February 2012
1 post
5 tags
Your Front Door
As many of you know I have a hobby-maybe-bigger pre-occupation of late, with aquaponic gardening. I was reading an article recently with Murray Hallam and Sylvia Bernstein, two very well known leaders in the world of plants and fish. Here is an excerpt from PracticalAquaponics.com.
Murray Hallam. …Now, why do you think we need a website?
Sylvia Bernstein. You know, the reality today is...
December 2011
1 post
9 tags
TMI vs Untended
Balance.
The two most common social media blunders are like most things in life, at opposite ends of a best practices continuum. If you blog, FB, Tweet or G+ to get your vital message out, consider a self-audit exercise. It won’t take but a few minutes.
Quickly review your past month of posts. Note the media type, frequency and maybe rank your content as fluff / personal / on-target /...
November 2011
3 posts
2 tags
School Leaders Blogging!
Recently the Vancouver Sun’s Education writer, Janet Steffenhagen, presented a list of BC School Superintendents who blog. I followed the links and with considerable interest noted the variety of blog presentations.
I say with considerable interest because these bloggers represent the top of the administrative and leadership heap for the school districts they lead. Their readership...
1 tag
Think. (please)
Oh my, I feel a rant coming on!
I’m ready for a productive day of work with a client meeting late afternoon. S’all good. Quick morning scan through some things and we’re off, yes!
Apparently not. What is happening to this morning?
I received a targeted email from an organization thrilled that they have new content on their ABOUT webpage. (really?)
Flipped...
5 tags
Is Facebook my website?
I get asked; “Should I invest in our FB presence or will it (Facebook) fade away soon?”
My thinking is that if FB was leaving anytime soon, innovative integration and partnerships FB related would slow down. Innovation and FB related development definitely aren’t slowing down.
F A C E B O O K S T O R E F R O N T S
What is now coined as f-commerce is evolving...
October 2011
1 post
6 tags
Simcolab Software Inc.
The Student Intervention Manager is a tool for School Counselors to use for Student Interventions. We’re pretty excited about it and are working hard to get the word out.
Imagine, every time you as the School Counselor make a good action decision to benefit the student you are working with, your wisdom will immediately help someone else who is also using siM. Likewise, as you make your...
September 2011
6 posts
3 tags
New Business Cards
Stand Back! I have new business cards and I’m NOT afraid to use them! Actually, step up. I want to give you one. :)
ref: Print100.com - best deal for the quality I could find.
Make your Facebook business page unique →
Does your business Facebook site have some custom pages that make it different?
Vedder Mountain Grille has Menus a Review and Location Map page. That little extra makes a big difference!
3 tags
Nathan Leggatt presents EmmaActive
Nathan recently presented at Demo, an emerging tech conference in Silicon Valley. I’m proud to showcase Nathan here because EmmaActive represents a significant achievement for him. Nathan is an innovative developer I’ve enjoyed working with on Simcolab.com.
Have a look at EmmaActive. Nathan, Terry and Justin are doing a masterful job and the result is both timely and...
5 tags
Fraser Cascade Teachers new website
With BC Teachers’ Union issues so much in the news it was timely that the Fraser Cascade Teachers’ Association launched their new website this summer. They now have an excellent, economical tool for relaying critical, timely information to their membership and the public.
The fcta78.com website isn’t full of photo galleries and video - it is intended to be a practical,...
kANSWER
hmmm…
I spoke with a client about blogging today. Tonight I wandered onto a blog that is so super effective I had to read most of the posts.
Why? Because it is real.
What do you write about on your blog? What do I write about on mine? And what does Larissa write about on her blog?
http://kanswer.tumblr.com/ Check it out. Give yourself some time to read it. Then give yourself...
8 tags
MyTherapyBar.com
This interesting little project began with a taste. After enjoying the chocolate bar that we purchased in Vancouver’s Whole Foods Market I called Shadi Javadi, the owner of Deliss Chocolate Inc, we met and began I working with her on this great little WordPress project. I wanted to meet her because I thought the marketing concept was brilliant and her story fascinating!
This website...
August 2011
2 posts
3 tags
Transparency
I’m thinking about these listed items today. We are currently outlining a communications strategy for a client group. As this is top of mind at the moment I’m talking with more people about their organization’s communication strategy. Last night, speaking with a communications person from one of Canada’s major universities, I was interested and surprised to hear about...
5 tags
Partnership
Recently I have been more keenly aware of the significance and necessity of partnerships. Almost every project and client account I’m invited to involves a new relationship, necessary to successfully accomplish the goal. Sometimes I derive more benefit, personally and in business, from the relationship than the project itself!
Over a decade ago I heard a non-profit sector expert tell us...
July 2011
1 post
10 tags
This website works very hard. (does your's?)
Everyone wants to get the message out to their target audiences, effectively and online. Lately, most organizations also wants this communication to become a dialogue and possibly even a relationship of sorts! Consider this site a good model of online outreach and engagement.
