Category Archives: social media

5 Questions with Nile Livesey

January 19, 2011 karimkanji

Many of you know Nile as @scolirk on Twitter. “Scolirk” is the evil genius behind Perpetual Radio Networks (PRN) and producer of thirdocean’s Social Media Show. Today, you get to find out a bit more about the man behind the best voice in podcasting.

What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?

I get excited about new technology, and I love being able to share my excitement with the world. I think I have a unique opportunity to share my thoughts with others on a weekly basis and reach a market that is just as enthusastic about technology as I am.

If you had 30 seconds to impart your wisdom on a classroom of soon-to-be graduates, what would you say?

Get out there and do what you love. Don’t let anything stop you from achieving your goals. Anything is possible as long as you are passionate about what you do!

In your opinion, what has been one of the most important technological developments over the past 12 months?

Choice. 2010 was the year of Android in Canada, giving consumers a real option when purchasing a new phone, and choice of carriers with all the new providers that launched their businesses. Finally we’ve gotten quality options when buying cellphones and the carriers that support them.

If you had a crystal ball, what would you say will be the most important technological development over the next 12 months?

Tablets have once again made a splash at CES. Unlike last year, people have gotten used to the idea of a tablet device replacing their laptop or netbook. Now that Google is taking a serious look at tablets with Android 3.0, I suspect we’ll see tremendous growth this year with ultra-portable slates.

Who is one of Canada’s tech stars and why?

Michael Geist is a name that many people may not know but should become familiar with. Michael is a privacy advocate here in Canada and has been leading the fight against unfair copyright laws. I think he’s one of the most well informed tech stars I’ve ever followed, and has my support 100%! If you haven’t seen his work, I’d suggest heading over to his blog at www.michaelgeist.ca to learn more about him and his efforts with copyright law here in Canada!

digital media, social media

David Offierski drops in to answer 5 Questions

January 12, 2011 karimkanji

David Offierski is the founder of Canada’s location based mobile deal network, Clip Mobile. Early-on, David saw how location features on

Smartphones have the potential to fundamentally alter how consumers find and transact on information. By taking a proximity over quantity approach to building a great mobile experience, David has a unique perspective on how mobile services will evolve in the Canadian marketplace. Clip is his first start up.

What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?

I think like any other entrepreneur I like building things. Every new user that downloads Clip, and each time someone uses their phone instead of a web source to find a deal is proving our business hypothesis and introducing a totally new service to Canada. Like most other startups where resources are limited, you have to do a lot yourself because there just isn’t anyone else to do it for you. If I don’t do it, it is likely not going to get done and that is not going to help get Clip to where it wants to be.

Do you have any success start-up tips for people wanting to create a name for themselves in your industry?

If you build game mechanics into your mobile startup, you’ll probably get funded in about 6-months. Kidding! Kind of.. I think the biggest factor to creating your own success is surrounding yourself with a super solid team. If you are not technical yourself, you have to work really hard to find the right people to start your company with. I think superstar developers are key but you can also not overlook the importance of design/ user experience if you are building mobile & web apps. I also think that once you have a product, content creation and a strong social media strategy are super important. For example, I really like what the guys at Flowtown.com are doing with their blog in support of their product. If you don’t follow, check it out!

In your opinion why is Toronto a hotbed for cool tech start-ups?

I think Toronto is getting to be an exciting place to be building a start-up because the community is bringing together a lot of these necessary company-building elements. We’ve got development communities, entrepreneurial communities, funding and design events as well as a very multicultural population to test proof of concepts. The money to fund early stage startups is still a problem in Canada. It is frustrating when you read about “the scene” in the Valley and there are so many more people with risk capital and great experience wanting to get involved with building companies. There is also way more competition so it forces the startups to be that much more legit. My hope is this will start to change with a new generation of incubator funds, strong communities and some recent exits for Canadian companies.

What’s your favourite tech toy and social media site and why?

I am pretty attached to my iPhone for the obvious reasons but I am also pretty excited about the next iteration of the iPad which will likely come sometime after January 2011. I have a goal to run my entire apartment from an iPad. All of my entertainment, media, lighting, heat/AC everything will be controlled from the iPad sitting on my coffee table. I guess that admission officially qualifies me as a tech geek. Has anyone else tried this? My favourite social media site would have to be Hootesuite as it has become the core tool we use to monitor and communicate with our community. It just so happens that they are a great Canadian company that builds a best of breed product!

Who would you say is one of Toronto’s social media/tech stars and why?

