You’ve heard that Twitter is a great marketing tool, but you still don’t get it, right? As Steven Berlin Johnson wrote in his Time Magazine story on Twitter, “The one thing you can say for certain about Twitter is that it makes a terrible first impression. The service allows you to send 140-character updates to your followers,” he writes, “and you think, why does the world need this, exactly?” The goal of this workshop is to demystify Twitter and give you tangible, real life examples that you can use to get on the Twitter bandwagon, beef up your marketing efforts, and ultimately grow your online presence.

You had me at schooled, sign me up!

When: Saturday, August 21, 2010, 8:00am – 12:30pm
Where: ING Direct Café, Boardroom, 466 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC
Light food (such as sandwiches) and refreshments will be provided.

Topics to be covered:

• But, why? Twitter: What is it good for?
• Getting Setup: Creating a compelling profile and generating content.
• Growing Your Following: Building your following and engaging followers.
• Twitter & Marketing: Adding social media to your marketing mix.
• Best Practices: What works? Real life examples, cautions, and what “not to do.”

About the Instructors

Tanya Roberts (aka @bluefinch604)

Tanya Roberts is a BCIT Marketing Communications graduate with solid experience in the Vancouver marketing industry. She has worked alongside the best in the Non-Profit, High Tech and Life Sciences sectors. Her flair for creativity complements her passion and “no fluff” approach. Tanya founded Bluefinch Creative in 2009, a local boutique that helps small businesses grow with winning design and marketing, from web and print design, to branding, social media, and online marketing strategy. Tanya provides her clients with the right message, the right numbers, and the right plan to get them there. Oh yeah, she owns a lot of scarves, loves the outdoors, and drinks a lot of tea.

Monica Hamburg (aka @monicahamburg)

Monica Hamburg has worked as a social media consultant since 2007 and often speaks on social media topics.  She is professional, but also approaches everything with a sense of humor. Response to her work and talks are positive and she has been profiled in a BC Business article on “Vancouver’s Social Media Innovators”.  She is also a contributor to the popular digital marketing magazine “One Degree”.  In her spare time she acts and has a gift for selecting projects that don’t get completed or released. She also write a hilarious blog, Your Dose of Lunacy.

Spaces are limited and on a first come first service basis. Click here to register. If you have any questions about this workshop, please email Monica Hamburg at monica[dot]hamburg[at]usa.net.

• Vancouver’s DTES is the poorest postal code in Canada
• As defined by the city of Vancouver, the DTES was home to 16,590 people in 2001 (I’m sure that number is much bigger, now).
• Children and teenagers make up 7% of the population, compared to 25% for Canada, overall.
• Average income for adults living alone on the DTES is $6,282 per year, and $14,024 after government subsidies.
• 62% of the residents over the age of 15 are not considered participants in the labour force.

Be the Change You Want to See
Those are some staggering statistics. You may find yourself saying “How can I possibly make a difference?” Change has to start somewhere. Mother Teresa said it best: “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” The point is, change starts small and snowballs into something much, much bigger.

With Glowing Hearts
Recently, I spoke with Kemp Edmonds, a local social media educator who informed me of an amazing project called With Glowing Hearts, a documentary about social media for social change. Andrew Lavigne and Jon Ornoy from Animal Mother Films have created a 90 minute documentary film that follows the lives of April Smith from AHA Media, Garvin (a Social Justice Advocate), Dave Olson and Kris Krug from True North Media House, and Irwin from W2, who all either work or live in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Using the 2010 Games as the backdrop, they are documenting and telling these stories. This film demonstrates how social tools are shifting media representation and acting as a beacon for social change within the DTES. You can learn more about the project and people behind With Glowing Hearts at wghthemovie.ca. Follow @wghthemovie on Twitter for the scoop.

How Can I Help?
With Glowing Hearts is 100% volunteer run (i.e. a little low on funds). The shooting of the 90 minute feature film is complete but post-production is very expensive. The organizers have turned the project to the community at-large to support the completion of these amazing stories with the Tweet and Toonie ($2) Torch Relay. They hope to raise $10,000 to share this film with Vancouver and the world. Here’s how you can help:

1. Become a Producer for $2 or More
Starting with a minimum contribution of $2, “producers” can have their name published in a word cloud (like this) that will appear in the film’s credit roll and on the website. Increasing your contribution will increase the size of your name in the cloud. You can make a donation to With Glowing Hearts via PayPal here: http://bit.ly/9vb9ke.

