Originally appeared in Uncle Weed’s Dossier column in Vancouver Observer on Aug. 2nd 2011 under the same title. This spiel compiled a bushel of ideas I’ve wanted to amplify to Vancouver (knowing change comes slow etc. in land of conservative progressive) and banged it out white hot after returning from New Orleans and seeing the remarkable (dearisay) brand they’ve crafted for their city – and dang if they don’t know how to truly let loose and keep it cool. We have our moments in Vancouver but with absurd prices and policies for beer (which is an essay on its way) and neurotic policy shifts, and an abundance of disparity… a few refinements are in order – the question is: are we ready to step up? heh, you tell me.

Go Cups and Pedicabs ~ Are We Ready to be “World Class” Yet?  

Like a beautiful but gangly teenager on the first day of high school, in Vancouver we tend towards constant introspection and self-awareness to the point of mental self-abuse when we discuss our city. “Are we are as pretty as Zurich? Are we more fun than Sydney? Do these pants make me look fat?”

We obsess about being “world class” as though that makes us important. World class doesn’t mean “big” – we remain medium-sized (and our topography ensures we will) – as Goldilocks would say, “Just right.” World class means something unique which makes the city stand out. Sure, we have mountains, the ocean and trees. But to go next level, we need to go wide open with new ideas and take some calculated risks.

I’ve just rambled back from New Orleans (podcast) – a city that knows something about its brand and reputation – with a headful of ideas borrowed from working examples to re-fit our city experiment into something truly more livable for the normal folks.

New Orleans: ”Go” cups – simple, put your beer in plastic cup and take it from bar or store to wherever (walking not driving), very civilized. Street music. Not lonely, hunkered buskers, but like the 14 man brass bands holding court on French Quarter corners where the crowd ebbs with high-rollers’ cars and tourists with camera phones mix with locals boogying down. Street-level streetcars (ding ding) with a $3 day-pass to roll on wooden seats down the middle of the road. Also, add a brilliant culinary culture but leave the corruption, rats and humidity.

Austin, Texas: Pedi-cabs – move these cycle rickshaws beyond noisy, drunken weekend novelty status and transform the way we take short up/downtown trips. The licensed drivers make decent cash without emissions and save your sneakers on walks which are too short to bother playing the “where might a cab be?” game.

See also: Hosting art, technology festivals as a civic cash cow a la South by Southwest. Need to loosen up on bars, clubs and meeting centres (seriously, try renting a place) and provide an area for patrons to party (no, GranvilleMall doesn’t count) and you’ll attract conventioneers besides the stuffy ties at the dual Canada Places. Remember that conferences are junkets which requires fun times for attendees.

London: Though gloomy and spendy, I’ll take late night double-decker buses and free museums and galleries. Art saves lives and defines who we are. Make it accessible.

New York: Falafel at 3 a.m. like it’s no big deal. There is more, but this is enough.

Amsterdam: You’ll notice the separated bike lanes after you are run down when you don’t note the signs. As you are falling backwards avoiding the canals as scowling locals pedal by on heavy steel bikes, you’ll say to yourself, “I see, these aren’t sidewalks, these are true bike paths winding along like expressways for cycles.”

The reason bike lanes in Van are getting flack is because something was “taken away” – instead, make bike-only routes separate from the car-ways and everyone will be way happier.

Toronto: Live music clubs with residency bands. Example: The Beauties every Sunday in the low ceilings and loud amps of The Dakota.

Barcelona: Hard to describe Las Ramblas but we need something just like it – a true city pedestrian mall, a walkway, a people’s area for mingling, lounging and even lightweight commerce (lay down a blanket, sell your wares). Simply, we shouldn’t have to close a major traffic route to host downtown get-togethers or to observe each other on lazy afternoons.

Logan, Utah: Free transit. I know it sounds absurd… another Dave (Olsen, that is) researched free transit systems but missed one in the culturally conservative, big truck driving, two-bar university city by the Idaho border.The seat of Cache County boasts free, quality transit – hop on to go frombig box stores to the Mormon temple. I’d settle for a ”SeaBus only” pass.

Brussels: While dignified Brussels manages to beat Vancouver for most underwhelming tourist photo op (Mannekin Pis vs. Gastown ”Steam” Clock), the Belgian capital wins big prizes for character bars tended to by pro beer traditionalists serving on endless patio tables ringing vast squares. While we don’t have the centuries of Trappist ale culture, places like Six Acres show you can craft character and bring it outside on the cobblestones.

Vancouver: Summerlive at Stanley Park was close to perfect. Keep in mind, I’m a veteran of Grateful Dead tours, the legendary WOMAD feasts, and a hundred hippie jam fest weekends and attest this was simply a remarkable three days of music and demonstrative of a renaissance of great bands unseen since the beery 80s days of local hardcore.

Held close to the totempoles where I had my fifth birthday party, it felt like we stopped caring about how the outside looked at us and started living like we want to – we ride bikes, we walk the seawall, we tidy up, we sing along. Thanks to the police for keeping it chill and letting us enjoy picnics, tokes and (possibly) a brown bagged bevvie.

Wet Cement

We come from all over. Trying to find someone second generation from Vancouver amidst refugees from the frozen lands  is a task. And we are already remixing ourselves, our city and our culture daily. The concrete isn’t wet yet here, we can still define who we want ourselves to be. And it’s a good time to do it since the city’s brand (as I learned in a city which survived a hurricane, flood, looting, police corruption and chaos) is “that city that burns cop cars.” Nowhere to go but up.

We have visible homeless problems, demoralizing property values and waffling by-laws. These need fixing. But to make my beloved city truly world class, I’ll be happy with a couple of the above for starters.

Photos: All photos by authour except “New Orleans Means Music” by Kris Krug via kk+ via Flickr & authour at Summerlive by brother Dan.

