Paul Peic runs Paddleboard Addict I’ve known Paul a long time. I took that picture of him above by snapping a shot of my own TV screen using an older model digital camera set to record night shots. Paul was on CBC Dragon’s Den at the time, a groundbreaking venture doc series in which he appeared in 2009 alongside three other entrepreneurs in a clever cell phone contract crowd-sourced program engineered to lower rates called MyCellMyTerms, which was years ahead of its time, but ultimately failed to make any money. Today Paul runs stand-up paddleboarding school in Toronto from his floating house in the Brimley Marina on the east lake shore. Paul is a serial entrepreneur with a hard body and a big heart. He made quite a name for himself in the early 2000 as home renovations and house flipping TV star for a couple of different DIY television… Read more »
Posted in: business storytelling, Personal Blog, Social Media, Web Marketing, workshop
Taged with: fitness training, paddle boarding, Paul Peic, Stand Up Paddleboarding, SUP night classes, SUP yoga, Toronto, Yoga for kids
Once again in 2013, Canada’s top professional hair school, AVEDA Institute challenges young people to step up and prove they were born to style on home video. They did this last year too, and it was very well received; I went to the showdown in Toronto. Making a User Generated Media UGM challenge around hair school is a great way to share the creativity and sell the dream of being a professional stylist and this is a smart social media engagement from many different angles. Here’s Winnipeg’s 2012 Winner, Robyn Thompson with a cheque symbolizing her full ride scholarship awarded last year. The Aveda Institute blogger did a good job just recently summarizing her last year in Catching Up With Winnipeg’s #BornToStyle 2012 Winner, Robyn Thompson. Are you Born to Style? Prove it. 2013 Born to Style Hair School Scholarship Contest is now accepting submissions from Canada’s next top hair… Read more »
Posted in: business storytelling, online business, Photography, Search Engine Marketing, Smojoe Clients, Social innovation, Social Media, User Submitted Content, Web Marketing
Taged with: Aveda Canada, best hair styles, Devin, hair stylists, Jen McNeely, judge, She Does The City, training, win your tuition
Article marketing has really changed since I first started writing on the web in 2006. Back then we used to submit content to article replication websites which, although they still exist today, I wouldn’t bother using any of them now. They are yesterday’s news. Look here at my old author profiles! http://www.ignitepoint.com/library/profile.cfm?writerid=33502 (used to be IdeaMarketers) http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Rob_Campbell I also used to employ Amazines.com, FreePressReleases.com, HelloArticles, FastPitch… I’m trying to remember more. But all this is just garbage now. I hope you are not using these sites?! Myself, I wouldn’t waste precious original content by publishing it in these mud puddles… nor any site that has the word ‘article’ as prefix or suffix i.e. ArticleSpinner or GoArticles or HelloArticles etc As you can see, I no longer upload content to those sites. They are bastions of ‘useless’ text that nobody reads except robots. No actual humans navigate to an article… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, article marketing, business storytelling, online business, User Submitted Content, Web Marketing
Taged with: ad agencies, Amazines, article marketing, Digital Journal, ezinearticles, Google analytics, Knoji, PR firms, SEO, Triond, Yahoo Contributor
Earlier this week I published an inspired piece of content entitled Find me a dentist on Dr. Archer’s website blog. The long copy article was reasonably well researched and expertly fashioned to be really findable as it explores the various different dentist index websites that have evolved to help consumers secure appointments with nearby dentists. But how do these services collect the rich data they need to make useful results? The data they purvey, the source of the information and its deliverance is the primary distinction we can use to judge these local search providers; deep down inside these small competitors, they have to believe they can create an information delivery system that surpasses Google’s own local search abilities. As in most business niches, Google is the market leader in connecting Canadians with their dentists, but that hasn’t stopped half a dozen competitors from trying to do it better… and… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, article marketing, business storytelling, Future Technology, Interactive, Search Engine Marketing, Toronto, Web Marketing
Taged with: Canpages, dental referral, dental services, DentistFind.com, Dr. Archer, find me a dentist, local search
Earlier this week I reported on the 2012 Say Media Christmas Party on the Distillery District blog. The event was held inside The Fermenting Cellar on Thursday Dec 6th 2012. It started at six pm and carried on until well after midnight, and the walls were indeed red with cheer. Say Media is a digital publishing company that creates cool media brands. Through its technology platform and media services, the company enables content publishers to build passionate communities around key consumer interests such as Food, Technology and Lifestyle. Say Media provides an easily measured means by which the world’s biggest brands are best equipped to engage with influential audiences. Content is social currency. It’s what most brands use to build their identities, and it’s what we all trade and share in social networks – good content gives us a reason to communicate with each other. Follow Paul Coulter on Twitter… Read more »
