Earlier today, MaRS Advisory Services and StartupNorth released an infographic mapping out where in Toronto startups are concentrating in. There are a few usual suspects as well as some interesting neighbourhoods on this list.
For the full release, check out: http://www.marsdd.com/2012/02/22/startup-city
What do you think of this initial study? Is your neighbourhood fairly represented?
I love PodCamp Toronto. 2012 marks the 4th time I will be attending PCTO and the third consecutive that I will be participating in. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what PodCamp is all about I refer you to my previous posts here. PodCamp Toronto is Canada’s largest, free, new media unconference.
This year, I am excited to be moderating a panel on Community Management. On the panel are Jas Banwait, co-founder of Two Mangoes; Amira Dhalla, community manager for My City Lives; Lucia Mancuso, President at The Blog Studio and my thirdocean co-founder, Carolyn Van.
We would love to see you at our panel and hear your thoughts on community management. Our session is on Saturday, February 25th at 10:45am in Room RCC-229.
I was going to make the title of this post, “The ROI of a Facebook like is $500.” But then that would defeat the purpose of this blog post and video.
Last week Dan Demsky (head of BizMedia Agency) sent me an email saying that he needed to meet up with me to chat. I’ve known Dan for a couple of years now so finding time to meet him was no problem. But I was curious why he wasn’t specific on why he wanted to meet me. Being a business owner I thought he wanted to possibly chat about collaborating (which I still hope happens, Dan!).
So last Friday, Dan and I agreed to meet up at The Work Republic in in Toronto just south of Steeles. Little did I know why. And yes it was a surprise. Watch below.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcEVrrgId9g]
Dan, thanks so much for the surprise. If all I got was a hug for being BizMedia’s 500th fan, I would have been just as surprised, excited and happy. More than that you made me feel important. Important enough that you hired a PINK limousine to drive north of the 401. With or without Facebook, I will always be a fan of you, your team and the work that you do.
Are you an artist or a member of an art-based youth organization?
If so, you might be interested in an interactive workshop I’m helping to facilitate on February 23rd:
Join ArtReach Toronto for an interactive workshop where attendees will discuss how to use social media tools to communicate a clear brand and promote their art or nonprofit group / organization.
Another focus of the session will be on how to leverage these tools to generate revenue and raise funds to support your cause. Attendees will also hear from a youth arts organization that has successfully utilized social media strategies to increase their profile and raise funds.
The Details:
RSVP: This workshop is open to youth (13 to 29 yrs). Please REGISTER no later than February 21 at noon by emailing:info@artreachtoronto.ca with your name, organization/ group (if any), email address and phone number. A confirmation will be sent. Space for this workshop is limited so register today! Food and refreshments will be provided.
Date: February 23, 2012
Location: ING Direct Cafe, 221 Yonge St (Yonge and Shuter), side entrance.
Time: 6:00pm – Registration
6:30pm to 9:00pm – Workshop
What do you get when you mashup the Ultimate Fighting Championship, social media and infographics? A fun and interactive infographic like the one below.
Enjoy!
(if the infographic doesn’t respond please visit: http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/UFC/Dashboard1?:embed=y )
The UFC has put alot of emphasis on social media. If you watch any of the Pay Per Views you will notice that each fighter and personality has their Twitter handle (@TitoOrtiz, etc) displayed. However, it seems that the number of followers doesn’t correspond to base salary or even Twitter bonuses.
In the data I found, Mauricio Rua had the most followers but Tito Ortiz earned the most as reflected by base salary. And the only one to earn any Twitter bonuses was Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
2011 fighter of the year Jon “Bones” Jones was 3rd in base salary earned (although his PPV, win and fight bonuses would amount to much more), 2nd in number of Google search results, and 3rd in Twitter followers.
What is very interesting to note is that PPV kings Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva are nowhere to be found in the top ten UFC base salary earners.
Sources:
http://www.mma-manifesto.com/ufc-fighter-salary-database/salary-main/2011-fighter-salaries-top-10-earners.html
http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/11/01/ufc-twitter-bonus-winners-announced/
http://twitter.com
This past week I had the pleasure of hanging with my friend Nicholas Montgomery at a conference here in Toronto. While there we had the opportunity to chat about Google’s new “search plus your world” product. Since then, Nicholas has blogged about this upcoming release. It’s such a great read that I asked Nicholas if I could reproduce his article. He agreed.
