There was a HootSuite deal today but it’s not the one you may have heard rumours about. The makers of the web’s most popular communications dashboard acquired another Vancouver-based company called Geotoko that specializes in geo-analytic software.

HootSuite is a browser-based Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ping, WordPress, MySpace, and FourSquare manager with millions of users on its free and premium version. It allows you to manage your social networks, schedule posts, share across various accounts, have team members contribute posts, is available in over a dozen languages, and even offers legitimate social media training through HootSuite University. It’s been around since 2008 and was originally called BrightKit.

The “Facebook to acquire HootSuites” rumours started when it was discovered that the social network’s Founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was in town. TechVibes posted and article and others ran with their imagination from there. Instead of investigating why Zuckerberg was really in town, everyone chased a more sensational notion – including several radio stations and even the TechVibes story got posted to the Wall Street Journal.

Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite, and @Invoker on Twitter, somewhat addressed the issue by saying they weren’t being acquired “anytime soon”. However, a few hours later he offered up a teaser on Twitter that an “acquisition announcement” was being made this morning. That got everyone jumping again.

The big news today is that HootSuite expanding their offering to their users. From the HootSuite Blog:

“The Geotoko technology reports on geo-based social media interactions like key influencers, customer sentiment, and demographic patterns to help businesses draw conclusions about audience behavior, as well as help brands reward customers for checking-in via Foursquare and Facebook Places.”

“This is HootSuite’s fifth acquisition – along with What the Trend, Twapper Keeper, TwitterBar (now HootBar) and Swift App (now HootSuite for Android) – and follows recent news of 3 million in debt bridge financing, LinkedIn Certified Developer program participation, and the advanced Facebook integrations.”

Developed in Vancouver, HootSuite is one of the country’s most prized start-ups having won a shelf-full of awards for its technology, communications management, and apps (available for iPhone and Android). It’s one hot company so really, who wouldn’t want to be a part of its rising success? The fact is, they’re continuing to grow and lead the social media communications marketplace from their offices over in Railtown, where all the best food trucks seem to park.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson with HootSuite swag & Owly the HootSuite Owl via HootSuite on Flickr

The big news headlines about Vancouver-based organizations who are innovative, ahead of the game, and changing how we interact with technology shouldn’t just come when they’re about to be bought. It should be something that locals recognize and realize. We have some amazing talent in this town (including the folks at Nitobi who were in fact acquired by Adobe) and Vancouver is indeed a hub for startups and social media innovation.

Vancouver Twestival 2011 will take place March 24th and my organizational team is already on their toes, arranging sponsors, prizes, and securing a venue. For those unfamiliar with Twestival, Vancouver’s largest Twitter-based fundraiser, here’s a bit of background.

Tweet. Meet. Give.

Twestival is a Twitter Festival, the brainchild of a small group of people who got together in 2008 for a Tweetup (meetup of people organized and promoted through Twitter) for a cause. They put their heads together and thought about what kind of impact an event like this could have on a global scale. A daunting task, but by 2009 Amanda Rose and her global Twestival team rallied just over 200 cities who all hosted a Tweetup for the same global cause, on the same night and Twestival was born.

I found out about this event through Twitter (naturally) and in February of 2009 I organized Vancouver’s first Twestival at the Opus Hotel, benefitting Charity:Water. Thanks to Twestivals around the world, Charity:Water received $264,000 to help drill wells and provide clean water for communities in developing nations. Vancouver’s contribution was just over $4,000.

The following September, a new type of Twestival emerged. This time it was Twestival Local, a chance to fundraise for a local cause but hosting events in over 200 cities around the world on the very same day. Twestival “headquarters” supplied blogs, UStream accounts, ticket processing systems, images, and more for cities around the world that wanted to take part. Once again Vancouver raised over $4,000 but this time for our local cause of the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation‘s “Be a Super Hero” campaign.

I also encouraged Janice LaCouvee in Victoria to sign her city up for Twestival and soon BC had two major cities participating in the worldwide event.

