RichTaylor.me
Owner of RT Strategy : Transformation Agency™.
Former club promoter & London circuit DJ. Now DJing and producing as a hobby (see djrichtaylor.com)
Known to dabble in photography; music production; cooking; creating wicked cocktails. Major Arsenal fan.
Founder of Digital Okanagan and 2ndThursday socials.
Rather British resident of Kelowna, BC, Canada.
Can be reached at 250.864.9476
Rich Taylor Personal Blog- RT Strategy Website & Blog
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Posts
- May 20, 12
Many thanks go out to the team I leave behind at Digital Okanagan for their letter of support regarding my bid to join the board of Digital Okanagan. Click the link above to see their letter.
- May 20, 12
Last month I was delighted to be nominated by fellow Downtown Kelowna business owners to serve on the board of the Downtown Kelowna Association (DKA). The election for the 7 vacant seats takes place from now until May 23rd by postal ballot, with the results announced on May 24th. Obviously, I’d love your vote and [...]
- May 20, 12
A month ago, as part of a short vacation in Arizona, I visited the Grand Canyon. This was my second trip there, having first visited in Winter 2003 as part of a year of round-the-world travels. Anyone who’s visited (and perhaps tried to take photos of) the Grand Canyon will tell you the same thing [...]
- May 20, 12
For the last 4 weeks I’ve been following the Kelowna municipal election campaign trail pretty incessantly. I’ve attended (in person) 4 mayoral forums/debates, 4 all-candidates forums and listened to a 5th mayoral debate live on the radio while out of town. I’ve listened to most candidates’ interviews on AM1150 and read approximately 200 questionnaire responses. [...]
- May 20, 12
To celebrate the life of Steve Jobs, I created this image as a poster tonight. It uses a HUGE mosaic image created by Charis Tsevis (used under Creative Commons License) – the original Apple brand colours, and a quote from Steve. If you’d like to print a poster yourself, you can download the full size [...]
- May 20, 12
I’ve implemented a new “friendship” policy for Facebook. It’s got nothing to do with the 5,000 friend limit or hundreds of friend requests I hadn’t responded to etc. I’m not a rock star. I’ve just decided that Facebook is where I’ll communicate with and connect with in-real-life friends & family. People to whom I’m not [...]
- May 20, 12
UPDATE – NOW SOLD! I have a barely used Schwinn indoor bike (spin bike) for sale. It’s top of the range from the leading name in spin bikes – the Schwinn Evolution SR. Comes with the regular pedals PLUS a set of unused Triple Link pedals (themselves originally worth $200) – a saddle cover and [...]
- May 20, 12
A few months ago a local appliance service company attempted to make my wife and I victims of a shameful rip off-by rendering a $340 bill for two hours work when their quoted rate had been $80/hr. Their response to us offering to settle the bill in accordance with the time worked was to refer [...]
- May 20, 12
In the last couple of days I’ve engaged in a little back & forth with a few people via Twitter about the current BC HST referendum. It’s an issue that, on one hand, is proving unexpectedly divisive – while on the other is renewing my faith that people actually care about democratic processes. There’s those [...]
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Posts
- May 16, 12
People aren’t on social media to connect with brands
84% of Americans say social networks are useful for staying in touch with far away friends, three-quarters say they’re great for reconnecting with old acquaintances and 83% say they help those who are shy and lonely meet new people. So where do brands fit in ?
Nearly 40% of Americans spend more time socializing via the Internet than in real life. Almost a quarter say they have missed out on important moments because they were, ironically, distracted by trying to share those moments on social networks. Nearly 20% say they actually prefer to communicate electronically via social network or text message than talk over the phone or face-to-face and more than 45% of people use social media after having sex. If you think that they actually want to connect with your brand you could be fooling yourself.
I don’t know about you but I am growing sick and tired of hearing about social media marketing and how it’s going to save brands and marketing. What is more sickening is the tons of social media “experts” who are making a ton of money off people who listen to every word they have to say and then scratching their heads when their social media marketing doesn’t work.
It comes down to this amazing but true statistic: only 16% of people who like your brand see and your posts and more than 50% of the brands on facebook have less than 256 fans.
As a marketer what should you take away from all this ?
1ne: You need a thorough understanding of how people use social media to purchase YOUR product. The key question to ask is “what role does a facebook page have in conversion?” You might find that the people who like you on facebook are already customers.
2wo: Social media is not about selling; it’s about helping consumers sort through all the information on the Internet and providing them with content that they find valuable. And by the way even that won’t guarantee that they won’t purchase a store brand product instead of yours.
3hree: Under no circumstances should you take money away from other digital marketing, like your branded website and SEO, and invest it in a facebook page. That is just a stupid thing to do.
4our: Stop running ads on facebook to get more fans. You would be better sending consumers to your branded website where conversion is higher.
5ive: Stop “likegating” people to become fans of your facebook page. People will like you to get anything free than they will drop you like a bad habit and you’ll never here from them again.
6ix: If you are spending a lot of money on branding/marketing and your brand loyalty is low than you’re marketing is ineffective and you need to rethink your positioning and branding. How can you justify spending a lot of money on marketing when brand loyalty within your category is below 30% ?
Eventually you’re going to see that marketers come full circle and get back to basics of taking care of customers and putting money where it counts “at the moment of truth” when consumers decide whether to put your product in their shopping carts.