Written as a day-job project for InternMatch.com and posted on my birthday, Aug. 16, 2011, archived here for the record as this was an epic labour of importance to me. I’ve wanted to create an “former intern club” of some kind to keep an eye on all those i mentor to some degree, but for now, this is my distillation of most of the tactics i use to keep the train chooglin’ forward in the workplace. If you like, tweet or comment on the Internmatch version.

Rockstar Training School – Tips for Managing and Inspiring Interns (from InternMatch)

Guest Post By Dave Olson, Community Marketing Director of HootSuite.com

From start-ups to established enterprises, there’s rarely enough time for all the tasks and new initiatives on your list. Investing time to find quality interns can be an ideal solution… if done correctly. If you aren’t prepared to integrate your helper correctly, you’ll end up micro-managing and draining your time – while also demotivating the once-eager intern.

Over 15 years running marketing and community teams I’ve sponsored dozens of internships and along the way, found future employees, ideal collaborators and even a few friends. I’ve also dealt with under-performers and a few disgruntled slackers who can negatively affect your company culture.

From these experiences, I’ve compiled key nuggets of wisdom to help your company reap quality contributions from an intern who truly enjoys their challenging work experience.

Remember, you can’t spell INTERNET without INTERN.

Hire Like an Employee

Post intern openings the same as paid openings with expected qualifications, application process and defined roles. This shows you are taking the search seriously and not just looking for a warm body to do menial tasks. Remove the mystery and set the expectation and you’ll start off right.

Introduce Loudly

On their first day, introduce them to your team in an email – be sure to include personal interests and previous experience as well as an overview of the sorts of tasks they’ll work on. This helps the intern feel valuable and sends a message to your team to start collaborating right away.

Upfront with Terms

My internships are (almost) always non-paid. Opinions throughout the industry differ on this point, but it’s your choice to make. Just ensure you are clear about the terms from the beginning. If you don’t have budget, let them know and explain the types for benefits they’ll receive from their efforts: Internships are valuable learning experiences and a great way to get a foot in the door of competitive industries.

Give them a Title

Sadly “intern” is sometimes used  as a synonym for “lackey” – this can be de-motivating and even embarrassing for your diligent helper. Instead, bestow a title upon them which describes their role. These titles can be fun but not condescending. At HootSuite, many Interns work on international outreach so we call them International Community Ambassadors. When you introduce them, use their title to show respect for their efforts.

Specific Tasks

While this seems obvious… Assign your padowans specific tasks with meaning and deadlines. By clearly defining to-dos, you not only keep Interns from spending their days on YouTube, but you give them valuable benchmarks of learning and achievement. We use Basecamp to organize tasks for employees and intern to a granular level.

Reports for Accountability

Each Intern should have a weekly report to fill out (I use Google forms which populate a spreadsheet) and measure some empirical evidence of their work as well as providing space for their ideas and insights and a grade their “happiness level.” This process holds them accountable, shows that their work matters and allows you to get in front of any problems whether for work or personal burn out (especially for international interns far from home).

Farm System

For start-ups, Interns can fill a critical role to get a product out and promoted on a limited budget. For established companies, they can populate a “farm system” for entry-level employees similar to a sports teams’ minor league affiliate. Interns allow you to cultivate a new batch of talent and “taste test” a number of candidates to see how they react in real-life work situations before committing to a contract.

Coffee is your Job

Do I ever ask interns to fetch me coffee? Almost never. This task is a menial “make work” task for them and (honestly) going for a cup of coffee is one of the best parts of your day. Instead, invite your intern out for a chat over a beverage and everyone wins. Also, make sure they are invited for company events, after-work beer sessions and other “team building” activities – it’ll pay off with passion.

Mentor your Padowan

You are receiving free (or cheap) labor and in exchange, you should share you experience, feedback and inside tips and tactics. Go beyond the simple assignments and take the time to explain the “why” beyond the “what” and “how.” Giving this contextual meaning to their tasks will help them emotionally invest in the project. But don’t coddle– they are humans, not puppies, and your real advice will be of more use than unwarranted compliments.

Part of a Legacy

One by one, Interns come and Interns go, but let your newbs know the legacy they are continuing. We tell stories and share photos of past Interns. For example: one intern left a Danish national soccer team jersey as a gift. Now, this is awarded to the Intern who has shown “heart and soul and tenacity” for the week and is handed off by one recipient to the next… Make an intern hall of fame gallery to connect the people to one another and you may find they end up as virtual friends.

Overwhelm (& Support)

From day one, give them a list of tasks. They won’t gravitate or complete all of them but you’ll quickly learn where their skills are. Make sure they know how to get help from others and at what point to come to you for assistance – without bothering you. Schedule :15 catchup sessions to avoid slow downs.

Lackey Work

I promise each new recruit that every task I assign to them is something I’ve done many times before – from stuffing envelopes to assembling desks, the jobs might sound mundane but if they know you’ve done the boring stuff too, they’ll understand it’s all part of the process and culture of a start-up.

Parting Gift

Since your Interns are non-paid, you want to ensure you provide some career assistance when they need it. This starts with a Linkedin recommendation and well-thought-out letter. Plus send a Tweet publicly to thank them and recommend them to other companies and offer yourself as a reference for jobs.

Field Trips

If someone really stepped up, introduce them to industry peers, either by email or by bringing them along to speaking gigs so they can make an impression in person. Tip: Start-up accelerators and incubators with newly funded companies are a great next step for your star Interns seeking work.

Keep in Touch

Remember each intern comes from a unique background and you can (and should) help elevate and fast-track them into the job world. Follow their career with interest once they are gone and invite them back for a coffee or office party.

Global Pecha Kucha Night - Inspire Japan

I was invited to speak at Global Pecha Kucha Day in Vancouver for the worldwide (100 cities or so) “Inspire Japan” event on April 16 2011.