I think the team over at Sprouter have done a lot to build the Toronto tech community and Erin Bury, Sprouter’s Community Manager is someone who really gets it. She is a fantastic organizer, networker and master communicator. Perhaps most importantly, Erin is totally genuine about the fact that she is loving her job which is so essential to the role. I think Sarah Prevette, Sprouter’s founder would agree that finding the right people is so essential to building a great company and she hit the jackpot with Erin.

digital media, social media

Another 5 Questions with Mark Reale

January 5, 2011 karimkanji

I hope you’re not expecting an interview with the 55 year old lead guitarist for Riot.

THIS Mark Reale is one of the co-founders of both BNOTIONS and The Yorkville Media Centre here in Toronto, Canada. He is best described as a teacher, entrepreneur, actor, technical wizard, digital visionary and a HUGE mark for 1980s wrestling.

What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?

The motivation is straightforward:

I’ve recognized how it feels to be in a job that is unfulfilling, stifles creativity, has little prospect for growth, and has disregard for personal development.

The digital media and communications industry is on fire right now. It’s the Wild West out here.

It is thoroughly enjoyable to be facing the challenge of pushing technology forward and encouraging people to get involved in the Digital Media industry on a daily basis.

Ever since we kicked off the Yorkville Media Centre (http://yorkvillemediacentre.com) back in late ’08, we recognized that there is a lot of folks looking to explore this industry, and we love helping positive folks plant their feet in these parts. It’s always the people who look at these technologies with fresh eyes that come with the freshest ideas, and it’s definitely a BNOTIONS thing to help facilitate this process.

We are also big supporters of the Entrepreneurial state of mind – #LeanCoffeeTO is a little something that we sparked off with the help of Satish Kanwar (@skanwar) over at Jet Cooper. At this point, we are 11 weeks old and gaining momentum. Being surrounded by positive folks looking to grind out their own projects and support the community is a beautiful thing.

8am Thursday mornings is the time. The place: anywhere in downtown TO is candidate. There is no better way to kick off the day.

Do you have any success start-up tips for people wanting to create a name for themselves in your industry?

Yes indeed:

1. work your ass off

2. be memorable

3. each one, teach one

4. be relentlessly honest

In your opinion why is Toronto a hotbed for cool tech start-ups?

To answer this question, we need to take a look at what makes Toronto unique vs. other geographies:

1. Toronto has been known to be the multicultural capital of the world

2. Toronto is repping Canada which has been known as a nation which pushes technology and communication forward

3. Karim Kanji is here.

What’s your favourite tech toy and social media site and why?

My favorite tech toy right now is my HTC Desire running Android. We are fresh off the #AndroidTO conference over here, and now more than ever, there is a real excitement toward what is lurking around the corner.

Having had the opportunity to bang heads with some of the folks involved with Android community – Simon Chang (@changsimon), Matthew Patience (@MatthewPatience) and Greg Carron (@pixeladdikt) from MobiCartel and Puleen Patel (@puleen), it is pretty simple to see how and why Android has been developing such positive momentum.

Who would you say is one of Toronto’s tech stars and why?

I feel blessed to be surrounded by stars.

I look to my left: I see Alkarim Nasser (@alkarim).

I look to my right: there’s Aaron Ritchie (@vsmantis).

I look across from me: BOOM – there’s Logan Aube (@lowgain), Jeremy Wright (@jeremywright), Jonathan Laba (@J_Lab), Aaron Alfred (@aaronalfred).

On Saturday afternoons, at the YMC we are joined by Julia Stowell (@InteropQueen) from Microsoft who has been helping us get our videos popping for the YMC, and we’ve been relying on the folks from #TheBizMedia who are shooting and editing the footage.

I wanna spread some attention over to one particular individual that I think folks really need to keep an eye on.

James Hughes (@JHUZE) is legendary. He is a superior Web Developer, Project Manager, Videographer, and an individual who is gonna really be shaking things up in years to come. An entertainer by heart, he has the rare diligence to take on monumental tasks and see things through to completion.

James is the technical backbone of our Wednesday evening Harth Nights, and helps everything go smoothly in our daily routine at BNOTIONS.

It is an honor and a privilege to be in the company of these folks.

social media, twitter

my top ten #followfriday list for 2010

December 31, 2010 karimkanji

Today is not only Friday but it is the last day of 2011. I want to take this final post of the year to thank and recognize a number of people.