Enjoy the read and please leave your comments below.
Nicholas Montgomery is the Technology Expert for The Marilyn Denis Show (CTV) and an intern at Sprouter. You can follow him on Twitter, like his Facebook page or read his blog.
At the Socalize Toronto Conference yesterday several hundred people gathered to talk about social media. Pretty much everything social media was discussed: Facebook ad targeting, Twitter chats, 3D virtual worlds, Google+ and more. I learnt a lot about Facebook marketing and how to measure traction. But there was one very, very important game changing social media aspect which almost everyone I talked to was completely unaware of. This is important game changer for social media is Google’s “Search Plus Your World” search update.
It will have a major impact on the dimensions of all searching on the web.
If you have not heard about “Search Plus Your World” and you’re involved in anything on web from blogging to startups to marketing, you need to read this and know it inside and out now. The early adopters are going to reap the greatest rewards.
Continue reading How Google’s “Search Plus Your World” Update Changes Social Media (guest post)
PRESS RELEASE (1/24/2012):
Comprehensive deal covers internet streaming of music from Universal,Warner, Sony, EMI, and more than 1000 independent labels
Toronto-based digital music company Mediazoic today announced a deal with the AVLA (Audio-Video Licensing Agency), which will allow Mediazoicʼs internet radio network to carry the music catalogues of more than 1000 record companies representing the majority of all sound recordings and music videos produced and/or distributed in Canada.
Based out of a radio and record production studio in downtown Toronto, Mediazoic makes software that allows both individuals and commercial organizations to create, customize and curate their own internet radio stations. The system keeps track of all “listens” throughout the network, allowing royalties to be paid not only to the creators and rights holders of the music, but also to other stakeholders in the music ecosystem.
Current station hosts on the Canadian-owned-and-operated internet radio network include renowned deejay Alan Cross, iconic Toronto live music venue Hugh’s Room, annual music festival Indie Week, and local hip hop MC and artist MC FÜBB.
Cross, whose Weekly Top 11 show is unveiled every Friday on the network, has high praise for what Mediazoic’s unique take on internet radio has done for him. “Mediazoic’s resources have been a big help to my website, driving both traffic and time spent.” he enthuses, “Everyone should give the company a look.”
The network also has several radio shows in development, which will benefit from the wide range of music that this deal opens for Mediazoic and its listeners. One such show is hosted by established music journalist Karen Bliss, who will be resurrecting her popular interview show Lowdown, a one-hour comprehensive “this is your life” type show. Lowdown, Bliss’s music industry brand, has appeared in all kind of incarnations: a Canadian music industry column, an online radio show, a TV segment on Inside Jam, a TV show on Bite TV, and a music seminar. Through these formats, she has covered hundreds of artists, including Avril Lavigne, Billy Talent, Nelly Furtado and Sum 41.
“Our listeners know that every one of our stations has been playing great music since our launch last year.” says Mediazoic founder Greg Nisbet, “but let’s face it, now that our station hosts can throw a bit of Joni Mitchell, K’naan or Leonard Cohen into the mix, the listener experience is going to get a whole lot better. Our aim has always been to capture some of the magic that happens between people when great music is created and heard, and spread that magic across the digital realm, so we’re really excited about all of the wonderful collaborations that this deal will allow us to explore.”
“Weʼre pleased to work with Mediazoic, which will ensure that all of our members, whether they represent emerging or established artists, benefit equally from “plays” on this innovative new network,” says Graham Henderson, President of AVLA and Music Canada.
The deal between Mediazoic and AVLA covers reproduction rights. Mediazoic is also working with Re:Sound, the Canadian not-for-profit music licensing company that licenses recorded music for public performance, broadcast and new media to cover performance rights. “Weʼre always happy to work with innovative companies like Mediazoic to ensure that music creators are fairly compensated within emerging business models.” said Ian MacKay, Re:Soundʼs President.
Over the holidays I had the pleasure of meeting one of the team members of Canada’s newest trade show: Dx3 Canada. What got me really excited is that Dx3 Canada is focusing on Canada’s digital industry – which is the space that I work in as a founder and partner of thirdocean. After finding out more information about Dx3 Canada and being personally invited, I promised to help promote them.
