I decided to create a “Blogger Profile” category in 2006 and five years later, albeit infrequently, I still love to profile some of my favourite bloggers who make the local online scene just that much more interesting. I recently sent off the staple questions to Mikala, who I met for the first time in person last summer at a backyard birthday party in Lynn Valley. By following @backstagerider on Twitter you can tag along as she goes on one musical adventure after the next and seems to have a whole lot of fun in the process.

Photo: BackstageRider on Flickr

What is your website?
www.backstagerider.com

How long has it been around?
Since January 2010, so it’s still a baby. A baby that prefers to drink filthy gin martinis.

What is your role or involvement?
I pretty much AM the BackstageRider. With the exception of the collaborations I do with photographers and my amazing designer, I do everything else myself: write, edit, photograph, upload, set up interviews and features. It kinda helps that I’m a degree-carrying journalist/editor.

What does your site do, what is it about?
BackstageRider is a music website about a life in love with music. Your life, my life, our lives. It’s a website for music nerds and people who love going to gigs, or living vicariously through those of us who do. There’s plenty of “trendy” and “cool” music news and MP3 sites out there churning out daily info, so I’ll leave them to it.

BSR is about late nights, live gigs, amazing albums, going backstage, hanging out with bands and musicians, plus diaries and memories from my 20+ years in and around musicians and the industry. BSR has cheeky, really personal features and reviews that explore the whole experience of music. It’s mostly about indie rock, alternative, post-punk, new wave and electronica – but I’ll write about whatever excites me or piques my curiosity.

What can people see, read, and do when visiting your blog?
Features and gig reviews, amazing photos and galleries by some of Vancouver’s best photographers…and a few of my own shots. We’ve also done some exclusive photo shoots (including Scissor Sisters, Diamond Rings and Yeasayer) and really cool interviews. The articles are quirky and unique and I swear too much.

Oh and you’ll also get a lot of “rockhands”. Otherwise known as “throwing the goats” or the “devil’s horns”, rockhands represent to me that feeling you get at an amazing gig, when you can’t help but throw your arms into the air or scream loud. I’ve got a gallery with nearly 200 of ‘em. Including you, Miss604!

What is the ultimate goal for your site, how would you like to see it grow?
I do backstagerider.com for the pure love and passion for music and the people who make it.

Photo: BackstageRider on Flickr

But I’d love to get better behind-the-scenes access to bigger events and gigs, so I can continue telling my stories. I’d love to see BSR syndicated regularly or as columns. My BSR stuff has so far been published in The Georgia Straight, on MoviesMusicMayhem.com and will soon be on ConsequenceofSound.com, and my photos have been in the Vancouver Sun and in various US newspapers, but I’d like to have a regular paying gig doing what I do best – blathering about music. Or a radio show. I’m good at talking. I also enjoy teaching musicians how to use social media – they kind of need the help. (Oh, and I also handle the promo/media for US indie rockers Sebadoh, which is also very cool, and am on the production team for the LA-based music documentary of Just Gimme Indie Rock. So I’d consider doing more of that.

Why do you blog?
A writer needs to be read. And my words are finally connecting with people. BackstageRider.com has allowed me to do what I’ve done since I was 12 – write about music, hang out with bands and connect with folks who are passionate about music. And between my Twitter account and Facebook page and the site itself, it’s helped me make friends and meet some pretty remarkable people. I’m kinda in love with BackstageRider. She’s cooler than I am. \m/

As the wheels on Duane Storey‘s plane pull up off the YVR tarmac tomorrow he’ll be on his way to an adventure some of us may only dream of living. For the last year or so, Duane has been planning a working holiday that will take him below the equator, over the Atlantic, and across dozens of time zones.

Back in January of 2009 Duane quit his job downtown and moved from his False Creek apartment to a condo in his hometown of Chilliwack, BC. He had previously founded Brave New Code with Dale Mugford of Hamilton, Ontario and they had already begun to change the way we all use WordPress by creating popular plugins such as WPtouch and WordTwit.