Matthijs at Exit170.ca in Kelowna BC built this site. Matthijs and I collaborate on projects from time to time and...
June 2011
3 posts
9 tags
Are you excited? Do your customers know?
I stopped in at a coffee shop in the valley yesterday and probably won’t return. It had what I thought I needed; good coffee, pretty good snacks/food, great location, free wifi, smiling staff.
What went wrong?
The owners.
The staff worked hard to engage, serve well and were mostly successful. The owners however, hovered and seemed preoccupied with evaluating the product, the...
Featured Business Leaders - mostly a boys club.
Today’s BC Business online arrived. The feature article is “Career Advice from BC Business Leaders”.
17 business leaders share their wisdom. Of 17 leaders in the feature, 4 are women. A telling banner ad placement in the next column highlights the powerofwomen.com event in Vancouver this summer.
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You Can Help
Owning and running a business is hard work. Ask any small to medium size business owner. That’s small to medium size business, not small to medium size owner.
Most business owners I work with and get to know are working many, many hours and not looking for ONE MORE THING to do. They usually will donate time and resources to community building events and they’ll always have time...
May 2011
4 posts
4 tags
New Words I Learned Yesterday at New Ventures BC →
- term sheet
- non-dilutive
- throw-away pitch
- DD Binder
Enjoying the learning as we develop Simcolab Software Inc!
How do we teach? How do we learn? And how do we work? I like to read on this topic and have been inspired by those who think about this much more than I.
As I review how I work, how I develop and deliver client projects, I have come to realize the following.
1.
In school we were taught to achieve certain levels. A contract or the proposal before it, establishes the benchmarks that will...
7 tags
Passive vs Active
For years we have been using the internet like a library. Find information, use the outcome.
More recently we have been using the internet to communicate and put information back into the web. Find information, add information, share the information online, use the (smarter) outcome.
siM uses the information a student’s counselor has entered, combines it with the input of everyone...
April 2011
5 posts
6 tags
Want that in a to-go cup?
Yesterday I stopped in to meet with my partner at our usual coffee haunt in the valley. I ordered my coffee and asked for it in a ‘to-go’ cup expecting to meet for a few minutes then dash to the city for an evening event.
The coffee shop owners firmly stated that they would gladly serve my coffee in a ceramic mug and re-decant (recant?) my coffee into a to-go cup should I leave...
3 tags
Doing the Work →
This interview touches so many points I’d like to talk about that I don’t know which one to begin with. Maybe a question or two are a better approach. These are for you and me both.
What is your work? Really, what is the work that is truly and uniquely your own?
What stands in the way of accomplishing your unique work?
Simcolab Software Inc advances to the 2nd round! →
This tech start up that I and another own at http://simcolab.com has been approved today to proceed to the second round of the New Ventures BC competition.
In this competition we are eligible to participate in training, specifically on launching startups, access to business mentors and exposure to other startups entrepeneurs and angel investors.
Exciting news today!
5 tags
2 tags
WatchNeed an affordable internal (facebook) for just your company? This product description by Susan Gautsch for Pepperdine School of Learning tells the tale very well.
March 2011
1 post
1 tag
What exactly is a brand?
What do you believe in strongly? Is your church or religion a brand? What defines a brand?
a brand can take a long time to grow and develop
it’s about having a consistent product
it’s about strong advertising and marketing
it’s important because it clearly identifies one ‘flavour’, differentiating it from similar or rival brands
branding will become a belief...
February 2011
2 posts
7 tags
HopeBC.ca Profile Pages
I want to showcase two things here. Pathway Partners, a volunteer group in the Hope BC area who are coordinating human-powered access to beautiful places. Also, the webpage they are using to get their information out.
HopeBC.ca profile pages such as this are an economical and versatile way to be online. The template page is editable by Pathway Partners and they’ve chosen to use the...
Promote with Social Media 101 →
So, just how do you promote your small business with social media? Well, you use the people who think you’re business is amazing and have them do it all for you!
I was in Prado Cafe recently. When you Google Prado Cafe + Vancouver, you get the result of the link I’m featuring. Pages and pages of Google search returns with promotion from people who have been to Prado Cafe.
Now,...
January 2011
1 post
That Facebook thing
“I don’t really get into that Facebook thing…”, is something I hear often from business owners. And that’s fine.
Unless you want people to know about you and/or your organization. If that’s the case it’s time to wake up and get with it! A little reading, a little experimenting and a commitment to participate daily in your own promotional plan. Because...
December 2010
2 posts
Christmas, 2010, a short unrelated rant, and...
Today was a day of contemplation while puttering on various house things. The snow came down thick for a few hours this morning adding to the timeless, floating feel of the day. My friend Connie phoned from Ontario and we talked about benchmarks of life, of her ailing father and friends in common we don’t see enough.
The Christmas season has always been a bit of a puzzle for me. Why the...