Read more... The excerpt/article above has been posted to rtstrategy.ca by our re-blogging robot, HAL 10000. If you are the original author of this article and would prefer it not be re-posted, please contact us and we will remove the article immediately. - May 16, 12
30 Lovable Designs of Bear Logo for your Inspiration
A logo is a prime identity of an organization. It is an eye-catching symbol which differentiates a company from its competing firms in the industry. The distinctive visual aspect of an organization’s logo design provides it with an advantage on top of its competitors. This is quite possible since the appearance of a logo design renders a timeless effect in the mind of the consumers. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a strong emblem. In today’s post, we are going to showcase several examples of bear logo designs. This includes the designs of bear and the cartoon bear logo which really stand out from the crowd. These logos are mostly used for children’s/babies gift store, clothing store or even toy store as bears project a cute and cuddly feature.
Here are the 30 Lovable Designs of Bear Logo for your Inspiration. Check out this collection if you are planning to make a logo for certain projects. This could certainly help you get some hints and guide you through on your design process. Have fun browsing!
Bear
A logo designed by serhos.
SourceBakken Bears
A logo designed for a basketball team in Denmark.
SourceWhitebear Homes
A logo designed for a real state company.
SourceBig Bear
A logo designed for a restaurant in California, or food and beverage related.
SourceBrisbane School
A logo design created for a primary school.
SourceLittle Bear
A brand logo for a full service property management company.
SourceBearking
A logo designed by ru_ferret.
SourceNerdy Bear
A logo which can be used for educational, training, advertising or marketing or human resources company.
SourceFurgazm
A proposed logo design for a fashion company.
SourceBrookside Resort
A logo designed for a resort.
SourceWildSmart V1
A logo design created for a coalition of community members, government entities, environmental organizations and businesses.
SourceBearbill
A logo design which works well for shopping websites.
SourceBear King
A logo designed by violina.
SourceImnorth
A logo created for an internet marketing company.
SourceMishka
A logo which can be used for any business which is bold and need to be seen and remembered.
SourceProfitbear
A logo design created by joelsailo.
SourceGrizzly
A logo designed by ggg.
SourceDeady Bear
A logo which is suitable for alternative underground kind of club, entertainment and media business, etc.
SourceFrozen Bear
A logo which is perfect for any busines related to food, candy, sweets, icecream, cokies, alcoholic drinks.
SourceSolabear Tanning Salon
A logo design which is great for a tanning salon, tanning products, or even possibly a solar energy company.
SourceLumberjack Bear Logo
A logo designed for a carving or lumber company.
SourceBoston Bruins Concept Logo
A logo design created by matthiason.
SourceBTBG
A logo design created for an internet company.
SourceBjörn’s Blog
A mark created for a blog.
SourceOlars Design Bear
A logo designed by OlarsDesign.
SourceAlyaska
A logo designed for a company engaged in manufacturing and selling garments.
SourceSnowblower Logo
A logo design created by Paul Howalt.
SourceBerliner Stadtimkerei
A proposed logo for a Berlin honey producer.
SourceBears Life
A logo designed by BaHKaTa_BG.
SourcePrimm Resorts Logo
A logo designed for a Nevada casino.
SourceDid you enjoy this collection? Which of these bear logo designs inspire you a lot to create your own bear logo? Just fill in the comments section below if you want to share your thoughts with us.
Related Posts
Author:
A mechanical engineer who finds article writing as one of her newest love career.
Read more... The excerpt/article above has been posted to rtstrategy.ca by our re-blogging robot, HAL 10000. If you are the original author of this article and would prefer it not be re-posted, please contact us and we will remove the article immediately. - May 15, 12
rt Strategy was thrilled to be appointed by the British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC) earlier this month to provide services related to a new province-wide initiative. Naming, brand development, website and numerous other brand deliverables form the scope of our initial engagement. We look forward to a strong relationship with BCIC over the weeks, months and years to come.
- May 15, 12
Fantastic Examples of Package Design
What a better way to end the work week than with a healthy dose of inspiration. And as we’ve mentioned before there’s nothing wrong with looking at other mediums to get inspired. So today we’re showing you some fantastic examples of package design, where beauty and functionality are both equally important. In this collection you will find beautiful typography, color schemes, textures and layouts that might give you some ideas for your own designs. Remember to click on the images to find out more about each package and their designers.
The ‘Ish’ Watch
Grady’s Cold Brew
Atena
Naturall Zdravo
Underpressure
Retro Moto
Granny’s Secret
Canteen Tequila
KopfKunst Self Promotion
Péter Wetzer Wines
Student Work – Niklas Hessman
Student Work – Dima Je
90 Degrees South
Tea Bar
Mieles del Desierto de los Andes
Sofi Bath Bombs
About the Author
Gisele Muller is someone that recently discovered a new career online. A person that really likes technology, design, photography and creativity. An eternal geek wannabe, tech fan and a communication lover! Current location: San Bruno, CA – USA. Twitter: @gismullr
Related Posts
Here’s some other articles that you will definitely find useful.
18 Beautiful Examples of Parallax Scrolling in Web Design
20 Inspiring Examples of Textures in Web Design
Beautiful and Inspiring Logos
30 Examples of Creative Wooden Office Interior Design
23 Fantastic Examples of Illustrated Elements in Web Design
Read more... The excerpt/article above has been posted to rtstrategy.ca by our re-blogging robot, HAL 10000. If you are the original author of this article and would prefer it not be re-posted, please contact us and we will remove the article immediately. - May 15, 12
Best Logo Design of the Week for April 6th 2012
Best Logo Design of the Week is a weekly roundup with the most interesting logo design I stumble upon during my every day browsing. If you seen a great logo design and would like to see it featured here, by all means get in touch.