2. Spread the Word – Tweet, Blog and tell the world
You can become a producer by blogging about WGH’s mission or tweeting one of the tweets below:

• I am a proud supporter and hopefully winner of a copy of the film #withglowinghearts and a producer’s credit! http://wghthemovie.ca
• Only $2 makes me a movie producer #withglowinghearts http://wghthemovie.ca
• I am entering to win a film credit and a copy of the film #withglowinghearts http://wghthemovie.ca
• $2 buys you a coffee or it makes you a movie producer #withglowinghearts http://wghthemovie.ca

3. Human Curling
This sounds like loads of fun! Human Curling OH’ CANADA will give participants the chance to BE CURLING. Foam-painted-curling-rock-cut-outs will be worn by participants as they’re “pushed” down to house (rings at each end of the rink/sidewalk in this case.) Other participants will sweep the way with gigantic brooms. At the end of each game, a mock medal ceremony will reward the bronze, silver, and gold winners. All proceeds will go to help raise awareness and funding for the With Glowing Hearts documentary. Here are the event details:

When: Saturday July 31st, 4:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Where: Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Details & RSVP: You can find the Facebook event invite here: http://kempe.me/bTrsKw

Social Change is Much Sweeter than Starbucks
Yes, change can happen, but it starts small. When disaster struck abroad, everyone  was so quick to chip in. But what about our own backyard, Vancouver? I challenge you to forgo your daily Starbucks once this week and make  a donation to this project. Yes, you can make a difference, no matter how small the contribution may seem.

5 QUESTIONS WITH CHENI YERUSHALMI

1. Tell us about Sunshine Suites. Why office space?

Sunshine Suites is a community based shared office space with two locations in Manhattan. We provide a complete, modern office environment for an affordable monthly fee. We pool our resources to gain attractive benefits and health insurance for our members. We also have a vacation home in Vermont and a ton of networking events. Sunshine Suites was born out of our frustration with the lack of affordable office space in NYC. Most small business owners can’t afford the steep price tag for office space. But, let’s face it; life doesn’t happen when you’re sitting at home with your cat. We wanted to create a community for business owners to network and collaborate in a beautiful, professional, and affordable space.

2. What advice can you give someone who is considering entering into a business partnership?

Do your due diligence. Don’t be so quick to give away your business. Be sure to set up terms so that equity grows over time. For example, 5% share of equity after 6 months, 10% share of equity after one year, etc. It’s important that the agreements you make don’t tie you down if the partnership doesn’t work out. It’s crucial to bring in outside sources and consultants regularly. This way you’ll gain a more objective view on things. Your business is something you gave birth to and will have to nurture to help it grow. You want a partner that will approach your business with the same level of enthusiasm and commitment that you have, but who also shares the same business “parenting” philosophies and values. Also, choosing a partner with a differing skill set than your own only enhances what you can accomplish together.

3. In your experience, what are the pros and cons of entering into a business partnership?

In a partnership, you have someone to keep you accountable. It also helps to have more man power and differing skills. You can accomplish much more together with your partner than you could on your own. And, of course, you have someone to go through the ups and downs with. You have a friend by your side to support you. But it can be hard to maintain a friendship if you’re always talking about the business and not enjoying time together outside of work. If you’re not partnered up with the right person, things can go sour. Not everyone agrees on moral issues and business practices – these differences can divide partners and lead to a messy split. But, overall, my experience has been positive. I’m happy to be working with Joe and I’m glad to have a partner at Sunshine.

4. Do you and Joe ever have disagreements on how to run Sunshine Suites? How do you handle these disagreements?

Absolutely. This is completely normal. We had a really stressful time during the economic downturn attributed to the credit crunch. Numbers were down for the first time and we were forced to look at different avenues for attracting individuals and companies who felt that working from home would be the safer approach. Joe and I had to sit down and take a serious assessment of our business strategy and make some hard decisions. We both try to keep our egos in check and not point fingers, but sometimes emotions get the best of us. But, we’re in this together and we try to approach issues with a problem solving mentality – we hash them out and then move on. I’m grateful for those hard times. If it weren’t for our struggles, we wouldn’t appreciate what we have today – a successful, thriving business.