Pecha Kucha Night is a presentation style and a series of lecture events held around the world under license from the originating design firm in Tokyo – in Vancouver by Cause+Affect.

The presentations are exactly 20 slides, switched automatically each :20 seconds. Like speedy lil TED talks with a tendency towards design, architecture, civic planning but speakers include anyone who is doing something interesting really.

I spoke at a Pecha Kucha night in May 2010 at the Vogue Theatre so i knew the pace is hectic and pacing out of your control (notes: Vancouver Observer, Canada Talent, Vancouver is Awesome).

Anyhow, the Inspire Japan day’s speakers were asked to speak more or less on 4 main themes. Here’s the instructions:

“INSPIRE, JAPAN, THE ISSUES, RECOVERY. They could be simply about things that inspire us, or Japan how it has inspired you. Great ideas or solutions that help deal with the issues at hand whether earthquake, tsunami or nuclear – and the road to recovery.”

Here are the slides to peruse at your leisure. Next time you buy me a beer, perhaps i’ll spiel the 20 second annotations to go along with each static montage.

The event was streamed online to coincide with the other events. Watching the Twitter stream to see events roll on and off was pretty neat while riding the SeaBus over – especially from far-flung cities i’ve visited from Osnabrueck to Okayama.

Video of PKN Vancouver + Inspire Japan – Note: i am the 4th speaker.

I was on the roster with 3 others speakers (fewer than a usual PKN).

MICHAEL GREEN • MCFARLANE | GREEN | BIGGAR ARCHITECTURE

LINUS LAM • ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY VANCOUVER

TODD MACALLEN • MOLO DESIGN STUDIO

{ME} DAVE OLSON • STORY MAKER / WRITER / PRODUCER

This was a joy for me to produce from my time spent in Japan what seems like a lifetime ago. I dug deep into my personal archive to find some neat artifacts for my deck and discovered a variety of lost memories and forgotten incidents tucked away in boxes and files.

The event raised money for Architecture for Humanity to build a school in Japan which is great to be a part of, but truthfully (and selfishly) this was a chance for me to release some emotion by flashingback about how traipsing around Japan changed my life in many ways.

I don’t really talk about that time as much as other sojourns and, since the earthquake and resultant chaos, i wanted to express something-somehow with some sort of storymaking. This was a perfect chance so i dug deep.

My pal Daniel Robles gave me a hand building the deck and a load of my pals rolled down to the Cascade Room on Main to lend support and inspiration. See also Naoya Makino’s photoset.

Thanks to @richerd @theeholder @julienemery @donovanpee @kempedmonds @cyn_k @jorobot @kenzoyasauce etc. for support at #pknvan #inspirejapan

Pecha Kucha continues to raise money by marketing an e-book of the poster art from the various Inspire Japan events around the world. Some top-end designers contributed work so bound to be enjoyable for your virtual coffee table.

Thanks to Steven, Jane, and Becki for the invite. Sign me up anytime.

I discussed social media as a whole and covering the Games through the True North Media House project – plus  the impending With Glowing Hearts movie premiere. In the short clip, I included brief anecdotes about reliving the fun, documenting and storytelling, and how social media can provide depth and breadth to provide more attention to more stories beyond the “official” IOC/VANOC story.

Grab the Dave talks Olympics and Social Media on News 1130 audio clip (here for archival purposes)

See An Olympic anniversary on the News1130 Midday Show for the article and audio clips, ergo:

• VP of Tourism Vancouver Paul Vallee speaks live with News1130 anchors Rob Freeman and Erin Loxam
• 24 Hours’ Bob Mackin speaks live with News1130 anchors Rob Freeman and Erin Loxam
• John Mills with the Richmond Oval speaking live on News1130 with anchors Rob Freeman and Erin Loxam
• Vancouver blogger Dave Olson speaks with News1130 about the role of social media during the 2010 Games
• Keith Bennett, the president and CEO of Whistler Sports Legacies, talks to News1130 about the Sliding Centre
• The CEO of “Own the Podium” Alex Bauman speaks with News1130′s Erin Loxam and Rob Freeman

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – This week, we’re marking the one year anniversary of the day the OlympicCauldron was lit.

After years and years of planning and excitement, the massive two-week sporting event didn’t disappoint.  But what kind of legacy did it leave behind?

This week on the News1130 Midday Show we’re looking at the Olympic legacy.  Did the Games bring in the much-talked-about the economic boost?

This afternoon, we’ll talk to Own the Podium CEO Alex Baumann. Listen to the live interview at 1 p.m.

As such, i laid down a mix of practical social media campaign tips contextualized through my pro activities as well as some historical discourse to articulate the importance of storytelling, earnest participation and driving the bus. Included fanzines, CB radios, telegrams, hockey, king tut and more.

Here’s the bits and pieces which i gathered up from Social Media Marketing Unplugged …. (organized by Jonathan Chow who generously provided a kind honorarium for my efforts).

Hash: #smunplugged

The blurb

When used strategically, social media tools are a powerful asset for bringing attention to your campaign, event for initiative – But you must first create a sustainable plan and choose the right tools which allow you to quickly spread messages, spark conversations and track results.

Experienced community marketer Dave Olson will share practical tactics gathered from years of grassroots promotion in diverse industries, including tips for real-time monitoring plus implementing emerging mobile and geo-location technologies into your plan.

Slide Deck

Note: was front-paged at Slideshare.net in the “How-to & DIY” section.

Word of the People

Social Media Unplugged - Lead on Krystal Gabriel

Last, but certainly not least was Dave Olson, Community Director of HootSuite (@daveohoots). By the time he got on stage the conference was running late and we were all on our 9th hour but his humour and ability to engage the audience brought us all back of life, it was awesome. He enlightened us with the lessons he learned from building a HootSuite community of over 1 million users, these lessons were…

1. Begin with listening

2. Participation is Everything – track and monitor everything and be everywhere – where ever people are talking about or asking questions about what you are doing, be there, always and measure everything.