Moustache logo designed by Paul Saksin.
DogyDog logo designed by Deividas Bielskis.
Oxipira logo designed by Breno Bitencourt.
OGN logo designed by Hedinn Holmjarns.
Shift logo designed by Tomas Brechler.
Muus logo designed by Joan Pons Moll.
Enormail logo designed by Mircea Constantinescu.
Billfold logo designed by Sean Farrell.
ProsperousCopy logo designed by Muhammad Ali Effendy.
Young Forever logo designed by Daniel Keller.
Subscribe to my RSS feed to keep updated with this roundup.
Read more... The excerpt/article above has been posted to rtstrategy.ca by our re-blogging robot, HAL 10000. If you are the original author of this article and would prefer it not be re-posted, please contact us and we will remove the article immediately. - May 15, 12
The Shocking Truth About How Web Graphics Affect Conversions
Does this situation feel familiar? —
Your web designer reckons your site is outdated. It makes you look amateurish. If we’re being honest, we might even say it’s downright ugly and you should be ashamed of attaching it to your brand.
The solution?
A redesign, of course. Not just a few tweaks, mind you, but a reinvention, taking your tired old website and bringing it into the modern day.
It’ll have snazzy vector paths, cute cartoon scenes, jQuery carousels, full-page high-resolution background photos, the works. By the time you’re done, you’ll have a breathtaking design that cost you a fortune to create—but you shouldn’t hesitate, because it’ll be worth it.
Why?
Well, check out the reasons!
1. Sites with images look good, and people enjoy eye-candy, so they’re more likely to browse around
2. Images are attention-grabbing, so new visitors won’t hit the back button
3. An eye-catching site impresses prospects, and impressed prospects are more likely to buy
4. Flashy images show that you’re hip and modern, and people trust hip and modern companies—so you get more sales
5. In summary, for every bit of eye-candy on your site, your sales will increase an average of 16.5%*
Wrong, wrong, wrong!
Many years ago, advertising legend David Ogilvy commissioned research into the use of images. He wanted to be sure that when he wrote ads, the images in them would increase response rates. The prevailing wisdom was that any kind of image would attract attention, and therefore get people reading. But Ogilvy wasn’t so sure.
What he discovered from testing various kinds and placements of images was quite different to the popular opinion of designers—then and now:
Images can reduce readership.
Yes, they catch people’s attention. But without some very specific conditions in place, that attention does not translate into people reading the body copy—or coughing up cash.
You might be wondering why you should care about research done in offline advertising. Well, Ogilvy’s ads were specifically structured to look like news articles. They bear an uncanny resemblance to most forms of online content. And the best practices he discovered for images revolve around broad psychological principles, rather than medium-specific tactics. So they apply to all kinds of content—not just advertising copy.
What Ogilvy Discovered
Here are four principles Ogilvy’s research turned up. If you ignore these principles, your images will generally reduce your readership. If you apply these principles, your images will increase your readership.
Of course, they are just best practices—a sensible place to start. The only way to know for sure how they will work for you is by testing.
1. Placement matters—a lot
The natural sequence for reading involves a very specific order. First we look at the image, if there is one. Then we scan the headline. Then we read the body copy (if the headline is interesting enough).
An image at the top of the page is a common practice, to catch people’s attention and draw them into the article. But if you’re doing this, you’d better be sure it’s above your headline.
This site’s headline isn’t much to speak of, but at least it follows the tried-and-true layout—situated below the image, where it will get read.
Ogilvy found that, on average, headlines placed below an image are read by 10% more people than headlines above. Since reading the headline is a prerequisite of reading the body copy, you’re losing a potential 10% of your audience if you’re distracting them with an image in the wrong place. If you have a large audience—say 145,000 people—then putting your image below your headline could be costing you nearly fifteen thousand potential readers! As Ogilvy sardonically said, that’s not to be sneezed at.
2. Captions get read more than body copy—four times more
An image placed somewhere in the middle of text draws the reader’s attention more than the text itself. It might even draw him out of the copy (see the next point). For that reason, it’s extremely important to have a caption under every image—to press your main point home, and hopefully to get him back into the copy.
Captions under images are read on average 300% more than the body copy itself, so not using them, or not using them correctly, means missing out on an opportunity to engage a huge number of potential readers. (For images above a headline, the headline itself can serve as a caption.)
Newspapers have long understood the value of captions for drawing readers in. Yet this knowledge doesn’t seem to have filtered down to web designers and marketers.
In copy that aims to sell something, your caption should include your brand name and your promise. That way, you have another chance to get your reader interested and to push him back into the copy—or even directly to the call to action. You have to make the most of his brief attention.
For other kinds of content, figure out the central purpose of the page itself, and encapsulate that in your caption. It is wise to craft your captions as you would craft your headlines—because they are similar lengths, with similar purposes.
3. Don’t break the left margin
When we read, we rely on the left margin always being there as an anchor, to give us a place to return our eyes to. Without a consistent left margin it’s exceptionally difficult to follow the text. (The reverse is true for text read right-to-left.)
That’s why body copy is never justified to the center or right in the Western world: if the location of the left margin changes, we have to relocate it before we can continue reading. Our eyepath is interrupted, along with our train of thought.