With his new-found employment freedom, an idea began to sprout and it will come to fruition tomorrow when he leaves for Argentina from where he will be working (and blogging) for the next few months before moving on to another location.

“As much as I’d like to kick my feet up and relax every day, I’ll be working and helping run our company on most days during normal business hours,” Duane told me.

“Instead of having a small farm town as the backdrop though there will be various cities in the world, such as Buenos Aires, where I’m starting. Hopefully as the year progresses I’ll be able to do more four day weekends and week long trips. But at first, most of my exploring will be in the evenings and on weekends as I go.”

Having the freedom to work from anywhere is one thing but when your business relies heavily on internet usage and web applications, connectivity is something Duane needed to research diligently.

“Most countries have fairly reliable internet these days, and some even have better internet than in North America (such as Japan). I’ll mostly be renting furnished apartments as I travel, and most of those have high-speed internet included.” If he doesn’t have luck with WIFI, Duane said that getting a cellular data plan is the next best option as they are fairly easy to acquire abroad.

While he only planned to be away for about six months, Duane’s wandering appetite has grown and he will most likely be gone through the fall of 2011.

“My rough plan is to do South America for three months (where it will be summer), then hit Europe for three or four months (where it will be spring going on summer),” said Duane who plans to chase the season. “I’ll then move on to Asia for three months (where it will be summer going on fall), and then end the trip in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and then home again for Christmas.”

You can follow Duane’s travel tips, tours, and adventures by following Migratory Nerd on his blog, Twitter, and Flickr. We’ll be checking in with him over Skype and FaceTime as he makes his way around the globe.

It’s been about six months since I last featured a “Blogger Profile” although this is one I have been meaning to put together for quite a while. Kyle With is originally from Yellowknife, NT but is currently based in Fort St John, BC.

Kyle With – Photo credit: Dave Brosha Photography

What is your website/url?
l write YkOnline.ca, which I assume you want to know more about, but I also write a personal site KyleWith.com and a more techie/internet type blog WithMedia.ca .

How long has it been around?
“I started YkOnline.ca in May 2009 when I started to realize that I was writing a lot about my hometown Yellowknife, NT on my personal blog.”

What is your role/involvement (developer, owner, blogger etc.) ?
“Originally I was the only writer of YkOnline.ca, I got the occasional contributor, but it wasn’t very often. Then in August 2010 I was offered a unbelievable job in Fort St John, BC, where I am currently. The job at the moment is only a 6 month job, but may become permanent. So while I’m away I have opened up YkOnline.ca to anyone. Anyone can register and write anything they like.”

What does your site do/what is it about?
“I call YkOnline.ca, Yellowknife’s Community Blog. It is a local or hyperlocal blog. The city is only 20,000 people so it wasn’t much work keeping up with the going ons. I would write about upcoming events, past events, food reviews, business/people profiles, cover big breaking news and generate discussion around news stories. Then since I had worked in the tourism industry so much I started to become an online source for those looking at, traveling or moving to the area.”

What can people see, read, and do when visiting your site?
“The site became a source for those within Yellowknife and those looking to come to the area. Within Yellowknife readers go up to date and sometimes live information on event as well places and things to do and see. Then those outside of the city looking to come to it could use it as a place to learn about the city. At one point I was producing a weekly podcast about things to know about the city and what is within it.

It was something very new and different in town. It was really the only site using Twitter, Facebook, Video, Podcasts to relay information about the city.”

What is the ultimate goal for your site, how would you like to see it grow?
“It grew rapidly in the last 6 months and became a very known source, and I would love to see it stay that way. I have a strong passion for Yellowknife, having grown up there. One of the ideas of the site was to point out the positive in the city, and showcase it. It would be great to see more people contributing and engaging. Another thing would be to see it become sustainable, financially. I realize I wouldn’t be able to make a full time living out of it, but some return is always good, especially as I started devoting a lot of time to it.

I must confess though, I haven’t been keeping up with it lately. Like I mention I get offered a job in Fort St John, BC which I couldn’t turn down although it was difficult to leave what I loved so much, even just for 6 months. I haven’t left the local website industry though. Part of what I am doing now those is help build and evolve a community website. In a couple months we will be relaunching the site which will become a news source, community blog, all in one using all kinds of new media, video, podcasts, etc. If nothing else, what I have learned is that I have just as much a passion for community where ever it is, as I do Yellowknife. Who know what the future holds.”

You can follow Kyle on Twitter and Flickr to keep up to date on his various media projects.

It’s been a rather long time since I have done a Blogger Profile and when I was invited to the first anniversary of Fraser Valley Pulse, I thought what better time to re-start up the series.

Photo credit: Duane Storey on Flickr

Kristi Ferguson started up Fraser Valley Pulse in March 2009 and took on the role as the owner, editor, live-blogger, marketer and more. She has recently expanded to include articles from contributors who cover everything from health and beauty, family, business, and interviews with local experts.

Ferguson describes the site as , “the Fraser Valley’s neighbourhood lifestyle guide,” as they feature local businesses, events and things to do from White Rock to Chilliwack. She added, “the site celebrates the achievements of local business owners and encourages people to shop and support local.”

Those who frequent FVP can use it to search for locally owned businesses in the directory, find great local gems in the Pulse Spotlight or find things to do on the Pulse Adventures and events pages.

“The goal for FVP is to create the best centralized, hyper-local website for the Fraser Valley population,” said Ferguson. “Somewhere locals can visit to find out what’s going on in their community, what great businesses are nearby and what fun things they can get involved in. The FV covers a huge area, but out here in the burbs we tend to spend time in different areas of town – someone who lives in Langley may also spend lots of time in Surrey, Abbotsford, Maple Ridge, etc. It’s great to know what’s going on around you.”

Readers can sign up for a once/week newsletter update to keep up to date with our weekly Spotlight features and highlights of the blog, events page and articles.

Going forward into the second year of Fraser Valley Pulse, Ferguson would like to continue to see community involvement by way of submitted event listings, business ratings and the sharing of Pulse Pix.

Follow the blog or check them out on Twitter @FVPulse.

Should you have a favourite community site or new blog that you would like to see profiled, please feel free to contact me.

I’ve been running my Vancouver Then and Now series since last August and while it’s been fun to scour the archives for some interesting old photos, finding the “now” versions is sometimes difficult. I’ve relied on Creative Commons licensed photos on Flickr as well as Google Maps but the best depiction would come from going out and taking the “now” photos myself. Lucky for us, Jeremy Hood has been doing just that.

Photo credit: entheos_fog on Flickr

Jeremy has compiled a Flickr set of over 350 images from the Vancouver Archives or Vancouver Public Library paired with his own modern day photos.

Photo credit: entheos_fog on Flickr

He started a blog in January to showcase them all and it’s definitely worth a browse through his Flickr collection to check out some great Then and Now comparisons. There is also a Vancouver Then and Now photo group on Flickr to which you can add your own images.

When people ask me how I started blogging, I first mention my lifelong obsession with technology, and then I list my influences. At the top of the list is Tony Pierce who is currently celebrating the eight anniversary of his busblog.

Tony shares on his blog, he gives advice, talks about the Cubs, literally wrote the book on blogging, and he’s currently in charge of all blogs over at the LA Times. On top of that, he’s a really fun guy who was one of the first additions to my blogroll in 2004, and probably John’s in 2003 as well.

If you’ve ever seen me do a “Blogging 101″ talk, you’ll also recognize him from slides 22-24.

I first met Tony in person in Las Vegas, although the story doesn’t get much more exciting than it should after an introduction like that. However this one time he mailed Keira some chocolate chips and as a result, she invited me to share an evening of sugary cookie-baking debauchery with her. Those were good times. He even made it up to Vancouver a few summers ago and we all watched the fireworks together in English Bay. Again, very good times.

Tony is the ultimate “blogfather” to hundreds if not thousands of bloggers across the globe. It’s his continuous frank, straight-up, and charming writing style that keeps us coming back to the busblog even though I once heard nothing in there is true.

Post #25 of #49 – Over the next 24 hours I will be raising funds for the Union Gospel Mission during Blogathon 2009 by writing a blog post every 30 minutes. Please consider donating to my cause to keep my going until 6am PT July 26th.

In 2006 I followed two blogs that were doing something called “Blogathon”. One was Vancouver Canucks Op Ed by my friend and podcast co-host, Alanah and the other was The Love Blog by Barbara Doduk. Every year since, Barbara has participated in Blogathon and for that, she should be commended.

This year she is supporting RAPS, the Richmond Animal Protection Society and is profiling a special animal in each post. Head over to her blog to check out her posts and support the cause of this inspirational Blogathon veteran.

Post #12 of #49 – Over the next 24 hours I will be raising funds for the Union Gospel Mission during Blogathon 2009 by writing a blog post every 30 minutes. Please consider donating to my cause to keep my going until 6am PT July 26th.

For the next few hours I will be profiling bloggers who have joined me here at Workspace for the Blogathon Vancouver on-site event. Blogathon is taking place around the world but it’s a pleasure to have organized something that can unite locals each running their own campaign.

Duane Storey is taking part in his second Blogathon this year and I have the chance to hang out with him during our campaigns. Since moving back to his hometown of Chilliwack, BC he’s rekindled his passion for the outdoors, hanging out with his awesome niece and nephew, and perhaps even some cow-tipping (that’s what they do out there, right?) I jest. Duane is one of our best friends and he’ll be writing to support the BC Childrens Hospital on his own site as well as on his hyper-local In the Wack blog.

Post #12 of #49 – Over the next 24 hours I will be raising funds for the Union Gospel Mission during Blogathon 2009 by writing a blog post every 30 minutes. Please consider donating to my cause to keep my going until 6am PT July 26th.

Post #11 of #49 – Over the next 24 hours I will be raising funds for the Union Gospel Mission during Blogathon 2009 by writing a blog post every 30 minutes. Please consider donating to my cause to keep my going until 6am PT July 26th.

For the next few hours I will be profiling bloggers who have joined me here at Workspace for the Blogathon Vancouver on-site event. Blogathon is taking place around the world but it’s a pleasure to have organized something that can unite locals each running their own campaign.

Countably Infinite – Karen Quinn Fung is someone I’ve been lucky to hang out with at various social media events around town including Vancouver Transit Camp, which she organized. She’s blogging today for the very cool Vancouver Public Spaces Network, “a grassroots collective that engages in advocacy, outreach and education on public space issues in and around Vancouver, British Columbia.”

Tiny Bites – The Tiny Bites team is blogging in shifts today with Degan and Bruce helping out a lovely expectant Karen Hamilton. Their cause is the Vancouver Food Bank and they’re fittingly serving up delicious food and dining-related posts all day. One of the team members is (hopefully) joining us here at workspace later today.

Post #11 of #49 – Over the next 24 hours I will be raising funds for the Union Gospel Mission during Blogathon 2009 by writing a blog post every 30 minutes. Please consider donating to my cause to keep my going until 6am PT July 26th.

Post #10 of #49 – Over the next 24 hours I will be raising funds for the Union Gospel Mission during Blogathon 2009 by writing a blog post every 30 minutes. Please consider donating to my cause to keep my going until 6am PT July 26th.

For the next few hours I will be profiling bloggers who have joined me here at Workspace for the Blogathon Vancouver on-site event. Blogathon is taking place around the world but it’s a pleasure to have organized something that can unite locals each running their own campaign.

Story Analytics – Ganga is new to the blogging world as we first met just a few months ago at a monthly blogger meetup. He’s blogging with us at Workspace today to support the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. Having only partial hearing in my right ear, this is certainly a cause close to my heart.

EnduroBlog – Neil Parker started this blog specifically for Blogathon and to support his cause, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. He was one of two people to ride their bikes her today and you can tell he’s a bit of an enthusiast as he is @YVRCyclist on Twitter.

Post #10 of #49 – Over the next 24 hours I will be raising funds for the Union Gospel Mission during Blogathon 2009 by writing a blog post every 30 minutes. Please consider donating to my cause to keep my going until 6am PT July 26th.