3. Community Manager as a Party House? Keep people on course, guide them where you want them to go, and be the driver of an exciting bus.

4. It’s all about the story – the tools may have changed but people will still engage in an interesting story.

5. Interestingness – you have to have it.

6. Go Where the people are – go talk to the people, hang out with them on their terms, play their game.

7. Speak their language.

8. Build a posse.

9. Close the loop – bring them back to the main group, back to the community.

10. Let robots do the work.

3 myths debunked at Social Media Marketing Unplugged – @kcclaveria

The best was clearly saved for last. [...] The bulk of Dave’s presentation was about creating a sustainable plan for your engagement strategy. He also touched on the various listening and monitoring tools that businesses can use. He encouraged businesses to listen, participate, and to “go where the people are”.  Also, businesses should measure everything – number of retweets, mentions, etc.

Social Media Unplugged – @SRCunningham602

Though I by no means wish to discount the presentations by the other presenters, the last presenter of the day was Dave Olson (@daveohoots), Community Director of Hootsuite, and he managed to re charge a crowd that I received quite a lot of information already.

The Social Media Marketing Conference – @joshrimer

And closing us off was Dave Olson who talked about his social media tips which included making sure you’re listening as opposed to just writing/sharing, being an active participant, keeping things interesting, the importance of using hashtags, writing/speaking in your target audience’s language, building a posse, letting the robots do the work (ie. RSS), and measuring everything.

Social Media Unplugged Conference: What You Missed – @Webcopyplus

Highlights:

• Social media concept is not new — CB radios could be compared to Chat Roulette, scrapbooks to Tumblr, telegrams to Twitter, etc.
• Listen — set up your dashboard to monitor all conversations about your company, learn what people are saying and how they are talking about your company and use their language to communicate with them
• Participate — reach out to critics, respond, monitor all mentions
• Ensure your story is compelling and interesting and give people the tools to share your story
• Go to where the people are and invite them to you, don’t just broadcast randomly
• Close the loop — when people create content about you, share it!
• MEASURE EVERYTHING!

Social Media Marketing Unplugged – LINNEA CARMEN’S THOUGHTS AND DISCOVERIES

New connections are made everyday, and these connections are facilitated so easily with all of the tools provided on the internet. In my eyes, the most useful tool to organize all of these valuable connections is Hootsuite, which was praised about by the beloved speaker, Dave Olson. (Gotta love the owl!)

Props to Jamil Rhajiak for snaps in tough light

Via Twitter

++

KetanJogia Jan 31, 1:46am via Web @daveohoots Thanks Dave for your awsome talk on Saturday. You were definitely inspirational.

KatieRaeH Jan 30, 11:21pm via HootSuite @DaveHoots great presentation at #smunplugged You should be a comedian, seriously! Too funny!

jason_baker Jan 30, 9:34am via HootSuite @KashifPasta @nenshi In otherwards, don’t just grow a community. Foster it! As @daveohoots says, become the bus driver!

DianneChow Jan 29, 11:34pm via HootSuite Working on @sm_unplugged notes. I remember all the jokes but none of the facts. Elijah (Suzuki) & Dave Olson #Hootsuite pee-in-pants funny!

JessGrey Jan 29, 6:47pm via TweetDeck Best storyteller of the day was @daveohoots, but definitely learned a bit from everyone. #smunplugged

KrystalGabriel Jan 29, 5:49pm via Twitter for iPhone #smunplugged build a posse, close the loop, multiple touch points is key! @daveohoots

JillBenedict Jan 29, 5:41pm via Twitter for iPhone @DaveHoots provides metaphor of the day – community manager is like a bus driver #smunplugged

Video

Leading up to the event, James from Hello Vancity shot a impromptu video interview with me sharing thoughts about social media, Vancouver and storytelling.

A Video Interview with Dave Olson of HootSuite

Tribe

Ukraine, Canada and Spain representing. Mike Abasov (@mike abasov) and Daniel Robles (@drobles) thanks lads.

@jackiesayswhat 10:26am via HootSuite: @daveohoots talks about getting the right people on your bus (not goofballs) http://ow.ly/i/74g5 #UBCSLC

On the first Saturday of 2011, i ventured out to the glorious UBC campus on a stunning Vancouver day to spiel at the Student Leadership Conference with a talk called “Hitchhiking the Boardroom – Leadership Lessons from the Road“.

Basically, I outlined various traits and skills about leadership – most of which i’ve exercised at my day job – and explained scenarios from past adventures which taught (or allowed me to practice) these skills.

For example: Patience while arriving in Japan learning no language, or the importance of escape plan when confronted with an un-savory ride.

Allowed me to share the lost years of roaming and experiment with some new metaphors. In all, some fun storytelling to a full room (off-mic and off page).

I’ll compile the Twitter (great) feedback eventually, but here are a few key artifacts so far:

1) The slide deck featuring photos of hitchhiking signs from journeys past as well as anecdotal snaps

2) An article from the Vancouver Sun which i’ll liberally excerpt from for the preservation of the record.

Slide Deck

Notes

Vancouver Sun Article

Note 2 alternate versions: Bringing a good idea to fruition and Everyone can be a leader By Jenny Lee, Vancouver Sun January 8, 2011

Dave Olson community director of Vancouver technology company, Hootsuite, says leadership skills are best learned when you’re out of your comfort zone. Photograph by: Jason Payne, Vancouver Sun

Conference speaker Dave Olson, who is community director of Hootsuite, a young local technology company, believes that leadership is learned by getting out of one’s comfort zone both pysically and mentally.