Yet you’ll see an awful lot of websites that scatter left-aligned images throughout body copy. If you have a particularly clever designer, copy might even flow around images in an arty way.
This forces the left margin of the copy to change location—breaking your reader’s flow and forcing him to readjust. Far from helping to keep his attention, such techniques threaten to lose it.
“Oops”. I couldn’t resist a gentle poke at Unbounce, who break the left margin here on their blog.
For images placed inline with text, always be sure to align them on the right margin. Never break the left margin.
4. Images without clear relevance are a waste of space
If the images you’re using are not clearly tied to your value proposition, or to the central theme of your page, then they will only confuse your readers. At best, they’ll be pointless distractions. At worst, they’ll give the wrong impression and lead readers to feel tricked or disappointed.
It’s actually pretty easy to avoid irrelevant images just by using captions. If you can’t come up with a good caption for an image, it’s probably because the image has no place on the page.
The best kinds of images fall into just two categories:
1. Images with story appeal
2. Images which demonstrate
An image with story appeal is best for putting above your headline. It evokes a strong sense of curiosity in your reader. He wants to know what’s going on in it—so he reads your copy to find out.
Although brewshop.co.nz doesn’t do everything right, its homepage image has some serious story appeal.
But these kinds of images are not very easy to come up with. Most of the images I see at the beginning of web pages are obviously taken straight from some stock photography site, and have at best a tenuous connection to the content on their pages. Not only do they have little story appeal, but when I see them, I immediately suspect the story they’re telling is not the same as the story in the copy.
An image which demonstrates is exactly as it sounds. It demonstrates something you’ve said in the copy.
It’s hard to go wrong with this sort of image—the only caveat is that it needs to convey your value proposition or central theme with more force than copy alone could. Product photos, before-and-after shots, charts or graphs showing comparisons and so on all fit the bill nicely. And the higher quality the better—if it needs to be downsized to fit into a fairly narrow column of text (and it probably will), then make it clickable, so readers can see a larger version in a lightbox.
Images that turn readers off
Here are some kinds of images to avoid like the plague. They will distract your readers with their visual dominance, without the benefit of interesting your readers with their content. And very often they will convey the impression that you are incompetent, thoughtless about your page content, or just unable to come up with anything of real quality.
- Stock photographs that are obviously stock photographs—their generic dullness and lack of imagination rubs off on you. Just because a stock photo is attractive doesn’t mean it will be effective.
- Poor quality images of any kind—better to not show anything than to show something pixelated, over-compressed, badly resized, of a low resolution, or otherwise shoddy-looking.
- Crowd shots. Try to use photos that have a single main subject—people find crowd shots boring because there’s no one to focus on.
- Bigger than life-size images of faces. According to Ogilvy, readers avoid them because they seem slightly grotesque.
- Historical subjects—unless you’re catering to an audience of history enthusiasts, it’s a safe bet your readers will find historical shots boring.
This website is a study in images done wrong: there is a stock photo top center depicting a model we all know doesn’t work for Datacom—and to add insult to injury, it has been distorted from resizing. The images in the columns beneath have relevance only in the sense that they were forced into context without being needed—they convey no value whatsoever since they demonstrate nothing.
Every image must be worth its page weight in gold
Lastly, while you’re mulling over whatever fancy graphic your web designer wants to sex your page up with, mull over this: page load times are still the number one criterion for maximizing readership. For example, a few months back Google discovered that a loading time increase from 0.4 seconds to 0.9 seconds decreased traffic by 20%. In fact, we created a handy infographic showing how more and more readers abandon a page as load time increases. Needless to say, images increase page load time.
So take a look at your latest graphically-endowed content. Is that extra weight really helping? Is each image demonstrating your value proposition forcibly, or teasing your reader into your copy with story appeal? Is it positioned correctly and captioned enticingly? Is it worth its weight in gold? If you’re not sure, it’s time to start testing, measuring—and perhaps culling.
* Figures are entirely made up for effect. Designers don’t really go this far…but I’m sure some of them want to.
About the Author: Bnonn is the author of a free course on 5 website changes you can make today to bring in more sales. Known in the boroughs as the Information Highwayman, he helps entrepreneurs sell more online by improving both their web copy and design. When he’s not knee-deep in the guts of someone’s homepage, he is teaching his kids about steampunk, Nathan Fillion, and how to grapple a zombie without getting bit.
Read more... The excerpt/article above has been posted to rtstrategy.ca by our re-blogging robot, HAL 10000. If you are the original author of this article and would prefer it not be re-posted, please contact us and we will remove the article immediately. - May 15, 12
rt Strategy appointed by Landlinks Developments
rt Strategy is delighted to have been appointed by Landlinks Developments of Kelowna BC for website development and branding projects. Landlinks has multiple town home communities in various stages of the planning, marketing and sales cycle, as well as seniors care facilities and a master planned community, so we look forward to a long and productive relationship.
- Feb 25, 12
rt Strategy Sponsors Startup Weekend Okanagan
rt Strategy is happy to announce our lead sponsorship of Judgement Night – the Startup Weekend Okanagan closing party.
Startup Weekend is an intense 54 hour event which focuses on building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend.
The three-day event takes place on March 2nd to 4th – with working sessions at the Kelowna Innovation Centre, and a closing party at Kelowna Art Gallery.
rt Strategy is joining New Monaco Development Corp as lead sponsor of ‘Judgement Night‘ – the closing party for the event.
