Media Monday Edmonton: Update #94

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

Though I generally get annoyed at how early the Christmas stuff comes out, I am thrilled with the return of the Shaw Fire Log! Watch it on channels 222 (HD) and 165 (SD).

Speaking of Christmas taking over media, Lite 95.7 will switch to all holiday music on November 27. Last year, up! 99.3 also switched but I haven’t seen anything about their plans for this year.
The Christmas Bureau launched its 2013 campaign on November 18 with a fundraising goal of $1.8 million. As they do every year, local media participated in the Gingerbread House Decorating Challenge. Trophies were awarded in six categories (click to see their winning entries):
- Best of Radio: Up! 99.3
- Best of Print: Edmonton Sun
- Best of TV: Global Edmonton
- Best Team Spirit: Lite 95.7
- Best in Show: City TV
- Shameless Self-Promotion: Shaw TV
Sunday, December 1 is World AIDS Day and to recognize the event, HIV Edmonton is once again organizing a roster of “celebrity baristas” to be working at different Starbucks locations throughout the city on Friday. Head over to the High Street location to see me, Dave, and Ryan!
CKUA stopped broadcasting on 580AM on November 21. Here’s their saying goodbye page, complete with some history, photos, and audio.
The Art of Conversation takes place tomorrow evening at The Common. The fun starts at 4:30pm! Also, mark your calendar for the Art of Conversation’s Christmas gathering, taking place on December 19 at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald.
Leah Germain is the newest staff reporter at Metro Edmonton. She was previously with the Sherwood Park News.
Edmonton Journal photographer Larry Wong has received the Paralympic Media Award for Best Photo for his image of Canadian swimmer Benoit Huot at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Congrats! Check out Larry’s website here for more photos.
Cheryl Cottrell-Smith is “a budding Edmonton journalist.” She recently launched a blog to showcase her work. You may have seen her other blog too, wine + dine.
I missed this, but Brittney didn’t! November 11 was the Edmonton Journal’s 110th birthday.
Want to work for the Journal? Apply now to become one of their 2014 summer reporting interns.
Starting December 4, Tricia Kindleman will be the producer of 630 CHED’s afternoon news.
Dynacor Media is looking for a video editor.
Here’s an Alberta Primetime story on Gerry Forbes. “Gerry has entered the upper echelon of Canadian radio personalities and created a legacy that will last for years to come.”
CTV Edmonton’s Kim Taylor recently made the switch from late night anchor to Consumer Watch.
Here’s a quick update on a media move I mentioned in my last entry – from Megan Voss herself!
It sounds like Jennifer Martin is fitting into her new role as Program Manager at Shaw TV well!
Vue Weekly has slowly been improving its website. It’s still very yellow, but the new responsive design is much cleaner. I like it.
An article that Omar Mouallem wrote for Eighteen Bridges in 2011 called Under the Veil will be republished Pearson Canada’s 2014 edition of Nexus: A Rhetoric Reader for Writers. As Omar says, that means “it will be studied by first-year composition students in universities across Canada and the U.S.” Congrats!
They’re baaaaack! The fifth season of the Unknown Studio kicked off with author Gail Carriger.
And if you’re in the mood for podcasts, check out Mack & Cheese, the show I do with Graham Hicks every week.
According to the folks at PSR, Sharon Taylor from Astral Winnipeg is taking over from Randy Lemay to run Newcap Edmonton.
Coming up on Thursday, the Edmonton Journal and CKUA are hosting a Book Bash.
I’m tired of Rob Ford news too, but this critique of the interview Peter Mansbridge did is worth reading.
Big news in the TV and web worlds – Katie Couric is Yahoo’s new “Global Anchor”.
Will the CMS determine the victors in the online-publishing wars? It’s hard to argue against the great stuff that Vox Media is doing. Here’s Felix Salmon on the importance of the CMS and here’s Jeff Jarvis explaining that the CMS is just an extension of editorial ego.

UPDATE: I also wanted to link to this editorial from the Edmonton Journal. It’s about as “rah rah, look at us doing important work” as you can get. Not that the work isn’t important – certainly we should have the right to know about the child welfare system and its flaws, and I’m happy that the Journal and Calgary Herald have pursued it.

UPDATE 2: Let me expand on that previous thought! As I said, I am glad the Journal and Herald have been pursuing the story. I wanted to link to the editorial because I found it interesting in the context of the future of media:

The editorial positions the Journal as being part of the story. That’s a somewhat unusual position for a “traditional” media organization to be in (though it has been more common lately). I’m interested in how the Journal navigates that territory, and so far it seems they want people to know that the Journal worked hard on this.
It is often said that if newspapers die, so will important investigative journalism. Here is a local example of what people mean when they say that. The Journal and Herald have exposed facts that would otherwise have likely remained hidden. Perhaps we’ll see more of this from the Journal? Or perhaps it is too costly?