4 tags
November 2010
1 post
Gamechangers
On the right is Connie Lepp. We worked together back in the day when my strongly held and till-then-unchallenged conservative Christian assumptions needed testing. I’m ever so grateful to Connie who compelled me to think about a much broader picture than I was thinking and living at the time.
I came across this article today and see that she is still in the business of challenging and...
October 2010
1 post
8 tags
Mozy Backup
Yup, it happened to me two weeks ago. Sooner later it happens to everyone. Much like flat tire on your bike or car, a computer breakdown can leave you stranded.
I’ve been through this a few times now. My laptop was still covered by warranty so that was fine but for two weeks it was away being fixed. The loaner was great but not loaded with my data. Think of what’s on your...
September 2010
5 posts
13 tags
How's your tone?
Maureen is attending a workshop out of town and sent me their event itinerary info, including this welcome one-pager they received from the retreat centre. I was struck by the ratio of negative vs welcoming messages in the text. (bold face text is my emphasis)
WELCOME TO _________ RETREAT CENTRE!
We are working toward reducing our carbon footprint in the world and are using recycled paper...
Watch“Facebook maps relationships between people,Yelp maps relationship between people and local businesses, Amazon maps relationships between people and products. Jumo, which will launch a beta product later this year, will map the relationships between people and non-profit organizations.” < from http://mashable.com/2010/09/20/jumo-non-profit-social-network/ >
Chris Hughes, the...
Living with Gratitude
This week has been one for the books. My books anyway!
A week ago our daughter, Jessica was in a rollover car accident, and walked away from it. I live in gratitude for her life that came so near to ending.
A few days later my laptop froze up. Relatively new, clean, shouldn’t. Did. Most of my data was backed up or retrievable. Emails not. I am grateful that my old laptop can...
5 tags
Card.ly My favorite online business card
So many ways to present our information online. Card.ly enables you to let people know EVERYWHERE you are on the net. A simple link to it (like Rudy Kehler) as an html signature to end your emails presents your info in a neat and tidy presentation.
August 2010
4 posts
3 tags
Educo Adventure School
Relevant Link: BC School District #27, Cariboo Chilcotin
Relevant Link: Educo Canada’s Facebook page
Educo Canada’s website
Relevant Link: Stuart Clark at LinkedIn
Photo gallery of Educo images from flickr.com
Educo encourages individuals and groups to:
Engage in experiences that challenge and stretch self-limitations
Recognize and appreciate the unique qualities of every...
6 tags
Get video of your biggest fans →
This is cool indeed!
Your fans, supporters, customers, with a few clicks video themselves on their webcam talking about your business for 30 seconds, submit and you post it to your blog or facebook page. Much, much stronger than text and dead-easy to use.
9 tags
Lodge at Twin Creeks launches this week!
This week we launched the website for the Lodge at Twin Creeks.Collaborators on this project with The Simplify Company were Exit 170 and Abendago Media Group.
Business cards custom printing was sourced to Print100.com while the brochures were printed in Chilliwack BC at Minuteman Press. Business cards and Rack Cards design by Rudy at The Simplify Company and Matthijs at Exit 170. Other...
6 tags
What's a HashTag?
Good question. Let’s assume you already know how Twitter works.
Here’s a good wiki description about HashTags.
Let’s say you want to find quick Twitter info on a particular topic or place. One of my topics that I write about is the HopeBC area. I like to send out tweets every now and again about the HopeBC area. Why? Well, I live in the area and like to draw attention to...
July 2010
7 posts
2 tags
9 tags
Lodge at Twin Creeks - How's it going?
I’m working on SEO, social media style and traditional, logo design, business cards, rack cards, website with CMS and online B&B registration for the Lodge at Twin Creeks.
The project is good because it’s varied, stays interesting, and Peggy and Pat Wiens, the Lodge owners carry their vision of this new venture with so much enthusiasm and courage. This energy is infectious....
Twenty Eight
Yesterday Maureen and I reflected on 28 years as a Mrs. ‘n Mr.
In spite of the Thai in Harrison (“my till is not set to HST”,” the tap water is no good you must buy bottled”, “I actually prefer less people on the deck ‘cause that’s my area and less people means less work for me right?”) the vista inspired great...
1 tag
If it was possible to leave...?
“Live ones dreams instead of dreaming ones life”
The journey … we dream, we take out of our daily; Thence to venture several months outside our comfort reassuring, there is only one step … or almost. For us, this trip is the result of thinking about our lives a quiet, tidy, house, kids, metro tram, job, dodo, consumer … is the desire to experience something...
2 tags
5 tags
What's the plan?
So, you have a Facebook page. And Twitter? Are you tweeting as well? How’s that going for you?
I’m seeing many Facebook pages and Twitter feeds that although cute and sometimes interesting, don’t appear to be moving in any particular direction. We’ve all heard the reminder;
“Aim at nothing and that’s exactly what you’ll hit!”
But do we...