For more information (and to register) visit http://okanagan.startupweekend.org/
A link for closing party tickets will be available shortly.
- May 15, 12
The Best Logo Designs of 2011 and what makes them work
One of the great things about logo design is seeing the fresh new creations that stream their way in to the world of branding every year. While choosing just one is an impossibility, cherry-picking favorites is a delight. Read on to see who made the list and why:
Images correlation to text
We love this Injoy logo because of the image’s correlation to the text. In addition, the use of color boldly brings the eye front and center to the red bottle, surrounded by the two-tone damask-type heart. This logo is modern, with lots of visual interest and beautiful, artistic patterns.
Image as a story
The sheer genius in use of “image as a story” can’t be showcased better than with this logo. The subtle gradient use of color in the image and title, the double entendre of “guitar as rocket, rocket as guitar” and Japanese inspired sketch-work is pure eye candy.
Minimalism
When they say, “less is more”, they’re right. The simple Zen beauty of this logo with its uncluttered font choice and gorgeous mulberry background leave busy logos in the dust. Using the “E” letter as the main focus of the logo puts the image in the text with astounding results, and a great use of minimalism.
Letter as a symbol
The clever use of a letter as a symbol, such as this expectant little penguin, gives the mind pause as the eye tries to discover what is really going on. Far from just another typographic logo, the simple font plays up the artful design of the “a” above it, replete with minimalist details and an interesting mix of broad and narrow brush strokes. The result is a clean, playful, Spartan logo that has more going on than at first glance.
Use of negative space
This fun and quirky logo is a visual treat because of the different ways to see it. You automatically do a double take to absorb all the design elements and the clever way it uses space. The funky font styles keep the design fresh, and the art within the text puts a smile on your face. The abstract, three-dimensional design has an interesting overlap in the city skyline/dripping paint effect.
Read more... The excerpt/article above has been posted to rtstrategy.ca by our re-blogging robot, HAL 10000. If you are the original author of this article and would prefer it not be re-posted, please contact us and we will remove the article immediately. - May 15, 12
Jamie Hewlett designs new Absolut London bottle
Absolut has launched a limited-edition, London-themed bottle, featuring a unique design by Jamie Hewlett.
Hewlett’s design is a take on London’s style and fashion pioneers over the past 200 years. Set against a familiar London backdrop, featuring iconic buildings such as St Paul’s Cathedral and the Gherkin, the illustration features seven characters, including the 18th century dandy, the pinstripe gent, 60s chick, punk and 80s casual.
The Absolut London edition will go on sale at Selfridges and Harvey Nichols in the city on March 1 (retailing at £20.99). Absolut is also offering people the chance to win one of 50 bottles in a competition held via Instagram. More details are online at facebook.com/absolutuk.
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Posts
- May 08, 12
Posted in Association NewsIn The News
Digital Okanagan turns two this June. We started off in 2010 as the organisation that threw 2nd Thursday socials and an occassional educational seminar. 2011 kicked off with our busiest event – the January 2nd Thursday social (over 200 people packed our Jan, Feb & March 2011 socials at Urban Distilleries, Hannahs and Streaming Cafe). We then disappeared from view for a while – something that can happen with volunteer driven organizations – before exploding back at the start of 2012 with a new leadership team, merging with the OKDG crew, and by executing our most successful event to date (Startup Weekend Okanagan).
With that two year anniversary comes a time for change in leadership and I’m delighted to let you know that Daryl Chymko will be taking over the role of Association President from me effective June 1st. Please give him a warm welcome.
On that note, the board of Digital Okanagan will have a spare seat for a ‘Director at Large’. So… if you’re interested in steering this organisation and supporting a community of designers, developers & communicators who share passions for digital media, education, innovation & collaboration please get in touch.
Finally, if you’re a business owner in downtown Kelowna, please consider voting for me in the forthcoming board of directors election for the Downtown Kelowna Association – more info on my personal blog and on the DKA site.
- May 07, 12
Posted in OKDG
If you couldn’t make it out on April 24th to see Shawn Talbot and John vanderWoulde speak at the last OKDG night, you missed out on some spectacular passion-sharing, story-telling and awe-inspiring design and photography!
But fear not, dear friends! While Shawn is gadabout-ing with his camera, you can check out the images he presented and if you ask nicely, perhaps the next time you see him, he will tell you the stories behind the photos.
Ever our beloved over-achiever, John blogged about his experience presenting the concept: How Hockey Has Made Me a Better Designer, and you can check out his presentation right here:
OKDG Presentation – John van der WoudeView more presentations from johnvanderwoudeWe have a super special OKDG night coming up on June 5th, so save the date and stay tuned! - May 02, 12
Posted in Startup Weekend
Coming into organizing an event like Startup Weekend, we can honestly say that, for the most part, we didn’t know what exactly to expect. Because of the vibrant tech community in the Okanagan (courtesy of initiatives like OKDG, Lean Coffee, and Accelerate Okanagan’s programming), we knew that there would be a good base of people who would be on board to participate, but what happened was beyond our wildest expectations.
What we learned through the course of the weekend was eye-opening. People from across and outside of the province of British Columbia were suddenly registering. Tech and business mentors in the community threw up their hands to support the fledgling start-ups. And sponsors were just as eager as the participants to bring this event to the Okanagan Valley!