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 11/24/2013

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

It was nice and sunny out there today, which finally meant the residential parking ban could be lifted after being extended twice this week. The reprieve will no doubt be temporary though. Consider being a Snow Angel the next time it snows, and make sure you do what you can to make it safe for waste collectors. Oh and if this whole winter thing is somehow new for you, here’s a guide on how to survive it.
The PC Party convention in Red Deer took place this weekend, and 77% of delegates voted not to hold a leadership review, a relatively strong show of support for Premier Alison Redford.
Edmonton Transit launched its new ETS Live product this week, an online service that provides route maps and other bus schedule features, as well as live maps for routes 111 and 128 (which are currently part of the ETS Smart Bus pilot project). It’ll be great when this is finally rolled out to all routes!
Stephen Mandel was awarded a Distinguished Citizen Honorary Bachelor of Arts degree by MacEwan University on Tuesday. The university will also establish a new annual scholarship in Lynn and Stephen Mandel’s name.
By the end of September, the City had already spent $464,000 to deal with about 1,800 claims from people whose vehicles were damaged by potholes.
Fall convocation took place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the University of Alberta, and now the U of A is asking grads to share their stories via social media.
The Government of Alberta has entered the RFP stage for the 19 new schools it itends to build throughout the province.
ETS Stuff a Bus is back, and this year’s goal is to fill 15 buses with food. You can find the buses from Wednesday through Saturday at participating Save-On-Foods locations and transit centres.
Top of the Pops: here’s a feature in Alberta Venture on the On the Spot Pop Up.
A delegation of local business and community leaders visited Ottawa this week to “strengthen relationships with federal government leaders and to raise awareness about investment and entrepreneurial opportunities in Edmonton.”
Councillors Tony Caterina and Amarjeet Sohi will serve on the 2013-2014 AUMA Board of Directors. Councillor Sohi will additionally serve on the AUMA Executive Committee. Outgoing President Linda McCulloch (Sloan) was recognized this week with the Lifetime Membership Award at the 2013 AUMA Convention.
In case you missed it: St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse was re-elected Board Chair of the Capital Region Board. Here’s the PDF news release.
You know those commercials for the “personal wipes” that are now being marketed? Apparently they are causing headaches for drainage crews in other cities, but not yet here in Edmonton. City drainage crews are worried that could soon change, however.
Check out this music video by local singer/songwriter Jasmine Singh featuring the McKay Avenue School! It was shot entirely in Edmonton with local cast & crew.
Have you seen Rapid Fire Theatre‘s attractive new website?
This is impressive: Die-Nasty will put on its 700th performance Monday night!

The Dawson Bridge

Upcoming Events

The Oilers host the Blackhawks at Rexall Place on Monday night.
Head over to Startup Edmonton on Tuesday evening for UX Edmonton’s 2013 edition of PanEx.
Also Tuesday evening is another Annexation Open House, this time at the Four Points by Sheraton.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, Cult Cinema presents Oliver Stone’s JFK at Metro Cinema on Tuesday.
The ACE Ad Auction takes place at the Mercer Warehouse on Thursday evening.
The Festival of Trees takes place at the Shaw Conference Centre from Thursday through Sunday.
This week is Black Friday. If you want an alternative, check out Green Friday at Carbon on 104 Street!
I’m really looking forward to the Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair, taking place at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre from Friday through Sunday.
Sunday is December 1, if you can believe it. Head downtown for the DBA’s annual Jingle On Indoor Santa Claus Parade.
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

I’m a big fan of the snow piles for play downtown!

Preview: Launch Party Edmonton 4

Tomorrow evening is Edmonton’s fourth Launch Party, an event which “celebrates and showcases the hottest startups in town.” These are companies that have recently launched and which are ready to pursue the next level of growth.

Launch Party isn’t your typical networking event or trade show. It’s a party designed to celebrate and showcase the rockstar entrepreneurs in our community. Drinks, DJs, and great company all await you at Launch Party!

Launch Party is for everyone in the community – students, media, investors, entrepreneurs, designers, consumers – if you’re interested in starting, growing and supporting local startups, then Launch Party is the place to be!

There’s an impressive list of Launch Party alumni in Edmonton, including Mover, Yardstick, Poppy Barley, and Jobber. Now we get an opportunity to see another ten grow and hopefully succeed!

presenting companies

Here are the presenting companies for Launch Party 4:

AccentFree

FOUNDED: April 2013
TWO WORDS: Linguistics Training
WHAT: “People have difficulty speaking new languages because their mouths have been trained to move in a different way. AccentFree is a personal linguistics engine to help retrain how people speak. Our products level the playing field for ESL speakers, giving them equal career and social opportunities, and turn smartphones into personal linguistic tutors.”
KEY PEOPLE: Michael Brougham
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: I’m personally unfamiliar with AccentFree, though it’s clear that founder Michael has a passion for the beauty of the human voice. ESL itself is a large industry here in Alberta, and with a large and growing influx of newcomers, there’s a lot of demand for services and solutions to support them.