So in a Twitter tradition, I dedicate this post to the following 10 people who I suggest you follow for all the right reasons:

@saulcolt – He’s not the Mayor of Twitter for nothing. Saul is a word of mouth marketing genius whom I have had the good fortune of getting to know over the past 12 months. And one thing I can always count on is his time. He is not only generous with his time but with his knowledge and ideas as well.
@vasta – Sameer Vasta actually told me how to use Twitter: Just do it (paraphrased of course). He is kind and wise beyond his years. And although we seldom personally see each other or speak, it is always a pleasure when we do.
@scolirk – Nile Livesey is the President of Perpetual Radio Networks and has given me my first opportunity to podcast. My show is now called thirdocean’s Social Media Show. I hope you have a chance to check it out.
@mehnazt – Mehnaz is actually someone who I have not yet met in person. But I’ve had the pleasure of her being my editor on a couple of articles I’ve written for The Ismaili. She is the best editor I’ve ever had.
@greggtilston – Gregg Tilston is the Social Media Manager for Flight Centre Global. He’s also a good guy who is 100% behind Toronto’s local tech and social media communities.
@soniyamonga – Soniya is a go-getter in the truest sense. She is bright and articulate in all forms of communication. She can be found blogging and even moderating events about the Canadian tech scene.
@CarolynVan – CVan is an amazing business partner. I am so freaking excited to be her business partner. I totally lucked out. She is not just an intelligent businesswoman. She has insight and wisdom beyond her years.
@karimawad – Karim. His first name says it all. The name of his company says it even more: big time.
@mycitylives – Adil and Adam have grown from a small little company with big dreams to one of Toronto’s most popular start-ups. They are also some of the nicest people in the city.
@AlexBlom – I recently met Alex at FreelanceCampTO. He has gone out of his way to introduce me to some of the most interesting and successful people in the Canadian tech scene.

I’m sure I have forgotten many people here. There have been many people who I met this year who I’m excited to get to know more in the coming year.

To EVERYONE who I communicate with on Twitter, thank you. Thank you for following. Thanks for your ReTweets. Thanks for your amazing and insightful commentary on life and business. Thanks for the sillyness too. Thanks for shaking my hand when we meet face-to-face.

Thanks for an amazing 2010. 2011 is gonna rock!

P.S. Not following me on Twitter? I’m @karimkanji and my business is @wearethirdocean

blog, digital media, podcast, social media, twitter, youtube

top 9 social media tips for real estate – post 23-31 of 31

December 31, 2010 karimkanji

marketing in a social age is devoting 31 posts this month to social and digital media and the real estate industry.

Who would have thought banging out 31 posts in 31 days devoted specifically to social media and the real estate industry? I sure didn’t. And I guess I learned my lesson. I’ve completed 22 of 31. And today is the 31st. That’s 9 short of 31 for those of you who are keeping score.

So, instead of writing out 9 potentially poor blog posts I thought I’d encapsulate my 9 top social media tips for those of you in the real estate industry.

Blog. If you haven’t figured it out by now, blogging should be an important part of your marketing strategy. Your blog should be the space online where people can find out how much of an expert you are on your industry and on your neighbourhood. The ability of your blog to also help you in your search rankings should also not be ignored.
Podcast. Although podcasting has been around for a while it is still a tactic that is seldom used. As with your blog, use the power of the spoken word to help craft your personal brand.
Twitter. Remember not to use this as just a push marketing medium. Use Twitter to create a following and embrace the power of conversation.
Video. The amount of time people spend online watching videos continues to grow. We watch videos not just on our desktop. We also use our netbooks, iPads and smartphones to consume video. Invest a bit into a Flip video camera and open up a YouTube account. Just like blogging and podcasting, the ability to share your thoughts on video should also not be pushed aside. Be creative and original and don’t worry about creating something that’s viral. Just be yourself.
Facebook. Whether its Places, the Marketplace, Fan Pages or Groups. The person or brand who figures out how to properly use Facebook in the real estate industry will win. You don’t have to be first. You just have to try to see what does work. There are over 500 million users here. People are using Facebook more and more. More so than even Google. So take the time and figure this beast out.
Location-based marketing apps. There’s Foursquare and Gowalla. And there are others. I’ve seen many real estate professionals use Foursquare as an online billboard. Other realtors use Foursquare (my LBMA of choice by the way) to highlight interesting places around their neighbourhood. I would suggest using it to show you know your neighbourhood and your expertise in real estate. Just try your best not to be too pushy.
QR codes. This funny looking cousin of the barcode has been around longer than the term social media. But many businesses (real estate included) are still not using them. Here’s the thing: More and more people are using smartphones. And these same people also want information as fast as possible. Here’s a simple idea: Use a QR code on your business card and for sale signs to drive immediate traffic to your website and listings. Now your business is truly open 24/7 even if you’re not.
Attend or Organize a MeetUp. The power of physically meeting potential partners, leads, and clients is powerful. In my business, lots of relationships have been strengthened as a result of meeting face to face.
Try. Things in social media and even in real estate have the ability to change at a blink of an eye. That being said be open to trying new things often. Try a new app. Try the new social media site. Try it. You just might like it!