With the growing popularity of Twitter we had an overwhelming response by the time the third Twestival came around in March of 2010. This was a Twestival Global once again, with over 200 cities raising funds for Concern Worldwide on the same day. I signed on a stellar group of volunteers to help with the task of organizing this event and Marc, Azita, Kirsten, Kim, Melissa, and Sonia (along with day-of volunteers) helped host our most successful Twestival in Vancouver to date. In one night at the CBC Audience Lounge, we raised over $9,000 for Concern through ticket sales, raffles, and silent auctions. Almost 200 people gathered to Tweet, Twitpic, and meet friends from Twitter — some for the first time.

It’s now been almost a year since the last Twestival Global and we’re heading back to the Twestival Local style. Vancouver is now joined by Victoria, the Fraser Valley, Kelowna, Whistler, and the Comox Valley in hosting Twestival Local events on March 24th.

My organizational team (with the addition of Bob from Vancouver is Awesome) and I are currently accepting nominations for local (Metro Vancouver-based) causes and we will be selecting our cause of choice this week. The non-profit must be based in Metro Vancouver and must be able to describe a specific project that our Twestival funds will go toward. We are also looking for sponsors as 100% of all proceeds from tickets sales and raffles must go toward the cause. We rely fully on sponsor support to make this event happen and we have been very fortunate to work with some generous companies in the past.

Please save the date for Vancouver’s Twestival Local coming up March 24th and should you be able to donate a prize, sponsor dollars, or even your time, please contact our team by emailing twestivalvancouver [at] gmail [dot] com. Tickets will be going on sale mid-February once our non-profit partnership is announced. Follow @YVRTwestival for updates and information.

It’s time to bust out your knitted reindeer pullover (with sequined Rudolph nose) for the Ugly Sweater Tweetup happening this week.

Photo credit: Daniel Slaughter, Kables, ramseymohsen on Flickr

The tweetup will take place at the Robson Square Ice Rink (under Robson between Hornby and Howe) on Wednesday, December 15th from 4:30pm until 6:00pm. Be sure to bring your sweater, a mug (for some free Starbucks coffee), your skates (skating is free but skate rental is $2), and your mobile so you can post updates and watch your tweets @DowntownVan show up on the big screen.

Tweetups (Twitter-Meetups) are in-person gatherings of people who interact on Twitter. It’s a chance to get out from behind the computer screen and connect while participating in a fun activity. Presented by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, you can RSVP online for this free event and follow updates on Wednesday by searching for the tag #DowntownSweater.

Today is Social Media Day around the world as initiated by the top social media resource (and most influential Twitter account on the planet) Mashable.

While Vancouver hasn’t officially declared today “Social Media Day in Vancouver” like they did in Victoria, the social media community is hosting a meetup to get together and celebrate.

It’s on this day that I would like to take some time to reflect on the changes social media has made in my life. There’s so much more to “blogging” and being a web-based business owner than sitting behind a computer screen. Social media allows you to connect with people on and offline, and I truly believe it helps you get out and about – meeting real people, making real connections.

Through social media my website and event fundraising efforts (Blogathon, Twestival, etc.) have raised close to $20,000 in the last few years for local and global causes. I have made connections with other local business owners, I have been able to support other campaigns and give promotion to those who couldn’t otherwise afford advertisement. I have met some amazing people (other bloggers from around the globe), and even booked a hotel room based on a Tweet recommendation.

Social media isn’t just a mass megaphone for proclaiming your love for Justin Bieber. It connects people, it’s powerful, and it’s helped shape our world today.

Tonight’s Social Media Day event will be at LUX (965 Granville Street) and you can RSVP online. The tag to follow on Twitter today is #smday.

Update July 1, 2010 In case you missed it last night, Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable, was in attendance at the Vancouver event.

Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr

The City of Vancouver also presented a proclamation that June 30th was Social Media Day in Vancouver.

Twitter was experiencing the effects of a bug this weekend that exploited the following/follower method (as this post on Mashable explains). This morning, as an after effect of this bug, all users have noticed their following and follower numbers have dropped right down to zero. This means the little corner store down the block has the same follower count as Ashton Kutcher or CNN at the moment.

I’m certain Twitter is working to rectify the problem and it’s not something permanent as timelines are still filling with updates. However, things like this always seem to cause panic, mass hysteria, and the inevitable shouting at inanimate objects such as a computer screen or iPhone. To alleviate some stress in the future, here are a few ways you can back up your Twitter account.