Cinder

FOUNDED: May 2011
TWO WORDS: Game Platform
WHAT: “Cinder.io is an independent focused, games development platform that connects dedicated producers with passionate players. The diverse system allows audiences to enjoy products online and contribute to the evolution games through feedback, collaboration and funding. This provides the producer with a richer and more flexible environment in which to validate, fund and promote their products with the most relevant audience.”
KEY PEOPLE: Pieter Parker, Sean Kopen
PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: DemoCamp Edmonton 14 (Pieter, with Bit Shift Games)
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Despite both Sony & Microsoft launching new consoles this month, the gaming industry remains in flux. We’re gaming more, but in different ways, and the likelihood that aspiring game developers can make something is ever-increasing. Cinder will be entering an already competitive market, but there’s lots of potential.

DriveWyze

FOUNDED: 2012
TWO WORDS: Weigh-Station Bypass
WHAT: “Drivewyze Inc., provider of the leading electronic weigh station bypass service, Drivewyze PreClear, enables commercial vehicle operators to maximize cost savings by reducing weigh station pull-ins and increases road safety by enabling law enforcement agencies to focus on non-compliant commercial vehicles. Drivewyze partners with industry leaders including Electronic Logging Device manufacturers, trucking associations and government stakeholders to deliver the next generation of weigh station bypass solutions.”
KEY PEOPLE: Doug Johnson, Brian Heath, Jason Ding
PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: AlwaysOn Global 250 Winner
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Can we still call Drivewyze a startup? A subsidiary of Intelligent Imaging Systems, Drivewyze already has more than 230 sites and numerous partnerships. In August 2013, the company raised $7.5 million in funding from Emergence Capital Partners and iNovia Capital. The company has hit upon a cost-effective solution in a big, big market.

Dryrun

FOUNDED: January 2012
TWO WORDS: Financial Forecasts
WHAT: “Dryrun is a software as a service (SaaS) product built for small businesses to forecast their cash flow, compare their options and understand their business. Improving on the familiar spreadsheet, it’s fast, easy, clear and collaborative.”
KEY PEOPLE: Blaine Bertsch
PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: DemoCamp Edmonton 23
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Dryrun is gearing up to launch later this year, and already it’s a highly functional, attractive service. Blaine’s background in design has served him well in the creation of what could be a fairly boring tool. I think the key to success will be integrations, with services like FreshBooks.

Localize

FOUNDED: June 2011
TWO WORDS: Local Labels
WHAT: “Localize makes it easy for grocery stores to launch and maintain highly credible local food campaigns. Our shelf-labelling service identifies local and regional products right on the store shelf, and provides customers with an easy way to find more information about where each product has come from when they scan the QR code that is found on each label. We have launched the Localize service into over 50 grocery stores in Alberta, partnered with over 300 food producers, and have profiled over 3500 food products. We are currently growing the program into BC and Saskatchewan.”
KEY PEOPLE: Meghan Dear
PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: Semi-Finalist in VenturePrize, Social Enterprise World Forum
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Fresh off a $20,000 win in the Good Deals Venture Pitch Competition, Localize has some momentum at the moment. With a growing network of grocery stores and a really impressive number of producers, Localize is well-positioned to capitalize on the incredible interest in local food in Alberta and beyond.

Pinshape

TWO WORDS: 3D Printing
WHAT: “pinshape is a 3D printing community marketplace for 3D printable models. Users can explore models from the world’s leading 3D designers to learn, share, download, and order physical 3D prints through pinshape’s professional 3D print service. Designers can upload their work and share it for free or sell it for profit. With a fluid pinboard interface, life-like 3D rendering, and individually tailored content, pinshape is organizing the world’s 3D designs, and changing how we explore 3D creativity.”
KEY PEOPLE: Nick Schwinghamer
PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: DemoCamp Edmonton 23, TEC Edmonton/Fundica Funding Roadshow
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: I’m positive that one day we’ll all have 3D printers in our homes, just as inkjets are so ubiquitous today. Part community and part app store, pinshape is the kind of service that will bridge the gap between experts and designers and those of us that just want access to this amazing technology.

SAM

FOUNDED: March 2013
TWO WORDS: Asset Management
WHAT: “SAM is an online social asset management platform for news and media professionals. We’re building the most powerful search tools to empower journalists to intentionally find meaningful content from social networks and constructing an asset management platform to make it easy to work with these social assets throughout the media lifecycle (newsgathering to broadcast and publish). To put it another way, SAM is a CMS for Tweets, Instagrams, Youtube Videos and any other social content that is essential to News Coverage, Content Production and Journalism.”
KEY PEOPLE: James Neufeld
PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: DemoCamp Edmonton 22, News Xchange Startup Alley
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Social media is here to stay, with tweets, photos, and other posts already integral to the news gathering and sharing process. They’re not very integrated though, and that’s the problem SAM is looking to solve. There’s a lot of interest in new approaches to media, and SAM could have an angle that not many have considered yet.