Happy New Year everyone! All the best in 2011.

social media

last 5 questions of 2010 featuring Daniel Patricio!

December 29, 2010 karimkanji

Today is the final day for my “5 questions” feature. We will be back in 2011. So keep your eyes focused here in 2011. Happy New Year.

What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?

We work with companies to help them understand what makes their brands tick and work on campaigns to them reach out to those passionate communities.

There is nothing more inspiring than working with people who are passionate about their craft.

Do you have any success start-up tips for people wanting to create a name for themselves in your industry?

I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for great events like GenYTO and Sprout Up and the connections made through blogging and Twitter.

However if you really want to create a name for yourself you have stop going to events, stop reading blogs and build something, there are far too many people out there just with ideas – go build something.

Toronto has a vibrant community of people with great ideas and many out there who genuinely want to help out but you need to walk the walk before you can talk the talk.

In your opinion why is Toronto a hotbed for cool tech start-ups?

Toronto is the gateway to Canadian advertising, a hub for smart and creative people and per capita we are one of the most wired and digital cities.

I do think we still have some ways to go to cross the chasm and really help and support these creative start-ups but it is a great place to start and there are already some bright spots emerging in the mobile sector.

What’s your favorite tech toy and social media site and why?

I am split between my Kindle and my iPad these days. I am a voracious reader and nothing so far has managed to beat the reading experience of the Kindle.

That being said the iPad feels like you are holding the future in your hands and from a news consumption perspective it has amazing.

Social media site? Everyone knows I am a Facebook Fan boy and I have been really impressed with the speed by which they have grown and the velocity that their engineering team is pushing out products.

Mark my words, the new Facebook Inbox is going to cause serious problems for RIM and Blackberry. It is a BBM killer rather than an email killer. I am looking forward to it.

Who would you say is one of Toronto’s social media/tech stars and why?

First I have to give credit to Sunta Sem from our team at Orange Rhino who doesn’t always get her name in the headlines when one of our campaigns are a success but she is an integral part of everything we do. We have big plans for her next year and she has been the best investment I have made in my business.

The GenY teams of Renee Warren, Casie Stewart, Erin Bury and Dave Coleman have already made their mark on the community but there is still a lot these smart folks have in store professionally and for the global GenY community.

I also have to mention the super star teams at Jet Cooper, BNOTIONS and The Biz Media. The amount of growth I have seen from them over the last year has been astounding and I know they are going big next year. If you get the chance to sit down with Alkarim, Satish or Guy they will be able to tell you what is really going on in the city at a grassroots level.

digital media, social media

facebook places for real estate – post 20 of 31

December 26, 2010 karimkanji 2 Comments

marketing in a social age is devoting 31 posts this month to social and digital media and the real estate industry.

This past summer I wrote a blog post on RealCashCanada.com about Facebook Places from a real estate perspective. It might be a little dated but the information it contains is still valuable for real estate agents.

Facebook Places has arrived. What is Facebook Places? Well, many of you probably have heard of Yelp, Gowalla and/or Foursquare.

These are what are known as location-based social networking apps.

You may have heard about these types of apps. However, most Canadian real estate agents don’t seem to be using them. However, almost all real estate agents have heard of Facebook and almost all of them (you) actively use Facebook. Which is why you’ll come to know and learn about Facebook Places.

And I suggest learning about it ASAP. It is true that Places has yet to arrive in Canada (although it is available in the U.S.) but the time to learn about the marketing and business implications of Places is now. Why? Because most Canadian real estate professionals won’t bother learning about Places until it arrives in Canada. Get a leg up on the competition now.

Marketing:

Here are some things to consider on how to use Places:

Open House announcements. Tell your network of friends, co-workers, associates, clients and prospects about the properties you are selling.
Listings. Many real estate agents have put links to their listings on Facebook. Now you’ll be able to let all your Facebook friends – via Places – about the homes you are selling.
Tagging prospects/clients. Do you know the type of property your client is seeking? Put it on Places and tag your friend/client so that they can take a look at it.
Tagging other agents. Let other agents know about your inventory by tagging them.

These are just some preliminary tips and suggestions.

Another thing I would highly recommend is getting on Foursquare (or another location-based app) and learning how to use it and figuring out some business applications. That way, when Places comes to Canada you’ll be ready to learn and adapt it to your marketing plan.

Do you have any suggestions on how to use Facebook Places or Foursquare for marketing your real estate business?

Marketing:

Here are some things to consider on how to use Places:

By Karim Kanji