that canadian girl

Category: Blogging & Online Media

  • A new year, a new beginning & a new challenge

    It’s been radio silence on that canadian girl for the past few weeks, but certainly not because I haven’t had anything to say. These past few weeks have been some of the most eventful ones of my life, in fact.

    Just over a month ago, I officially became my own boss, kicking my social media consulting work up a notch. Then, during our week-long holiday to Menorca, I turned 27, realising I’m a year older – and hopefully wiser.

    At the beginning of 2008, my themeword was exploration and it couldn’t be any more relevant today.

    I wanted to explore my own abilities, and chose to organise SocialMediaCamp London, a one-day BarCamp event covering topics surrounding blogs, podcasts, lifecasting, community, using new media cleverly, marketing ethics, social networks now and in the future. The event was this past weekend, and I have to admit, I’m unspeakably happy about it. I’m thrilled with how the day went, I’m proud of the level of participation from the attendees and I’m excited about the opportunities for future events.

    So ahead of me lie many new challenges, but you know what? I can’t wait to bite into them over the next few months.

  • The BarCamp Virgin's Guide: Making the most of your first BarCamp

    What is a BarCamp?

    Wikipedia’s description is “BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — often focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats.”

    Got your head around that one? Yeah, it’s a bit dry. This post should demystify a little what happens at a BarCamp event, and what you can get out of spending your weekend with geeks rather than chilling out at home.

    Totally different to regular conferences, BarCamps are more open and less structured. This means, when you arrive, you’re likely to see this kind of grid, where you can jot down what you’d like to talk about. It’s an opportunity for people from all backgrounds and all skill levels to have a go at sharing some knowledge.

    Sounds scary? It’s not essential that you present in front of a group using a Powerpoint presentation and a laser pointer while wearing a suit. In fact, suits are definitely not recommended.

    Where do I find out about events like this?

    Check out the BarCamp homepage for events in your area, look out on Upcoming.org or ask fellow Twitter users for suggestions.

    Keep a close eye on registrations since tickets tend to go quickly, with gatherings ranging from twenty to hundreds, depending on how brave the organisers are and how large the venue is.

    How can I prepare?

    • Have a think about the general theme of the event & associated topics that interest you: Could you talk about any experiences you’ve had, questions you’ve answered by either successfully completing a project or, if you’re brave, through a failure you’ve gone through.
    • Look at the list of attendees, which should be public… Anyone you’re burning to meet and get to know? The day will fly by so be sure to go say hi at the first opportunity!
    • Have an open mind: Join a session on a topic you know nothing about, play a game of Werewolf with new friends or start a conversation with the next stranger you meet.
    • Arrive on time: Come early if you want/can help with registration and setup, but don’t show up too late or you might miss on some of the social activity and goodies.

    Tackling your first presentation

    Presentation slots are generally 30-40 minutes, so you don’t need to do a doctorate thesis. It’s definitely not all about monologuing in front of the group for the full half-hour, it’s about sharing your experiences, asking others to pitch in with ideas or just leading a useful conversation.

    • Present something simple that people with less experience, who are new to the industry might be interested in.
    • Not sure what level of knowledge others will have? Present something completely wild and silly (“how to make the perfect margarita” was a hit at a past BarCamp I hear)
    • Nervous about being in front of people? Do a shared presentation with someone who complements your skills well. You’ll have someone to lean on when you’re not sure what to say next, and it’s more fun together.

    But I’m not a spotlight kind of guy/gal…

    Still getting cold feet? You can still help in a number of ways. The organisers are volunteers and (generally) have only two hands each. So if you’re not too keen on doing a presentation, why not lend a hand with registration, coffee breaks, cleaning up or setting up the A/V system?

    One of the best bits of a BarCamp is the memories you take home with you. But if you’re like me and you have the memory of a goldfish, the key is to capture the event in some way. So why not offer to blog or record the event on video or in photos? If you’re a podcaster, create a VoxPop clip with the participants.

    What do I need to pack?