Leadership in fast-paced technological world is all about teamwork and camaraderie. Leaders must learn to trust, delegate, experiment and refine, he said.

“A lot of the things we experience living an adventurous life teaches us practical skills when leading fast paced groups,” Olson said. For Olson, that meant travelling. “Other people can learn the same feeling of openness when volunteering to work with handicapped kids one summer. For me, I learned about openness by sticking out my thumb.”

At Hootsuite everyone works in one big room and “everyone’s opinion is valid,” Olson said. “There are not a bunch of egos. We cross over and share skills across the department.

“You definitely have to cultivate that atmosphere,” Olson added. “You have to have something that brings that to life. [And] it starts top down.”

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Bringing+good+idea+fruition/4079252/story.html#ixzz1AbQ4iEhX

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Everyone+leader/4077602/story.html#ixzz1AbNoKET9

UBC Events

I was interviewed by UBC Events as well and the talk was recorded so i’ll update as possible.

@yellowrainbootz 11:42am via Twitter for BlackBerry® Just finished interviewing @daveohoots of @HootSuite. @UBCSLC #ubcslc :)

Here's to happytimes

I proceed with this round-up trepidatiously as i tend to look forward to what’s next and try to temporarily forget recent projects once complete. Also, i am (somewhat) hesitant to ramble on about myself (sorta). But, as a note to future self, and for a record of gratitude, here is an endlessly incomplete collection of events, incidents and anecdotes from this past year (pardons in advance for any omissions).

Interested in any of these topics? Rather than me including the handy links (like i probably should), i encourage you to poke around and discover the artifacts and collections about any topics, adventure, project listed… doing so will allow me to share this sooner and move onto the next thing (plus *everything* would end up linked).

I’ll also include a few meditations and manifestations for the 2011 so you can ask me, “hey dave, how’s it going with those things you mentioned you’d do in 2011?”

The other day, i recorded a wee festive video messages to say thanks for letting me participate in your life and thanks for being part of mine:

Recapping

Healing: Abdominal surgery (2nd in years), challenging recovery was significantly aided by kindness and traditional Chinese Medicine (thanks Drs. Trauben & Ying & Nagy)– tried to enjoy films during recovery but, due to pain, watched WW2 movies and documentaries to feel camaraderie from injured comrades

Speaking: Shared my stories on stages including… Pecha Kucha (Fck Stats, Make Art, remix’d), Word Camp Vancouver (Art and Tech) – thanks Duane/Dale/Johnx2/Rebecca, Social Media Camp Victoria (for day-job), plus lecturing classes at BCIT, and TNMH spiels at Capilano University 2x, Fresh Media (also a podcast lecture at this one i think… ) – Also Northern Voice video about finding voice/creativity, etc. – thanks for Andrew Lavigne, Julie Szabo, Monica Hamburg and all who showed up to watch while i lay upon a davenport

Wrangling: True North Media House – survived the tension and negativity to create a social movement of documentation, reporting, funtimes, internationalizing and explore the issues about modern media and global mega-events… from prosestors to journalists, we didn’t fit in anywhere but ended up “being” a story. Interviews/coverage in PBS Media Shift, CBC Radio multiple times, and dozens of other outlets

Internationalizing: Also Olympics in general as a fan saw a handful of freaking awesome hockey games hanging with my face people drinking tall cans in parks, meeting visitors, finding new pubs and parks, riding the bus with happy people, hugging strangers

Documenting: Along the way, i created a bucket load of Olympic Outsider podcasts on-the-go with instant publishing to bring all of you along

Documented: The With Glowing Hearts filmmakers followed me around for much of the above and combined my story with others to make a remarkable soliloquy about a city in change and various approaches to dealing with it

Awarded: Choogle On awarded 3rd place (4th kinda) in Georgia Straight’s Best of Vancouver which is kinda neat. Made a few more episodes (though many are hidden currently)

Traveling:

Yup, always on the go… here’s where (and of course there are podcasts from the trips so you can come along in my backpocket):

Austin for SXSW for the 3rd time – getting more local, finding face cafes, greenbelts with yoga tattoo artists, hidden bars and bar-b-ques. hectic fun hanging with industry luminaries where you can’t tell the millionaires from the bankrupt. Also made podcasts to detail the nuances and form an audio quest guide for rookies and chooglers. also broken leg cyborg rescue mission – cheers to John Biehler, Nadia, Flanders, Amber Case and Dave Delaney + Pugz and Laurie

Toronto including Hockey Hall of fame for 1 rapid hour, wandering new streets, cafes and bars – Canada is different there but some charming people amongst the bustle and smoke

Seattle to Subpop meeting superhero: Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, enjoying the backroom tour and going home with a box of CDs (thanks Dean for making it happen)

Festivaling: Komasket Music fest interviews with great bands and enjoyed vibe of small time fest (see also articles in Vancouver observer) shisha tents with tea, lake canoes paddles, redemption song outdoors, couch green room “backstage” – note: Bocephus King is giant and enjoys swimming. Extra thanks Kazia and “Family Man” Barrett

Roadtripping: Trip to Nelson for Christmas Day lighthouse ferry ride, soaking in a hot springs cave, local organic Nelson beer in a haunted hotel and snowy day drives + met harp/hashman Xomaha. Made a video to tell you i like ya (above) – plus a stop at Duhkabour museum (near Castlegar) in search of Draft dodger statue (a story for another time ( someone wanna fund my trip and article?))

