In June of 2008 I stopped by Subeez on Smithe to check out a breakfast event with Jeff Pulver. I didn’t know what to expect aside from a hot meal and “real time tagging” (in true social media meetup form) however I ended up walking away with a whole lot more.
“Jeff Pulver is the Chairman and Founder of pulver.com, and one of the true pioneers of the VoIP industry and a leader in the emerging TV on the Net industry. Leveraging well over a decade of hands-on experience in Internet/IP communications and innovation, Mr. Pulver is a globally renowned thought leader, author and entrepreneur… …Additionally, Mr. Pulver is the founder of FWD, the VON Coalition, PrimeTimeRewind.TV, Vivox and is the co-founder of VoIP provider, Vonage.” [Jeff Pulver – About]
Jeff Pulver is also one amazing person; after knowing me for mere minutes he seemed to understand what I was going through at the time and offered immediate encouragement, reassurance, and insights that pretty much blew me away. He contributed to the Vancouver Blogathon campaign and was also responsible for getting me on the bill at CES even though I’m unable to make it (since we’re in the middle of an Iowa visit).
I would encourage all those able to come and join us for Jeff’s next breakfast in Vancouver that will take place January 11th. Please RSVP on the Facebook event in case we need to make reservations or for people like Raul (who tipped me off about this event) who are not on Facebook, leave a comment and he’ll add you to the reservation number.
Also if you have a suggestion for a great breakfast spot for a big group of people, let us know.
If you are not in Vancouver you can meet up with Jeff in the following cities in early 2009: Jan 13 – Los Angeles, Jan 14 – San Francisco, Jan 21 – New York City, Jan 22 – Boston, Jan 28 – London, Feb 4 – Philadelphia, Feb 5 – Washington, D.C.
I’ve been watching the NHL Winter Classic, which has the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings facing off on an outdoor rink at Wrigley Field in Chicago. It’s been great seeing the action along with a room full of Cubs fans to boot.
John found this clip a few weeks ago. “There is so much about this commercial that gets me excited and gives me goosebumps all at the same time. Also makes me shed a tear for the late, great Harry Caray[wiki].”
This game is pretty big news, and an excellent event to get the city of Chicago even more involved with their young team filled with stars. My sister in law even found an article about a Napa Valley winery that created a “Winter Classic Wine”.
On its face, hockey wine seems a bit like opera beer. After all, watching a player pull his opponent’s jersey over his head so he can throttle him blindly doesn’t exactly seem like a Merlot-sipping occasion. But the league’s VP-consumer products marketing, Jim Haskins, said the league’s fan base is more of a wine-drinking crowd than the sport’s blue-collar stereotype suggests.” [Advertising Edge]
The social media realm has also been really excited about NHL Director of Corporate Communications Mike DiLorenzo who has been Tweeting about the event and included early photos of the rink being setup.
It’s been a great game and the reference to Tiger Williams when Eager celebrated his goal was priceless. There’s nothing like an old-time hockey game and there’s also no place like Wrigley.
This is part two of my 2008 review in photos, covering July through December. After writing 840 posts throughout the year and welcoming a half-million readers to my site, 2008 was a phenomenal year.
I was a media partner for Surrey’s Canada Day celebration (the largest of its kind in Western Canada) so John and I hung out in Cloverdale, enjoyed the sunshine and caught some great concerts. A few days later I arranged blogger day at Playland with a few super cool friends.
In July I also established a great relationship with the Vancouver Aquarium and had a few visits to explore the facilities and learn more about the great work they do. I spoke at and liveblogged WordCamp Fraser Valley, was a media partner for Surrey’s Fusion Festival, I was on Shaw TV’s Urban Rush to talk about Blogathon and the first-ever “Blogathon Vancouver” raised over $12,000 collectively for charities thanks to 12 amazing bloggers in town.
In September we kicked off a new season of The Crazy Canucks by doing a photoshoot with the Canucks. The result was seeing our faces across the city on the side of buses, on SkyTrain cars and at SkyTrain stations.
A group of us bloggers were also invited Willy Wonka-style into the Molson Brewery for a night of tours and tastings. It was a pleasure to meet Mr. Rickard himself along with Mr. Molson.
Raul, me, and Gord Rickard – Photo credit: Tris Hussey on Flickr
I started two traditions this year… Blogathon Vancouver (based on the original global Blogathon) as well as the Best of 604 Awards. I’m looking forward to both of these events that celebrate bloggers while also raising funds and awareness for very worthy causes. I’m very proud of the hard work my peers have put into all of these events in which I’ve been able to participate and I’m thankful every day that each of you choose to return to Miss604.com and read my content.
I’ve decided to do a photo post for my official “year in review” but going through my iPhoto and Flickr archives I realized it would be impossible to only choose one photo to represent each month. I’ve decided to do this recap of 2008 in two posts, January to June then July to December (which will follow later) each with photos representing each month.
January January 2008 Archives
Several big things happened in January, the first was meeting Tom Larscheid and John Shorthouse up in the broadcast gondola of GM Place thanks to John.
Another was being named one of the “Tech Women to Watch” by Raincity Studios (which was celebrated among with the other fine women named at Launch Party).
There was also my flash trip to Toronto to be a part of the victorious Team Blogger on CBC’s television show, Test the Nation. I met some amazing bloggers and podcasters from across the country (and traveled with some too) and got to meet Samantha Bee (our assigned celebrity and blogger).
I visited my friend Keira’s favourite little place to play in the snow for the first time last February. Mount Washington over on Vancouver Island is pretty darn amazing and I had a wonderful time hanging out in her hometown to boot.
This was the month for Northern Voice where I live blogged, updated wikis, wore a sheriff badge, was on a panel, and captured my friend Dave’s now internet-famous talk, “F*ck Stats, Make Art“.
We also went camping with Duane, got really soggy, but still managed to make campfire nachos.
If you’d like to continue this as a meme please do so, I’d love to see 2008 in photos by others as well.
Stay tuned for part two (July to December 2008) either later today or tomorrow as it’s action-packed with celebrity meetings, and tales of my plunge into self employment.
We’re nearing the 3-week mark until we kick off the first-ever WordCamp Whistler; a world-class conference in an amazing location all for the sake of networking, talking, and absorbing all that is WordPress (the world’s top blogging platform and system of choice for this site and many others).
However, we are still looking for a few sponsors at the various levels that can help us out with costs. In exchange (among other things) you’ll get link love, shout outs, and exposure to all guests and our global audience. Sponsorship packages start at $100 and go up to $2000 (where you will even get a small speaking slot to talk about your company).
Check out the sponsors page on the WordCamp Whistler website for more details and be sure to book your ticket as this is a not-to-miss social media event (heck, we even have awesome swag!)
In June of 2008 I stopped by Subeez on Smithe to check out a breakfast event with Jeff Pulver. I didn’t know what to expect aside from a hot meal and “real time tagging” (in true social media meetup form) however I ended up walking away with a whole lot more.