5. How do you take care of your business relationship while still maintaining a strong friendship with Joe?

Joe and I make sure that we don’t step on each other’s toes. We both know what we’re good at and what we’re not so good at. I see myself as the creative visionary who enjoys sales and growing the Sunshine brand. Joe, coming from an accounting background, is great at managing the company from a CFO position by evaluating strategy based on ROI. I think we avoid a lot of conflict because we respect each other’s skills. We also make sure that we spend time doing fun things together outside of work. It can be really straining to work with a friend, because you spend a lot of time talking about the business, which can add weight to the relationship. Joe and I take trips together when we need time away. Joe’s cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. So, we decided to do what we could to help out. Later that year, we flew into Vancouver together and rode our bikes all the way down to Mexico in the name of breast cancer awareness and research. We arrived at Vancouver International in our flip flops with 40 lbs of gear and built our bikes on the spot. People must have thought we were crazy. It took us about 27 days to make the trip, but we did it. It helps to have something bigger that you’re a part of outside your business. After 8.5 years in business together, Joe and I are still close. I consider that a huge achievement. I get to work with my best friend every day. It doesn’t get any better than that.

With your help, of course, ABSOLUT Vodka will be awarding a prize of $120,000 to one promising Vancouver artist whose vision, passion, and body of work define Vancouver as the absolute home for the arts. With the BC government’s recent cuts in funding, it’s more important than ever to support the local arts community. The wining artist, who will use this prize money to build their business and profile in the Vancouver arts scene, will be chosen based on your votes.

5 QUESTIONS WITH BRADEN
I had the pleasure of sitting down with one of the finalists, Braden Hammond, a Vancouver-based flame-working glass artist, to gain an insider’s view into this unique craft.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I make glass jewelery and art at least five days a week. I have a passion for melting and blowing glass and creating beautiful things for people to wear and enjoy. My mind is usually swimming with creative thoughts. I try to burn off steam at the gym when I can.

2. Why glass?

To me, a piece of glass is like a blank canvas. The fact that glass has endless possibilities is what inspires me every day. Glass is a truly unique and delicate medium. I’m so lucky to make beautiful pieces of art every day. I truly love what I do.

3. How do you make art out of glass?

It starts with melting the glass and putting it in a kiln. The work has to stay in the kiln to anneal and I can’t fully check it until the next day when it’s cooled down. I find myself darting towards the kiln most days as I arrive at my shop. I love to see the fruits of my labour. It’s very rewarding!

4. We heard that it hasn’t always been easy for you. Tell us about your struggles along the way.

The road to success as a flame-working glass artist is paved with many challenges. Learning the basic concepts of flame-working glass took me a number of years, during which I broke lots of glass, burnt my fingers, and dropped pieces of glass on the floor (which I would later step on). But with hands-on training from the best in the industry, combined with patience, determination, and passion, I developed a strong skill set over the years.

5. How can people support the ABSOLUT Vancouver artists?

The best thing that you can do to show your support is to vote, since ABSOLUT will be choosing a winner based on your votes. You can cast your vote here.

Take a look at the video below for more thoughts from Braden and to watch some live flame-working glass action.

Things just can’t go on like this any longer. I cry every night and it seems like I’m forever carrying around a ton of bricks on my shoulders. I’m fed up. I’m tired of standing on a bridge that is still burning and the truth is that I’m about ready to jump. Yeah, that’s right. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Really, how much longer did you expect me to hang on?

Yeah, sure, I was smitten. But when you pulled up in your red Ferrari to take me to the “make-a-million-dollars-in-one-day” conference, I knew that you would cause me nothing but disappointment. But I couldn’t look away… You. Were. Beautiful. Well, except for your teeth – they’re too friggin’ white… It scares me! Remember when I told you that your smile was like a solar eclipse? That wasn’t a compliment… Sure, a man can fix the yellow chompers that make him look old and slovenly, but they don’t need to look like freshly scrubbed bathroom tile. Alas, WHY do you still live in the empty corridors of my mind?

My friends were nothing but nice to you, but you had to @reply them with links to “Britney vids.” I thought you were classier than that. And what about Sally? You know that her weight really upsets her. But you’re an opportunist, aren’t you? After she bought those “cut belly fat” pills from you, she gained 30 lbs, got a bad case of gout, and lost her upper lip. Who will love her now? She’s a lipless freak! Wherever there’s human suffering, there you are… A complete vulture.