Writing: Along with meta coverage, interviews, and miscellany, articles and essays abounded! including pieces in:

• RAIN – an interview and art piece about my personal artistic journey
• Vancouver Observer – dossiers about the inaugural SeaBus voyage, summer festivals, train travel and Remembrance day ++
• Megaphone – Let’s Get Lost, a tour of forgotten Vancouver counter-culture landmarks
• Inside Vancouver – Vancouver Tourism featured vancouverite sharing my fave activities, places and tips
• Exode – Serialized Letters from Russia (in a stylish manner)
• Granville (Varley forthcoming) – this is a big one which is a true labor of affection

+ Blogging: was “official” blogger (along with Bob from VIAwesome) at TEDX Vancouver and documented a bucket full of talks including Nardwuar and Josh Fox

Culturing: Going the Opera – twice(!) including a contemporary Canadian opera and a more trad Italian preceded by rainy night fun with draft beer and raclette at German festive market with Chris and Cinci

Meeting: Getting friendly with the CBC Radio 3 crew – admire/enjoy what they do + props to Grant Lawrence for book/tour/blog/etc.

Rocking: DOA at Anti-Olympics show with KK, Bev et al, with me in lanyard, pins, Canadian flags and assorted spangles at the Rickshaw – see also: Misfits with mon ami Scales – UPDATE: Vampire Weekend outside Malkin Bowl with a spiked bubble tea

Partying: UW 40 party with so many friends, a whole pig and endless beer and tropical drinks the next morning in the wrecked campground – also a skunk & many fine ales for later – special thanks to analog lisa and R&B Brewing - So pleased Bev Davies came and gave me a treasured gift

Officiating: Conducted a wedding (for Kemp and Sheila) and wrote a celebratory prose with influences from Walt Whitman to Gibran to Chili Peppers

Transcending: Levon Helm with brother Dan on a perfect night with a perfect buzz and all time hero with surprises including Elvis Costello. Also, during Olympics, watched Wilco rock a long, sophisticated set in a drizzly park – really started the good feelings as fireworks reflected in Yaletown and so on… (many other bands included The Stills again)

Camping: Owl Creek Howl year 3 – sitting in stream, beers around lantern during fire ban and making funny-ish videos for Lt. Magnum with Scales and Mariska

Sporting: (drunken) Whitecaps games, (expensive) Canucks hockey, BC Lions at Empire with Dad and brother) and baseball parks around BC including Vancouver Island

Exploring: I was on the bridge for the new SeaBus’ inaugural voyage along with my pal Miss604 – took a week to stop smiling (or was this last year?), Culture Crawl to Boris and Rachel’s, day-trips aplenty to hidden neighbourhoods and dozens of walks on the Varley trail

Sunsetting: Possibly last trip to Olympia for some time. Cashed in Last Word Book credit and last coffee card on a iced chai after a hardworking weekend winding down Zhonka office with Unabonger

Remembering: Observed Remembrance Day at Japanese Cenotaph at Stanley Park with co-conspirators KK, Trauben and Lis. Followed by rainy hike and plenty beers to the Legion hall for Lt. Magnum (now Commander) Brother who made it back and forth to Afghanistan safely – chance to record some fun videos and learn more about contemporary military life and culture (see also: podcast and Vancouver Observer article)

Celebrating: My pal Derek kicked cancer’s ass for another year and i went to his birthday party and danced in his parent’s swinging party room

Visting: Maddog Maccarthy, international man of silicon up from Pacifica for Greek food and Lendog up from PDX for whirlwind hockey and beers and buddy Banghi up for CDN Thankgiving (it’s a tradition) with giant bottle of Bishmills in tow

Working: You prob know i have a wicked job at which i work hard and experience personal satisfaction and significant results and enjoy collaborating with many dear colleagues – i also appear frequently in podcasts, interviews, articles etc. discussing the concerns of the company and observations of the industry but you can find those on your own

Friending: I started a list of all the people i didn’t already explicitly mention… but this will take all day so i’m taking a hike… consider yourself admired

Words & Music: This is where i’d tell you what i read and listened to but skipping this too…

Beers and Meals: ibid (see untappd.com)

Onwards…

2011 is bound to be full of surprises, but there are many things i must do personally to ease my mind (i.e. taxes and biz and exercise), and many i am so eager to do to fill my soul (writing, making), and many which fit in-between (web remaking, archiving).

Here are most:

1. Shut down Zhonka gently – tough one and overdue
2. Do my taxes early and pay off CRA
3. Establish new web *everything* – it’s all a mess, all of it
4. Archive all podcasts (and release purchasable collections?) – related to above, move audio to archive.org
5. Craft 5 great fictional-ish stories (flash flood, caye caulker, taos incident,
6. Participate in a sport(s)/activities frequently (snowshoeing, x-country skiing, trail running, tai chi, inline hockey, swimming)
7. Attend SXSW music as well as interactive
8. Refresh wardrobe (new thrift store shirts/pants (possibly in Austin, Texas)
9. Make a quilt from old t-shirts
10. Get to know Vancouver Archives, Museum of Vancouver, Vancouver Art Gallery

Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Give me a hand won’t you – especially with the pleasant parts. UPDATE: Need to see a dentist multiple times and aim to drink more water.

Cheers for the all kindness (photo @kk)

Next big projects: Revisit the Festival Express remix of a train trip across Canada teaching about wonders of personal expression and media; begin Ole Dead Gramps audio remix project (maybe); revisit Clayoquot Rainforest Dispatches to include others’ stories; make Bev. Davies interview into something.

This profile was published in Vancouver Tourism’s Inside Vancouver blog on Dec. 14th ias: This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Dave Thorvald Olson with photo by Kris Krug

daveo by @kk

Hometown:

I grew up in Whalley, and now live in Lynn Valley, but have done a lot of worldwide traveling in between.

How long have you been a Vancouverite?
On and off since I was 4 years old, and I’m 40 now.

Occupation:
I’m community and marketing director for HootSuite.com—a social media web tool for Twitter that is used by both Tom Waits and Barack Obama.