Scope Technologies

FOUNDED: November 2010
TWO WORDS: Augmented Reality
WHAT: “Scope Technologies develops user-guided Augmented Reality Solution with focus in Industrial markets including mining, oil and gas, military, aerospace, and manufacturing. Our solution is primarily developed for the purpose of training and maintenance. Essentially, our solution is an extension of any manual or document, and creates a “see-it, do-it” process. Our process involves a full understanding of the challenges of the client, whether it entails and unskilled labor force, trying to minimize mistakes in maintaining equipment, or saving time. We ensure that our solution is practical for the customer, which could significantly impact the hardware that the solution is deployed on – including tablets, glasses, or a combination.”
KEY PEOPLE: David Nedohin, Scott Montgomerie, Graham Melley, Reg Cheramy
PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: DemoCamp Edmonton 21
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: There’s a ton of interest right now in wearable computing as well as augmented reality (and some predict that gadgets in the category could save companies $1 billion within 3-5 years) . Their demo back in April focused on using augmented reality for training, an already large and growing market with a lot of potential, especially here in industrial Alberta. They’ve got a talented team and an important supporter is Epson who makes the Moverio glasses they use.

SportingCharts

FOUNDED: September 2011
TWO WORDS: Sports Analytics
WHAT: “SportingCharts is enhancing the way people view and understand sports. We are dedicated to improving the analytics of sports by providing tools, resources and visuals, to better arm teams, fantasy players and bettors in their decision making and produce more informed fans.”
KEY PEOPLE: Cory Wagner, Chad Langager
PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: Make Something Edmonton
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: People love their sports. Chad and Cory were previously with Investopedia, so they know a thing or two about data analysis! I regularly see people linking to the charts at SportingCharts.com, which is why it’s so interesting to me – there’s a lot of people interested in the data but they don’t necessarily know what to do with it. Their new ChartBuilder tool is a look at things to come. In addition to data and analytical tools, SportingCharts has expanded into opinion articles with more than 20 contributors.

Visio Media

FOUNDED: July 2011
TWO WORDS: Elevator Advertising
WHAT: “Visio Media tenders digital elevator advertising space in commercial and residential properties by installing Android based tablets. Visio tablets are equipped with state of the art technology that provides exact impressions and accurate demographics like age, gender and duration of stare. As well as NFC (Near Field Communication) technology that allows the audience to simply tap their smartphones on the elevator tablets to engage with advertisements.”
KEY PEOPLE: Fouad El-Masri, Nicolette Leonardis, Sami Al Askari
PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: Alberta Venture
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: They’ve installed screens in elevators in more than a dozen locations since February, and have even provided screens to Southgate Mall and Mill Woods Town Centre. They’ve signed up dozens of advertisers, and just recently launched support for NFC to enable some interesting new scenarios. We’ve had the screens in my condo building since the summer, and I can definitely see the potential.

The event gets underway at 6:45pm at Startup Edmonton. Unfortunately the event is already sold out, but keep an eye on social media for details about all the companies!

You can see my previous Launch Party previews here: #1, #2 Recap, #3.

Edmonton Notes for 11/17/2013

Each week my Edmonton Notes bring together a collection of what I think are interesting local stories, and events coming up in the next week. I generally put what I think is the most important or interesting story at the top of the list, and sometimes I’ll write a little more about it. I’d like to expand on that going forward, with an audio or video clip that provides a bit more information or additional thoughts. This week is the first attempt (so let me know if you have any feedback).

Evolving Infill Launches

This week’s highlighted story is the launch of the Evolving Infill project. It aims to advance residential infill in Edmonton’s established neighbourhoods, and will take place over the next few months. Here’s an audio feature on the Evolving Infill launch:

