What’s Eli up to?

The blog’s been dead recently, but I’m not dead yet.

Here’s a quick summary of my work life over the last six months:

The day gig

I’m the Creative Services lead at the David Suzuki Foundation. Shockingly (to me) I’ve been at the Foundation for over 4 years now. Who knew that I’d settle down? I guess I’m not immune to being in my 30s.

Events

I’ve been working as a consultant to Constructive Public Engagement. We’ve done two events:

It’s great to organize events and run around with an army of volunteers again. It makes me nostalgic for my years at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.

Public speaking

Now that I’m old and wise and have done some stuff I’m being asked to do some public speaking. Some recent gigs include:

I’ll also be leading a workshop on word-of-mouth marketing using social media at the IMPACT! Youth Conference for Sustainability Leadership (a mouthful!) in Guelph this September.

Volunteering

I’ve been the organizer of Vancouver’s Net Tuesday for the last two years. Yowza! This monthly meetup connects nonprofits with their allies in technology and marketing.

I’m also exercising my Salesforce and fundraising muscles by volunteering with OpenMedia.ca and recently helped the Vancouver AFP chapter by facilitating a session to help focus their social media strategy.

In summary: fun!

I’m recruiting two interns for my team at the David Suzuki Foundation

I’m looking for two interns to join the David Suzuki Foundation Creative Services team.

  • Print designer (4 days/week)
  • web developer (2 days/week)
These are paid positions based out of the Vancouver office.
The application deadline is Sunday, August 28, 2011.
The gig is super fun and I’ll feed you cookies unless you’re all gluten-free.
For more details please go to http://davidsuzuki.org/about/employment/

Net Tuesday: How nonprofits win with word of mouth marketing with Darren Barefoot

This is the year I get off my duff and put some effort into my Net Tuesday meetups.
I’ve committed to one per month for the year, and I’ve brought on an organizing team to help. I’m super jazzed for the first event of the season:

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Darren Barefoot
Photo: "Scott Beale / Laughing Squid"

How nonprofits win with word of mouth marketing with Darren Barefoot
with Darren Barefoot

RSVP

Meetup.com or Facebook

If you only engage in ordinary outreach activities – petition asks,
email marketing and Google AdWord buys – you won’t get noticed in a busy landscape where every nonprofit is vying for attention and support. Why? When everyone does the same thing, no one organization shines.

Truly remarkable organizations get their marketing done for them – for free – by their most excited, committed, passionate and devoted fans. They earn it by providing exceptional member experiences, by being unique, bold and creative. Word-of-mouth isn’t just about one-off gimmicks or “viral” campaigns. It’s an overall approach to movement building based on a new online reality where everyday people have become the most powerful marketing department on the planet.

In this session, we’ll discuss how nonprofits and charities are creating
remarkable online campaigns based on the theory and philosophy of
movement marketing. You’ll learn from experienced practitioners how to augment limited budgets with creativity and technology that will help your nonprofit get talked about.

DATE: Tuesday, September 6
DOORS AT 5:30 PM
EVENT STARTS AT 6:00 PM
LOCATION
W2 Woodwards
#250 – 111 West Hastings
Vancouver, BC

RSVP

Meetup.com or Facebook

ABOUT DARREN BAREFOOT
Darren Barefoot is internet famous. He has an honest-to-goodness wikipedia page.

He likes to play on the internet. He’s tweeted more than 17,444 times and it has been suggested that he’s Reddit’s biggest booster. Plus he’s co-written several books, the latest of which is Friends with Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook.

For the official bio: http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/about.php

ABOUT OUR SPONSOR

The venue is generously provided by W2 Community Media Arts. They’re lovely!

How nonprofits win with word of mouth marketing with Darren Barefoot

Darren Barefoot
Photo: "Scott Beale / Laughing Squid"

How nonprofits win with word of mouth marketing with Darren Barefoot

with Darren Barefoot

RSVP

Meetup.com or Facebook

If you only engage in ordinary outreach activities – petition asks,
email marketing and Google AdWord buys – you won’t get noticed in a busy landscape where every nonprofit is vying for attention and support. Why? When everyone does the same thing, no one organization shines.

Truly remarkable organizations get their marketing done for them – for free – by their most excited, committed, passionate and devoted fans. They earn it by providing exceptional member experiences, by being unique, bold and creative. Word-of-mouth isn’t just about one-off gimmicks or “viral” campaigns. It’s an overall approach to movement building based on a new online reality where everyday people have become the most powerful marketing department on the planet.