Favourite place in the city:
The Varley Trail named after the Group of Seven painter and WW1 battlefield artist Frederick Varley—it’s a short loop through in the rainy woods near my house—you can extend around Rice Lake to see remnants of early logging culture along rushing river dotted with memorials to loved ones.

Best way to spend a Saturday in the city:
Sleep in, then dim sum in Chinatown at New Town or Floata. Find a street festival on Miss604’s blog or in the Georgia Straight, roll there by transit and dig the music and snacks. Seabus to Lonsdale Quay and either pitch and putt golf at Murdo Frazer or Ambleside, or stroll across the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge. Head back by bus through Stanley Park for Kintaro ramen on Denman Street, have a quick nap, regroup at New Amsterdam Cafe, and head to a concert at Rickshaw, Malkin Bowl, or The Railway Club (depending on taste), then meander home smiling for sure.

Favourite Vancouver artist:
Dan Mangan—this singer-songwriter is everything good about Vancouver to me: understated, sincere, charming, and a wee bit scruffy. Catch him on the rise. See also: Geoff Berner and Jeremy Fisher.

Top insider tip for visitors:
Explore Vancouver’s counterculture history including sites where the Grateful Dead played free shows, Tommy Chong met Cheech, and Jimi Hendrix practiced guitar at his Granny’s house, as well as the site of the legendary punk club The Smilin’ Buddha or at the new Empire Field on the site where Beatles and Elvis both played. Oh yeah, the Museum of Vancouver is a hidden gem at Vanier Park.

Photo by: Kris Krug

A week after the event at West Vancouver’s Kay Meek Centre, I’m wrapping up my coverage of Ted X Vancouver with a collection of coverage by myself, stranger and my media-making co-conspirators.

Per policy, laptops were not allowed in the auditorium but plenty of folks Twittered their #TEDXVan thoughts in realtime to augment the live video stream (which seemed to have a large audience based on the chatter).

Additionally, as part of the event media crew, Bob Kronbauer and I provided live-blog-esque coverage of the specific talks (links included below).

What follows below are reviews, remarks and documentation of the event by the people who were there in various forms – mostly blogs, videos and photos.

Where handy, I’ve included a sample quote or photo to show a bit of the flavour of the artifacts which are arranged in no particular order or selected without any subjective criteria. Did i miss your blog post, photoset, video or slidedeck? Drop a comment below for the record.

Blog Articles

Vancouver is Awesome: Ted X Coverage by Bob Kronbauer

As I said in my introductory post, I’m not here to make light of these important and potentially heavy talks but I’ll definitely be providing a different perspective than one you might not see unless you were here. Heck, even if you were here you might not even take note of it: my blog posts today are going to focus on our presenters shoes.

If you watched Nazanin Afshin-Jam‘s talk, she discussed human rights violations, the Stop Child Executions Organization and how “We can be a voice for the voiceless”. Her talk is deep, with some heavy slides, it is revealing and it is inspirational to say the least.

photo by Kris Krug

Her shoes reflect the freedoms she talks about, the freedoms and opportunities of living in Canada that she has “never taken for granted” after escaping an oppressive life with her family in Iran. Today Nazanin wears incredibly fashionable, shiny black Burberry pumps that feature a black and white check on the side. She talks about her mother and how a change in government went from her wearing “the latest fashions off of Paris runways” to having to cover her face. Our freedoms, her freedoms, are reflected in her selection of shoes that she has the right to wear today. Her overall message is “Use your blessings to advance humanity in your own way” while not taking your freedoms for granted, and the audience receives it loud and clear.

• Yael Cohen – Fuck Cancer
• Dr John “Jack” Horner – On dinosaurs being large, different and gone
• Kyprios’ (slam) Dunks
• Live Blogging and Shoe Connections
• Greg Power – Storytelling

TedX Vancouver live blog: various by Dave Olson – Also at: TEDXVancouver.com

• Michael Green – Notes on Sustainable Housing
• Josh Fox – Frac’ing, Flaming Water and Banjos

I saw Josh Fox on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show so am a little aware of Gasland – a film about natural gas companies who contract property owners around the US to put pumps on their land. For impoverished folks, this can be a windfall but there are huge consequences with polluted ground water, ill health and all sorts of problems.

He was just nominated for an Academy Award, let’s see what Josh Fox has to say.

Here he comes… with a banjo! {overdub: “I’m not a pessimist”… says the film.} This is gonna be good! ”It’s gonna be a bit of an adventure today.” says Mr. Fox. Noted.

• Nick Molnar – Make Webs Better
• Underway at TedX Vancouver
• Nardwuar – Courageous, DIY Interviews (Doot Doot)
• Meet your Speakers – Morning Photo Catch-up
• Don Alder and Dr. Seuss’ Guitar
• Tara Mahoney and Fiona Rayher – Youth Media Revolution

Design is Philosophy: TEDX Vancouver 2010: A Lengthy Review by Morten Rand-Hendriksen

…Rayher and Mahoney based their talk on the generational theories of social historians William Strauss and Neil Howe. At the centre of Strauss and Howe’s theory is the recurrent cycles of generations. The basic idea is that each generation takes on one of four archetypes. They are the Prophet generation, the Nomad generation, the Hero generation and the Artist generation. These theories are based on historical analysis of generations past. The last Hero generation (considered to be transformative and world-changing) was the G.I. generation born between 1901 and 1924. That means if the theory is correct, the next Hero generation should be Gen Y. And that was the foundation of Rayher and Mahoney’s talk.