    Wherever possible, you’ll be able to stay on-site overnight for the BarCamp. You’ll find yourself staying up late chatting, coding or playing games. If that’s the case, you’ll need some of the following:

    • Laptop if you want to blog or take notes during the event. Don’t forget your charger (and adaptor if the event is abroad!) and your screen adaptor if you need to plug into a projector.
    • Business cards: Moo cards come highly recommended. Make sure you have somewhere safe to store the cards you’re given.
    • Scribble notebook & pen: You might not want to have your laptop out at all times, so pen and paper is essential.
    • Power strip: If you can, bring a power bar to plug into the much-coveted few outlets. It’ll allow more people to benefit from power during the day.
    • Video/photo camera: Immortalise the day in video and photos. Be sure to upload your content and tag it with the event’s hashtags (eg. #smclondon08 for SocialMediaCamp London 2008) and put a Creative Commons friendly copyright.
    • Money: Some events provide food, thanks to the sponsors, but others don’t, so come prepared to go buy lunch somewhere nearby.
    • Materials: Bring your presentation or demo (if you have one) on a USB stick or CD.
    • If the BarCamp is an overnight one, you’ll probably want to pack a sleeping bag and pillow.

    What some BarCamp veterans say…

    Tara ‘missrogue’ Hunt, Citizen Agency co-founder, public speaker & blogger, says:

    “Personally? BarCamp was an exciting idea for me, but at first I was afraid to stand up and talk… just wanted to observe and have one on one conversations… maybe ask a few questions from the audience. After a while, though, I decided to take the leap and put myself on the speaking schedule.

    I’m glad I did, because it started my career! I went from speaking at BarCamps… Really getting my chops wet and practicing my skills. I got stronger and stronger as a speaker. One day I was approached by a conference organizer who asked me to give a workshop on my ideas. Next thing I know, I’m speaking all over the world and have WAY more professional confidence than I’ve ever had. That all started with BarCamp. It gave me the opportunity to really push myself into the next level.

    Mel Kirk, social media gal extraordinaire says:

    My first experience of a barcamp was during SXSW and was BarCamp Austin… Totally awesome! We heard some people chatting about it and decided to drop in… I still have my pass and lanyard as it was one of my highlights. They had this awesome T-shirt station where you could buy a t-shirt and then have a number of different designs printed onto it. I didn’t have enough cash to buy one but I really wish that I had, they were gorgeous.

    There was a whole buzz about the place – it was in a really cool bar – totally laid back and relaxed and I met some amazing people that I would never have otherwise have met. Because it was a lot more laid back than a normal conference-type set up, people feel more relaxed to ask the presenters questions which leads to much more of a conversation type feel rather than content being pushed to the audience.

    I’d recommend a BarCamp to anyone – it’s filled with amazing talented people willing to share and discuss their knowledge… where else can you get something like that?

    Nik Butler aka Loudmouthman says

    “don’t let anyone convince you they are not the werewolf”

    Got BarCamp stories to share? Suggestions for new attendees? Leave a comment below!

  • Blogging as part of a marketing role: Give it the time it deserves

    In the corporate world, there are more blogs than ever. Along the lines of 70% of Fortune 500 companies will have at least dipped a little toe in it by this year, according to Wikipedia’s utterly incomplete entry. For a handful of us, it’s an integral part of the job; important internally, important externally, yet so little time allocated as thinking time. That’s frustrated me for a long time.

    Blogging is natural for me, but it still doesn’t come as easily as having a morning dump. Seriously. I realise that my entries are rough and ready; I don’t have Seth Godin‘s conciseness, Chris Brogan‘s punch or Jeremiah Owyang‘s insight (especially with my comparison above, for which I truly apologise) but even with my willingness to keep entries in a natural state – thorns, weeds and crawling critters included – it takes some time to cook up. And unfortunately, I don’t believe most marketing teams generally allocate enough simmering time for even the best in-house blogging god or goddess to write something meaningful.

    I’m a strong believer that in every business there is a story worth telling, a mistake worth owning up to, a success worth sharing. Or just a story. A really honest, truthful story that allows customers, prospects, fan boys and haters to see behind the marketing pitch. A blog is so much more than a home for your latest press release.

