man in my life gave me an early Christmas gift a few days ago, cause he thought I’d like to use it right away. He was right. It was a handy, green iPod Shuffle. It made it all the way to Day 3 before getting a good washing, still attached to my running shirt. I deserve coal.

DemoCamp 04 Next Week

Get your tickets now!
That is, sign your name to the wiki and/or the Facebook group.

When: Thu Nov 22 5:30 – 7:30pm (drinks provided after)
Where: Workspace – 21 Water Street, Suite 400, Gastown – Map
Special Event: DEMOBEER! Communicate.com, Peer 1 and Techvibes have all chipped in to provide appies and drinks after the main event. Brian at Gastown’s newest digs, Flux Bistro, is graciously shutting down his joint to host the slew of Demo Campers. So arrive thirsty!

DemoCampVan 04 has a healthy slate of folks ready to demo, and we’re bringin’ back the Battledecks! Tod Maffin has pieced together a deck and a “mystery deck creator” (!?) is coming to the table with the other….

See you there!

Kinzin’s Paul Prescod At Vancouver’s First Facebook Developers Garage

xposted from Kinzin’s Blog.
Facebook Developer Garage Vancouver Oct 2007

Last night was all about the app.

Vancouver, or more recently referred to as “Techcouver”, held its’ first Facebook Developer Garage event downtown at the Vancouver Film School. The event was completely “sold-out” by over double the capacity of the space, so there wasn’t a seat to be had. Once the Nazi-tech guy made his way from the floor back to the booth for the main event to commence, people began to fill the isles and find space wherever they could. It was a packed house.
Facebook Developer Garage Vancouver Oct 2007

There were about 9 Facebook applications in all that were on display over the 3 hours. Each developer, or team of developers, grabbed the spotlight for a 10-minute overview of their respective app and covered any technical aspects worth mentioning and sharing, followed by a brief Q and A for each. David Morin, Senior Platform Manager for Facebook (nice title buddy) was meant to be joining us in the flesh for our inaugural evening, but had to cancel 48 hours in advance due to some “big meeting” at HQ. But he was kind enough to take a few minutes out to appear via Skype Video, as he said a few nice words, opened it up to the floor for some questions, when sadly, the connection was lost.
Facebook Developer Garage Vancouver Oct 2007

Paul Prescod, ‘DAD’ at Kinzin, shared the “Are You Normal?” app with the crowd. When he gave the current-users statistics (now over 114K in 3 short weeks), there was a gasp as a hush fell over the room. Well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch. But nonetheless, impressive stuff! Johnny Bufu and Boris Mann wrapped the night with a few words on the open web. Facebook? Open??

There is a complete breakdown of each presentation on the live blog post from Miss 604, and on Roland Tanglao’s Jaiku Channel.

Are You Normal? OVER 30K in 2 Weeks!

Just wrapping week 2 since launch, and “Are You Normal?” is one of the fastest growing Facebook apps cookin’, from this northern hub of “Techcouver”. Recently added is a new, fresh design and more surveys will be added each week.
Kinzin wants to involve the online community and Facebook users, asking for topic suggestions on the quizzes. Here’s the x-post from the Kinzin Blog and how to submit your ideas:

Would you like to write for one of the fastest growing Facebook applications?

We are going to release a new quiz on our “Are You Normal?” application each week, and we’d like to get your brilliant and creatively entertaining input. Here’s the deal:

  • We regularly post topics to Upcoming Topics on our discussion board on our About Page and on the discussion board of the Kinzin Builders group
  • You create the quiz, suggesting questions and answers, being as normal, or not so normal, as you like (or you can suggest topics as well…)
  • We reward you and your creative savvy on our application and LINK to your personal Facebook profile, if that is kosher. If not, just let us know you’d rather remain unlinked.
  • You become part of this great story and community of a fun time well wasted with friends in this Facebook machine of “Are You Normal?”

Hey Canada: Unlock Your Very Own iPhone!

Apparently, two of my friends and colleagues IN CANADA have and use the God Almighty iPhone (gasp!) – Read all about how you can too in a post by Ryan over on Canada Bombshell blog.

One Week Left To Submit To PopVox: You Could Win A Big Fat Award, And It’s FREE TO SUBMIT!

Popvox
SUBMIT NOW!

