• GTEC Blog» Blog Archive » It’s the small victories that are so huge!
  An account of the release of NRTube, an internal video-sharing tool built for Natural Resources Canada on open-source tools. Apparently the low-key launch spurred rapid adoption – with no fanfare, they gained 1,191 video views in under 24 hours.
  (tags: socialmedia youtube video internal government canada case_study)
• Hutchison's Search Engine Sneak | techPresident
  GOP primary hopeful Kay Bailey Hutchison, campaigning against incumbent Gov. Rick Perry, apparently had the phrase "rick perry gay" among the hidden copy on her web site. Her campaign maintains the phrases were set up by their vendor, and automatically inserted into the code based on whatever search engine keywords were driving traffic to her site (and hidden from view using the CSS display attribute).

  Setting aside the sleazy homophobia of her campaign's response ("We did not know these offensive word associations were being searched for by hundreds of thousands of Texans every day"), this is a classic black-hat SEO tactic… so much so that it's almost certainly counter-productive, and likely cost the campaign more Google juice than it earned.

  Here's hoping, anyway.

  (tags: fail socialmedia gop usa politics online campaigning seo blackhat case_study)

• Twitter 101 for Business — A Special Guide
  The official resource for businesses looking to jump onto Twitter.
  (tags: twitter business socialmedia marketing guide tips web2.0 microblogging howto official)

We're having our first open house next week... and we're thrilled to have one of the coolest people we know as our featured speaker. If you're interested in building authentic brands, destination marketing or user-generated content, you'll want to join us.

Because you'll get to meet Randy Twaddle, one of the partners behind ttweak. They're the Houston, TX marketing firm that came up with a brilliant - and completely unofficial - campaign to promote the city.

"Houston. It's Worth It." is anything but the usual civic boosterism. HIWI (as it's come to be called) doesn't just acknowledge the city's problems - it embraces them whole-heartedly, and invites residents to speak out for their community, warts and all.

Randy's going to tell us how HIWI captured the city's imagination, helped a community find its voice... and used the power of user-generated content to create a brand with rock-solid authenticity and surprising appeal.

It all happens on Tuesday, August 4 starting at 6:30 pm. We'll have food and drink on-hand, and you'll get to peek at our new offices.

Please RSVP at hiwi@socialsignal.com or 604-568-8787.

(waitress to couple at a restaurant table) My name is Kelly, and I’ll be blogging about this later tonight.

Blogathon 2009 is here.

Starting on Saturday at 6:00 am, nearly 200 bloggers from a number of cities - Vancouver prominent among them - will be posting to their blogs every half hour for 24 hours. They'll be raising money for a wide range of charities; so far, nearly $27,000 has been raised.

Here in the Vancouver area, Rebecca Bollwitt is serving again as the rallying point for local participants. Many of them will be gathering at Workspace in Gastown, where she's sponsoring a tweetup for the duration.

It's a terrific event. So tomorrow, give a thought over the course of the day to those bloggers (especially as the wee hours approach!) - drop by their blogs and leave a comment, and maybe make a donation via their widgets.

Good luck, folks!

This weekend, Alex will speak to the Whistler Forum for Leadership and Dialogue, a group that brings leaders from around the world together to promote civic engagement and collaborative leadership. She'll then be joined by a panel of respondents for an open conversation.

It all promises to be fascinating stuff, and if you happen to be in Whistler, do check it out - guests are welcome to attend for a small donation.

Here are the details:

The explosion of social networks, blogs and user-generated content has given governments, businesses and community organizations new and dynamic ways of engaging with the public. How can organizations make their online conversations meaningful, and how can they attract participation online? This dialogue will look at the best examples and best practices for meaningful and effective engagement online.

A panel of respondents including freelance Globe and Mail reporter Cathryn Atkinson, Forum Council of Advisors Chair Graham Fuller, and Whistler local Lauren Sampson will begin the open dialogue with Alexandra.

At Legends Whistler Creekside - map
$10 donation at the door
For further information contact william@whistlerforum.com

As a former resident of the West End, I’m just going to pass this news release along verbatim. It shouldn’t need saying, but the key message is this: if you’re coming to the neighbourhood to catch the fireworks, be decent to the locals.

MEDIA RELEASE
Tuesday July 21, 2009
For immediate release

Spencer Herbert, MLA (Vancouver-West End) and West End Residents Association president Brent Granby are welcoming the fans of the Fireworks to the West End for the first of four HSBC Celebration of Lights events beginning this Wednesday, and are reminding visitors to respect the neighbourhood, and local residents.

“Our neighbourhood is impacted like no other when it comes to the HSBC Celebration of Light. With tens of thousands of visitors in our parks, and beaches it’s important for folks to remember some basic good neighbourly etiquette” said Granby.

“This a great event for tourism, and for the businesses of the West End” said Herbert. “But we can’t forget that this is happening right next to a densely packed residential neighbourhood so the needs of local residents need to be paid attention to.”

Herbert and Granby are requesting that people remember to pick up after themselves, respect the diversity of the community, keep noise to a minimum, use transit or bikes to get to the event as streets will be closed, and remember that they are celebrating in a primarily residential neighbourhood.

“As an elected leader I’m looking forward to supporting the Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society and the City of Vancouver in their efforts to put on a fabulous festival in the West End, while continuing to watch out for residents concerns about problems that can occur with an event of this scale,” continued Herbert.

Media Contact:
Spencer Herbert, 604-660-7307
Brent Granby, 604-716-2824