Tag: edmonton

State of the Edmonton Twittersphere – January 2009

I love Twitter, Edmonton, and pretty graphs. In this post, I combine all three! Welcome to the first State of the Edmonton Twittersphere, my look at the intersection of Twitter and Edmonton.

As some of you know, I’ve been working on a new side project for a couple months now called ShareEdmonton. I’ll post more details on that later, but for now all you need to know is that tracking Twitter usage in Edmonton is a big part of the project. As a result, I’ve gathered lots and lots of data over the last month, and I thought I’d dig into a little.

All of the data I am sharing in this post was collected from Twitter Search. It’s a fairly broad set of updates – anything posted by Edmontonians, or about Edmonton. The data set is incomplete (I’m sure I didn’t capture all tweets, and I improved the algorithm for the second half of the month), and is subject to certain restrictions. For instance, unless someone puts “Edmonton” or something similar (lat/long, Sherwood Park, etc) in the Location field of their profile, I have no way of reliably knowing whether or not they are a local user. That said, I feel that the data set I do have is very representative of Twitter usage in the Edmonton area. Going forward, I’ll try to keep the methodology consistent.

Enough preamble – on to the statistics! For January 2009:

# of users: 1948
# of tweets: 52697

# of local users: 851 (43.69%)
# of tweets by local users: 48091 (91.26%)

# of tweets containing #yeg: 1315 (2.50%)
# of tweets that were replies: 18837 (35.75%)
# of tweets containing links: 11033 (20.94%)
# of tweets that were retweets: 265 (0.50%)

And some other interesting statistics for the month:

  • Ten most active users (most tweets first): fcedmonton, angelzilla, britl, zoocasaedmonton, mastermaq, justNICKI, Pat_Lorna, iNews880, foomanizer, bgrier
  • If you ignore the three “bots”, then alainsaffel, GuitarKat, and fusedlogic also make the list.
  • Those thirteen users account for just over 21% of all tweets in the data set.
  • Nearly 45% of all tweets were posted between 10 AM and 4 PM.
  • The number of tweets posted per day generally increased throughout the month (though this is at least partially due to improvements to my code over the month). Monday, January 26th had the most tweets posted (2592).
  • Local users posted 18042 replies. Of those, 7406 (41.05%) were to other local users.
  • Most aren’t frequent posters: 293 local users posted 31 times or more this month.

And finally, the top ten users in Edmonton (as of January 31st):

In the future, I hope to look at trending topics for the month to get a better idea of just what Edmontonians were talking about. Numbers are one thing, content is quite another.

I’m surprised to see that 851 local users updated this month (all but 110 updated more than once). I would have guessed there were about that many local users in total, not active! So that’s good. It’ll be interesting to see how that number grows over the next few months.

I hope you enjoyed this quick, completely unscientific look at the Edmonton Twittersphere! If you have any suggestions on other things I could include in future posts (or potentially as an update to this one) please let me know.

See you at Edmonton Twestival on February 12th!

Edmonton Notes for 1/31/2009

Here are some Edmonton-related things I found interesting this week:

STIRR in Edmonton

stirr canada Tonight we held the first ever STIRR Canada event here in Edmonton. About sixty of the city’s entrepreneurs, investors, and other tech professionals came together at The Hat downtown to chat with one another, and to meet and learn from Greg Zeschuk, one of the founders of BioWare.

I think “STIRR” was new to most people, so near the beginning of the event Patrick Lor from the STIRR Canada team explained how he got introduced to the organization and brought it to Canada.

STIRR Canada is a networking community for high-tech startup founders, founding teams, former founders, angel and VC funders, and technology journalists. Our events are designed for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs.

The idea is to bring new and experienced entrepreneurs together. We do a bit of that at DemoCamp of course, but the audience tonight was a bit different. There were definitely more guys wearing suits! I think it all comes down to access – busy guys like Greg simply can’t make it out to every DemoCamp, so to be able to have him present tonight was pretty cool.

Greg from BioWareSTIRR in EdmontonRandy & Cam

Founded in 1995, BioWare is a major Edmonton success story. Greg and his colleagues Ray Muzyka and Augustine Yip realized early on that, in Greg’s words, “no one likes a creative doctor.” They decided to put their creativity into video games, and BioWare was the result. After a string of hits, BioWare became an acquisition target and was eventually scooped up by Electronic Arts in late 2007. Today the company continues to produce popular games, and has grown to about 500 employees.

Here are some of the highlights from Greg’s talk:

  • Early on, BioWare didn’t see the need for a board of directors or advisors. Looking back, they wouldn’t recommend that strategy to anyone!
  • Greg figures that the cost of making their first game was less than the cost of a single month of development at the company today. It’s become a much more expensive industry.
  • Greg says to be prepared for the long haul. He pointed to Google as an example: most people think about their success in recent years, but the reality is that they’ve been running in some form or another for more than a decade (since 1996).
  • Another piece of advice from Greg: don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. And if something doesn’t make sense, be suspicious!

