My Name is Kate

links for 2009-09-26

• 45 Incredibly Stylish Vintage Travel Print Ads | CreativeCloud
  Love these. LOVE these!
  (tags: advertising inspiration posters travel vintage)

links for 2009-09-25

• Novice Authors Must Promote Themselves, Since Publishers Won't - washingtonpost.com
  Great story about new authors who promote themselves. Good lessons to be learned here - both marketing and responsibility for success. Inspiring!!
  (tags: marketing publishing authors writing book)
• 8 tools & techniques to improve your blogging « Boagworld
  Solid write-up of tools, primarily for a mac-person (but not exclusively) on improving your blogging. I particularly like the inclusion of a number of video tutorials for the software that is referred to. h/t Tris Hussey
  (tags: blogging tips howto inspiration tools mac)
• Global Trends at Shop.org - Forrester Blog
  Some good observations about what is hot, from an international (aka non-US) perspective. Interesting to me (and disappointing) is that Canada wasn't top of mind, but the UK. Which makes sense - they are beating us, hands-down, at interesting shops and great ecomm implementations online. Sigh.
  (tags: canada ecommerce global trends)

New Survey on Canadians and Technology

Just got a note about a recently released Canadians and Technology survey from TELUS/Ipsos Reid.

Some findings ..

It should be no surprise that young Canadians are using the Internet.  But that they are proficient at it by age seven, and use it as much as 1-5 hours a day - wow. I wonder how radically different it is being 7 these days than when I was 7 (back in '76).

Some other bits about kids and parents:

• 69 per cent of parents think it’s important for children to be technology-savvy from an early age
• 44 per cent of Dad’s believe limiting their children’s use of technology will hold them back
• Eight in ten (82 per cent) parents say one of the reasons their child has a cellphone is so they can stay connected to the child when they’re not around

These surveys always have interesting gender and geographic breakdowns.

Gender-wise ...

• Most women have a Facebook account (75% compared to 61% for men) and 34% of men don’t have any social networking  accounts vs 22% for women.

• 50% of women say that they use social networking sites to keep in touch with their family vs. 56% of men that use social networking sites to keep in touch with their friends.

Geographically speaking ...

PVR Use and Getting Quality Time

• Most QC respondent watch TV live (92%) compared to 40% who record their shows.
• Most Albertans watch TV live (87%) compared to 43% who record their shows.
• Most British Columbian watch TV live (84%) compared to 40% who record their shows.
• 57% of Albertans say that their PVR helps them spend quality time with their family because they can watch their favourite shows together (57% Calgary and 60% Edmonton)
• 52% of BC respondents say that their PVR helps them spend quality time with their family because they can watch their favourite shows together

Love Connection - Cellphones

• 22% of Ontarians use their cellphone to stay connected to their significant other
• 25% of BC respondents use their cellphone to stay connected to their significant other
• 26% of Albertans use their cellphone to stay connected to their significant other
• 23% of QC respondents use their cellphone to stay connected to their significant other

Using Technology to Stay in Touch

• Most of Ontarians use social networking sites to keep in touch with friends (66%) and family (44%)
• More than half of Quebec respondents use social networking sites to keep in touch with friends (56%) and family (33%)
• Most of BC respondents use social networking sites to keep in touch with friends (65%) and family (43%)
• Most  of Albertans use social networking sites to keep in touch with friends (69%) and family (51%)

• 32% of Albertans say that they use their landline the most to connect with their best friends (29% Calgary vs 32% Edmonton) but use email (24%) or social networking sites such as Facebook (21%) with their other friends
• 33% of BC respondents say that they use their landline the most to connect with their best friends but use email to connect with their other friends (31%)
• 31% of QC respondents say that they use their landline the most to connect with their best friends but use email (26%) with their other friends

The survey was released by TELUS and Ipsos Reid. TELUS partnered Barry Wellman, S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto (specializing in community sociology, the Internet, human-computer interaction and social structure, as manifested in social networks in communities and organizations) and Kathy Buckworth, mother of four and author of the BlackBerry Diaries.

There's a great piece by Gillian Shaw in the Vancouver Sun that covers a few more of the findings. One of my fav things in the piece is this quote from Wellman:

"Canadian families have moved from being groups to being social networks.  Each family member goes about their separate agendas, but links up at night and by new media throughout the day. Their lives have expanded beyond homes and neighbourhoods."