    So marketing managers, directors and CEO’s, please remember that beyond the board reports and year-on-year growth charts are human stories which will help your users, current and future, love you more and become true evangelist for your brand, if only you’d open the door and let them in. How good is your relationship with your users? Honest enough to let you see without makeup on Sunday morning?

    and they say that the truth will set you free
    but then so will a lie
    it depends if you’re trying to get to the promised land
    or you’re just trying to get by
    – ani difranco (listen)

  • Time to pick your favourite SXSW 2009 panels

    SXSW Interactive FTW!!!It’s barely been a few months since I’ve stopped clap-trapping on about how utterly awesome my first SXSW experience was, but yes, I’m already talking about the NEXT South by SouthWest. I realise it isn’t until March 2009 and that I have to wait 215 days before the Interactive festival even begins, but I need your support now.

    During August, future attendees are asked to vote for the panels they’d like to see and the themes they’d like to discuss via the Panel Picker. I’ve been invited by the fabulous Mel Kirk to join a panel called “Clear your ears for instant success”.

    “it’s a well known fact that whilst you’re in a conversation with someone you’re often thinking about what you’re going to say next rather than listening. this can be the same for businesses too. this panel discusses the skills it takes to have effective communication with your users and the benefits that brings.”

    So, just like Mel’s pimped her panels, here I am, pimping away! I would love to take a more active role in SXSW this year, so please go vote for us.

    A few other panels I would love to see and encourage you to vote for:

    Phew 215 days to go… How will I not blow up with excitement before then?

  • Cory Doctorow talk for Cambridge Business Lectures

    In July, Cory Doctorow gave a talk on the Information Economy here in Cambridge, which was enlightening and very interesting. But so many ideas were being thrown at me all at once, I was looking forward to being able to watch the talk again, at my own pace, and share it around.

    And now, here it is!

    I hope many more clever speakers are invited to speak on issues like this here in Cambridge. Have a look at the Cambridge Business Lectures site for more info and future speakers.

  • I'm in London for Mobile Geeks & Tuttle Club

    As I’ve just mentioned on the Taptu blog, if you’re in London and you like the mobile world, there’s only one place to be this evening: Mobile Geeks of London (and here’s a non-Facebook link!) It’s an informal evening gathering of people who work in mobile or simply enjoy geeking about with phones. Good company, good beer and hopefully good weather.

    It all begins at 6:45pm at the New Oxford Street All-Bar-One, and even though over a hundred people have RSVP’ed as attending, I’m putting money on it that there’ll be at least twice as many phones and mobile devices than people. Yes, we’re geeks. And we love it. 😉

    And then, tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading to Social Media Cafe aka Tuttle Club for a bit. It’s at the Coach & Horses on Greek Street in Soho, so again, if you’re around, why not pop by?

    I’ll be posting updates on Twitter so if you want to meet up, drop me a tweet!

  • Like the new look?

    Moving from my old unreliable hosting to the rock-solid ServInt VPS hosting we use for pepsmedia clients felt like moving from a studio flat in some dirty backstreet to a Kensington mansion yesterday. So we thought we’d go the whole hog and give the new pad a fresh lick of paint. (For those who don’t remember the old look, I’ve put a screenshot on Flickr for posterity.)

    I’m pretty pleased with it, hope you like the new style too!

  • Open letter to PR agencies: It doesn't have to be that way, you know…

    Recently, there has been a rise in the number of press releases I’ve received, an observation many bloggers around me have confirmed. But these PR emails are accompanied by intros as uncomfortable as the teenage “Will you go on a date with me? Yes/No” scribbled by the nerdy girl who sat next to you in geography class.

    Nerdy Nancy wants to go on a dateRanging from impersonal emails to borderline harassment calls and Facebook messages, there just seems to be a plague of poorly thought-out attempts at exploiting the circles of bloggers who are gaining influence in the media by the day.

    According to Forrester Research, the general public doesn’t seem to trust us bloggers just yet, and might think we’re still total nerds, but it doesn’t matter, PR agencies have got a total crush on us.

    So this is my open letter to all PR agencies we have had the (dis)pleasure of dealing with recently.