Headlines

All day Friday I was surprised at the rain! It snowed a little during the day, but it was so warm it all melted immediately. That all changed Friday night as we got a massive dump of snow. I should know better by now, but I’m still amazed at how quickly it changed. Looks like winter is here to stay now. The parking ban that took effect this morning will remain until at least Tuesday morning.
The names of the stops and other features along the Valley LRT Line were approved this week by the City of Edmonton’s Naming Committee. There are 11 stops in all, and names include “Quarters”, “Muttart”, “Bonnie Doon”, “Grey Nuns”, and “Mill Woods Town Centre”. Shocking, aren’t they? They may not be creative, but at least they’re accurate (unlike the ridiculous Fort Edmonton Park stop on the existing line). The two bridges will feature Cree names.
With the City Centre Airport set to close at the end of the month, there have been questions about what will happen to the Alberta Aviation Museum. Now we know! The museum will continue to live on as it is, with a focus on telling Edmonton’s aviation history from 1911 to today. A new museum known as the Alberta Flying Heritage Museum will be built at the Villeneuve Airport on land donated by the Edmonton Regional Airports Authority, and it’ll focus on interactive exhibits with actual flying aircraft.
An emotional vigil was held yesterday at Edmonton’s Seventh Day Adventist Church to pray for victims and loved ones affected by the typhoon in the Philippines. An estimated 3,600 people have died as a result of the storm, and millions have been left homeless.
Congratulations to the newest group of 57 Best Bar None-accredited bars, pubs, clubs, and lounges honored at the 4th annual Best Bar None Awards.
Imagine Edmonton in July 1983. Having trouble? Check out Raymond Biesinger’s illustrations that depict a very different Edmonton than the city we know today.
Mike Vivian, a political science and human geography student at the U of A, has received a research award to study the pedway network. I started a series on the pedway in July (that I really need to get around to finishing).
Apparently there’s a Cold War bunker in the west end, built in 1954 about three feet underground, that was sealed in the 1970s. Now “local museum officials” are working to restore it for a grand re-opening in the summer of 2015. Who knew?
You’ll have to pay another $5 to fly out of the Edmonton International Airport after July 1 next year as the airport improvement fee is being raised again.
The skinny office building wedged in between Beaver Hills House Park and Sobeys on Jasper Avenue could soon be home to a new restaurant with rooftop patios!
Here’s a podcast featuring Edmonton band Headwind which just today launched the Headwind Bootleg Anthology DVD.
Yet another reason the campaign against jaywalking is silly: “Pedestrians crossing the road with the right-of-way (e.g. at a marked crosswalk, an unmarked crossing at an intersection or at a signalized intersection with a walk sign) made up 65 per cent of all pedestrian injuries, including fatalities” in 2012.
This is really cool! Starting next spring, the University of Alberta will offer a video game development program.
From David Staples: “The Edmonton Oilers and Eskimos stink like never before, West Edmonton Mall is an afterthought for many of us, but the mood of the city is still high.”
In case you missed it: my recap of the Christmas on the Square Holiday Light Up.
Here’s a pretty cool sunrise timelapse from Lincoln Ho:

Upcoming Events

This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week, and the Startup City Luncheon kicks it off Monday at the Delta Edmonton Centre Suite Hotel.
The first of the City’s Annexation Open Houses takes place Monday night at the RedTail Landing Golf Club. The second is Tuesday at the Nisku Inn.
The Oilers host the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, and the Panthers on Thursday.
The next Capital Ideas event takes place on Wednesday: The Art of the Sale.
Homeward Trust’s National Housing Day Luncheon takes place at The Westin on Thursday.
Want to check out the hottest startups in town? Don’t miss Launch Party Edmonton 4, taking place at Startup Edmonton on Thursday evening.
Hacking Health is coming to Edmonton! The three day event begins on Friday at the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy.
Friday evening is the Festival of Ideas event featuring Alanis Morissette and Margaret Atwood.
I’m really looking forward to checking out All is Bright on 124 Street on Saturday!
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Premier Redford addressed the 2013 AAMDC Convention at the Shaw Conference Centre on Thursday

You can see previous Edmonton Notes entries here.

Recap: Christmas on the Square Holiday Light Up

The Downtown Business Association’s annual Christmas on the Square Holiday Light Up took place tonight in Churchill Square. Hundreds of Edmontonians braved the minus 12 degree weather to get out and see Santa and the lighting up of the 65-foot Christmas tree!

The event got underway at 4pm, and featured food vendors, roving choirs, stilt-walkers, and more. The City Market also stayed open longer today, welcoming patrons inside City Hall until 6pm. In addition to warming up, kids could find face painters and balloon artists indoors!

Out on the square, entertainment included singer Sean Sonego, the Kings University Choir College, violinist John Calverley with singer Elizabeth MacInnis, and Booming Tree Taiko. Global Edmonton’s Shane Jones and Kevin O’Connell hosted the event.

Here’s a quick video of some of the highlights:

Just after 6pm, Mayor Iveson was joined by his wife Sarah Chan and Councillor Ben Henderson on stage to welcome Santa and help countdown the light up. It seemed to take forever for Santa and his helpers to get on the stage! Eventually he did, and he asked the mayor if he had been a good boy this year. “Well 62% of voting Edmontonians think I was,” Mayor Iveson quipped. Then Santa asked what he’d like for Christmas. “An LRT line to the Southeast,” was the response. The crowd loved it!

Everyone on stage led the countdown to the light up. Finally, the 14,000 LED lights on the tree came to life and the crowd cheered. A few seconds later, fireworks in the opposite direction! Timed to the music, the brief fireworks show capped off a fun afternoon.

The tree was donated by Millar Western Forest Products, and was installed and decorated by EPCOR. If you couldn’t make it down tonight don’t worry – the tree will be there all season long! You can see more photos here.

Recap: Premiere to the New Winter in Edmonton

It felt a little like spring out there today with wet roads, bright sun, and temperatures above zero. But it’s November and you know the snow will be here to stay soon enough (the little we’ve already had has mostly melted). To celebrate, WinterCity Edmonton hosted its Premiere to Winter event at the EPCOR Tower downtown tonight. It was a red-carpet affair with dozens of Edmontonians in attendance, all eager to learn more about what’s in store for us this winter.