Backupify
John Biehler clued me into the Backupify service a few months ago and it can be used to archive and back up your accounts from Twitter to Flickr, Delicious, Google Docs, WordPress, Blogger, and Facebook. The very basic service is free (although they do have premium options) so there’s sanity to gain from simply singing up.

Backup My Tweets
The Backup My Tweets service will back up your Tweets since they have a limited shelf-life on Twitter.com. It doesn’t back up your followers as Backupify does, but it will provide you some peace of mind. There is a program you can download for your PC that will backup your friends however I have not tried this so I cannot guarantee its security.

The best thing anyone can do right now is wait this out. Do not go on a mass re-following spree as I can only imagine this would muck up any backups or restoration process they might have Twitter has posted an update saying they have suspended following until this is resolved. Stay tuned to Mashable.com or @Mashable for updates since they have been crowned the most influential account on Twitter (well, at least up until this morning).

Update All is right with the world. From the official Twitter account: “Follow bug discovered, remedied. Read our status blog for details. http://bit.ly/dhQ3fF“.

After packing up the last of the leftover meat & cheese platters I waved to Marc, I drove home from YVRTwestival in the rain. I had just hosted an event for 250 people that raised over $9,000 for Concern Worldwide.

My automatic windshield wipers began to sway back and forth as I thought about all the people who helped make this happen. Melissa, Azita, Kim, Sonia, Kirsten, Marc and Vivian are the reason that my third Twestival in Vancouver doubled last February’s numbers and tripled September’s. Then help on the spot from Justin, Melissa, Tarlan, Kimli and Miranda as impromptu volunteers allowed my exhausted team to make it through the night.

Photo by Jeremy Lim on Flickr.com

I turned down 100.5 on the car stereo and thought about Mojave, Patrick and Jeremy who provided the awesome music for the evening. The light changed from amber to red as an SUV breezed past me. I thought of Rob Cottingham‘s comedy and giggled.

ING Direct, London Drugs, Amuse Consulting, and Poppytalk, Hester Creek, Road 13, Tinhorn Creek, and Steaz all donated to Twestival allowing us to have food and drinks.

The light turned green as an umbrella-toting pedestrian skips across the street in front of me. I wish I could have had more of that MichiSushi as my tummy grumbled when I popped out the clutch and changed gears.

Pulling into my parking space I thought about how Nordica Photography probably already had their photos up from the evening.

I check my phone and Kemp Edmonds tweets that #YVRTwestival was the number one trending topic on Twitter in Canada that night. I smile as I scoop up the meat & cheese platter, which managed to stay intact during the ride.

Heading upstairs and through the door to greet John I didn’t collapse from H1N1 like I did after the last Twestival, leaving me out of commission for two weeks. I breathed a sigh of relief and got to work helping him fix a hack on my site that’s crippled it in search engines over the last few days. Nothing had sunk in quite yet. It still hasn’t.

Vancouverites got together last night to get out from behind their social networks and meet their contacts in person, face to face. We had people from Victoria, Australia, Port Coquitlam and Cloverdale who came out to enjoy the evening. Every single person there that evening contributed to our fundraising total. Every single person was also on Twitter. If this doesn’t say something about the power of social media for social good, I’m not sure what does.

Thank you Vancouver Twittersphere for showing that you care and that you are an extremely friendly and fun bunch of people. I look forward to following you, meeting you, and working with you again in the future – you are all truly amazing people.

Update: I will add more links & photos as soon as I can, I need to rush out and continue damage control on my site

This is the third time I have organized Twestival in Vancouver and each experience has been an adventure and a challenge. Since 2007 I have been using my site to raise awareness and funds for causes, from the annual Blogathon or through events I have hosted, to collecting food donations for these causes.

Photo credit: Tris Hussey

In 2009 Amanda Rose (@Amanda on Twitter) thought of combining Twitter with a live event that would support a cause. She took it big time – she took it global. Suddenly Twestival Global was born and in February of 2009 about 200 cities around the world were supporting Charity:Water with live events on the same night. Over $250,000 was raised by people coming together through Twitter. Later that year, in September, cities were able to select their own causes and here in Vancouver, the BC Childrens Hospital topped a public poll and because our fundraising cause for Twestival Local.

