March 20th, 2008, 3 Comments »
Just a quick note to pimp two events in which I’m participating:
Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 5:30pm - NetTuesday’s An Evening of “Green” Web 2.0! - Stories from the Edge on Using the Web to Save Our Planet and Foster More Sustainable Communities. Whew, long title. I’m one of three speakers, and I’m going to be discussing “DeSmogBlog.com, and how they’ve used social media and web marketing over the past two years to increase their traffic (by 300%!) and influence. From old school email newsletters to Flickr contests and Twitter, DeSmogBlog offers an excellent case study in how to build a following using social media.” See also the event on Facebook.
Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Bridging Media - I’ll be on a panel entitled “Buzz Builders: Using Multi-platforms To Build A Buzz and An Audience Around Your Project”. Wow, I get all the long titles. Here’s the blurb on that panel: “From film to television to the internet, defining your audience is an integral portion in the conceptualizing stage of a project. Are you using the accessible channels of communication to speak to your audience, draw a crowd and create buzz around your work? This panel will focus on, and show examples of, the use of various mediums and technologies to build a community and get your project to your audience.” I’ll be speaking alongside many of the usual suspects.
3 Comments »
January 9th, 2008, 1 Comment »
James sent along this cool-looking model house kit for the aspiring green architect in the family:
With the Power House kit you can build a model house complete with solar panels, windmill, greenhouse, and desalination system. You can build and operate an electric train, windmill, solar cooker, solar hot water tank, hygrometer, electric motor, power hoist, sail car, and more! Plant watercress, prepare sauerkraut, and make chewing gum. Learn how plants convert sunlight into energy for your body and your engines.
Plant watercress! Prepare sauerkraut! Here’s a, uh, artist’s rendering. If it hasn’t been yet, this badboy ought to be featured on Geekdad.
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October 23rd, 2007, 2 Comments »
I was doing a bunch of online research yesterday, and encountered a bunch of heretofore-unknown blogs. These five intrigued me for one reason or another:
- Full Bodied - Nice (wine) rack! Keep abreast of vintner trends! The A, B, Cs and double-Ds of wine culture! “Two hot fat chicks on wine and other good things in life.” Features reviews and photos of wine nestled in cleavage. I don’t drink, and I kind of think the wine industry is a big scam, but I’m sure plenty of others will dig the wine plus boobs strategy. Thanks to The Vancouverite for the find.
- Green as a Thistle - Vanessa is a journalist at the National Post, and is spending “an entire calendar year, doing one thing that betters the environment.”
- Kitchen Witch - This looks like a popular and witty blog. I like any blogger who frets over the gender of her chickens: “Pepper is still gender-indeterminate. Curses. Looks slightly different from Liquorice, but then it’s not as if they’re identical twin chickens, now is it? I continue to think henly thoughts, pushing all roosterish inclinations from my mind.” Mostly, I liked the total absence of a header graphic. The first blog post starts at the very top of the page–quite unusual.
- The Salvation Army of Canada - The Sally Ann has a pretty nice-looking blog. Who knew?
- Chinese in Vancouver - Way to pick a niche–it looks really interesting. I’m subscribed. I was amused to see this post about a creepy former Chairman in China’s ruling party.
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September 6th, 2007, 7 Comments »
As you may know, one of our clients over at Capulet is DeSmogBlog, a website dedicated to “to clearing the PR pollution that clouds climate change”.
As part of our ongoing online marketing activities for them, we launched a little contest on Flickr: the Greenest Photo Ever Contest:
The challenge is simple: take the greenest photo ever.
What does that mean? Whatever you want it to.
It can be literally a really green photo (but not of a green dress, that’s cruel). Or it can be a metaphorically green photo, whether that’s ecological or ‘green with envy’ or any other angle you can think of. In short, be creative!
In order to participate, you need a Flickr account (they’re free). Then just join the contest group, and submit a photo. You can use an existing photo from your Flickr photostream or take a new one. Complete rules and so forth are on the group page.
And there are prizes! There’s a pretty mundane point-and-shoot Sony digital camera, as well as two $100 Amazon or iTunes gift certificates.
Our group looks pretty sad at the moment, with its two little photos (and one of them is mine, which doesn’t really qualify, does it?). We’ve just launched, but I’d like to achieve some kind of happy critical mass as soon as possible. So go forth and submit.
7 Comments »
August 2nd, 2007, 15 Comments »
For the past seven years, I’ve probably used a clothes dryer once a month. I wish this were out of some kind of smug ecological sensitivity, but it’s more practical than anything. Here’s why?
- We lived in Ireland, and we had a combination washer/dryer device in our flat. This is a ridiculous, useless invention. The washer part works okay, but the dryer function doesn’t merit that term. You’d have more success if you microwaved your moist clothes.
- Since a massive growth spurt in my teens, I’m paranoid about my clothes being too short (in particular, my trousers). It’s irrational, I know, and I’m excellent at doing laundry, so I almost never shrink my clothes. Still, hanging clothes to dry is the safest way to go.
- We only have a washing machine in Malta. We dry clothes using the nearest star to the Earth.
In short, we’ve just gotten into the habit of hanging clothes on a rack to dry. That fact that the dryer is a big, idle electricity sucker is just a bonus.
Now, I’d imagine that a family with young children produces a crapload of laundry, so it would be more difficult to go dryer-free. And it’d be pretty unpleasant to go to the laundry mat, wash your clothes, and then cart them home, dripping wet, to hang up.
So I’m not ready to be prescriptive on this one just yet. Riddle me this: why do we need clothes dryers?
15 Comments »
May 7th, 2007, 3 Comments »
This morning via an email to DeSmogBlog, I learned about RiverWired, a social network for the environmentally inclined:
RiverWired is the one place online for you and your friends to find more. More inspiration. More knowledge. More fun. Whether you want to find the perfect hybrid vehicle or simple, practical ideas for your greener lifestyle, we’ve got best of the web information and community for you.
That sounds a lot like WorldChanging, but the more, the merrier. Nice looking site design, regardless.
Along similar lines, Colene pointed at GreenisSexy.org:
green is sexy came about when three friends realized that exchanging quips & tips on ways to make an impact on the environment was becoming daily conversation. They decided that, with a little bit of research and some help from their friends, they could spread the word to all sorts of people and really make a difference.
In addition to green, do you know what else is sexy? Rachel McAdams, that’s what. She’s one of the site’s founders, and gives me yet another reason (after talent, hotness and Canadianness) to launch a Malta chapter of her fan club.
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