Susan Holdsworth, Project Manager of the WinterCity Strategy, welcomed everyone to the event and got the program underway. Our emcee for the evening was Linda Cochrane, the City of Edmonton’s GM of Community Services. I think Global was meant to provide the emcee, but it didn’t matter, Linda did a great job. After recognizing the members of City Council in attendance, Linda invited Mayor Iveson up to the podium to say a few words.

The Flying Canoe Adventure

The first bit of entertainment came next, with a performance by The Flying Canoe Adventure. It’s one of the many outdoor events taking place in Edmonton this winter. The next speakers were representatives from the Silver Skate and Deep Freeze festivals, and each had a few minutes to show a video and talk about their festival.

We also had a reading by Mikey Maybe, one of the contributors to The 40 Below Project. It was highly entertaining and had the entire crowd laughing! Known as “Edmonton’s Winter Anthology”, you can buy the book for $20. It contains over 70 pieces by 50 Edmonton-area writers.

Other speakers included David Berger from Boyle Street Community Services and Carol Neuman, who introduced the Signature Drink Contest:

Do you fancy yourself a drink connoisseur? A master of mixology? Well then, get out your cocktail shaker, strainer, muddler and creative juices and start inventing your favourite drink for WinterCity Edmonton’s Signature Drink Contest. Your unique drink could land you some amazing prizes!

Mix Something Edmonton!

We also heard from Maggie Davison, VP of Edmonton Tourism. She started by saying that they heard the call for an “edgy, fun, and creative” approach to winter. And then she spent the next 10 minutes going through her text-filled PowerPoint presentation about the marketing campaign they have coming up. The campaign centers around a new microsite, Winter in Edmonton. I’ll write more about that in a future post.

This little guy loved the lady on stilts!

The main event came at the very end – the launch of the new WinterCity short film. It’s an effective video that highlights the many positive winter assets that Edmonton has and the opportunities that are available to us. All we need to do to realize them is embrace winter! It’s very similar to the Make Something Edmonton videos that have been released over the last few months, with great visuals and a variety of on-the-street interviews. The video should be uploaded soon so you can see for yourself.

Put on your toque and enjoy winter!

The event probably went on a little too long, but it was great to see so many people keen to celebrate winter. I look forward to all the festivals and other upcoming outdoor events! You can see more photos of the event here.

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #93

Veterans Affairs Canada adopted Twitter to help commemorate Remembrance Day this year, encouraging Canadians to use the hashtag #ShowYouRemember. That and #LestWeForget were popular on Twitter today.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

Global Edmonton’s Vassy Kapelos is leaving for Ottawa where she’ll work for Global National. Her last day here is on Friday. Best of luck Vassy! There’s a farewell event taking place on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Rogers Communications confirmed it had cut 94 jobs at its media division. Here is the memo that went out to staff. I haven’t been able to determine how many of the cuts, if any, were in Edmonton. Anyone know?
Shaw Communications founder and executive chair JR Shaw was recognized by the Ontario Association of Broadcasters this week. He started his media career in Edmonton back in 1966 and has lived in Calgary since 1995.
Megan Voss, a former photography intern and freelancer at the Edmonton Journal, has joined the Wetaskiwin Times. UPDATE: Her LinkedIn profile now says she’s at the Sherwood Park News. I guess her stint at the Wetaskiwin Times was very short!
NOW! Radio’s Fitzy helped to raise nearly $10,000 through a bottle drive for a 10-year-old boy fighting cancer. Great story.
Here’s an interesting story from Linda about a local Twitter user who is helping Edmontonians find love through social media.
Former Oiler and Team 1260 radio host Jason Strudwick is back on CBC’s Battle of the Blades raising money for the Inner City Children’s Program. You need to vote by Tuesday if you want him to win!
Former CTV Edmonton personality Valerie Oczkowski is suing a local neurologist for “sexual battery”. She left TV in order to have a brain tumor removed and has actively shared her story of survival since.
Check out McCauley Moments, a documentary by Paula Kirman “showcasing the positive aspects of life in Edmonton’s McCauley neighbourhood.”
Valemount, BC has now switched from CBC Edmonton to CBC Vancouver. It sounds like they only had CBC Edmonton as a result of the loss of over-the-air signals in 2012. Weird.
Here’s a photo of Jennifer Martin’s last episode with Alberta Primetime:

Here is @JenABPrimetime & @MHigginsAPT together one last time to co-host @ABPrimetime. We'll miss ya Jen! #yegmedia pic.twitter.com/mLvtqJWYwW
— Jason Konoza (@jasonkonoza) November 8, 2013

The next Capital Ideas Edmonton event is coming up on Wednesday, November 20 at the Edmonton Journal.
Sounds like planning is underway for the next Online News Association of Edmonton event. Follow them on Twitter for updates.
I had made myself a note to check on Venture Publishing’s online radio initiative, slated to launch this fall. A note on the website now reads: “we will begin broadcasting in 2014.”
Press+, the paywall provider that the Edmonton Journal uses, is apparently on the market. At the same time, competitor Tinypass has raised $3 million in funding.
Watching video online? Chances are you’re doing so at either Netflix or YouTube – together they account for more than half of all broadband traffic.
This sounds like a ridiculous decision for officials in Sochi to have made: journalists who use their phones to take photographs or capture video will be stripped of their credentials. I also wonder how realistic it is for them to control this.

