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 #24 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.
We’ve had many visitors stop by today including Tyler Ingram. Tyler’s a blogger and photographer that we’ve come to know through the social media scene in Vancouver. Here’s a quick sampling of some of his top-notch work.
Post #24 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 #23 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.
The following is a guest post, contributed by Keira-Anne of Keira-Anne.com.
There are few Canadian artists as iconic as Emily Carr. Known around the world for her eerily beautiful expressionist paintings that depict the Canadian West Coast, Emily Carr has become a pressing influence on today’s artists and how we view Canadian art today.
What few people may know about Ms. Carr is that she was actually born on Vancouver Island in 1871, the daughter of English parents and the youngest in her family with eight older siblings. You can still visit the home in which Emily Carr was born, located at 207 Government Street in Victoria (behind the Parliament building). Shunning tradition, Ms. Carr’s passion was her art and her writing, and it was those two mediums that she designed her whole life around.
Though partially self-taught and partially encouraged by her father, Emily Carr also devoted a great deal of time to her artistic education. Initially she attended art school in San Francisco, California, but a desire to further her creativity led her to study in Paris and London as well.
With the mention of Ms. Carr’s name, most people will associate her with her vast collection of paintings representing British Columbia landscapes as well as First Nations villages and the abundant forests that call BC home. An animal lover, Emily Carr was no stranger to Vancouver Island’s west coast, making frequent trips to Ucluelet – many of her earliest sketches and paintings are of this area. Though her homebase was always Victoria, Ms. Carr also spent a great deal of time in the Queen Charlotte Islands and on Moresby Island. Her last trip up north was in the summer of 1928.
Photo: Wholesale Oil Painting
Following a stroke in 1939, Emily Carr’s ability to paint was deeply affected, and it was then that her writing became her prominent creative outlet. Ms. Carr’s first book was published in 1941. Her writing was widely well received and she was to receive an honourary doctorate from the University of British Columbia. Sadly Emily Carr passed away in the spring of 1945 shortly prior to this award.
In her death, Emily Carr and her incredible work are celebrated and admired. In a time when convention was everything, Ms. Carr carved her own path in life and held on to her independence. She is seen by some as one of the very first pioneers of the women’s liberation movement. As such, Emily Carr has had several Canadian schools and libraries named in her honour, as well as Vancouver’s famous Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design on Granville Island. Today, her work is undoubtedly held in high esteem with most pieces selling for six figures. More recently, an unnamed buyer purchased one of her paintings for a record-shattering $2.16 million! To view more of Emily Carr’s stunning paintings online, please visit Emily Carr At Home and At Work. If you’d like to see Emily Carr’s work with your own eyes, consider a trip to the Vancouver Art Gallery which regularly houses a large number from her collection.
About Keira: Keira-Anne has been blogging about Vancouver Island on Keira-Anne.com since 2005.
Post #23 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 #22 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.
The following is a guest post, contributed by Brian Wong of Followformation.
The boomerang effect of Twitter is the phenomena of new users signing up for Twitter, getting completely lost in the service, leaving it, only to come back a few short months later. But what’s causing these new Twitter users (we call them “chirpers”) to leave? Here are the top problems and solutions that we hope will help break the boomerang trend.
1) I don’t know who to follow.
A clever solution to this problem comes in the form of a couple “network” discovery tools. The first is Followformation. Followformation allows you to quickly follow the top people on Twitter by interest or category. You choose people from different categories, like news, sports and gossip, and you automatically follow everyone in just a few clicks.
Another more advanced tool is called Mr. Tweet. If you’re a more savvy tweeter, Mr. Tweet takes some time to analyze your following lists, what you tweet about, and makes recommendations personalized to you based on who you should follow. It’s a great way to build your network’s relevancy through discovery.
2) My friends aren’t on Twitter
They will be, and may be already. In Twitter, check through your email addresses to see who in your network is already tweeting.
3) Twitter is just too much of everything, and I can’t make sense of it all
That’s called ‘clutter’. Break through this by finding the most important or relevant topics being talked about in real-time, try Tweetmeme, which tracks the popularity of stories by retweeting (or reposting a link), or Twitscoop, which literally allows you to see “the buzz†in real-time.
4) I like Facebook better
A lot of people use them for different reasons, but there’s a Facebook app that allows you to post your tweets to your Facebook status, or vice versa. Also, integration tools like Tweetdeck.com and Ping.fm allow you to manage both accounts without losing your sanity.
5) I’m following too many people and I don’t want to miss all their tweets
If you’re a busy person, just pay attention to the important people! Tweetdeck.com allows you to create groups to track certain individuals (as well as the upcoming Hootsuite 2.0), but if you want a more simple solution, try Twitter for Busy People. This tool is literally named for you; it shows a one page summary of who’s been tweeting in past predetermined time periods, and allows you to skim through to find out what they’ve been up to.
6) People don’t follow me back
Friendorfollow allows you to figure out whether or not someone has “betrayed†you, by not following you back. You can’t force someone to follow you back, but you sure can stop following someone who is refusing to follow you back. Friendorfollow is a great way to prowl through your network to find these people.
7) Celebrities and important people don’t talk to me
Usually it’s because they’re busy, so don’t take it personally. Although celebs say that Twitter has allowed them to connect with their fans directly, so if you’re fixed on talking to Shaq or Ashton Kutcher, give them a reason to reply. Send something they’d be interested in. Stick out from the masses and a response may surprise you.
About Brian: Brian is the Co-Founder of Aer Marketing Inc., a fringe marketing agency.
Post #22 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 #21 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.
The BC SPCA was kind enough to stop by Workspace today to give us all a bit of encouragement by way of snacks and promotional gifts. Ashley brought along two friends, one of which was a nine month old shelter dog named Bob.
The SPCA is currently ramping up for their Paws for a Cause fundraiser which will take place Sunday September 13, 2009.