In this session, we’ll discuss how nonprofits and charities are creating
remarkable online campaigns based on the theory and philosophy of
movement marketing. You’ll learn from experienced practitioners how to augment limited budgets with creativity and technology that will help your nonprofit get talked about.

DATE: Tuesday, September 6
DOORS AT 5:30 PM
EVENT STARTS AT 6:00 PM
LOCATION
W2 Woodwards
#250 – 111 West Hastings
Vancouver, BC

RSVP

Meetup.com or Facebook

ABOUT DARREN BAREFOOT
Darren Barefoot is internet famous. He has an honest-to-goodness wikipedia page.

He likes to play on the internet. He’s tweeted more than 17,444 times and it has been suggested that he’s Reddit’s biggest booster. Plus he’s co-written several books, the latest of which is Friends with Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook.

For the official bio: http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/about.php

ABOUT OUR SPONSOR

The venue is generously provided by W2 Community Media Arts. They’re lovely!

HackVAN hackathon. For the hackers!

Net Tuesday is taking August off, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay home bored. Or get sunburned on the beach. You’ve got options! Check this out…

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HackVAN is taking place on Saturday August 20, 2011. One day after the GROW conference in Vancouver. At HackVAN we bring together developers, hackers and designers to learn about APIs and build awesome applications to win fantastic prizes. HackVAN is an all day hackathon starting at 9 AM and ending at 6 PM. Previous sold-out HackDay hackathons were held in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Waterloo. And now we are headed to Vancouver! HackVAN will start with brief API presentations and workshops. Developers then team up (or work solo) to build an application in a single day.

At the end of the day, every single completed application will be presented to our industry judges. They will select the winning applications. There will be awesome prizes to win – including a MacBook Air – and great exposure for your application.

Registration is open:
http://guestlistapp.com/events/60384

HackVAN is made possible by our awesome sponsors: Context.IO, Freshbooks, Grow 2011, Shopify, TinEye, YellowPages.

Tickets are $10 for full event details and registration, please visit HackDays http://hackdays.ca

Don’t forget to join us for HackVAN meet and greet on Friday August 19: http://hackdays.ca/2011/07/hackvan-meet-and-greet/

Survey results are in!

A huge thanks to the 20 people who filled out the Net Tuesday Vancouver survey. I’ll use your feedback to make Net Tuesday better next season.

Here’s a summary of the results:

You want to schmooze

Luckily Net Tuesday will be hosted at W2 this year, so we’ll have easy access to gastown and the recently-opened W2 Media Cafe.

 

 You’d prefer Net Tuesday to remain on a weekday

Luckily the name “Net Tuesday” constrains my choices. Tuesday it is!

 

90 minutes makes you happy

1 minute longer and you’ll revolt. I hear you loud and clear.

There’s no strong winner on the presentation format question

I’ll keep mixing it up, with panels, case studies, and show ‘n tell.

Mark your calendar: Net Tuesday is scheduled for the next year!

W2 Community Media ArtsOMG! W2 Community Media Arts has just agreed to be the venue sponsor for Net Tuesday’s next season!

They’ve got a delightful boardroom space on the second floor, and a large studio space for groups of 100+ (if necessary). Plus, they’ve got a soon-to-be-opened café, a letterpress studio and a million other cool things . Check ’em out!

Here’s something for your calendars:

2011
Tuesday, September 6
Tuesday, October 4
Tuesday, November 1
Tuesday, December 6
2012
Tuesday, January 3
Tuesday, February 7
Tuesday, March 6
Tuesday, April 3
Tuesday, May 1
Tuesday, June 12 (note: second Tuesday of the month)
Tuesday, July 3
Tuesday, August 7

Google Adwords workshop in Vancouver

Hey Vancouver folk,

Google’s offering some training on Adwords.

Do you work for or with a charitable nonprofit? Then you’re eligible for $10,000/month in free adwords advertising. This workshop could be a good opportunity to learn how to use your grant more effectively.