Greg’s presentation was really interesting, and seemed to be well-received by everyone in attendance. Of course, the major focus of an event like this is the networking that followed. There were lots of interesting discussions taking place all evening long!

Thanks to The Hat for running a wonderful service this evening, and to Cam, Pat and the other organizers for bringing this event to Edmonton. I’m glad I was able to help. Most importantly, thanks to everyone for coming out!

You can see the rest of my photos from the evening at Flickr.

Twestival Edmonton – February 12th, 2009

I’m excited to announce the latest Twitter event taking place in Edmonton: Twestival 2009! More than 100 cities around the world are hosting Twestivals on February 12th to raise money and awareness for charity: water. When I heard about the idea, I knew that Edmonton had to participate. After all, we’re known for our support of community and charitable causes, and the Twitter community here is second-to-none! It’s going to be an evening of great fun for a great cause!

Here are the details:

WHO: You and your friends!
WHAT: Edmonton Twestival 2009
WHEN: Thursday, February 12th at 6:30pm
WHERE: Vintage Lounge, 10124 124th Street – map
WHY: To have some fun while supporting a great cause!
COST: We’re asking for a $20 donation which will go entirely to charity: water.

Click here to register for the event. If at all possible, please use the donate online option when you book your ticket as that’ll simplify things for us.

Here’s a bit more information on Twestival:

The Twestival is organized 100% by volunteers in cities around the world and 100% of the money raised from these events will go directly to support charity: water projects. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. By rallying together globally, under short timescales, for a single aim on the same day, the Twestival hopes to bring awareness to this global crisis.

Needless to say, I think it’s a cause worth supporting. The cost of funding a well project in a developing country starts at $4,000 USD. Together with our friends in Calgary, I think Alberta can definitely raise enough to fund an entire well!

Some cities have organized elaborate programs for their Twestival, which is cool. Here in Edmonton, we thought it would be better to keep things simple. Here’s what we’ve got planned:

  • Come anytime after 6:30pm to Vintage Lounge. If you’ve registered online, we’ll have a special nametag waiting for you. Meet people who are new to you, and reconnect with people you already know. Put faces and real names to Twitter usernames!
  • Also if you’ve registered online, you’ll have a shot at winning one of our door prizes! We wanted to highlight local organizations on Twitter, so have asked a few for donations. Our first supporter is SassyCakes! Let me know if you’d like to donate something.
  • Connect to the free wireless provided by Vintage Lounge and chat with Twestival-goers in other cities. We’ll have a screen setup thanking our supporters, and showing real-time Twestival chat from around the world!
  • Feel free to bring friends who are currently missing out on Twitter – we’ll get them registered on the spot!

Beyond that, let’s just have a good time and raise some money for charity: water!

If you’re interested in sponsoring the event, or donating a door prize, or otherwise helping out, please let me know. Stay tuned to the wiki and the @edmontontweetup account for news and updates.

Major thanks to Sharon (@sharonyeo) for helping me get this off the ground, and to everyone else who has provided input and support so far (@dibegin, @Roger, @amanda etc.)

See you there!

UPDATE: Here is charity: water’s official Twestival page.

Help Edmonton’s Free WiFi Project grow!

free wifi project As some of you know, I’m involved with the Free WiFi Project here in Edmonton (along with Eric, Rob, and Stephen). We’ve been slowly progressing things, trying to figure out how we’d like to grow the project and spread free wireless Internet access across the city. There are a few initiatives in the works, but one I’d like to point out is that anyone can now order a community router from our website!

It’s pretty straightforward. Just head over to the Help Us Expand page to learn more about how the whole system works and what the costs and benefits are (each community router costs $60). When you’re ready, simply click the order link and follow the instructions. You’ll first have to enter some personal details, such as your name and address. Next you’ll be taken off to PayPal to make a payment to us. Finally, we’ll confirm the address we’re going to ship the router to. Within about a week you should receive a package from us with some simple instructions on how to connect your new community router!

Simple right? We’d love to have you join the network! If you give it a shot and have any feedback for us on how to improve the process, please let me know in the comments below or contact me. We want to make it as easy and painless as possible.

Stay tuned for more good news from the Free WiFi Project. As always, you can see a list of our current locations here. Thank you in advance for supporting us!

Edmonton Notes for 1/24/2009

Here are some Edmonton-related things I found interesting this week:

Questionmark still hiring .NET developers in Edmonton!

questionmark The software development company I work for here in Edmonton, Questionmark, is once again looking for developers to join our team. The job descriptions I posted back in September are still relevant, but here are the requirements again:

A minimum of 3 years of commercial development experience. Highly skilled in software development using our core technologies: C#, ASP.NET, XML, Ajax, Javascript, T-SQL. Experience with SCRUM a plus. Excellent written and oral communication are essential.

