Life at the Hubbub

Grey Canada shortlisted for Strategy Magazine Agency of the year

2011-06-21T16:10:00.004-04:00

Based on 5 case studies that we submitted for the first stage of review, all exciting campaigns launched by Grey

1. Captain Morgan Rum – Got what it takes to be a captain?

Our campaign features 4 friends who would go to any length in the hopes of enjoying a “Guy’s night out.” Despite their best efforts, the inevitable discovery of their ‘doppelgangers’ leads to some highly comedic moments. A cigar store Indian wearing a soap on a rope in the shower, a Styrofoam-popcorn dummy on a riding lawnmower who falls off and gets mulched, and a macaroni man watching TV as his leg gets chewed off by the family dog. Entertaining and successful – we drove sales +18%.

2. GGRP – Direct Mail Campaign

Our awareness campaign for GGRP has gone on to become the most awarded direct mail in Canada in 2010 including a GOLD Lion winner at Cannes. Prospects received a fully operable record player – recipients simply folded the player as per instructions and manually spun the record using a pencil.
Immediate response to the piece was over 90%. Featured on over 500 sites such as Gizmodo, Wired and The Wall Street Journal.

3. Salvation Army – Christmas Kettle Campaign

For the 2010 Christmas Kettle Campaign we brought to life our theme of “With your donation, dignity is within reach”. Transit Shelters featured those in need; a homeless man reaching for a blanket, a hungry girl reaching for a loaf of bread. A reality based TV spot – where everyday consumers were forced to experience a loss of dignity as they awkwardly tried to get access to soup cans beyond their reach. The biggest gift however was the campaigns success, we were able to help raise $21 million dollars, $3 million more than any year prior.

4. GSK – Sensodyne Toothpaste

For the Sensodyne ISO toothpaste launch, we created the first, and largest ever branded 3D mapping projection in Canada. For 10 straight hours during Nuit Blanche, the Iso-active foam cleaned and rebuilt Union Station. To avoid noise pollution, people could dial in to hear the sound effects on their cell phones. For a $100,000 investment, over 6.3 million people watched iso3D live and through digital media, and sales jumped 58% in the first month alone.

5. Special Olympics – More than just a medal.

The most awarded Canadian radio campaign so far at The Clios, One Show and The New York Festivals, was the campaign we developed for SPECIAL OLYMPICS. In the campaign a voiceover speaks about how the Special Olympics helped change peoples perception of them. The misdirect happens when the real voice is revealed to be that of the special Olympic athlete. The misdirect demonstrates perfectly how we all need to see the athlete behind the disability and not the disability itself.

Link to the spot

Award time - Grey wins Cannes Bronze Radio Lion

2011-06-21T15:19:00.004-04:00

As posted by Marketing Magazine: "Grey Canada won for Special Olympics Canada’s “Chuck,” wherein the titular character describes his experiences as a special Olympian while his voice transitions from “normal” to one slowed by Down Syndrome.

The ad, which was also a recent One Show contender, was one of Grey’s two shortlisted entries for Special Olympics Canada, the other being “Monique.” “People felt the transition worked better [in Chuck] so they moved it forward to Bronze,” said Paul Little, Canadian radio jurist and soon-to-be co-creative director at Sid Lee.

Listen to this wonderful spot for Special Olympics

Congratulations to all those involved.

Do you know the guys from Gibberish Media?

2011-06-20T16:38:00.002-04:00

Hardly working: Start-up Guys
There are no guys this bad at the Hub but sometimes when startups are presenting their ideas to me, I do feel somewhat confused.
Enjoy this video
Sorry, they wouldn't let me embed it.

Cloud computing outlook 2011

2011-06-20T15:44:00.000-04:00

Maybe I have been hanging with the Canadian Cloud Computing group too much lately but I can't read and learn enough about cloud computing. I really enjoy any articles that demonstrate what is ahead of us because of the increased use of this new technology.

This infographic is making the internet rounds today, promoting a recent report commissioned by BitNami, Cloud.com and Zenoss. "The 2011 Cloud Computing Outlook survey was designed to collect information on the use of virtualization and the cloud computing technologies among enterprise users to help inform the evolution of cloud computing technologies and services."

From the infographic it is interesting that of those who participated in the survey 20% said their company has no plans to develop a cloud computing strategy. Would be interesting to review results in 1 year, 2 years, or 5 years. It is unavoidable, data access via server structure is in everyone's future. If you aren't running your own servers now, how far behind are you?

Click to request a copy of the report.

Facebook IQ - a report on how prestige brands are utilizing Facebook

2011-06-07T13:38:00.000-04:00

L2, a think tank for Digital Innovation located in NYNY, released their L2 Prestige 100® Facebook IQ, a report that details the top 100 prestige brands and how they drive their Facebook success.

The report that was conducted in partnership with Buddy Media, measures the aptitude of these 100 brands that are in the Auto, Beauty, Fashion, Watches & Jewelry, and Spirits & Champagnes industries.The Index scores each brand against more than 200 qualitative and quantitative data points to evaluate and rank their Facebook efforts across four criteria: Size & Growth, Engagement, Programming, and Integration. Basically it provides details and thoughts about how they are doing it right.

Ultimately the study demonstrates that when it comes to Facebook it is all about engagement, allowing and encouraging interaction. It is also important to be prepared to deal with all the challenges that engaging with an audience on an openly displayed platform will bring. The study also demonstrates how prestige brands can leverage the power they have created to inspire consumers to align with their products.

The question of Glocal, how do you balance the global presence of a company but build a local following is also part of the learning with this study. "Across the Prestige 100®, 40 percent of brands maintain regional pages to target local markets and/or locally targeted posts, while 60 percent anchor efforts around one global Facebook page."

Making money through Facebook will take on a whole new meaning with the launch of iframe tabs that can be added to Pages to allow for Buy Now capability. "With the advent of Facebook iFrames, the growing experimentation of mass retailers, and search for ROI, F-com is likely to see a great deal of investment on the platform over the next 12 months."

If you are interested in learning more about how you can truly benefit from Facebook, I recommend reviewing this study. And if something inspires you, please remember that all of these Facebook initiatives began with a clearly developed strategy -- a plan with clear objectives and set tactical directions about how to achieve those objectives. Don't just jump into Facebook as a marketing tool, plan your way into it.

Canadian Cloud Computing - a great tool for SMBs

2011-06-06T15:20:00.000-04:00

For an update on an earlier post about Canadian Cloud Computing, this Hub startup received some great press recently in IT in Canada. Great article about how the Small to mid size businesses can really benefit from a cloud solution.

I love this quote from Wally Kowal, President and Founder of Canadian Cloud Computing: “We consider ourselves a cloud provider with a face. A lot of small and mid-sized companies are not comfortable with global operations and corporations. It’s okay if you’re a consumer and you don’t care where your data is – Google is great. But if it’s your company infrastructure that you are looking to put on the cloud, you want to know who you are dealing with. We’re not going to compete with Google – we are going to have a face. We have a phone number and you can get help from us anytime. We can do that on a smaller scale because we’re a smaller operator and we can offer that level of service.”

Communitech Apps Factory - help to build your app

2011-06-01T09:20:00.000-04:00

Are you a not for profit with a great idea to engage with your audience via a mobile device? Well the Apps Factory may be the ideal option for you.

A team of developers led by Rob Drimmie, will create an early version of your mobile application. You can then use this prototype to demonstrate the idea to generate interest and further funding for the project. They are also happy to recommend local companies you can work with to continue to develop the app or you can take the project in-house to finish the work. Depending on your situation they will continue to guide you through the process of building a full fledged app.

They are currently taking applications for this term (they are open to new ideas until June 15th); you can get started here - submit a proposal. You must be able to describe the application you have in mind for your business and the problem that it addresses. Applications must be market-driven, and you should be able to define how you envision this application impacting your company, wealth creation or job growth.

Another great initiative located in the Hub.

Today is Hunger Awareness day!

2011-05-31T08:49:00.000-04:00

Learn more:
Food Bank of Waterloo Region
Food Banks Canada

Who is in the Hubbub? - A list of all who are in the Communitech Digital Media Hub

2011-05-27T16:15:00.000-04:00

17 Muscles - Cognitive, Customized, web based training software

Will Pwn for Food - a whole blue ocean of competitive fun to the world

Allerta - your smart phone on your wrist

Willet - Web app monitization

Beyond One Eighty - Advanced security and intelligence platforms

Suncurve - ad delivery in digital media environments

Canadian Cloud Computing- they are building the Canadian Cloud

Notewagon- NoteWagon is a peer-to-peer learning platform that connects university students together in a marketplace for lecture notes and various student-generated revision materials.

Redwoods- content production company

Cyborg Trading Systems - Custom trading solutions for institutions

Kailog- Health collaboration - wearable information devices to alert medical teams of changing patient conditions

MappedIn - indoor mapping framework used by malls, museums, conference centers and various other public spaces

Infinidy Corp - amazing games for your iphone

iExperienceIT - a location-based life logging application that helps users log and share their experiences with friends and family

Footloose Games - adult gaming for the child at heart and the developers of Munchies Lunch

GooseChase - team building through scavenger hunts

Formulating Change- raising charitable donations through credit card transactions

Bookneto - making education a more social and open experience

Balute - making music digitally

Homick Labs - service for selling digital content, subscriptions and virtual goods within mobile applications

MediaExpertSearch - online directory for journalist looking for experts

UME Golf - a free social community for golfers

Loyalty Match - customizable loyalty program platforms

Taeros- TekTire - tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) for fleets

Skoonowi - Leading Provider of Social Networks for the Classroom

Modevation Media - this is the sweetest team of video producers on the face of the planet - specialize in dynamic video production and event videography for organizations and companies across Ontario

Now Media - true local directories and online community news media

Well.ca - Canada's online health, beauty and skin care store that offers free shipping

Philanthrokidz - building the coolest place for tweens on the internet

Communitech

Canadian Digital Media Network

Miller Thomson

BMO

Wildeboer Dellelce

WLU - Wilfrid Laurier University

AON- Insurance products and services for companies and consumers throughout Canada

Conestoga College

Deloitte

Gowlings

Ernst and Young

University of Waterloo

IRAP

RIM

OCE

Open Text

Grey

When referring to a Women do not call her a girl - acknowledge the important role women play in society

2011-05-26T14:44:00.001-04:00

I am ready to take up the cause to inform people that using the word girl when referring to a woman is a derogatory term. The word girl is not a status enhancer and if you think that women do not need to continue to enhance their status, to demonstrate their value in the workplace and in society as a whole, you need to understand some very disturbing facts:

Improving the status of women around the world continues to be a struggle. In developed nations I believe we have an important role in projecting and reinforcing positive, mature images and perceptions of women. And we need to do our part to ensure women are taken seriously.

Girls do not make professional decisions, they do not chair boards, they do not hire and fire people, they do not authorize six figure spending and they certainly don't lead teams comprised of adult males and females. The word girl conjures up images of skipping ropes, Barbies, pig tails and giggles. These images should never be aligned with the responsibility that a woman takes on in the professional world.

The word girl has its place, like the playground and in youthful school rooms. It does not have a place in a professional world because of the subconscious images and ideas that the word evokes. By classifying a woman as a girl we are subconsciously devaluing their words, their efforts, their importance in society.

I believe that it is the responsibility of all of us to accept, embrace and reinforce more mature labels. Challenge the use of the word girl when referring to a woman; stop women from being placed in a subconscious position of inferiority and immaturity.

And don't accept when someone placates you after correcting them. When I respond with "I am not a girl," I typically hear "oh, I didn't mean it that way it is just a word I use."

Now I respond with "The word girl does not enhance nor endorse the important role that women play in society. I ask you to think of us as women."

Recently I had a conversation with a female entrepreneur who runs a business with her husband, in a male dominated field. She told me how difficult it was for her to command the respect of her male contract workers while her husband was off on a sick leave. "They didn't want to work for a girl so they wouldn't listen to me and we didn't get anything done." Well, that kind of sums it all up.

RIM vs the World Infograph

2011-05-25T14:54:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Geekaphone for sharing:

Geekaphone's RIM vs the World Infographic

Guest Post: Mobile Controlled Dress

2011-05-24T13:21:00.019-04:00

Fashion designer Breeyn McCarney and I recently premiered our "Paper Dolls" dress collection at Toronto Alternative Fashion Week [FAT].

Through smartphones or browsers, viewers can enter the world of "Paper Dolls" by controlling the colour of one of the dresses by visiting http://colour.breeyn.com. The mobile controlled dress was designed with the expectation that it could be controlled by others who could see the dress live - say at a party.

Colour Change Paper Dress from Christopher Lewis on Vimeo.

The response has been overwhelming. The dress was even featured on the NatAndMarie.com webcast (jump to 42 minutes in) where viewers were able to control the colour of the dress and watch online.

Each dress was painstakingly hand-cut, and Breeyn and I enhanced the dresses with LEDs and microcontrollers. The resulting pieces represent a juxtaposition of high- and low-tech. [FAT] marked phase one of the collaboration between us; we continue to push the interactive aspect of the designs, which will culminate in a lookbook and video towards the end of summer '11.
More about Paper Dolls
Behind the Scenes

- Christopher Lewis

Christopher Lewis is Senior Flash Developer with Grey Canada. He experiments with real-world interaction and "getting off the screen". Christopher believes that the DIY community is essential to driving the development of mainstream technologies by making interactive hardware ubiquitous. His goal is to create approachable technology that is fun to use.

Globe and Mail asks Grey team to represent Canada at the Cannes Lions - Young Lions competition

2011-05-19T12:02:00.000-04:00

As Canada’s official Cannes representative, The Globe & Mail hosts an annual Young Lions pre-qualifying competition that is designed to simulate the conditions at Cannes.

The winning team for Film is from Grey Canada; Liz Donnelly and Amy Jacobs, who work in our Toronto office.

The Globe & Mail's assignment was to create a TV commercial in 48 hours. Liz and Amy had to create a conceptual idea, write the copy, film the spot, edit and submit it. ALL IN 48 HOURS.

The brief they were given was to create a commercial to promote the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) which supports grassroots organizations working to turn the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Since 2003, the SLF has funded more than 300 projects in 15 countries. The philosophy of the SLF is firmly rooted in the value of working with African efforts, with an understanding that if anyone can turn the tide of AIDS in Africa at the community level, it will be the experts found in the communities themselves.

As winners in their category, Liz and Amy have won a trip to Cannes Advertising Festival at the end of June where they will be the official representatives from Canada and compete against other Young Lions winners from around the world.

Here is a link to their winning entry.
A simple yet powerful idea. Congratulations Amy and Liz! And wish you great success in the Cannes Young Lions event. Looking forward to hearing all about your exciting trip.

Google Office Opening - Space designed for fun, excitement and collaboration

2011-05-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

This is the reception area, this is where we signed in, including signing an NDA and they gave me the requirements about where I can take photos and where not to take photos.

Very cool space, they design their office spaces with industrial chic in mind and the Google colours are throughout the space in fun and engaging ways. Encouraging self expression is also evident throughout the office.

This Google office has teams working on a variety of product development divisions including Chrome, Mobile, Ads, Commercialization and Social. This local office has developed a leadership reputation within the company, building their centre for mobile application development and working to make the user experience “super easy and super fast.”

Yes, the rumours about great food is true. They had a big spread for the opening but I did hear from employees that the fully equipped industrial kitchen is used extensively.

The space is designed to be unique and fun. “We do our best to make our engineers very comfortable and the theme of the space is fun, excitement and collaboration.”


And yes, the rumours of the slide are also true.

Kristina from Footloose Games was too fast on the slide for me. She used the slide a few times. It basically covers a single flight of stairs but adds a big bunch of fun. Sorry, I didn't get a better picture.

They offer lots of great employee perks including Massage, fitness programs a range of healthy snacks are available all the time.They obviously do a lot to keep energy up and provide unique ways for people to work together.

Thank you Google for the introduction to your space at the Tannery in Kitchener. Thanks for allowing us a peak into your world. And thank you for helping me understand where your space is in the building. I took a few shots of their view as I now have a much better understanding of how the space within the Tannery is being used.


So this is the font of the Tannery building and Google is on the 2nd and third floor of this wing. Desire2Learn is in 3rd and 4th floor centre part of the building and not shown in this photo.

This is a Google view of the corner of Charles and Victoria.

This is a view from their patio that looks onto Joesph Street. Desire2Learn has a patio above Google's patio.

Lifetime Tribuites - now here is a great idea from a Hub company

2011-05-16T12:59:00.000-04:00

My Father is 84 and we are constantly encouraging him to share stories about our family and our ancestors. I grew up in a household where that was very important, knowing where your family came from. My Mother grew up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia where a common question you are asked when meeting someone new is "what's your father's fathers name?"

We've asked Dad to write down his memories so we can save them for generations to come. But here is an even better idea, video tape my Father's stories, edit them down (because believe me at 84, he would need editing) and then share copies with my family.

Guess what, there is a company at the Hub that can do this - Lifetime Tributes. Now of course they do the standard wedding and celebration video but they also do a more low key collection and honouring of long standing memories. I love this idea!

This video is very directed to weddings but they do biographies too.

New tenant at the Communitech Hub - Homick Labs

2011-05-13T13:57:00.000-04:00

This exciting company began as a mobile app developer, building and monetizing their own products. They have a line of Kid Apps as well as a successful Sports Fantasy App. The also create apps for a range of clients.

Where they see their future is in the opportunity of supporting other app developers with a product called SwiftMint.

SwiftMint is a service for selling digital content, subscriptions and virtual goods within mobile applications using native payment APIs for Apple App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry AppWorld. Their platform will help other developers quickly get apps up and running, specifically making money, without developers having to spend the time and resources to build a back end system.

They have built unique features into their platform (based on their own development needs) that will help to keep users in a good application longer and encourage more in-app purchasing. These features will be key for future developers who are attempting to break into a saturated market. Building off the existing SwiftMint platform allows them to get to market quicker and make more money with the app.

As this market matures, it makes sense that developers will have to get smarter about how they leverage their unique abilities and passion to create an app that will stand out from the clutter. With SwiftMint, Developers can focus on building the front end, so they stand out in the crowd, and buy the back end programming already intact, ready to go to market.

They are positioning the product as a tool that helps developers acquire and retain users and then quickly monetize the app:

Acquire- Add new users to your apps by running promotions, giving away free goods and services and offering bonuses for installing your app
Retain - Keep users in your app longer by offering rewards for using your app, running virtual currencies and awarding additional benefits for signing up friends
Monetize - Improve conversion of free users to paid users by offering targeted digital goods for sale along with higher quality previews of digital content

I look forward to learning more about their business.

The most valuable global brands - Technology and Telecom brands are gaining presence on the list

2011-05-11T10:21:00.000-04:00

There was a shake up in the top 4 from the 2010 report; this year Apple reached the #1 spot, based on an increase in value of 84%. Oh what a tablet can do for a bottom line.

It is interesting that four of the Top 5 ranking leaders are technology companies. Technology and Telecom brands now make up a third of the Top 100 brands compared with just a quarter in 2006. In that group, there are a few international companies listed, including RIM's BlackBerry brand that sits in spot 25. More international growth reflects the influence of fast-growing markets, 12 Chinese brands, 3 Brazilian brands, 1 Indian brand and 1 Russian brand appear in the Top 100. Two Indian brands narrowly missed the Top 100 in brand value, but rank in the Top 20 most valuable brands in the technology sector.

Facebook makes its first entry onto this list at #35. The new emerging digital media brands will likely impact this list in the future as they enhance their "power to the people" potential.

“As digital revolutionizes the relationship between brands and consumers, interactions that could be adversarial increasingly become collaborations aspiring to mutual benefit and reciprocal trust. In these digitally enabled relationships, the role of marketer as brand builder, selling products to the public, is supplanted by the role of marketer as brand enabler, engaging the public’s help to improve products and raise customer satisfaction.”

Our shopping experience is also set for a major transformation as network and rich data capabilities grow. Future brands face immense and unpredictable challenges in this highly connected, increasingly transparent and digitally transformed world.

Another interesting observation is that overall, American companies still dominate the top 100 which to me is a reflection of America's understanding and leveraging the power of marketing.

To better understand the kind of a year its been, here its last years top 4.

In 2010 BlackBerry was sitting at #14 with 30,708 ($M) in brand value. Now BlackBerry is #25 with 24,263 ($M) in brand value.

In 2011Toyota rebounded to the No. 1 rank in cars. Its performance demonstrated the power of strong brands to recover from the most fundamental challenges to product efficacy and reputation.

The 2011 BrandZ Top 100 report is created by Millward Brown Optimor, a WPP sister agency to Grey Group. This report is one of the world’s most comprehensive brand valuation and trend reports and has become the gold standard. To get a better look at the chart above, go to WPP company Millward Brown BrandZ Rankings.

If you would like a copy of the complete report, email me at beth.cotter@greycanada(dot)com or better yet, post a comment and I can send you the report.

More inspiring artwork at the Hub - thank you Art Allies

2011-05-10T15:35:00.000-04:00

Thank you to Art Allies for the beauty you share with us. We have been blessed with wonderful colours and thought provoking pieces throughout the Hub space. Two local artists are currently featured at the Hub, Amy Ferrari and Soheila Esfahan.

Amy Ferrari's oil paintings are bright and colourful, somewhat whimsical. In her own words “Life is a joyous celebration. I celebrate color as a glorification of life. My vision is that vibrant, joyous potential thrives in everybody, everything, and every situation. My current work is acrylic on canvas.”

You can really see this vision in her work. All of her paintings are really beautiful and the colours draw you in. These two paintings are my favourites but check out more of her collection at Art Allies.

Soheila Esfahan pieces are very dynamic and tell their own story. One of her pieces (left) has inspired lots of discussion, for different reasons. The Vagireh Pattern sculpture is provocatively displayed in the centre of the networking space and many have been curious about this piece. When I first saw it, on the first day of this exhibit I thought it was the packing crates for the other pieces and would eventually be moved out of the space. But when you examine the intricate and delicate carving on the front of the sculpture you realize there is more to the story. Jacqui Murphy explains that the crates represent the artists transition of culture and being as she moved from Iran to Canada.

Her paintings are somewhat moody and a little more aggressive in presentation. I love her use of texture on the canvas. Art Allies describes “Esfahani’s work incorporates traditional Persian script within a modern composition. While the essence of calligraphy predominates and reveals an eastern origin in her work, forms, lines, and texture attest to a western abstract influence. In her paintings, the mystical concepts of transformation, spirituality, and alchemy manifest through the meaning of poems by Persian poet, Rumi.”

Another great reason to visit the Communitech Hub -- come, enjoy the artwork. And maybe feel inspired to begin your own collection.

Dr. Jean Kilbourne exposes an ugly side of advertising

2011-05-06T12:04:00.000-04:00

At a fund raiser for Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASC) Dr. Kilbourne explored the impact of advertising on our perceptions and ideas of what it means to be a women. She has many powerful examples of how advertising taps into societies existing perceptions and can then perpetuate negative ideas. Dr Kilbourne believes we are living in a toxic cultural environment because many of the messages we are presented within advertising poisons our perception of what is realistic, presenting false images that we then measure ourselves against and can never achieve.

I have read Dr. Kilbourne's book Can't Buy my Love : How Advertising Changes the way we Think and Feel. It exposes the emotional tools used by advertisers for endearing a product in the mind of the consumer and offers great case studies that demonstrate that when advertising is done right it is a powerful tool for a marketer. I don't think it was her intent to give us in the Advertising World new tools for selling our strategic expertise. The book is basically an attack on advertising and a wakeup call for consumers.

Advertising and marketing is a curious thing because to have a powerful message to sell you have to know your customer really well, you have to find that truth and make it matter. Sometimes that truth is a vulnerability, an insecurity that when exploited can be lucrative for the advertiser. Advertising can shine a very bright light on our frailties.

Powerful, effective advertising reaches in to our subconscious mind because the marketers behind these campaigns have done their work to understand deep seated ideas and beliefs, hopes and ideals already in the mind of the audience. Advertisers then create ways to align the product, within its category or industry, to those deeper ideas. Smart, effective advertising works to build an emotional connection with the consumer. This is true for all products, not just B2C, but also for B2B products. Good advertising/marketing tells us a story or offers us an experience executed through a creative idea. These stories when aligned with existing perceptions help to forge a uniqueness for the product in the mind of the consumer.

So now we have a "Chicken or the Egg" question. Does advertising create the problem or perpetuate the problem? If we are already feeling insecure, not good enough because those ideas have been ingrained into our core beliefs that are set in childhood, then can we only blame advertising? Or is advertising the ice cream to the sensitive tooth?

When it comes to young children and the molding of their minds we parents sometimes leave that to the TV. As a mother of a young daughter I realize that my years of influence are short. I saw that when she was quickly swept up into the Webkinz movement (we have many of those creatures in our house) because of the influence of her peers and her need to acquire more characters in this digital world (brilliant piece of marketing). And although that was hard on the family budget, it's nothing compared to what we will get swept up into as she becomes a preteen. I want to get ready for that so I picked up Kilbourne's book So Sexy So Soon: The new Sexualized Childhood and what Parents can do to Protect their Kids. I find my 7yr old daughter drawn to music videos on Youtube and some of the concepts of what it means to be female are quite denigrating there. Her peer group pulls her in to these sexy story lines as part of their maturing process. As a parent I have to help her forge her core of self esteem.

Ultimately I believe that Dr. Jean Kilbourne's effort to draw awareness to the issue of negative stereotypes is critically important. Until we are faced with a problem we do nothing about it and I do believe that false, unrealistic ideals are a problem. First and foremost we have to ask ourselves the question of why do I feel a need to try and measure up physically? How can I learn to accept myself for who I am? Are my core beliefs as a person flawed and creating expectations that are unrealistic? I don’t think we can make advertising or media a scapegoat. We all have individual research work to do to know ourselves better in an effort to stop negative stereotypes.

Canada 3.0 - chock-full of Culture and Collaboration

2011-05-05T17:09:00.000-04:00

Great event full of lots of great ideas and thinking. And best of all, my two favourite words, Culture and Collaboration, kept coming up throughout both days.

As a student of culture I enjoy discussing the impact of digital media tools on society. I believe they will make quite their mark on history, and as social media explodes we are smack dab in the centre of the information revolution. For Canada 3.0 this became quite clear in Dr. Michael Wesch, Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Kansas State University presentation as he shared powerful stories about how humans search for identity and recognition. His brief history of the word "Whatever" was particularly fun and enlightening. It also connected with the debate that raged in Day 2 in the Education Stream discussion - Harnessing Social Media for Collaborative Learning - where my two favourite words collided.

Collaboration may be our strongest advantage going forward as we work to expand the abilities of Digital Media and Canada's presence and role within the evolution. With the free and safe sharing of ideas we can all get smarter together. Creating safe venues where sharing can begin, like Canada 3.0 and fostering continued collaboration and support in incubators like Communitech Digital Media Hub are critical going forward. This region has collaboration built into our culture. We all have a role in building and protecting that spirit. Let "Hunt for new ideas and foster collaboration" be our rallying cry!

Hubbub is growing - Communitech Digital Media Hub to expand

2011-05-02T13:13:00.001-04:00

The doors were just opened last fall but there is already a need to expand the space! The Hub currently occupies 30,000 square feet here at the Tannery and will expand to occupy another 12,000 square feet on the first floor of the Tannery by early 2012.

The expansion will accommodate more Peer2Peer program space, expanded strategic partner space, and more room for established companies.

Hubbub has an interesting mix of tenants:

- 28 start-up companies – and growing

- 5 leading tech multi-nationals

- 14 innovation partners, including legal, advertising and accounting firms

- 3 post-secondary institutions: Conestoga College, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo

- provincial and federal government partners

I love this space because to me it represents what is at the heart of the uniqueness of this community – collaboration. In a recent conversation with Communitech EOR Lillian Bass, she shared a story about how Toronto startups are coming to the region because of this unique spirit. As a community we are developing a reputation not only as a technology centre but a centre for collaboration and support of growth and development. We work together to help all be better and stronger and smarter. To me that is really exciting.

Women In Technology Waterloo Region Chapter

2011-04-29T10:41:00.000-04:00

After much planning to launch a local chapter we begin with a kickoff event here at the Hub in the Tannery Event Space on May 12th, 5:30 - 8:30. All are welcome, you can register here.

Why single out Women in Technology? While women have made tremendous strides in the roles we play in technology in the last 20 years, less than 25% of all ICT positions in Canada are held by women. According to 2010’s Labour Market survey, their visibility is dropping (23.9 % in 2010 which is down from 25.3 % in 2000). Women need to continue to support efforts of all women in this sector, working together to help all advance their careers and ensure we continue to pave the way for future generations.

The night is meant to be the start of a new support network. We have planned the event in a way to inspire women to build connections within the technology sector. There will be formal section hosted by local Chair, Angelique Mohring, Senior Director of the Office for the Chief Marketing Officer for OpenText with a night's keynote address from Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran.

I am most excited about the dynamic panel of women we have assembled to discuss their experiences in technology. The panel includes:

Carol Leaman, CEO, PostRank - 2010 recipient of the Sara Kirke Award for outstanding woman in technology innovation and corporate leadership
Jennifer Smith, VP Engineering, Christie Digital Systems
Sarah Shortreed, VP, Planning and CIO Program Office, RIM
Deb Krizmanich, CEO Powernoodle
Reemah Khalid, Student at UWaterloo

We finalized the questions last night and I am looking forward to hearing their responses.

There will be light refreshment served and a cash bar. Students from Conestoga College are working on visual displays to utilize the Christie display technology in the event space at the Tannery. The event is sponsored by OpenText. They have been very supportive of the event and getting the local chapter up and running. All in all we are expecting a great event to kick off this chapter.

Don't forget to register!

Building the Canadian Cloud at the Hub

2011-04-21T12:08:00.000-04:00

One of the early stage technology companies at the Hub is Canadian Cloud Computing. When I do hub tours I sometimes get that quizzical look that says "what is the cloud."

My simplistic explanation to non-tech people, and you will see that I am by no means a cloud expert, is that the cloud has been around for a long time, it is basically just servers hosting data, nothing to be nervous about. Canadian Cloud Computing offers companies a cost effective alternative to buying and building their own server infrastructure.

I do add a consumer advantage from the cloud -- as digital technology becomes more and more a part of our daily lives, I expect that we will all be interacting more and more with a cloud and not even know it. Such as when we log in at the office to check that we did indeed turn off the iron this morning. If you want to learn more about how you can do that you should check out this Kitchener company - SafePlug.

Another example is Gmail and how within my account I have endless space to store email on their server. And this is a segue into the unique value that Canadian Cloud is offering -- The Trusted Canadian Cloud - a fine balance between building a world-class cloud platform in Canada that is uniquely Canadian while still remaining a part of the global Internet infrastructure.

Basically it is about providing Canadian companies all the benefits of cloud computing without the global entanglements. In other words, because my Gmail account is hosted by an American Company, Google, all of my emails are open to scrutiny under the Homeland Securities Act. As Canadian Cloud Computing is obviously a Canadian company, the data they are hosting for Canadian companies would not be open to that type of exposure. And this is another good segue - data security.

Canadian Cloud Computing puts a GREAT deal of effort into data security. Their servers are located within a data fortress. Their secure networking systems provide encrypted VLAN access to content that is hosted on their Cloud Cloud Server with firewalled public IP addresses so customers can securely access servers through the Internet.

A philosophy of the team at Canadian Cloud Computing is that one size does not fit all when it comes to the Cloud. Some cloud providers focus on their own technology and expect you to adapt your business to their cloud platform. But at Canadian Cloud Computing they want to deliver all the benefits of cloud computing no matter what hardware or software platform you may use today - they want to offer the best platform to meet unique Cloud needs.

It is kind of funny, Clouds and Fortresses... for storing data. It is a different age than what I grew up in and everyday is a new adventure in technology.

Those crazy Grey Aliens

2011-04-14T10:38:00.000-04:00

If you go to our website you see the three Grey Aliens who are featured throughout. They are cute and comical and if you search for them on youtube you will also discover they are lyrical and seasonal - Enjoy

As a blogger, what I learned this week

2011-04-07T09:09:00.000-04:00

That when you are very busy with work and home life and volunteer work, the first thing to go is the blog.

Captains Blog, Grey date April 7th, the year 2011 - It has been a week since my last blog and that one I completed on the train ride to Toronto. My list of things to blog about has not been touched, nothing added, nothing removed. This blog is stuck in time lock.