For those of you that have superfantastic projects under your belt and have not yet submitted to Popvox, get on it! It’s free to submit, you could be adorned with the title “International Award-Winning Firm” – wow! – the morale of your award winning team goes shooting through the roof and you crank out even more superfantastic award-winning projects, you win prizes (always fun) and you will be written about on The Bombshell – WOW!

What: The PopVox First Annual Awards at VIDFEST, winners announced at the opening gala of the 2007 Vancouver International Digital Festival
Who: Anyone who lives on planet Earth, with any project created between Sept 2006 and Sept 2007
Where: SUBMIT HERE – IT’S FREE TO SUBMIT!
Another What: Categories are the following:

  • Best Web 2.0 App
  • Best Mobile Game
  • Best Digital Animation Short
  • Best Digital VFX
  • Best Game
  • Best Music Score
  • Homegrown: The Best of BC

Find more details and SUBMIT NOW! Submissions close Friday, Sept. 7th.

xposted from CBS

Ciao BarCampVancouver! Introducing CanadaBombshell.com

xposted from CBS
Sorry about the quality from my phone and the Newfoundland wind!

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=-qaPU9Jhc8E]

Thank-you SOOOOO much to alllllll the sponsors this year at BarCampVan07:

And to the Supporters too:

BarCampVancouver 2007 Details, Info, Need-To-Know List

James

James Sherrett, one of the organizers of BarCampVancouver 2007 has conveniently thrown together allllll the deets you may want or need prior to this Friday. Here is the cut and paste version :)

Registry and Attendance
We’re oversubscribed (yay!), which means that some people who want to come won’t be able to come (boo!). So please, if you’re in the first 120, check your dates and availability. Are you sure you’re coming? We want to minimize the wiki squatting. If you’re not sure you’re coming, please strike out your name and post the name of the top person left on the waiting list in your former place. If you’re on the waiting list, are you sure you’re available to come? If not, please cross out your name. If you’re still keen on coming, check back on the list to see if you’ve been added to the first 120.

We don’t mean to be too anal about this. We just want to make sure that all the people that want to be there and can be there do get to be there. And to do that, please help us get the word out to all Barcampers. Blog this message if you can. Forward it on to friends who are interested so people are in the know.

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T-Shirts

We have printed 120 Barcamp Vancouver 2007 t-shirts to cover our collective nekkidness. They’re fuschia (!) and they’ll be available at the door on a first- come, first-served basis. We’re taking a suggested donation of $20 for each t-shirt, to finance our lavish unconference lifestyle. Any monies left over will be rolled into financing next year’s proceedings.

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List of Topics for Sessions – find this on the main page:
http://barcamp.org/BarCampVancouver2007

One of the suggestions from past Barcamps has been to post a list of potential topics for sessions before the unconference. That way,people can do their homework and get a hint of the sessions available.

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Schedule of Barcamp Events

Friday, August 17: food and drink at the Alibi Room
* appetizers all evening
* open bar starting at 6:30 pm (until our credit runs out!)
* we’re in the private area downstairs
* TheAlibiRoom, 157 Alexander Street @ Main (map on website)
* sleepover at Workspace, 21 Water Street, Suite 400

Saturday, August 18: conference day all day
* start at 8:30 AM with day organization
* pastries and coffees available
* pizza lunch to be delivered at ~noon
* Workspace, Suite 400 – 21 Water Street (map on website)
* end at 5:30 PM
* your own reconnaisance

On The Lab With Leo Laporte

The Lab With Leo Laporte - TV InterviewI had a blast hanging out with Leo and the Lab’s gang about a month ago: great people, comfortable set, fun content!

I shot 2 segments for the show. The first, Episode 47, aired this week, where I spoke with Leo about social media and non-profit organizations. The other is set to air in early August, with both Warwick and I speaking about ThisCityRocks and video content sharing and revenue and just how it’s done and how lucrative it really can be! *cough*

If you’re in Vancouver and have all kinds of techy-talk you’d like to share with Leo, contact the show and let them know you’re interested. Matt Harris, The Lab’s Producer (and as we discovered before shooting, a fellow Rye High RTA Grad – small world!) is always looking for more people (and advertisers) to have on the show.

Warwick and I took a bunch of pics that day as well – check ’em out.