The Global Twestival team has done amazing things to organize WordPress blogs for every participating city, online ticketing systems, branding, and helping with global sponsors and partnerships.

Although I was pretty much alone in my previous Twestival efforts in Vancouver (and we raised about $4,000 and $3,000 for the cause each time) I am absolutely thrilled to have a fantastic team this time. I put the call out on Twitter and several people have stepped up to help. Even though it’s still stressful to coordinate an event for 250 people, I have fewer headaches and I’ve had so much help.

I knew Marc Smith from Amuse Consulting was a good event planner but we wouldn’t be having Twestival Vancouver at the CBC broadcast centre without him, nor would we have logistics in place, a food sponsor, and all the small but very important details that go into getting an event off the ground.

Melissa, Azita, Kim, and Sonia all contacted me through Twitter and we met one morning a few weeks ago to get this event underway. We were late to the game, due to a bit of a big event happening in Vancouver in February, but these ladies jumped right on their tasks. Gathering sponsorships, finding prizes, booking entertainment and being a great support system. Kirsten joined us a bit later but she’s already put together some great content about the cause to share at the event and secured the HootSuite Owl for an appearance. We also have a team of on-site volunteers that will help with registration, raffle tickets, silent auction and more.

Thanks to this team I am pleased to give the following update about Twestival Vancouver 2010.

Twestival Vancouver 2010
When: March 25th, 2010 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Where: CBC Vancouver – the new Audience Lounge (700 Hamilton at Georgia)
What: A fundraising party to support Concern Worldwide
Who: Everyone in Vancouver that uses Twitter

Sponsors
ING Direct, London Drugs, Amuse Consulting, Poppytalk

CBC Vancouver, Amuse Consulting, Hester Creek, Road 13, Tinhorn Creek, MichiSushi, Steaz, Nordica Photography

Prizes
We have a list of raffle prizes available from sponsors listed on Vancouver Twestival’s website in the sidebar. Raffle tickets will be on sale for these items. We also have thousands in silent auction prizes on which you can bid from LodenHotel, Nordica Photography, Pete Quily, Bocci Lights, Simone Richmond, Indicee, Masey, London Drugs, School of Mix, Doritos Viralocity, Vancouver Opera.

Flight Centre has also sponsored Twestivals in Canada, offering up a $200 travel voucher to all host cities.

Swag Bags
All attendees will get goodies handed out at the event. The HootSuite Owl will have some to hand out and we’ll also have bags from London Drugs that contain Twestival buttons, made by Six Cent Press, and passes to the UBC Botanical Gardens.

Entertainment
Smart Pics Photobooth, Rob Cottingham (Comedy), Mojave, and live DJs Patrick Lok & Jeremy Lim.

Tickets
Your $20 admission ticket goes directly to Concern Worldwide. With this admission we will supply you with a wine ticket, a swag bag, entertainment, wine, food, and hopefully a really great time. Tickets are currently on sale and we must sell these in advance so our venue has a list of participants ahead of time.

The Twestival Global team was also pleased to announce a sponsorship from Entrepreneurs Foundation & Austin Ventures Challenge Grant. For every dollar raised, this foundation will match it 100% up to $100,000. That means your $20 ticket = $40 for Concern Worldwide, thanks to them.

This isn’t an event purely for those in technology or social media – it’s for anyone and everyone who uses Twitter. It’s to show what a powerful communication tool it can be and that it can have a positive impact on the world and our communities. We hope you’ll join us by either purchasing a ticket, placing a donation, coming to hang out with us, or simply posting a link on Twitter. Thank you for your support.

With many programs out there to help you sort and filter the abundance of Twitter “noise” out there, the Vancouver service FollowFormation has come up with a solution. Using the concept of Twitter lists, they have a simple user interface that allows you to pick one of their lists, select how many people you’d like to follow, click a button and be done.

As it stands, Followformation is the easiest way to follow the top Twitterers by subject matter or topic. [Mashable - July 2009]

If you’re just getting started on Twitter, FollowFormation’s recommended lists are a good place find people of particular industries or categories to follow. If you’re a seasoned Twitter veteran, it can help filter your news stream.

