There’s just one day to go in the Benji, Casey, Pete and Bella campaign for Paws for a Cause. For months now Keira has been fundraising for this very worthy organization and Matt (who helped Duane and I with the Blogathon) also backed the fundraising effort with updates on his website. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

Read all of my IMC posts and view my Flickr photos

The last two days at the Internet Marketing Conference have been great. I learned that companies are using their websites and what most of their goals might be, that many marketers do not yet know the value of social media and SEO (or they do, they just don’t know how to implement it), and that the staff at the Coast Plaza on Denman are extremely nice and accommodating.

I really enjoyed the panelists and workshops today, as well as yesterday’s speakers. They all seemed to have that ideal blend of “corporate suit business talker” mixed with “having an actual grasp on the value of the internet and social media.” Coming from the blogging, podcasting, and social media consulting realm myself it was definitely an education for me as well – just being able to live on the other side of the corporate pond for the past two days. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

Continuing my live blog coverage of the International Internet Marketing Association’s conference, the IMC, we’re now onto tool demos.

First up is the SEO Browser, developed by two Calgary companies, which helps you optimize your website for search engines. Jeff Nelson of Anduro is presenting. Simply go to SEO Browser, enter the URL of a page, and you’ll see the search engine results.

Jeff first enters a site and the SEO Browser hardly picks up a thing. The reason being, the sample website is mostly flash and images – which is NOT good for search engine optimization. [Editor’s note: Yes, you need text! If I see one more image with text in it on a site that’s trying to be optimized I’ll go nuts – that, and it looks really bad.] Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

I walked to the conference this morning, meandering through the quiet West End streets, dodging bicycles and being dusted with the scent of fabric softener from the laundry vents of the walk-ups.

The Coast Plaza on Denman is rustling this morning; the scent of bacon sizzling at Brasserie Bistro is making its way to my nostrils as I setup camp in the Denman Room for day two of the IMC.

There are three tracks today with panels, lightning talks, and product demos so things may get a little scrambled. We’re just starting the “Speed Networking” and at 9:00am we can choose to attend one of the following: Track 1 Panel – Writing for the Web, Track 2 Panel – Conversion Optimization, Track 3 Panel – Online Advertising.

I’m interested in the “writing for the web” from a business and marketing perspective so I’ll check that one out to start.

Panel members: Crawford Kilian, author of “Writing for the Web 3.0”, Elizabeth Southall of Powerhouse Copy, Jim DeLaHunt of Jim DeLaHunt & Associates, Tom McNamara of McNamara Communications, and Monique Trottier of Boxcar Marketing. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

Yesterday afternoon and evening I had the chance to meet Zac, Isaac, and Taylor Hanson. Three brothers, singers, songwriters, record company owners, and musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Thanks to Keira, I took the initiative to set up an interview with them for my weekly E! Online post (Hanson interview to be published next week). She came along as my photographer and we both had a great time chatting with the guys and watching them perform. I have to say, they are one talented group and have much more in their catalog than 1997’s mmmbop (since I just know someone will bring that up in the comments).

My post for E!Online:

It had been eight years since Zac, Taylor and Isaac Hanson had played Vancouver and judging by the excited screams of the fans outside of the Commodore on Granville, their return had been long-awaited.

Since they were last in town, Hanson started their own record company, 3CG Records, topped independent album charts, and toured the world. In 2006 they recorded the song Great Divide with a school choir in Soweto and released the single on iTunes, with all proceeds going towards research and prevention of AIDS in Africa.

“We’ve been lucky to see the world,” noted Taylor as we chatted inside the legendary Commodore Ballroom, “What we really saw was that AIDS is affecting a whole generation of people.”

Releasing a charity single was not enough for Hanson however, in September of 2007 they began taking walks before their concerts; these weren’t just peaceful strolls in the park to clear their heads before shows. They were barefoot and with fans – encouraging all to come out and complete this small and simple task that could make a world of difference.

“We wanted to start these walks in order to inspire people that are our peers and our fans to say: ‘You know what? We can start small, we can start simple, and most importantly we can start.'” Taylor who, along with his brothers, won’t stop until they have completed 24,902 miles – equal to a walk around the world.

Fans are also encouraged to start up walks in their hometowns by purchasing a kit from TalkTheWalk.net. You can also buy a pair of shoes from TOMS Shoes and they will donate a second pair to a child on your behalf.

Hanson’s walk around Vancouver was a success and their concert was packed with adoring fans along with the sound of their good-natured, grassroots rock and roll. Upcoming tour dates are listed on their official website, Hanson.net and the walks usually take place a few hours before the show, starting at the venue; all are welcome.

Update: Our podcast interview with Hanson is now available on RadioZoom as well. My photos are available on Flickr.