Dx3 Canada takes place at Toronto’s Metro Toronto Convention Centre (South Building) on January 25 and 26. (There’s still a few tickets left with some amazing speakers and sessions.)
Some of you may be really interested in going but maybe the $199 ticket price is too much for you. No problem. You can still attend and visit the Expo Floor for FREE! (Yeah, that’s my favourite 4-letter word also.)
Companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Visa, American Express will be there. As will local favourites such as BNOTIONS.
In fact, here’s a link to all the FREE stuff that you can consume at this month’s ONLY Canadian conference dedicated to the digital life: http://www.dx3canada.com/Content/FEATURES-INFO/17/.
If you’re there, hit me up at @karimkanji and let’s hook up!
On December 14th of last year Neil Young (my favourite music artist by the way) was invited to speak at a Salesforce conference in Japan. During this short appearance, Neil talked about the power of social media and its ability to inspire change. He compared it to the 1960s and 1970s and the impact music and radio had on society at that time.
Enjoy the video. It is well worth watching.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t70S0jHSjEg&w=560&h=315]
What are your thoughts on Neil’s comments? I would love to read your comments below.
(If you liked this blog post feel free to share it by clicking one of the share buttons below. You can also get my blog posts delivered to your email’s inbox by clicking the follow button under “sign me up” to the right of this blog post. Thanks!)
There’s a new social network amongst us. Path. To find out more about Path take some time to read this Forbes article. 
Path was started by former Facebook-er Dave Morin. He was recently on Jason Calacanis’ show This Week in Startups. I suggest you give it a watch/listen for some amazing insights into Path as well entrepreneurship in general.
I could go into detail about what Path is and what makes it unique but I won’t. What I will say is that at the moment, it’s a mobile social network (Path calls itself the Smart Journal) which limits its users to a maximum of 150 friends.
This blog post is why I enjoy Path.
I remember joining Path sometime last summer. And I was not impressed. At the time it seemed as a limited social network. And I was also very hot on Google Plus. But this past Christmas I was re-introduced to Path when it seemed everyone at a party I was at was using the newly released Path 2.0 on their iPhones and Androids. So I did what anyone else in my shoes would have done: I crapped all over Path and then proceeded to download the new version.
And I have been impressed ever since.
Beautiful User Experience
From the simplicity of the product to the unique “posting” system, there is no social network quite as easy on the eyes as Path. Path is very intuitive with very few steps in order to use it.
Replacement for BBM?
I own a BlackBerry Torch and also use an HTC Android smartphone. The Torch is the phone I primarily use as it has the number I’ve been using for 15+ years. And BBM is an app that I really like to use. But using Path on my HTC makes me question whether I really need to use BBM anymore? I just need to convince/wait for my brother and sister to get an iPhone, Android or other device that Path supports. (We use BBM to “chat”. No other messenger service has appealed to us yet.) Then I won’t really have an excuse for using BBM/BlackBerry.
Everything that I use BBM for I can use Path instead. And Path offers so much more!
Music sharing and discovery
One of my favourite things about Path is the music sharing and discovery feature. On Path you can share thoughts, location, photos (and video on iOS), when you wake up and go to sleep, and music. (Now, remember, I’m a longtime BlackBerry user so excuse me if this sort of feature has been around on other devices and products.)
As many of my friends will tell you, I love my music. And my music consists of U2, Neil Young (including his stuff with Buffalo Springfield, CSNY and Crazy Horse), Aerosmith (their old stuff mostly), Colin James, Black Dub, Led Zeppelin, Broken Social Scene, Rush, etc…
So I love sharing what I listen to. And I can also see what my other friends (up to 150 only. It’s another great feature of Path that you should learn more about) are listening to. Or at least that’s what I thought I could do. Until I clicked on a song icon a few days ago.
Baaam! I proceeded to have about 15 seconds of a song I’ve never heard play on my phone. Path actually allows us to “share” what we’re listening to like nothing I’ve ever seen/heard before.
Anyways, that’s my take on Path. Do you use Path? I would love to read your comments below.
(If you liked this blog post feel free to share it by clicking one of the share buttons below. You can also get my blog posts delivered to your email’s inbox by clicking the follow button under “sign me up” to the right of this blog post. Thanks!)