Archive for the 'Toronto' Category

Recap: Social Media Week 2012

Published at February 22, 2012 in Digital Media, Social Media and Toronto. 0 Comments

Last week was Social Media Week in cities around the world, most notably New York, Toronto, Tokyo, London, Paris and San Francisco. It is a celebration of all things Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and much more. This year the festivities in Toronto included over 50 events with 1000 plus attendees.

The launch event for SMW Toronto, included a Valentine’s edition of Tweetgasm complete with Dirty Bingo and secret valentines. Talks, panels, and networking events were held all over Toronto at locations diverse as the AGO, CSI Annex, and The Office Pub.

I had the pleasure of being on co-presenting and being apart of panel at The Remix Project. The discussion centered around ways in which non-profits can use social media to grow exposure, reach and increase capital fundraising. We had a lively discussion around this topic with panelists bringing experience from both the non-profit and commercial worlds. The twitter hashtag #SMWTORemix was a trending topic in Toronto during the course of the discussion.

One of the best events was held at the CSI Annex and hosted by My City Lives. Twitter Teatime as it was called had demos of some new apps using the Twitter API and even skyped in developers from Twitter. Another great talk was at the Spoke Club and was presented by Strategic Storytellers. This talk focused on how by telling your clients stories you can create meaningful content for your brand.

All in all it was a great week. Definitely, a chance for people to learn about Social Media and for Digital and Social Media Professionals to get out and learn from each other.

See pictures from Tweetgasm on the Gladstone Hotel’s Facebook Page

Projects I like: Prison Dancer

Published at January 17, 2012 in Digital Media, Projects and Toronto. 0 Comments

Inspired by the viral video of Filipino prisoners dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Prison Dancer is a new web series due out this May. Dubbed an ‘The Interactive Web Musical’ it is a 12-part series with plans to land on the stage. According to the Huffington Post article, the team which includes Toronto-based director and writer Romeo Candido, Carmen Dejesus, and Ana Serrano, has hopes for the series to be fully participatory with fans learning the songs and dances and posting their own videos.

We are going to see more and more projects like this that move between the web and live events, encourage active participation from fans, and in general exist outside of the traditional broadcast channels.

geneva.b ‘Bus Fare’ Single Release and Birthday Bash at Trane Studio

Published at January 3, 2012 in Music, Social Media and Toronto. 0 Comments

The lovely Ms. geneva.b and myself are hosting a Single Release and Birthday Bash at Trane Studio this Thurs. Jan. 5th. If you are in Toronto don’t miss this night of music, friends, special guests and maybe even a few social media surprises.

To get a little taste of geneva.b check out the Behind the Scenes Video from the ‘Bus Fare’ Photoshoot.

 

Behind the Scenes of Photoshoot for Bus Fare from Geneva B on Vimeo.

Bus Fare is now available on iTunes.

The Black Keys in T.O.

Published at July 13, 2011 in Music and Toronto. 2 Comments

I had the pleasure of checking out The Black Keys concert last Thursday. As someone who has known The Black Keys since before they were The Black Keys, it is always amazing to see them fill an amphitheater.

The Black Keys at Molson Amphitheatre

The show was great, albeit a little shorter then I would have liked. I could have listened to every song twice. I love the minimal set-up they had at the beginning of the show. Just Dan and Pat rocking out. As the show went on they added more lights and a few more musicians. At the end a giant Black Keys sign lit up the stage.

The Black Keys at Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, ON

The show even offered a chance for fans to win upgraded seats by texting a number before the show started. I would love to see more of this at all the shows I attend. Of course, I believe in any opportunity to engage your fans using technology and/or social media.

All in all it was a great night. And its really great to see fellow Akronites achieving such success.

NXNE

Published at June 20, 2011 in Digital Media, Music, Social Media and Toronto. 0 Comments

This past week was the annual North by Northeast Music Festival in Toronto. Music showcases were held all over the city from the 13th until 19th. There was also a film festival and an interactive conference. This is Canada’s condensed version of the famous South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Festivals in Austin, TX.

The Pharcyde performing at North by Northeast, June 19th

On Sunday June 19th, the hip-hop group, The Pharcyde performed in Yonge-Dundas Sq. Other big performances on previous nights throughout the city were K.D. Lange and Devo. These headliners performed free shows that were open to the public. One of the great things about Toronto is all of the festivals. These festivals almost always include several public events.

NXNE is unique in that it combines Music, Interactive and Film in one week. Being a shorter festival then SXSW which lasts three weeks, allows attendees to experience all three at the same time.

The NXNE site had several interactive components from a Blackberry app to live blogging during the interactive conference. The twitter feed was also fairly informative and interesting. It would be nice to see interactivity brought into the actual performances or at the venues. The large screen in Dundas Sq. could have had a text-to-screen or twitter balloons projected between performances.

In addition, live streaming could be integrated more into the festivals events. Ustream and other services now have apps that allow streaming from iPhones. Adding video from pre-designated attendees to screens at the venues could add a playful user-generated feel. Other innovative additions to the festival could be introducing game mechanics or even simply including a Foursquare badge.

NXNE  is great opportunity for music and interactivity to come together and create new experiences.  It will be exciting to see how the festival grows and adapts in the coming years.