And what an event it was. Wondering what it was about or want an awesome trip down memory lane? Check out the amazing video of Startup Weekend Okanagan!
Startup Weekend Okanagan 2.0 goes live in Spring of 2013 and we are already starting to plan. If you want to become an organizer, mentor, judge or sponsor or even have questions about participation, send us a note: we would be happy to have you on board!
- Mar 31, 12
Posted in Association News
Wowee! What a night last Tuesday at OKDG. A great group of new attend-ers, mixed up with the OKDG hardcores, came out to hear a couple of speakers, drink a pint or cuppa, maybe have some dinner, and hang out.
I was lucky enough to be one of the presenters, alongside Frithjof Petscheleit, and our topics both ran with themes of customers, connection, and conversation. It was clear that it was going to be a fun night by the tone in the twitter-sphere prior to the event:
Curse you unlocked iphone near OKDG-ers!! * Sorry to disappoint anyone actually expecting jello. The Bike Shop Cafe had plenty of other snacks though!
I was up first and terribly excited to realize that Daryl would be doing an intro! Very flattering, to have the brains behind Startup Weekend Okanagan intro me! My topic, Aftercare: of Tattoos and Tech (Interventions to Keep Your Client Relationships from Going to the Dark Side) focused on developing meaningful relationships that serve you, your business, and bring in mo’ money.
Frithjof Petscheleit and his topic, The ROI in Social Media is: Your Business Will Still Exist in 5 years cultivated great discussion about approaches to manage your reputation, both online and beyond. In his presentation, Frith mentioned this video, which is definitely an interesting watch.
In my never-to-be-humble opinion, the discussion amongst the crowd both before, during and throughout the presentations alone was worth the price of admission (free? what!?).
Look forward to what this fine community brings to the table on April 24th: OKDG nights are now running monthly on the last Tuesday of every month!
Hope to see you out at the next one!
- Mar 26, 12
Posted in Association News
Brilliant Speakers – March 27th 2012
If we were betting fellas we’d say that the odds are looking pretty good — OKDG is 3 for 3, with a meetup every month so far in 2012!
We have two incredible speakers lined up for March 27th.
Cynthia Gunsinger has adept “customer wrangling” magic and will entrance, empower and educate us on building healthy customer relationships, followed by Frithjof Petscheleit who will challenge us to open ourselves up to engaging our customers in conversation when the stakes are high.
Our fantastic venue, the Bike Shop Cafe and Catering Co. once again makes us feel welcome. There will be food, beverages and alcohol available throughout the evening.
Looking forward to seeing you all there!
Shane & Daryl
The Speakers
Aftercare: of Tattoos and Tech by Cynthia Gunsinger
Interventions to keep your client relationships from going to the dark place.
The ROI in Social Media is: Your Business will still exist in 5 years by Frithjof Petscheleit
Frithjof will introduce a number of reputation management hotspots we should monitor and a few tools how to do this
- Mar 07, 12
Posted in EventsStartup Weekend
This past Sunday at the Kelowna Art Gallery, amidst a passionate and emotional presentation and judging ceremony, the grand finale of Startup Weekend Okanagan took place.
What started as the vision of a few Kelowna developers, became an event that will be long talked about in the Okanagan tech community. The first Startup Weekend Okanagan sold out quickly with over 70 attendees, some from as far away as Victoria, Vancouver and Edmonton, all gathering to work together to create a potential tech business within 54 hours.
“I’m absolutely blown away by the support and community response we’ve received from running Startup Weekend Okanagan. The energy, passion, enthusiasm and talent shown by the participants over the weekend was truly inspiring. People are already asking when the next event is scheduled to take place.” said Brent Lachman, a member of the Startup Weekend organizing committee and Digital Okanagan board member.
The Three Days Of Okanagan Startup
The event began Friday night with some icebreakers to get the creative ideas flowing, and culminating in 28 people coming forward individually to pitch their tech startup idea to a room full of new faces. Each person pitching had 1 minute to outline their idea and inspire the crowd to vote for their pitch as a viable startup option that could be a viable startup business within 54 hours.
By Saturday morning, what had started as an idea had become a full-fledged startup. Teams were busily naming their new businesses, choosing domain names, flowcharting the business processes and refining their ideas. Along with the guidance and support from community mentors, the new business teams worked long into the night, building, refining and innovating.
When the Kelowna Innovation Centre opened back up to teams at 9am on Sunday people trickled in at a slower pace. People had been giving all they had to create something amazing by the end of the 54 hour event, and the learning process had been steep. However after a 10am group session, everyone returned to their projects, reengaged in getting their startup ready for the big pitch that is Startup Weekend’s wrap-up event, Judgement Night.
Judgement Night
When at last 4:30pm rolled around, team leaders headed off to the Kelowna Art Gallery to get their pitch presentations ready. At 6pm, Judgement Night began and Okanagan Startup Weekend had come to an end.
The final pitch process was a fast and furious event with each team only having 5 minutes to present their business idea to a panel of judges. Pitched business ideas included applications that helped budget, organize memories, or communicate with groups. Video games that involve real world stunts. Websites that helped with salon bookings, vacation rentals, or non-profit awareness. But in the end, of the 10 businesses pitched, only a few could come out on top.
Jeff Keen, a Startup Weekend judge, said, “It was incredible to see what can be accomplished over a 54 hour period. We were very impressed by the quality of the work, the team collaboration, the ideas created and the enthusiasm with which the event was embraced by both participants and the local community. It goes to show that innovation is alive and well in the Okanagan!”