And what a grand idea it was to sell my boss that “gain followers” tool… Thanks to you, he got a Trojan horse. Pop ups GALORE during the board meeting. Sure, you got lucky making some money during the dot come boom, but you don’t have any real credentials. When I asked God to send me a “man,” I should have been more specific. I’m just being played and I’m not going to stand by and take it any longer. I have never been anybody’s fool and I’m not going to be yours any more. I’d say “let’s be friends” but I already blocked you on Twitter.

Goodbye,

Tanya

“We had never seen anything like it,” recounted the man. “At first I wanted to eat him, but my wife stopped me. ‘No!’ she said. ‘He may be golden brown, hot, and full of delicious gingery goodness, but we can’t eat him. It just wouldn’t be right.’”

“We wanted to make him comfortable, so we made him a gingerbread home. We added marshmallow seats and a gram cracker door for privacy.” The woman tearfully recollected “Gingy (the couple’s pet name for the victim) seemed, well, happy here.”

Allegedly, the couple came downstairs on Christmas-eve-eve only to find the victim half eaten. “We don’t know what happened to him,” said the woman. “We went to bed on Tuesday night and he was safe and sound in his gingerbread home. We found him the next day torn apart with his buttons missing. What kind of monster could have done this?!”

The couple’s neighbour Tom said “There have been strange happenings in our neighbourhood come Christmas time. If you ask me, I think that no good Santa did it. I don’t trust a full grown man who wears a red velour suit. It just ain’t right.”

Santa told Fox media “I’ve been busy making a list and checking it twice, well, once this year due to the recession… I won’t be commenting further on the Gingerbread case at this time. Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” Mr. Clause will be standing trial in February on charges of grand cookie larceny and second degree murder.

According to Ron Byrnes, a local legal analyst, “Santa could plead ginger induced insanity, which typically holds a sentence of 3 years jail time and 2 years probation. The defence may argue that Santa was thrown into a temporary ginger induced rampage, coined by UBC researchers as the ‘I-Have-To-Have-a-Ginger-Cookie-or-I-Will-Go-Crazy Syndrome,’ which prevented him from fully understanding the consequences of his actions. At this point, it’s too early to predict the outcome of this case.”

Was Gingy eaten by Santa? Involved with gangs? Did he have a breakdown? Did he feel so isolated and alone in Vancouver that he decided to end it all? Did he wander into the streets and get half eaten by an Amway worker? Help us solve this heinous crime. If you have any information regarding the Gingerbread case please contact Constable Kennings at 604.232.1437. The couple is offering a cash reward to whoever comes forward with information.

The History of Movember
I didn’t know the full history behind Movember, until I read @miss604 ’s very detailed blog post. I highly recommend that you give it a read. Good stuff! I’ll give you the cliff notes version.

In 2003, two Australian men thought it would be fun to grow and keep mo’s for a month. Despite getting flack from their wives and bosses, they loved the idea and wanted to make it a tradition. It turns out, two of the guy’s dads had prostate cancer at the time. After doing some digging, they noticed a gap in research and awareness. The next year they recruited 450 bros to grow mo’s and raise money for prostate cancer – Movember was born!

Have you checked your prostate lately? Will you?
19,000 Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. With proper screening, prostate cancer can be treated before it’s too late. While I’m a big fan of the mustache myself, Movember isn’t just about facial hair. It’s about shining light on a form of cancer that hasn’t received much attention in the past. Movember men, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you gotten your prostate checked lately? If not, will you? Ladies, will you encourage the Movember men in your life to get checked? Please answer this question by posting a comment below. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Just For Fun
To commemorate Movember, I worked with Derek Strokon (@insurevancouver) , Greg Meeres and Kevin Friesen (@boldfishmedia) , and Alejandra Anderson (@beyondyouandme) to put together a video. Take a look for a good laugh. But it’s not all fun and games. Don’t die of embarrassment, Movember men. Get your prostate checked! Especially those of you who are over 40 (I’m not naming names).

Vote for  Us?
We love a good old fashioned competition, so we entered our video into the @memelabs Movember video contest. If you like it, click on “vote” in the bottom right hand corner of the video. Until next time, happy Movember!

Growth in donations has slowed dramatically, with many major charities barely keeping pace with inflation. In times like these, it’s more important than ever for companies and individuals to offer their time, talent, and resources. Helping out doesn’t have to be hard or costly. Below are a few creative ways to give back during a recession.

