Toronto

Review: coffee, beer and mosh pits

coffee, beer and mosh pits

On Tuesday night I had the opportunity to visit the Toronto Reference Library and listen to Randy Bachman tell stories like no one else can. But that is for another blog post. Today’s post – and photos – is from an amazing collection of photos, videos and posters which exhibit Toronto’s diverse and eclectic music scene from the 1960’s until today.

Maestro Fresh Wes
Maestro Fresh Wes

This jam is amplified. So just glide and let your backbone slide. Remember Maestro Fresh Wes from Scarborough? Now my favourite Canadian rap artist stars on Mr. D on CBC. Soon, he’ll be a guest on Toronto Mike’d with Mike Boon.

Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene

Toronto’s Broken Social Scene is perhaps the most influential musical collective and is headed up by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. The group has helped with the musical maturity of acts such as Metric, Leslie Feist, and The Stars. You can actually see the latest incarnation of Broken Social Scene this summer at the Field Trip outdoor concert festival.

coffee, beer and mosh pits
coffee, beer and mosh pits

Classic posters and hand bills in the gallery.

More posters and photos
Guess Who? More posters and photos
Yorkville Music Scene
Yorkville Music Scene

Yorkville was once home to future musical greats such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.

Coffee, Beer and Mosh Pits runs in the TD Gallery of the Toronto Reference Library until the end of this month. Visit the website for more information

Cost: Free

Uncategorized

Wattpad Raises $46M From OMERS Ventures And Others To Grow Its Social Publishing Network

Social writing platform and writer’s network Wattpad has been at it for a while now, and they’ve quietly amassed a massive user base that engages regularly with the site, posting their own stories and reading the stories of others, all the while engaging with one another through feedback, criticism and support. Now, the startup has raised a Series C round of funding worth $46 million, led by OMERS Ventures, and including August Capital, Raine Ventures and Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund, and all of the company’s existing investors

digital media

How to be a successful app developer: my latest itbusiness article

mobile apps
mobile apps

 

What makes a successful app developer? This is a question that many hundreds (if not thousands) of Canadians are asking themselves. Why? The barrier to create these apps has never been lower and the industry is becoming flooded with talent. In downtown Toronto, one is but a stone’s throw away from successful app development shops.

In my recent conversation with Robleh Jama of Tiny Hearts (<- click that link for the full article) we talked about what makes an app successful and what steps he takes to try to make it.

digital media

Through The Looking Glass: My latest Catalyst article

You probably already knew that Canadians have a lot of apps on their smartphones Guess how many to be exact?

25.

However, did you know that less than one of them (on average) was paid for?

Canadians and their smartphones
Canadians and their smartphones

These are just two insightful facts that my company uncovered as part of it’s research that resulted in a report on how Canadians use their smartphones.

I invite you to read about my insights in how Canadians use their smartphones for banking and to also digest the full report. Happy reading!

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Coffee Lounge: Nadir Mohamed (former Rogers CEO)

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Every quarter I have the opportunity to help plan and attend a local community coffee lounge organized by the Willowdale Jamatkhana in Toronto. The purpose of these “lounges” are to inspire young professionals to want to strive towards excellence in their careers while also inspiring them to look overseas for service opportunities.

This quarter’s speaker was former Rogers CEO, Nadir Mohamed.

Nadir Mohamed
Nadir Mohamed

Nadir spoke for about 25 minutes but stuck around for well over an hour more answering questions and talking to young Ismaili professionals.

https://vine.co/v/MOEPxB6qxpV

Here are a few points which I remember from this past weekend’s event:

– Nadir does not consider his story to be a rags to riches one. He feels he led a charmed life and has been blessed with luck as his parents struggled to provide him with all the best things in life.

– Strongly advocates that his time volunteering with the Vancouver Ismaili community provided him with a foundation based on values.

– Has never considered himself to be the smartest in the room. but was smart enough to always look for the smartest person.

– In order to make changes that might seem tough (personally or for the company) they must be simple to understand.

– Nadir also shared some “inside baseball” stories on how Rogers entered the wireless industry, purchased Microcell and even snapped the NHL away from the CBC. However, these stories are better told than read as I don’t want to mis-interpret anything he said. 🙂

Nadir speaking to young Ismaili professionals
Nadir speaking to young Ismaili professionals

 

social media, twitter

How to block Promoted Tweets in your Hootsuite Twitter Home Feed

hootsuite, social media strategy
Hootsuite

 

Almost everyone I know uses Twitter. What many of us disagree with is the change in user experience when it comes to seeing Promoted Tweets in your feed.

What is a Promoted Tweet? Well, according to the screen shot of a Google Search result, a promoted tweet is a feature that businesses pay in order to be promoted at the top of search results on Twitter.

Promoted Tweet
Promoted Tweet

Here is what a Promoted Tweet actually looks like:

Sample of a Promoted Tweet
Sample of a Promoted Tweet

I don’t mind that Twitter is using Promoted Tweets as a way of monetizing their product. Why? Well, it doesn’t impact the experience for me because it’s a native ad. Secondly, it helps to pay for a service that I enjoy using for free. Those that have a problem with Promoted Tweets are few and far between.

So, if you don’t like Promoted Tweets and you use Hootsuite (my preferred method of using Twitter on my desktop/laptop) here is what you can do to remove it:

Within the Promoted Tweet on Hootsuite you will see an “X”. When you hover your mouse over the “X” you will see the prompt “Promoted Tweets…” Click on the “X”. You will then have the following screen pop open:

hs3

 

Click on the “Hide Promoted Tweets” box as shown below. Save your preferences and refresh your screen. Viola! No more Promoted Tweets in you Home Feed.

hs4

Now you may enjoy your weekend.