The Standout Startup Teams
Congratulations go out to :
SquadShout.com – a team organization and notification system powered by an automated phone call, text, or email.
Beauty Booker – a site designed to connect customers with unfilled, last-minute and discounted hair and beauty appointments.
UChangeIt - a smart, easy-to-use tool that uses a person’s own compelling reasons to help them achieve their goals.
SeshWars – a game that lets you submit videos of your skateboarding tricks and compete with others around the world.
Momento Locket – A service that takes all your wedding photos and comments sent by your friends to twitter, facebook and other social media sites and even create a book.
Deven Rich, Team Leader of the first place team, Squadshout.com, said that he found the weekend to be a “rewarding experience”. According to Rich, they plan to launch a full-feature team notification system “over the next few months”.
What’s Next For Okanagan Startup Weekend
Still riding the Okanagan Stratup Weekend high? We’re inviting all the attendess, mentors and judges to a re-group on Wednesday, March 14th from 6 to 8pm at The Streaming Cafe, 596 Leon Ave, Kelowna. We hope to see you all there, and are looking forward to hearing feedback about your Startup Weekend experience.
Okanagan Startup Weekend was truly an event to remember. An enormous thank you goes out to all who were involved, sponsors, attendees, organizers, judges, mentors, and support; without them, this unique event would not have been possible.
We are already looking forward to next year’s Startup Weekend.
- Mar 02, 12
Posted in EventsStartup Weekend
Digital Okanagan, Accelerate Okanagan & BCIC invite you to Judgement Night – the wrap-up event for Startup Weekend Okanagan.
Join event sponsors rt Strategy – Brand Transformation Agency and New Monaco Development Corp and Startup Weekend participants for a night of intrigue, innovation and excitement. Discover what ideas have been developed over the weekend, see working prototypes and make your call on who will be the Okanagan’s next successful technology start-up.
Schedule
- 5.30pm Drinks Reception
- 6.00pm Presentations from Startup Weekend participants & questions from judges
- 8.00pm Judging and Prizes
- 9.00pm – 10.30 Drinks & Music
Please arrive promptly.
Tickets
Tickets are $10 + fees. This includes your first drink. Buy at Eventbrite.
About Startup Weekend
Startup weekends are 54-hour events where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch startups!
Startup Weekend is powered by The Kaufmann Foundation.
About Judgement Night
Judgment Night is a combined evening of pitching & partying. Teams participating in Startup Weekend each get 10 minutes to pitch their idea and show a working prototype to the audience and judges. After deliberations by the judges, winners are announced and prizes distributed.
Spirit Bear Cocktails, Big Surf Beer and soft drinks will be served at the bar.
About Digital Okanagan
Digital Okanagan is a community of designers, developers & communicators who share passions for digital media, education, innovation & collaboration.
Sponsors
We would like to acknowledge and thank Startup Weekend Okanagan Gold Sponsors: Accelerate Okanagan & BCIC as well as Judgement Night Sponsors rt Strategy – Brand Transformation Agency and New Monaco Development Corp.
- Feb 29, 12
Posted in Association News
Main Website: okanagan.startupweekend.org
Judgement Night (Closing Presentations & Party): judgementnight.eventbrite.ca
MicroMobs (for attendees only) : Micromobs
Twitter Account: twitter.com/swokanagan
Twitter Feed: #swokanagan
Facebook: facebook.com/digitalokanagan
- Feb 23, 12
Posted in Association News
A quick note to let visitors to the site know that we are currently playing around with and testing some additional backend functionality for the Digital Okanagan site using BuddyPress and BBPress. You might see a couple of odd things going on while we do so. Pls ignore them while we experiment
- Feb 18, 12
Posted in EventsIn The NewsStartup Weekend
Startup Weekend hit the news today. The following article appeared on Castanet News.
Thanks to the team over at Castanet for publishing this!
From March 2nd to the 4th, 2012 Kelowna will host its first Startup Weekend at the Kelowna Innovation Centre.
For those unfamiliar with the event, Startup Weekend is a weekend-long, hands-on experience where entrepreneurs, developers, designers, marketers, product managers, and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups.On average, half of Startup Weekendʼs attendees have technical backgrounds while the other half have business backgrounds.
Startup Weekends are designed for entrepreneurs interested in receiving feedback on an idea, looking for a co-founder, or wanting to learn a new skill; anyone looking to test the entrepreneurial waters are also welcome.
Startup Weekend Okanagan will be a risk-free environment where everyone is expected to roll up their sleeves and dive into the exhilarating world of startups.
Beginning with open-mic pitches on Friday March 2nd, attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas, and building a minimal viable product.
On Sunday evening teams demo their prototypes and receive valuable feedback from a panel of experts.Brent Lachman, one of the event’s organizers, says, “Right now there’s a strong entrepreneurial movement in the Okanaganʼs high tech sector. We feel that this budding community will benefit greatly from bringing Startup Weekend to the Valley.”
Jeff Keen, acting CEO of Startup Weekend Okanagan sponsor Accelerate Okanagan says, “AO is behind this initiative to support local technology entrepreneurs and to pursue our mission to increase the number of technology companies that start and grow in the Okanagan.”
Success stories include Foodspotting, a food finding application established during San Franciscoʼs Start Up Weekend, and the Copenhagen startup company, memolane, who recently received $2,000,000 investment.