This sentiment is seen (though not conclusively) in the study data. Reflecting on technology and its role in the family, Canadians say that technology not only helps their family stay organized but that it helps to improve relationships. Most (83%) of the 36% Canadians who ‘strongly agree’ that technology helps keep their family organized also say that the Internet has improved their connection with family and friends. One in three (35%) Canadians say that technology has made their family feel closer together. Conversely, just 7% say the opposite. Similarly, two in three (66%) ‘agree’ (12% strongly/54% somewhat) that technology helps them stay connected to friends and family.

I'm delighted that we're starting to see more stories and examples of technology being a positive force rather than the isolating bug-a-boo that has all of us living in basements in our PJ's and feasting on Cheetos.

Photo Credit: Wesley Fryer

links for 2009-09-22

• Foursquare Beats Twitter to Local Advertising Goldmine
  I started messing around with Foursquare since they finally added a Canadian city (yay, Vancouver) to the list. We have a number of clients who are local businesses - and while being online & engaged in socmed is important, driving people into their physical location with very real rewards is also important. Foursquare has a lot to offer local businesses.
  (tags: advertising business hyperlocal socialmedia)

links for 2009-09-21

• Expanding All of Our Horizons « Getting the Red Out
  Great example of a university using a QR code in their game-day basketball and football programs. Ensures that a program isn't bound by the physical number of pages. Maybe a little a gimicky, but won't always be the case. Like it.
  (tags: mobile PR qrcode print clever)
• HOW TO: Make Facebook Your Company Newsroom
  Very interesting. Like this article for the apps that it recommends using on your FB Fan page - handy. Not 100% sure I buy into this concept, but could be good for a small business.
  (tags: facebook socialmedia marketing howto tips onedegree)

links for 2009-09-19

• Effective Twitter Backgrounds: Examples and Current Practices « Smashing Magazine
  If you need some inspiration for your Twitter background, look no further than this piece at Smashing. Some great and original backgrounds. Plus, there are links at the end of the article to a number of tools including templates and some other tools. Via @MarkDykeman
  (tags: twitter design inspiration tutorial howto resources)
• GameSalad - Game Creation for the Rest of Us ™ - GameSalad.com
  Create your own iPhone games.
  (tags: iphone games development mac tools programming)
• How to Create a Corporate Social Media Policy » Media Emerging | Scott Hepburn
  Good over view of how to go about crafting a corporate social media policy. And the stakeholders you want to engage in your organization.
  (tags: policy socialmedia onedegree)
• Online Database of Social Media Policies
  Great collection of social media policies - ranging from non-profits, corporations, education and government sources. Via @TheRealPRMan on Twitter
  (tags: socialmedia policy reference guidelines resources guide)

Laptop Bags for Journalists - A Field Guide

I recently conducted some field research on the best laptop bags for journalists (thanks to a request from Benét Wilson, Managing Editor for Business Aviation).  I published the full piece over on funchico, but I thought I would highlight the four journalist sub-species I discovered in my field research:

Journalist Maximus, or the “I carry everything with me at all times” journalist. These folks were likely Boy (or Girl) Scouts and want to always be prepared – so they bring all their reporting tools with them.  And the best bags for these folks: backpacks.

The second type of journalist I identified is at the opposite end of the scale as the Journalist Maximus – it’s the Journalist Simplicus. The JS doesn’t want to carry a lot of gear (or if they do, it’s small gear – netbook, point and shoot camera, iphone) and needs to move quickly.  Plus the JS likes to have easy quick access to their tools – no taking off a backpack and digging around. The bag is preferred to be worn across the front of the body. This sub-species includes the rare variant the Journalist Retroicus.

The third type of journalist I encountered in my field study is perhaps the most complex of journalists – Journalist Impatiens Paranoicus.  This sub-species is generally a traveler – roaming to far-flung, exotic locales to ply their trade.  Consequently, their tolerance for waiting in line, particularly at airport security checks is low.  Plus, they’re inherently suspicious.  This is what makes them good journalists, but it also makes them edgy in the lineup as well – worrying about their laptop and other gear.  The solution – checkpoint friendly laptop bags that speed up time through the line and keep a laptop protected the whole time.