Lenzr is back. Its up and working well to provide the 2012 Toronto Christmas Market with everything it needs to run a custom photo contest and make a page full of pictures for the purpose of marketing their holiday event and website. This is a digital marketing attraction, and Lenzr is working as a catalyst to spread sponsors’ messages. Advanced SEO link building practices make the marketing win win for sponsors. This is why we created this custom photo contest website in the first place. In the next few days I will be working through my content distribution route and leaving story bytes describing this contest attraction. Winner will receive a $250.00 cash prize, 2nd place will receive a $250.00 Distillery Restaurant gift certificate 3rd place will receive a $150.00 Distillery Restaurant gift certificate. Upload original photos now and until December 25th Voting begins December 15th and ends midnight Dec… Read more »
Posted in: business storytelling, Interactive, Lenzr, Photography, Search Engine Marketing, Smojoe Clients, Toronto, User Submitted Content, Web Marketing
Taged with: Distillery District, Lenzr, photo contest, Toronto Christmas Market, Toronto.com
Ice Cross Downhill is a new sport that has been live-branded by the Red Bull energy drink beverage company as Red Bull Crashed Ice. The sport is simple; its a speedy race downhill on skates between four heavily padded participants, the best time wins. So Crashed Ice is a combination speed skating meets alpine skiing with a hint of ice hockey, and always in an urban environment. The 2013 Red Bull Crashed Ice season starts in Niagara Falls this year, just down the road from the waterfalls. The best view of the whole affair will undoubtedly be from atop the Skylon Tower which is very close to the STARTING line atop Clifton Hill. And inside the Red Bull Fan Zone should be thrilling – I will update you with pictures and text from that event next week. Read more about Crashed Ice on Skylon’s Niagara Falls blog. Below is the… Read more »
Posted in: business storytelling, Interactive, Personal Blog, Smojoe Clients, Video, Web Marketing
Taged with: Clifton Hill, Crashed Ice, fans, Kyle Croxall, Niagara Falls, Red Bull, Scott Croxall, Skylon Tower, Web Marketing
Sometimes in politics there comes along someone so remarkable that you just KNOW he or she will be the man someday I feel that way about Justin Trudeau. The federal Liberals will choose a new leader in April, after Michael Ignatieff stepped down following the party’s disastrous showing in the last election. Bob Rae, who has been the party’s interim leader since Ignatieff’s departure, announced in June that he would not be running for the permanent job. This was a wise move for Mr Rae. On January 12th and 13th, Liberals will come together to vote in local Leadership Election Meetings (LEMs) to be held in each riding across Ontario and Justin Trudeau will emerge as Leader of the Liberal party shortly thereafter in April 2013. If you become a member by Nov 23rd you can participate in this process, but I really don’t think it be a close race,… Read more »
Posted in: business storytelling, Canada Blog Friends, corporate social responsibility, Friends of Smojoe, Social innovation, Web Marketing
Taged with: 2015, Bob Rae, federal election, justin Trudeau, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
The annual Pikto Top Pick photo contest is now officially open and taking submissions. Contest participants must register for membership on Pikto before submitting fifteen pictures to be judged by experts after Nov 2nd 2012 This is a great opportunity to get discovered – there is no entry fee and each participant’s work will be seen by thousands of people visiting the contest photo gallery. There is comfort and honesty in Pikto photo books. Photo books are physical art pieces and still the most tangible way to show off your art work and leave a legacy of your journeys, experiments and masterpiece images. How would you like to have your pictures on display inside the front gallery of the prestigious Pikto photo printing shop? The photography service headquarters in the heart of the Distillery District is home to all manner of art brokers, buyers and business agents, designers and decorators and… Read more »
On Monday April 16th 2012 there will be a third Search and Social Rank Symposium held at Archeo restaurant in the Distillery District of Toronto. People like this event because it’s easy to come here and eat and drink and talk and learn a bunch of helpful new sites and new tools they can use in their own homemade marketing solutions. You can get $30 tickets for #SSRS3 here, or check Facebook for even more details. Search and Social Rank Symposium #3 will be both mental and physically nourishing. Attendants will get a tasty HOT meal from a buffet table with lots of selection, alongside a delicious alcoholic beverage of their choice. Most importantly, they get a nice cushy seat at a long wooden table surrounded by peers. Wireless internet access will be available, of course and indeed some folks open their laptops and take perfect notes, and some even… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, business storytelling, Friends of Smojoe, online business, Search Engine Marketing, Smojoe Events, Social innovation, Social Media, Toronto, Web Marketing
Taged with: Alex Blom, Brad Gosse, City Events, Deb Lewis, Distillery District, search engine optimization, SEO, social relevance, Symposium, Toronto, Web Marketing, webmaster