You’d be working on the latest and greatest, both technology-wise (.NET 3.5, etc) and product-lineup-wise (the company’s newest products). It’s a great opportunity!

We’re currently in the process of moving to our brand new office in the Empire Building downtown (10080 Jasper Avenue). As some of you may know, I’ve had offices in the building twice before, and I think it’s a fantastic place to work. It’s great to be right in the heart of downtown, with easy access via public transit and lots of amenities within walking distance (parking isn’t so great, of course).

Job Description for Software Developer

If you’re interested in applying or would like more information, either send me an email or email Kaitlyn Lardin. Thanks!

Edmonton Notes for 1/17/2009

Here are some Edmonton-related things I found interesting this week:

Edmonton EXPO 2017 – Preparing a National Bid

Last night I attended an information session at City Hall on Edmonton’s bid for EXPO 2017. The purpose of the event was to provide information to potential volunteers, but they also covered quite a bit of background information on just what EXPO (or the World’s Fair) is all about (check out the Wikipedia article for more information). After the World Cup and the Olympics, EXPO is the world’s third largest event in terms of economic and cultural impact. There are two kinds of expositions – “registered” (larger) and “recognized” (smaller). Edmonton is pursuing a bid for a Recognized Exposition.

edmonton expo 2017

Last fall, a citizen committee of 40 “community and business leaders” completed a high-level assessment of a potential bid. A preliminary survey of 300 residents found that 85% support an Edmonton bid. On October 23rd, the committee submitted a report to Council which unanimously concluded that Edmonton should seriously consider making a bid for the event.

Of course, this idea has been in the works for far longer than just a few months. Councillor Jane Batty attended EXPO 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain over the summer and met with a number of key individuals and organizations. Zaragoza is similar to Edmonton in a lot of ways – both cities have roughly the same population (Edmonton is a bit larger), both have a river running through the city, and both have strong economies. There are differences, of course – Edmonton is just over 100 years old while Zaragoza is 2000 years old!

Why does Edmonton want to host EXPO 2017? There are a number of benefits, including:

  • Facilitating international trade and business opportunities
  • Encouraging urban renewal
  • Generating goodwill and community pride
  • Showcasing Edmonton on the world stage
  • Creating a lasting legacy of infrastructure, research, and scientific knowledge and education

And there are financial benefits too. Current estimates suggest a return of $1.12 to $1.15 for every $1.00 invested, and this excludes any legacy benefits. Here are a few more numbers:

  • Taking into account population estimates for 2017, roughly 4.7 million visits would be expected
  • That translates into about 52,000 people on the site each day (for comparison, the average daily attendance of CapitalEX is about 77,000)
  • The cost of similarly sized EXPOs ranges from $1.6 billion to $3 billion (in 2008 figures)
  • A rough guess at the cost for Edmonton EXPO 2017 is $2.3 billion

I think Edmonton has a fairly good chance of being successful with this bid. The last time EXPO was in North America was EXPO ‘86 in Vancouver, and the next few are all in Asia and Europe as well. The year 2017 happens to be the 150th anniversary of Canada, so that’s definitely going to help our chances too.

Here’s the rough timeline for Edmonton’s bid:

Phase 1 – Fall 2007 to Fall 2008: Approve conceptual study
Phase 2 – Fall 2008 to Fall 2009: Develop national bid and submit to Canadian Heritage
Phase 3 – Fall 2009 to Spring 2011: Edmonton selected as Canada’s candidate, develop international bid
Phase 4 – Spring 2011 to Fall 2012: Submit bid to BIE, Edmonton selected to host EXPO 2017
Phase 5 – Fall 2012 to Spring 2017: Prepare to host EXPO 2017

There’s a lot of work to be done before we get to that point, however.

Edmonton EXPO 2017Edmonton EXPO 2017

The next step is to prepare a national bid for consideration by the federal government. Volunteers are needed for four committees: theme development, site and infrastructure planning, community engagement, and sponsorship. Each committee will be comprised of up to 15 members who will meet six times throughout the year, so the time commitment is definitely reasonable.

Obviously I took the photo above before everyone arrived, but it didn’t really fill up. I’d guess there were about 20 people in attendance, much smaller than I expected. I hope they get the required number of volunteers to progress things! I’m going to apply to join the community engagement committee.

The deadline to apply is January 23rd at 4:30pm. You can download the application package in either PDF or Word formats. Enthusiasm is perhaps more important than relevant skills or experience, so if you’re interested in bringing EXPO to Edmonton, consider joining one of the committees!

Edmonton Notes for 1/10/2009

Here are some Edmonton-related things I found interesting this week: