Blogging on behalf of my company I’ve blogged my thoughts on today’s Open Web Conference featuring keynotes by Zak Greant and Tim Bray.

Over on Payments on Rails my recaps are rather industry/company specific so as a blogger on Miss604.com I would like to elaborate and touch on a few other points, particularly those presented by Tim Bray.

Many of Tim’s tips include things I already strive to achieve on my blog every day, which includes knowledge I love to pass on to my blogging padawan.

Social media tools like blogs and Twitter are part of the new culture of contribution which is good for business as it encourages the flow of information and communication. Whether you’re a diary blogger, corporate blogger, developer of projects of websites, here are Tim’s words of advice:

1. Listen: Take advantage of community-based sites to know what’s going on, “so you’re not fighting with one hand tied behind your back.” Wouldn’t you feel reluctant to go to a website where it doesn’t seem like anyone’s listening?
2. Don’t Lecture: Give examples, have a conversation, open the conversation.
3. Be intense: There are millions of voices out there on the web, unless you are passionate and care about what you’re writing, posting, photographing - nobody is going to notice.
4. Be human: Don’t have an eleven step editorial process ie. if you’ve ever been in an organization that needs to put out a press release. You may have experienced that it could take 2 weeks for 2 page release and “then you end up with something no human being would have ever written…. or now would want to read.”
5. Correct yourself: It’s okay to admit you’re wrong and fallible, you’ll increase your reach and effectiveness by being intensely human and if you screw up, admit it and correct it.
6. Be brief: “A lot of us, when we write, have a lot of mental static that gets tossed in. Almost all our works can be improved by shortening them.” Noting Flickr’s new video system only allows 90 second clips is brilliant, the same with Twitter’s character limit. Tim also quoted Blaise Pascal: “The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter.”
7. Update often: With of all your projects for the “short attention span generation” have something new to bring people back and keep them interested in what you have to say. This applies to content AND software, “release early, release often,” and take an agile approach.
8. LINK: Link from your community, corporate website etc. if you put something on your piece of the web and don’t link anywhere else, “then you’re saying you know everything - and you’re wrong and your audience will know this,” suggests Tim. He says make people happy by sending them away ie. you only spend maybe 3 seconds on the Google home page but it’s the page you may visit most in a day.

   For my own thoughts about linking and community, you can view this interview I did a few months ago with Reachd.

9. Look good : Have a talented designer, ’nuff said.
10. Balance hubris and humanity: “The desire to talk to the world, and the ability to shut up and listen. Write something great today, and do it again tomorrow.” - Tim Bray

I know, that wasn’t brief at all eh? I have to say I couldn’t agree more with the points Tim articulated and as Colleen said this weekend, “join the conversation.” Whether it’s with your website, blog, clients, customers, employees and your team at work.

Speaking of work, one final assertion by Tim was: “Don’t stay in a lousy job.” If you can do great things, in whatever capacity - be a part of something that will enable you to be great. Don’t. Be. Bored.

No, Michael will not be liveblogging his own session but Raul has been gracious enough to share his liveblogging efforts with Miss604.com since I am unable to attend the event this evening. Check back now and then for updates to this post. Thanks Raul!

Rebecca and I have agreed that I’ll send her the code after the live-blog, so you should mosey over to her post as well. It’s 3:22 pm now, so I won’t be posting updates until I am actually physically there.

5:51 pm - I’ve introduced myself to Cristina Coraggio from the Canadian Journalism Federation, and set up shop here at the Social Lounge, St. John’s College (SJC). I’ve accredited myself as the official reporter for Miss604.com. I feel important

6:02pm - I’ve introduced myself to Michael Geist, indicating that I pretty much will try to type exactly as he speaks (more or less, I type over 70 wpm but who knows how things go. You’ll see). He said he’s not bothered by that or by whether or not I get something wrong. I promised to drop a comment on his blog so that he can know if I got what he said right. The room is starting to fill. And for those of you geeky types - he is using a Mac (although UBC set him up on a PC - hehehe). We’ll see if there are any compatibility issues. (more…)

Thanks to this blog post by Tris I remembered I had signed John and I up for this event a while back after receiving a message about it on my contact page: The Canadian Journalism Foundation Presents Michael Geist E-Publishing and The Law.

Photo Credit: rhyndman on Flickr

Where: St. John’s College, 2111 Lower Mall, UBC
When: April 3rd - Check in: 6:00 p.m., Presentation 6:30 p.m.

Description: Anyone who blogs, comments, sends e-mail or otherwise publishes electronically is subject to the laws of defamation and libel, according to University of Ottawa Law School professor and internationally renowned expert on law and the Internet, Dr. Michael Geist. The Internet and new technologies have ushered in a seemingly unlimited array of possibilities for access to knowledge, creativity, and public participation. Dr. Geist will highlight the role that the Internet is playing for new creativity and knowledge sharing, while identifying the business and policy challenges that this creates for journalists and journalism. The talk will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Beth Haddon, Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Journalism.