    “Dear PR agency guys & gals,

    We’re all very flattered that you fancy us now that we’ve gone from being viewed as the losers who spend too much time on their computers to being the cool kids with influence. We appreciate it’s difficult to accept that bloggers were never in the curriculum in your marketing theory classes, and that you feel the need to poke us with a stick while observing us from a distance, like you’re the Steve Irwin of public relations and we’re a wounded python. But I’ll let you in on a secret: We’re actually really quite normal. And we don’t even mind being treated that way.

    I won’t be pointing fingers and naming names today, but I’ll use a few examples to illustrate where you unnecessarily complicated your own lives recently. If you recognise yourself, feel free to either take it as a call to action to review the way things are done, or roll your eyes and mutter that I’m an idiot. Don’t worry, I’ve got thick skin. But if you choose to do the latter, I may just name and shame you next time you stick your foot in stinky cow dung.

    Exhibit A: The Lazy Approach

    “Hi,

    Please see below for news on this weeks launch of the [Product Name], which I thought would be of interest for the blog.

    Let me know if you need any more info.

    Thanks,

    R”

    Now, not only did I not give permission to R’s agency to email me, but R here failed to call me by my name (it’s in my email address, can’t miss it), use my blog’s name (also in my email address) and didn’t notice that I’d already reviewed the viral campaign for the product they’re pawning. Already, 3 strikes, you should be out.

    Below that dull message is an equally dull press release, using 3 different fonts and sizes, a LOT of ® characters, no real call to action, no freebies/samples offered and a link to an entirely Flash-based website with no HTML alternative. What the hell good is all that tripe when I’m on my iPhone?

    Honestly how this PR agency received two PR Consultancy/Agency of the year is beyond me.

    Exhibit B: The psychopath

    Blogger pal receives mail from PR agency who wants them to show up at a product launch in exchange for a measly fee and liveblog the event like it’s the Spice Girls’ reunion tour. Blogger takes offense (rightly so) at the suggestion that his readership can be bought for the price of a cheap pair of shoes and chooses to ignore PR agency.

    PR agency follows up deluge of pushy emails with “Email broken – Msg me your phone #. Love facebook!” via social networks. Next thing you know, they’ll be outside knocking at the window as he gets out the shower.

    Creepy. Not good. Sometimes, the non-verbal signal should be enough to tell you to back off.

    Exhibit C: The foreign agency

    “Hi,

    Hope you would forgive the intrusion.

    We have been working on this for a couple of months now and are NOW live. Allow me to present Plooshh [name changed for anonymity] – why the extra ‘h’? We think it’s sexy! We think it gives you an extra H – oops, ‘extra EDGE’ we mean. :)”

    And it continues on for two full screens worth of awkwardly friendly banter, filled with bright coloured large fonts, caps-lock sentences and extraneous exclamation marks. The English flip-flops between too formal and chat-speak, a bit rough ’round the edges yet endearing.

    Exhibit C is the product of an Indian agency jumping head-first into Web 2.0. Nothing wrong with their pitch, everything strikes me as being done textbook-style, ticking every box. But it’s soulless. Again, there’s no attempt to get to know the bloggers they approach, opting for a scattergun mail-out. Throw enough stuff at the wall, something’s bound to stick.

    While this wasn’t a particularly thrilling email, I suspect that once these guys catch on to the nuances of public relations in the new media age, their willingness and motivation might allow them to overtake many Western agencies who otherwise had a headstart in the game.

    Jury’s Verdict:

    Toilet cat is guilty! PR agencies are too!While a few PR agencies have embraced social media and are actively engaging with the communities their clients have an interest in, most have totally blown it so far. They’re as guilty of carelessness as this cat is of drinking out of the toilet bowl.

    But hope is not lost. Assuming said agency is willing to put some elbow grease into their day’s work, I dare say there is a huge amount of potential for a beautiful relationship to blossom between PR people and bloggers.

    So dear PR guys and gals, behave in a natural and human way; you’ll resonate emotionally with us. Emotional resonance is invaluable; we feel that we can become friends and are far more willing to listen to you, even when the product you’re pitching isn’t 100% on target.