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Google Engage is Coming to Canada!
Agencies, Webmasters and SEM experts: You are invited to the exclusive launch conference for Google Engage Canada.
If you’re managing Analytics accounts for friends and customers, you’re always looking for new ways to drive website traffic. Now you can learn how to improve your online presence by joining Google Engage, a new partner program for web professionals who want to expand their online marketing services and help their clients do more with Google AdWords. The program provides training, tools and client incentives to help you succeed with Google advertising products.

We’re excited to announce that Google Engage will be hosting kick-off events in Vancouver and Toronto this August! Join us for an inspiring day of exciting Google product demos, AdWords workshops, and an exclusive keynote by Chris O’Neill, Director of Google Canada.

 Blackboard Illustration
Google Engage in Toronto
Tuesday, August 9th 2011
Time: 9:30am – 4:00pm
Location: The Carlu
444 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON		 Google Engage in Vancouver
Thursday, August 16th 2011
Time: 9:30am – 4:00pm
Location: The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC
Click here to register by 6pm Monday, August 1st.
Space is limited.
For more information on the program, please visit Google Engage

Call for applications: Google Mapping Technology for Nonprofits training

Google is going to hold a training workshop for nonprofit technologists who have experience or an interest in mapping and data visualization. It sounds pretty groovy.

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What: Google Mapping Technology for Nonprofits

When: September 26-28, 2011, 8:30am – 5:00pm

Where: Morris J Wosk Centre for Public Dialogue at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia

Who should attend?: This workshop is intended for nonprofit technology specialists. Ideal participants will meet one or more of the following

Requirements:

  • Are employed at a nonprofit or consult for nonprofits; or work in a capacity that serves First Nations or other indigenous groups
  • Demonstrate ability to implement and make effective use of Google mapping technology within their organization.
  • Are currently working on mapping projects, or have datasets they want to map.
  • Possess training experience and intend to train others within their organization or in the larger nonprofit community on Google mapping technology.

Have intermediate-to-advanced technical experience in one or more of the following areas:

  • Google Earth, Maps or Fusion Tables
  • GIS experience
  • Web/multimedia development
  • Programming for Google Geo APIs

This hands-on workshop is limited to 60 participants.

Due to limited space, no more than 2 representatives from each organization will be accepted.
Apply for Workshop: Attendance is free, pending approval through Google’s application process. Preference will be given to applicants who meet one or more of the requirements stated above.

To apply, visit vancouver.earthoutreach.org.

Deadline for application is August 5, 2011.

You will be notified of your acceptance on or before August 19, 2011.

Due to limited space, we will not be able to accommodate drop-ins.

Lodging: More details forthcoming

Note: Breakfast and lunch on the workshop days are provided free to participants.

Tentative Agenda:
Monday, September 26th

  • Morning – Introduction to Google Earth Outreach. Case Studies & Demos of nonprofit mapping projects. Higher-level overview of the Google mapping tools (Google Earth, Maps, and Fusion Tables).
  • Afternoon – Hands-on training in the above tools. Participants may be separated into 2-3 tracks based on skill level.

Tuesday, September 27th

  • Morning – 3-4 concurrent breakout sessions on tools. Topics TBA
  • Afternoon – Unconference sessions. Topics to be suggested by participants and selected through popular vote.

Wednesday, September 28th

  • Project Work Day – Participants bring in their datasets for a day of project work with Google Earth Outreach team members, who will be on hand to consult and answer questions.

More details about workshop sessions found at vancouver.earthoutreach.org

Net Tuesday summer update

Hey Net Tuesday-ers,

It’s time for a summer update.

1) I’m looking to make Net Tuesday better. Please take the survey. It’s just 9 questions!

2) Net Tuesday is a sponsor of ReMixology. I hope to see you there.
Fresh Media ReMixology #6// Hit Refresh – Taking Media to the Street
Sunday. 6pm. $5.00
http://remixology6.eventbrite.com/

3) Big thanks to Trina Isakson and Pull Focus Film School for their support of the last Net Tuesday event.
For more details and links see http://www.nettuesday.ca/2011/06/net-tuesday-july-5-managing-volunteers-with-software-and-soft-skills/

We’ll be back in September. I hope to have an ongoing venue sponsor, so we won’t be homeless anymore. Plus, I’m recruiting new members for the organizing team.

Hearts,

—
Eli

P.S. I’m wondering if there’s interest in a Vancouver nonprofit Salesforce user group. If you’re interested please sign-up at http://www.meetup.com/Vancouver-Nonprofit-Salesforce-User-Group/