Bloggers, Facebook status updaters, Flickr photo publishers etc. everyone should know their rights, what’s legal, and also where the line is drawn.

Michael Geist writes for The Toronto Star, The Ottawa Citizen, he’s been named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40, he’s a board member of the authority that governs the “.ca” domains, is entirely anti-spam, and has a heck of a lot to say about publishing content online.

He’ll be addressing these issues alongside key points pertaining to journalism and business practices in this digital age. There is no charge for to attend but you do need to register online. Hopefully I’ll be able to live blog the evening since some folks, including Tris, will be attending Victoria’s first DemoCamp that same day.

I was up at 5:30 today to prepare for a seminar I was to attend for my “day job”. The theme was “Social Media for Marketing” and was put on by SMEI (Sales and Marketing Executives International). There were many non-members in the room, including myself, and already being well versed in the social media realm I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I already know what a blog is and how it can help build a two way communication between clients, potential clients, and my company so I was hoping this would serve a good purpose and make my early morning worthwhile.

There were many interesting professionals sitting at my table and we talked a bit over a nice hot breakfast supplied by The Butler Did It Catering. Short side story - yesterday I wrote a Twitter about how much I love whiteboards and got reply from J Karen Parker about participating in a survey about whiteboard usage. Well at my table today was a women who works for an A/V company and they’ve just picked up these fancy new whiteboard that use infrared technology to transform your notes, tasks and scribbles into pdfs and documents.

Photo Credit: Darren Barefoot on Flickr
Original by Robert Scoble - As seen in the Social Media Marketing Handbook

Back to the seminar, the three panelists were James Wells from BCIT, Rob Duncan from BCIT, and Justin Kestelyn from Oracle. The presentation started out very slowly for me, with all the basics being covered including a glossary of terms, “what is RSS?”, although I can imagine it was very helpful (albeit foreign) to those in the room.

A common thread was ‘trust’ and having a blog, podcast or making a company Facebook page does not take away from your business or its credibility. It creates an open forum to engage your clients and for them clients to become your spokespeople.

I also ran into Mhairi, who sat in on John’s Podcasting 101 session at Northern Voice. She has her own internet marketing firm, out-smarts, and asked some really great questions for the panel.

It was my first time attending an event like this as I’m used to the unconferences where there’s people in jeans with laptops and cameras, there’s beer afterwards, a conch worked in there somehow. The panelists reached some good topics, and it proved to be a rather productive morning.

As stated when I first started making my site open for advertisements, I will always disclose when a blog post is a part of a paid advertisement. As I choose my advertisers probably as carefully as they choose me, I make sure to remain above board for my readers.

The latest ad space has been scooped up by UsedVancouver.com, here’s the staple interview and more information about the company provided by Kean: (more…)

If tonight’s Third Tuesday, tomorrow’s CaseCamp or this weekend’s Northern Voice are not your cup of tea, perhaps you’re a young woman in business (or looking to get into the professional world) who just might be interested in another type of conference in Vancouver.

Beyond Pink is the first conference of its kind in Western Canada, and will act as the launch event for the Young Women in Business network (YWiB) in March 2008. The event will feature an interactive workshop series, speaker and panel sessions hosted by individuals with extraordinary backgrounds and experiences, the Connect! Women in Business Tradeshow, a break out luncheon with cross-industry mentors, and a celebratory Gala dinner to wrap up the weekend. [Beyond Pink]

This is the first event YWiB has hosted and was created by two women who are in their final year at UBC, a mix of current student at SFU, Emily Carr, and UBC, recent alumni and other young professionals around the city.

What: Beyond Pink will appeal to ambitious, positive, and forward-thinking young women from all backgrounds and industries. We developed the Young Women in Business network with the notion that we are all in the business of managing our careers and that we require many of the same skills and tools in order to reach our personal and professional potential.

Where: Sheraton Wall Centre, downtown Vancouver, BC
Where: Friday, March 28 & Saturday, March 29, 2008
More Info: The theme on Friday will be “Inside Out”, and on Saturday “Outside In”, visit Beyond Pink for an itinerary.

Registration closes this coming Monday, February 25th, or you could also sign up for the tradeshow portion as there is still some room left.

Update: Final day to register is now MARCH 13TH at 11:59PM

I just caught this on TV. I know I’ve had a few glasses of wine (blame the Canucks shootout loss), but it seriously took me a couple looks to “get it”.

Diamond Shreddies - Experience the Diamondness!

As stated when I first started making my site open for advertisements, I will always disclose when a blog post is a part of a paid advertisement. As I choose my advertisers probably as carefully as they choose me, I make sure to proudly support local business.

My latest advertiser has opted in for a blog post writeup so here’s a brief interview I had with Na’im of VancouverVibe.ca. (more…)