UPDATE: Shawna Randolph let me know that she is co-hosting on Alberta Primetime for the next three weeks or so, but it’s a temporary gig. She’s still the spokesperson for the Edmonton Humane Society and is running her communications company full-time. I’m sure fans will be happy to see her back on the tube for at least a few weeks!

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 11/10/2013

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

The 40th year of Farmfair International and Canadian Finals Rodeo wrapped up today at Rexall Place. A total of 88,521 guests attended over the five days of CFR that saw more than $1.47 million in prize money awarded.
The controversial Terwillegar Towne project has been dropped by the Anglican diocese of Edmonton. Score another one for NIMBYism. I think David Staples is right on the money here: “I’d suggest no one neighbourhood is so special that it should be able to wall itself off from the rest of the city and its problems.”
The University of Alberta will receive an immediate $14.4 million boost to its Campus Alberta grant thanks to the $50 million reinvestment in post secondary institutions that the Province announced on Wednesday.
Six neighbourhood reconstructions were completed in 2013 for a total investment of $224 million: Canora, Capilano, Dovercourt, Windsor Park, Terrace Heights, and Woodcroft.
We’re just a couple of weeks away from the full closure of the City Centre Airport! Incredibly, though the decision to close the airport was made over four years ago, some are still complaining about having to move.
Regional issues are going to be big for Mayor Iveson and the new Council, especially since plans to annex land in Leduc County are proceeding. Leduc County’s mayor is unhappy with the apparent lack of communication.
Upgrading drainage systems in the southeast could cost the City nearly $170 million.
If you have ever been frustrated by the City’s aging maps site, you’ll be happy to learn they have a new version of the site in beta testing now. It promises support for modern browsers and an updated design.
The ups and downs of the Oilers season as explained through animated gifs. Love it.
It’s that time of year again! City Council will soon be discussing the 2014 Operating Budget, but before they do, you can have your say. How would you balance the budget?
Several Edmonton Catholic schools are underutilized, costing the district $2.9 million to maintain. You can find out more and get involved here.
The parking pilot around City Hall has been extended until January 2014. The new system is better than our old parking meters in every way. Enough with these silly pilots, let’s just get on with it!
Here’s a timeline of Kavis Reed’s tenure with the Eskimos.
How’s Movember going for you? I’m pretty surprised at how much the event grows every year – there seems to be a big increase in branded products and such this year. Women are looking to cash in too.
From the University of Alberta: “A new landmark study estimates that University of Alberta alumni have collectively founded 70,258 organizations globally, creating more than 1.5 million jobs and generating annual revenues of $348.5 billion.”

Here are some upcoming events:

Monday is Remembrance Day of course, with the big ceremony taking place at the Butterdome in the morning. You can see more Remembrance Day events here.
The next Edmonton Python Meetup takes place on Tuesday night at Startup Edmonton. GameCamp Edmonton has its next meetup the following night.
This year’s edition of The Taboo Naughty But Nice Show kicks off on Thursday at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
The Oilers host the Stars on Wednesday and the Sharks on Friday.
Well there’s no denying it now, winter has arrived. Might as well celebrate with the Premiere to Winter event on Thursday!
Also Thursday is artsScene Edmonton’s next boardLink event.
DECL is having the grand opening for its new space on Friday.
Also Friday night is The Moustache Gala.
Early heads up about three open houses the City is holding on its proposed annexation of land south of the City (including the Edmonton International Airport).
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Recap: DemoCamp Edmonton 23

Edmonton’s 23rd DemoCamp took place last night at the Telus Centre on the University of Alberta campus. DemoCamp is “an event that brings together developers, creatives, entrepreneurs and investors to share what they’ve been working on and to find others in the community interested in similar topics.” You can read my recap of our last DemoCamp here. Despite the cooler weather, we had a strong turnout for both the first half (demos) and second half (beer) of the event.