Finally, there is the most unpredictable and flighty of all journalists sub-species – the Journalist Fashionista. She (fieldnote: typically, though not exclusively, this species is female) wants it all.  Capacity for all her gear, comfort in the carrying and style in the look.  She wants to fit in on the pages of Vogue yet write for Newsweek.  Fortunately, there are a few designers that can meet the JF’s needs.

The field guide includes about a dozen different laptop bags - if you're looking for a new one, you might find it useful.

Call for Artists for the True Patriot Love Foundation Tribute Dinner

I thought today would be a good day to share an announcement I received about the True Patriot Love Foundation - an organization that provides support and relief to members of the Canadian Military and their families. The TPL Foundation is holding their annual Tribute Dinner in November, a benefit that supports the Canadian Military Families Fund.

For the Tribute Dinner, True Patriot Love is seeking the participation of 100 Canadian Artists to transform military helmets resembling those worn in combat, into works of art. The helmets, designed and donated by the artists, will be part of a silent auction at the Tribute Dinner. A symbol of protection and Canadians’ hope to keep soldiers safe, the helmets are a timeless and important tribute to the unparalleled sacrifices of our military and their families, and will represent an expression of Canadian artists’ vision of celebration.

Any artist interested in contributing by painting a helmet can contact Stacey Mores (stacey.mores [at] fusemg.com) for more information.

You can follow the True Patriot Love Foundation on Twitter as @TPLFoundation and connect with them on Facebook.

"Serious bloggers" run ads

I use Typepad as my blogging platform. I've been using it for four years now. For the most part, I've been pleased with the improvements they have made to the service over the time I've been a customer. And I think they try to add value beyond the blogging platform itself by activities such as hosting free webinars and starting an ad program for Typepad bloggers.

It's their push on advertising that caught my attention. I saw this little graphic on my dashboard the other day.

[If you have your graphics turned off, it reads "Are you a serious blogger? Prove it. Put ads on your blog to get paid for your hard work and give it a more professional look."]

Are ads on a blog the hallmark of a "professional look"?

We run ads on OneDegree.ca - because that is a for-profit venture. I also run ads on funchico.com - some Google AdSense and some affiliate banners. I also have some on our Gay Wedding site (to try to recoup some of our wedding costs ;) .

There was a time I had ads on here on MNIK. Mainly for a lark. I never thought they would earn serious money (funchico and the wedding site combined have earned 77 cents this year through Google AdSense). And I had no real control over them (or possibly just no idea on how to place them well). So I took them off.

But the idea that they (or any ads) would make my site look more professional never occurred to me.

Rob recently added AdSense ads to his blog  - in order to experiment with them. And Darren added AdSense ads a while ago, to his sub-pages and his "project sites".  Neither of them used the argument that they wanted their sites to appear "more professional".

Are ads the hallmark of blogger professionalism? Do ads a "serious blogger" make?

After I started this post, I saw this new graphic also touting their advertising program ...

It's kinda funny.  But also seems to go against the principles of The Generous Web and Whuffie that are the backbone of so much of what is good that happens in the blogosphere.  Now, I certainly think that bloggers should  make money from their blogs.  I guess I just find this particular ad so ... icky.  Just me?

Regardless, I am still very interested by the assumption raised by the first Typepad tout - do ads on your blog make you look more professional?

New blog design on MNIK

September is really the new year for me - not January. Perhaps it's too many years of purchasing school supplies (mmmm ... shiny new binders). So, when I wanted to refresh my blog, I decided to do it for the fall.

I am thrilled (THRILLED!!) that my friend, Shannon Chiarenza (she's @ShannonC73 on Twitter), did a custom illustrated header and footer for MNIK. Shannon is a triple threat - she does web design, is smart about the online space (her piece on why people won't follow you on Twitter is very popular) and is starting to focus more on illustration with an upcoming fall launch of a kid's book that she illustrated.

I wanted a different look than what I had before and the illustrated design that Shannon created is definitely different. I'm hoping it will inspire me to write more regularly.

So, if you're reading this in the feed or email, please take a swing by to see Shannon's great illustration!