Take a Karma Yoga Class
Most yoga studios hold “karma” yoga classes. These classes run on a donation only basis and benefit charity. Inner Space Yoga, a lovely studio based in the heart of gas town, has kindly offered to donate the proceeds of their karma yoga classes for the next two months to the BC Children’s Hospital “Wigs for Kids” program. Inner Space Yoga is located at 100 – 247 Abbott Street in Vancouver. The Karma class is held every Sunday morning from 9:15 – 10:30 am. Be sure to call in advance to secure your spot.

Instead of Giving Presents, Give a Kiva Loan
Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe. Instead of getting Christmas presents from your friends, ask them to give a micro-loan to a deserving entrepreneur.

Clean Out Your Closet
Most of us are guilty of “over-consumerism,” and have more clothes than we actually need. If you look in your closet, you could likely collect a pile of items that you haven’t looked at or used in over six months. Local charities and used clothing stores always welcome clothing donations. Also, you don’t have to limit your drop-offs to clothing only. You can send shoes, household items, books and even furniture items, as long as they’re in good condition and don’t require any major repairs. There are many Vancouver charities that accept clothing donations such as the Covenant House, a charity that helps homeless and at-risk youth.

Thanks Bo, but what are we supposed to do in the mean time; Besides eat beans and Kraft dinner and hope for the best? A little dose of old fashioned creativity helps, combined with the right marketing tools.

So, what’s the right marketing mix when you’re low on cash? The following are a few Web 2.0 technologies that will give you decent results without eating a hole in your wallet:

1. Social Networking Platforms
We’re always ranting about the value of social networking sites. Social networking is extremely cost effective, and delivers decent results without draining your budget. Create a fan page or group on Facebook, set up a Twitter account, or create your own social network at Ning.

3. Gadgets & Widgets
Almost any content or application can be made into a gadget or widget. This is a simple distribution mechanism because it can be hosted on any web site. Try adding a poll to your website for increased interactivity and customer insight. Check out Widgetbox, where you can easily make your own widgets.

4. RSS Syndication
Syndicate your blog or web site with an RSS Feed. Making your content available via RSS will allow your followers to receive an email every time you update your blog. Most blog tools include an RSS creation tool.

5. Sharing Tools
Sharing tools, like ShareThis, make it easy for you to syndicate any content you want to your various networks simultaneously. This is much more effective than email because it delivers your content to numerous places, like email lists or your Facebook page, with only a few clicks.

One last thing…
Waiting for the larger economic picture to improve isn’t going to make the bumpy path ahead any less difficult. Drastically scaling back on all marketing efforts isn’t going to help either. Yah, we get it, staying focused on expansion is hard. If you forge ahead, though, you’ll emerge at the other end of these turbulent economic waters stronger and more adept that your competition.

You’ve heard that Twitter is a great marketing tool, but you still don’t get it, right? As Steven Berlin Johnson wrote in his Time Magazine story on Twitter, “The one thing you can say for certain about Twitter is that it makes a terrible first impression. The service allows you to send 140-character updates to your followers,” he writes, “and you think, why does the world need this, exactly?” Hopefully the Q&A below will demystify the value of Twitter.

What is Twitter?
Twitter is a free social-messaging tool for staying connected in real-time. It is a “micro-blogging service” that enables its users to send and read other users’ short (140-character) updates, known as “tweets.”

Why does everyone talk about what they ate for lunch?
Sometimes Twitter makes for inane comments. When tweeting, it’s best to provide content that is important to your followers. Remember, social media is meant to be a two-way conversation. When using Twitter, it’s important to engage in conversations, and ask and answer questions.

Why aren’t people following my Twitter account?
You could start by asking yourself a few questions. Are you talking more than listening? Are you providing valuable content? Are you following a lot of new people each day? If you’ve answered no to any of the above questions, you probably aren’t engaging at a level the community expects.

I don’t get it… What’s the value?
The power from Twitter lies in following other users and having them follow you. Twitter becomes a rich platform when you are connected to people you know or want to know. Creating a loyal following allows you to get to know your current and potential customers, leading to engagement, trust, loyalty and brand equity.

What’s next?
There is a LOT more to learn about Twitter, but for the sake of time, I’ll cut it off here. To learn more about social networking, keep a close eye on my posts and tweets. I look forward to reading your comments. Happy tweeting!