For the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games they asked folks like CityCaucus.com and me to create our own recommendations. Currently featured on the front page of FollowFormation, you can see who I selected as my own top people to follow for Vancouver 2010 updates.

I know this post is a bit late for the Olympics as things come to an end this weekend however making Twitter follows much simpler is always a good idea. Whenever I give talks about social media and the benefits of Twitter or blogging for business the most frequently asked question is “how will I have time for all of this?” Having a way to filter my lists (to just view Restaurants, Tourism, or Family) makes following over 3,000 people manageable for me, which ultimately saves time.

Hopefully they’ll have themes like this going forward but for now you can still Follow by Interest or Follow by City even after the Olympics. If you don’t see someone on one of their lists that you think should be included, you may also suggest a user.

FollowFormation is a BC-based service created by 18 year old Sauder School of Business graduate, Brian Wong. In 2010, Mary McNeil, the Minister of State for the Olympics and ActNow BC recognized FollowFormation’s contribution to the province’s social media landscape during the Vancouver 2010 Games.

Other lists to follow, created by users for Vancouver 2010:

After the success of my first two contests (one which is still ongoing) BC Hydro has asked me to make another contest announcement this afternoon. They have two tickets for the Women’s 500m qualifier short track speed skating happening tomorrow that they want to give away over Twitter.

Contest:
For this one BC Hydro Power Smart would like to boost up their Twitter presence. To enter to win these tickets follow them on Twitter @PowerSmartBC in an attempt to be their 400th follower. The only way to enter the contest is by doing this so they’ll keep track then notify the 400th person. This will run until they reach their goal (or at least until tomorrow morning) and the winner will be notified tomorrow morning by the Power Smart folk.

Rules and regulations:
Winner must be able to pick up their tickets from the BC Hydro Power Smart Village at 333 Dunsmuir Street. The winner will need to bring a copy of the email I will send saying they have won and will need government ID to prove their identity. Tickets are for tomorrow’s event starting at 5:00pm over at the Pacific Coliseum.

Update: BC Hydro Power Smart has reported that @KevinWalton is the winner, congratulations!

Many people have been wondering what the official Twitter hashtag for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games will be. To give a bit of background I’ll explain the purpose of a hashtag.

Every word on Twitter that is published from a public account is searchable on Twitter (see: search.twitter.com or Twitter Search in Plain English). When someone puts a pound sign or hashtag in front of a word that is a signal that it’s a topic or trend to follow. The most helpful usage is when you’re attending an event. Everyone at the event can say updates such as “I’m here at ABC Conference, it’s fun! #ABCconf.” Now anyone wishing to follow that conference can just search #ABCconf on Twitter and see all updates from attendees. Using the hashtag also makes the topic a link on Twitter so when it shows up on your Twitter profile, you can click #ABCconf and see all results under that topic.

Back to the Olympics… I’ve heard of the following being used when posting updated about the Games: #Olympics, #Vancouver2010, #Vancouver, #Van2010.

Since you only have 140 characters in which to post your update on Twitter, the shortest tag is usually the best. I’ll be using #Van2010 throughout the Games and I’ve heard a few others will as well. I’m assuming that #Olympics or simply #Vancouver will be trending on Twitter (meaning they’ll be the most-spoken terms throughout all of Twitter globally) during the month of February.

If you’re ever wondering why a word or phrase is a “trending topic” on Twitter, you can check out WhatTheTrend.com.

In Whistler, they have notified media that they can use #Whistler30 for news and updates. This means you can monitor #Whistler30 (using a Twitter search) to see all news coming out of the region. They have also publicized #WhistlerW5 for any media wanting to know any “Who, What, When, Where, Why” information about Whistler.

In Vancouver, social media reporters, indie journalists, bloggers, photographers and podcasters can tag their information with #TNMH which is the True North Media House. This is an independent collaboration of content producers who want to get their information out to a broad audience.

To specifically mark tweets as being Olympic-related, I’m going with #Van2010 for now, although more suggestions are welcome.

You can follow all of my updates on Twitter @Miss604 and I’ve also created a list of Vancouver 2010 people on Twitter which you can follow here.