Who knows… the next success story could come from the Okanagan.
Startup Weekend Okanagan can be found online at:
Website
Twitter
FacebookFor more information or media on Startup Weekend Okanagan, please contact us.
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Tweets
- The Kelowna Express is out! http://t.co/0O3wmuJ3 ▸ Top stories today via @36ixtymedia @MarketingTMS @1015ezrock
- @jvdw and the comments below make it even better :-)
- @jvdw but it has to be watched with Dutch commentary to be truly appreciated… http://t.co/wXqc2XrV
- @jvdw "Football is a simple game - you play for 120 minutes and then the Germans win on penalties." :-) http://t.co/tQlbHAcW
- @jvdw no disrespect to Robben, but you don't let a Dutchman take a key penalty when you have 8 Germans #lessonsfromhistory @chadkoh
- @MapMove if they had a different captain (& possibly left back) I might join u in the congrats. But those 2 even put me off watching England
- Hope the Champions League trophy gets dropped on John Terry's foot, putting him out of #Euro2012. Don't want a racist representing England.
- Thursday is Spurs-day.
- The Kelowna Express is out! http://t.co/0O3wmuJ3 ▸ Top stories today via @CHBCNews @OkanaganBuzz @kelownagurl
- @dquail @stevewandler @kevin_swan @pdejoe given my inability to even skate, I'll volunteer to guard the beer. And maybe hold the camera.
- I feel like I'm cheating on my friends at Wasabi :-/ #battleoftheizakaya (@ Mabui) http://t.co/n40bhlsm
- The #okanagan Daily is out! http://t.co/u6bc0kDP ▸ Top stories today via @ourokanagan @lakecountrybb @michaelchmui
- The Kelowna Express is out! http://t.co/0O3wmuJ3 ▸ Top stories today via @tranebc @armin_layegh @canuckstruck @cagey71 @discover_oook
- The #okanagan Daily is out! http://t.co/u6bc0kDP ▸ Top stories today via @blackpressmedia @martinjyuill @dhzmedia @tumbleweedfests
- The Kelowna Express is out! http://t.co/0O3wmuJ3 ▸ Top stories today via @ubcoheat @tweetmarket1 @benchmarketing @alyaramadan
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- SummaryThe last 20 years have taken me through a fast moving, dynamic career - primarily focused on building brands and developing & implementing marketing plans.
This has included client-side and agency-side marketing experience, running an event management and nightclub promotions company and a role that involved me crashing a van full of wine in to a lamp post. Although that was not a "core responsibiity" ;-)
I've worked with a great variety of businesses including:
* blue-chips such as Schweppes, Yoplait, Sun Microsystems, HP, Nestle and McNeil Nutritionals
* residential, recreational and commercial property developers
* small and large volume manufacturers
* professional service companies
* local and regional government departments
I've lead a number of award winning projects – first from the British Interactive Media Association – and more recently from the Canadian Home Builders Association.
I now run rt Strategy - Transformation Agency™ - a brand & marketing agency that focuses on building brands and effecting real change in marketing processes.
Our client portfolio includes property developers; technology companies; a distillery; a law firm; several non-profit organizations; a strategic planning consultancy and a fitness company.
We're young. We're hungry. We're effective & we want to hear from you!Specialties: Development of new brands. Re-invigoration of old brands. Development and implementation of marketing plans - especially where online is a prominent part of an integrated mix. Social media, market research, project management, website information architecture, corporate communications.EducationAdditional Information-
Websites:
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- Ex Nihilo1525 Camp Rd
- Doc Willoughby's Downtown Pub353 Bernard Avenue
- Mad Mango Café551 Bernard Avenue
- Urban Distilleries6 - 325 Bay Ave
- Rose's Waterfront Pub1352 Water St.
- Holiday Inn Express2429 Highway 97 N
- The Harvest Golf Club2725 KLO Road
- Wasabi Izakaya1623 Pandosy St.
- Doc Willoughby's Downtown Pub353 Bernard Avenue
- Doc Willoughby's Downtown Pub353 Bernard Avenue
- Raudz Regional Table Restaurant1560 Water Street
- Cabana Bar & Grille3799 Lakeshore Rd
- Mad Mango Café551 Bernard Avenue
- Doc Willoughby's Downtown Pub353 Bernard Avenue
- Doc Willoughby's Downtown Pub353 Bernard Avenue
- Doc Willoughby's Downtown Pub353 Bernard Avenue
- Doc Willoughby's Downtown Pub353 Bernard Avenue
- Mini Hoàng Gia123 - 1940 Kane Road
- Doc Willoughby's Downtown Pub353 Bernard Avenue
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Recent Tracks
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- Rent by Pet Shop Boys
New OrderPet Shop BoysHappy MondaysEminemMobyThievery CorporationMary J. BligeMadonnaJay-ZFatboy SlimThe ProdigyPixiesSashaMassive AttackAnanda ProjectUnderworldDustedStereo MC'sRihannaGilles PetersonBeat PharmacyGroove ArmadaU2The StreetsFaithlessDidoShirley BasseyBronski BeatFeistBTRage Against the MachineTimbalandKat DeLunaSadeThe CureDr. DreDeep DishChampionJoy DivisionElectronicBarry WhiteThe Future Sound of LondonCypress HillThe Chemical BrothersBombay Dub OrchestraA Guy Called GeraldBjörkX-Press 2A Man Called Adam- 32 plays
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