It’s been a little while since I added to the Miss604 Vancouver Blogger Profile series but I’m picking it up with someone who is far more than simply a blogger – Joe Solomon of EngageJoe.
Who are you?
I’m a social media consultant for nonprofits and social change projects, which basically means I help people, organizations, and start-ups use the web for good.
Most recently, I’ve been working on a few web applications. For example, I wrote to Knowmore.org in February with the idea for the Knowmore Firefox Extension – which we then built – and it now alerts thousands of people to the social and environmental impact of products and companies as they browse the web.
Update: After a few days Centigrade has hit #6 on Canada and UK iTunes charts – check it out now! Only $0.99 to rent and $1.99 to purchase this awesome little film.
Update: I originally wrote this piece for E!Online, so you can check out a slightly different version of the article over there.
It’s the most decorated Canadian film of 2008 and it’s about to make motion picture history thanks to the efforts of producer Madison Graie and Colin Cunningham who wrote, directed and starred in this suspenseful short, Centigrade.
“It’s is a good old fashioned entertaining thriller,” noted Cunningham, he and Graie met at Vancouver Film School years ago and since then they have grown into a successful film-making partnership that Cunningham describes as, “kind of like the Coen brothers. I’ll begin a sentence and she’ll finish it creatively.” Seeing the accolades Centigrade has received over the last year the 17 minute short has definitely taken the partnership for a thrill ride.
With a budget of $20,000, and the finished product having such a polished look, Graie admits that when it comes to film production in Vancouver, a little money goes a long way. “Vancouver really is kind to independent film makers – so when you ask, Vancouver usually gives back, which is nice,” Cunningham added that as such, they were able to put together “a real A-list” crew.
Centigrade premiered at the World Film Festival and since then it has been screened at numerous other film events. It also took home five Leo Awards this summer and the momentum is still growing.
They had won at the Cinequest Film Festival, and as that was that this was an Academy Award qualifying event, Centigrade then became the first Canadian film to be considered for the 2009 Oscars.
“We hoped at the time a calling card if we were lucky,” Cunningham added. “We’ve done a lot of projects in the past, everything from music videos to feature films and we’ve never got any kind of heat like we have off this little 15 minute movie.” Within the last year the pair has gone from completing the film, to festival showings, winning awards, and now they’re about to make history.
Cunningham noted, “we’ve also been accepted to iTunes so Centigrade is now going global this month.” Centigrade will be the first Canadian live-action short ever on iTunes and will be available mid-October on iTunes USA, Canada and UK. Find out more details over on my E!Online article…
The fall of October 2008 is official struck with election fever especially if you live in Vancouver. Not only are we all closely watching the proceedings one hour south in the United States, we’re also gearing up for civic elections and the federal election. If that wasn’t enough, there are two BC by-elections happening on October 29th.
Vancouver-Burrard became vacant in September after MLA Lorne Mayencourt, a B.C. Liberal, resigned to run for the Conservative Party in the Oct. 14 federal election.
Vancouver-Fairview became vacant in July after MLA Gregor Robertson, a B.C. New Democrat, resigned to run as Vision Vancouver’s mayoral candidate in the Nov. 15 civic election. [The Tyee – The Hook]
I’ll certainly be keeping my eye on Vancouver-Burrard, not only because I’ll be voting, but because of the star-studded list of candidates.
Liberals: Former Vancouver Canucks owner Arthur Griffiths. He was also owner of General Motors Place, served as Chair of the Millennium Skytrain Line, was a leader in the establishment of Canuck Place Childrens Hospice, and chaired the 2010 Vancouver Olympic bid. You can also read the write up I did about the Griffiths family on Metroblogging Vancouver.
Green Party: Drina Read. She’s been actively involved with the Pride Parade, the Car-Free Festival, the Stanley Park Ecology Society, the Fur-Bearer Defenders, and Greenpeace. She’s also got a blog.
BC NDP: Vancouver parks board commissioner Spencer Herbert. He was behind many fundraising drives for the restoration of Stanley Park, and fought that nasty proposal that would have seen mechanized, animatronic dinosaurs in the park. He’s known to read my blog and leave comments so perhaps I could even get an interview, eh? His website also features a blog and the BC NDP sites are built with Joomla (because I look at those types of things).
In Vancouver-Fairview we have, Margaret MacDiarmid for the Liberals, Jenn McGinn for the BC NDP, and Jane Sterk who is the current leader of the BC Green Party.
I’ll be hitting the polls three times this fall and each trip will be as important as the next. I encourage everyone to get informed about the parties, the candidates, and of course – to get out and vote.
A few weeks ago we mentioned a special photo shoot we had at GM Place and now you are able to see JJ, Alanah, DaveO, John and me as featured bloggers and podcasters on the Canucks’ official website.
As it turns out, they’ve extended the FanZone campaign to outdoor advertising, including bus stops, Skytrain stations and even buses themselves. So far we’ve only spotted John’s poster at the Granville Skytrain station but we know we’re all out there… somewhere. This is where our podcast listeners and blog readers come in.
If you see us, snap a photo of you with us, where ever that might be, and submit it to The Crazy Canucks Flickr Pool. Your photo will have its opportunity to show up on the front page of our site, but there’s more!
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 ad placement. As I choose my advertisers probably as carefully as they choose me, I make sure to remain above board for my readers.
UQ Events is the latest company to take up real estate on my side bars so I have conducted an interview with Michelle Lanthier of UQ Events to find out a bit more about who they are and what they do.
What is your role/involvement with the business
I would say that I mostly deal with marketing related tasks. However, when you work for a smaller company it seems that you are constantly multi-tasking in order to accomplish 5 things at once (many of which are not at all marketing related).
UQ Events