We had five demos. In order of appearance:

Shawn and Zeshan kicked things off with a demo of SelfieText. “If SnapChat and Instagram had a baby, this app would be it,” they told us. The app lets you take a photo and send it to contacts, but the unique thing is that the photo “self destructs” after 12 seconds. They’ve decided to go with the closed network approach, and though you can take a photo of anything, they found the app was popular among people taking selfies.
Next up was Nathan, Forrest, Ben, and Donald who showed us Project Quest, a fun project management app that they built for Rails Rumble 2013. The idea is that instead of creating and working on tickets, you instead create and complete quests. Each quest also gets added to a game map. They had different types of quests too, representing by a unicorn or a yak that needs to be shaved. It looked like a really fun project to create!
Our third demo came from Nick and Andre who showed us PinShape. Described as a cross between Pinterest and the App Store, PinShape is a community for 3D printing. Designers can use the site to share and even sell their 3D models, while the public can use it to download, buy, and print the objects that others have designed. It definitely seems like 3D printing will be rapidly moving from commercial/industrial applications to consumer ones soon, so the project seems well-timed.
Our fourth and quickest demo of the evening came from students Grant and Motiejus who showed us SilentZone. The app runs on Android phones and allows you to have your phone switch to vibrate or silent mode automatically based on your location. There are other apps that provide similar functionality, but SilentZone is focused on having a simple user interface. They have plans to add more features though the app already seems highly useful.
Our final demo came from Blaine who showed us DryRun. It’s a web-based tool that helps you forecast your cash flow and create different financial scenarios with a few clicks. The interface looks great and very simple-to-use. Blaine has plans to integrate it with financial services like FreshBooks, though he feels already that you can get a lot of mileage out of the app. There are tools for sharing and exporting your scenarios and projections too.

I think the crowd-pleaser was probably Project Quest, just because it was such a fun way to look at a fairly boring problem (issue/project management). Though the team had lots of ideas for new features and other things to add, there’s no word on whether they’ll pursue it further. I would say that DryRun was probably the demo that I can see being most successful. It’s polished and highly functional, and it solves a problem nicely that a lot of people have (sure you can use spreadsheets, but the possibilities with DryRun are appealing). Of course, the SilentZone guys sort of stole the show with their Q&A. It was the right mix of humor, indifference, and seriousness.

Great job to all the demoers!

Here are the upcoming events and other announcements that were highlighted at DemoCamp:

Tonight is the Exchange.js JavaScript Meetup at Startup Edmonton.
The next Edmonton Python Meetup takes place on Tuesday at Startup Edmonton.
Also at Startup, the next GameCamp Edmonton Meetup takes place the following day.
Looking a little further out, there is also the YEGRB Meetup, UX Edmonton Meetup, Google Developer Group Meetup, and Physical Computing Meetup, all taking place at Startup Edmonton.
The week of November 18 is Global Entrepreneurship Week, and to kick things off here in Edmonton you can check out the Startup City Luncheon taking place at the Delta Centre Suite Hotel downtown.
Later that week on November 21 is Launch Party Edmonton 4, a great opportunity to check out some new products and companies.

Keep an eye on the Startup Edmonton Meetup group for more upcoming tech events.

See you at DemoCamp Edmonton 24!

Ten Years of Blogging

I have now been writing at this address in some form or another for over ten years¹. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday that I started tinkering with blog engines. Other times it feels like I’ve been a blogger forever!

I like to say that I blog first for myself and second for everyone else, and that’s still true. Ten years doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but it’s fascinating to read the crazy things that 20-year-old-me wrote. I really have changed quite a lot in that time! That said, it certainly is nice to have readers. Not only do you keep me motivated (and correct me when I get things wrong) you have also taught me an awful lot over the years. I have met so many people and learned so many things that I just don’t think I would have without this blog. I really appreciate all of the relationships and opportunities that writing here has afforded me!

Technology and the web have also changed quite dramatically in the time I have been writing here. There are lots of reasons that my posts have gotten longer over the years, but one big factor was Twitter. Before Twitter launched, I would occasionally write really short “status” entries here, like this one. Increasingly I have been producing content elsewhere, whether it is Tumblr, YouTube, or Instagram. Still, this blog has remained the glue that ties it all together.

I have mentioned this before, but it was around 2008 that my blog started to focus very heavily on local topics. It was September 2008 that I launched my Edmonton Notes series², which is now one of the most popular features on the blog. If you’re looking through the archives, don’t be surprised if you find the first five years of this blog to be much more random than it is now!

Whether you’ve been reading for years or are new, thank you. Here’s to another ten years!

New Design

You may notice that I refreshed the look of the blog this week. I’ve been meaning to do so for a while now, and the anniversary was as good an excuse as any! My blog is now a fully responsive site, which should make for a better reading experience on your mobile devices. There’s a bit more room for content, and I’ve made the text bigger by default.

Curious to see what this blog looked like in the past? Thanks to the Wayback Machine, you can:

I’ll continue tweaking it, so please let me know if you have any feedback.

I generally treat November 6, 2003 as the start of my blog because that’s the oldest post I was able to save when I moved to WordPress in 2008. I actually started blogging prior to that, but unfortunately all of those posts were lost. ↩
Five years of Edmonton Notes, can you believe that?! My blog has been Edmonton-focused for about half of its existence. ↩

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