    I appreciate that we are the means to an end, helping you reach the (sometimes unrealistic) targets set by your client, but remember that we’re all human – yes, even us weirdo bloggers – so treat others as you would like to be treated and we’ll be more than happy to give you a hand.

    In Summary

    Your future cheat-sheet.

    Do…

    • Have a Twitter account or personal blog where we can find out about the real you.
    • Have a product geek or evangelist we can speak to and quiz without getting the canned marketing answers (Carphone Warehouse and O2, I’m looking at you, guys. You could have definitely done with a public-facing real-person on the days surrounding the iPhone launch.)
    • Participate in events in an altruistic way every so often. We’ll get to know each other, and it’s bound to be good for your karma.
    • Put some chili in your cornflakes; By that, I mean, have genuine energy and passion about your client’s product. If you don’t get up in the morning loving your job, maybe you need to find something else to do.

    Don’t…

    • Try to buy our participation to your event. Telling me you’ll pay £150 to show up on Thursday morning with a video camera for a “secret launch” isn’t social media, it’s cheap labour and fake hype.
    • Send us a stock press release with an intro that betrays you’ve never even looked at our blogs
    • Always play it so safe that we’d rather read the back of the cereal packet than your press release. Have some balls, and hey, have some fun!
    • Don’t run with scissors Be afraid of asking a couple of bloggers for a pint to bounce some ideas. Most of them will be happy to help you out!

    I’d love to hear what PR agencies or other bloggers would like to add to this. How’s your PR-to-blogger relationship going?

    With much love & geekery,
    Vero”

  • I've got a dirty little RSS secret

    Sign up for thatcanadiangirl RSS feedI’m always harping on about the importance of having a tight grip on stats to know what’s happening on your blog but… I have a secret: I’ve never tracked my own RSS feed stats.

    I launched That Canadian Girl back when RSS wasn’t very popular and, while WordPress automatically produced a feed, I never bothered tracking stats around it.

    Now, many years later, I’ve decided to add Feedburner to it. If you’re already reading this via RSS, it should – in theory – be business as usual, but should you spot any funny business, please let me know via the comments.

    New reader? Why not subscribe to the feed now?

  • BMW doesn't get User Generated Content

    User generated content is all the rage these days, and every company wants a piece of the action. Some companies understand this concept and act on it fabulously well, but others fail miserably at understanding the basic ethos of UGC.

    A mutually beneficial UGC campaign will…

    • Give the company access to a vast creative resource pool composed of hundreds, thousands or millions of users
    • Give the user credit where due for the content creation through backlinks, social recognition and general whuffie
    • Enable the company and the user to build a closer relationship, a stronger brand link and, hopefully, nurture the user’s passion for the product/service

    Put simply, it should be a win-win situation. But today, a friend of mine received a message via Flickr from the agency in charge of promoting BMW USA, praising one of the photos of his 3 Series.

    “We are contacting you on behalf of BMWUSA.com to inform you that BMW is developing a website that showcases the photography and videos of BMW customers and fans on BMWUSA.com. Your photos were found on flickr and identified as possible photos that could be used on this site. These will be displayed anonymously and your name will not be associated with them. If you agree to give us permission to use your material, we will need your signature on a Photo Release Form. We are only interested in your images of the 3 Series. 

Please see below for a link to download this Release Form online. 
Please fill out the form [PDF here] and send it back to xxxxxxx@dotglu.com or fax to 212-XXX-XXXX. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Thank you very much, and we look forward to showcasing your material on BMWUSA.com.”

    So to reiterate:

    • The photos will be posted anonymously, giving the photographer no recognition by name, backlinks or otherwise
    • BMW gets unlimited permission to use the photos in whatever marketing or promotion they wish

    Ahem, did I miss something here? It’s a pretty crap deal for the photographer who is, and has been, for years, a faithful BMW owner and promoter. Yet BMW doesn’t give him anything in return for his undying love. This company has pretty deep pockets and a huge following, so it’s bound to be able to offer something exciting in return, no? A backlink to the source doesn’t cost a penny.

    I’m sure this agency means well and may get UGC one day but, at this point in time, I advised my friend against entering this one-way succubus relationship and let BMW know that he was keeping the rights to his pictures, thank you very much.