RickChung.com: Massive TEDxVancouver 2010 Wrap Up: The Fine Line

I had some great conversations with the likes of Dave Olsen from HootSuite as well as photographer and event organizer Kris Krüg (pictued above eating pizza) in addition to music writer Mikala T. from Backstage Rider, Ariane Colenbrander, Kelsey Dundon, Kimli Welsh, travel journalist Robin Esrock, and many others.

photo Rick Chung

The music by Don Alder and rapper Kyprios was impressive. Alder’s cool guitar stylings set a vibrant mood in the auditorium, while Kyprios’ intense rhymes rocked the crowd. His rap on racism and stereotypes set off a few alarms with its fowl, blunt language that surely rangled some, but its artistic merit and value were clear. At the end of the night, the two collaborated on a rather amusing freestyle guitar and rap jam session that was pretty cool.

Beyond Robson: TEDxVancouver by Darko Sikman

As the day went on we saw a wide array of speakers from Yael Cohen, young founder of F**k Cancer to Dr John “Jack” Horner, one of the best-known paleontologists in the United States. Vancouver celebrity interviewer Nardwuar did what I’m sure is TED’s first stage dive into the crowd at the end of his speech and managed to crowd surf all the way to the top of the auditorium. During the breaks the speakers and the attendees mingled and new friendships and future collaborations were born.

delicious juice dot com: Right Said Ted by Kimli

The Good:

• Registration was a breeze
• Dr. Jack Horner‘s talk on dinosaurs
• The idea behind Yael Cohen‘s “Fuck Cancer” movement
• Watching Mike Rowe‘s talk from TED2009
• What I saw of Devdutt Pattanaik‘s talk from TEDIndia 2009 that included a simple, two word phrase that could quite seriously inspire me to do great things: “BE SPECTACULAR”
• Don Alder‘s incredible guitar playing
• Nazanin Afshin-Jam‘s talk about the atrocities that go on in her homeland of Iran and how we can help
• Josh, who brought me some desperately needed Diet Coke at 2:30 – he is the best
• Greg Power‘s talk on Storytelling

Product with Purpose: Water Bottles from China by Denise Taschereau/fairware

Take Tedx Vancouver for example, last year FIJI water sponsored the event, and had their product out for grabs. From what I heard organizers got grief about it (refer back to the Story of Bottled Waterif you’re still wondering why).

In making products to change behavior, cool helps – if people like the product, they use it  (we thought we’d do glass because it’s unique and different, just like Tedx even though rumor has it that glass has a bigger footprint than steel).

photo: Jeremy Lim

Wendy Hartley Digital: TEDxVancouver 2010

My final thoughts: While I was there and on my way home, I thought of all of the many individuals I know who would benefit from sharing ideas at this event. Real thought-leaders when it comes to environmental change especially. Many of my Main Street neighbours and people like Lorne Craig from Green Briefs http://unicyclecreative.com/, Clay Yandle from Sharkbite Art & Design www.sharkbite.ca and Clint Mahlman, Senior VP of London Drugs www.greendeal.ca.  So many of us are working toward the same goal particularly when it comes to sustainability. It will be great to see TED grow so change can.

Vancouver Observer: Ideas on the move at TEDx Vancouver by Pravin Pillay

Jeet-Kei Leung, spoke on Transformational Festivals, and the new evolutionary culture that they have spawned. Across the Pacific North West and down to San Francisco, people have been gathering in the wilderness to dance, celebrate and deepen their connection with nature and themselves. Temporary Autonomous Zones are generated through events like Burning Man in the Nevada desert and BC’s own Intention. People are seeking ways to evolve themselves in community through unbridled artistic creativity and workshops ranging from permaculture to meditation.  The industrial mind-set has imbedded the idea that change must be hard and painful. However, Jeet-Kei reminds us that joy and celebration are innate to our humanity. Learning through community amongst fellow creatives is another way to transform one’s world and, perhaps more importantly, oneself.

Kemp Edmonds convinced his fiance Sheila that i’d be a fine candidate to quasi-officiate their wedding. I was promised beer and they provided a wee bit of guidance as to fave themes, songs, writers.

I combined their thoughts with my style and go-to authours and penned some musings which sandwiched the nice magistrate lady Barb doing the secular ritual required by written law.

My wife was kind enough to get my pin-striped, thrift-store suit dry-cleaned and i wore my Florsheim wing-tips i scored in exchange for some impromptu consulting at a ec-comm conference – these shoes are so fancy, they are stored in cloth bags.

Here is a photo by Lyndsay London for the record and a pretty close transcription of my spiel:

Dearest assembled,

Together, tonight, we add to the heritage of this hall – we bask in the memories of those who celebrated here before – and briefly consider the years to come – while we gather to celebrate these two lovely friends – raise our voice in support for the decision they’ve made – and offer our gentle help for their future years.

As for us, we’ll always have tonight to combine us in our affection for this couple – Kemp and Sheila {in case you are at the wrong wedding} Together, we’ll always have their good cheer to bind us. Kemp and Sheila, you are are part of us all now.

To the parents, siblings, aunties, especially the uncles and cousins galore – this is a celebration of your contributions to their lives. Congratulations to you all and though they’ll hardly have a chance to say it amidst the whirlwind, i *suspect* they are most grateful to each of you for coming.

When expressing feelings for dearest soulmate, we humans are prone to metaphor ~ equating the vastness of our love to grains of sand, or the stars deeper deeper still crowding the universe.

Or even the most stoic drifts to comparisons of love to *uniqueness* – evoking images of trembling snow flakes each allegedly unique {note: they aren’t}, or splashy heroic feats like climbing mountains, fording fjords, or having giant structures built as tokens of affection – whether they be Taj Mahals or surrounded by white picket fences.

But I propose that it’s not the quantity that matters – rather love is best gauged by its quality – the degree in which you savour each moment – the long walks in glorious parks, visiting family for sunday suppers, adventures to countries you’ve never considered where you’ll wander late night in twisty cobbled lanes when’re beloved have meandered, scampered and observed for centuries – clutching hands, believing, knowing, trusting that their love was the deepest uniquest, vastest of any love ever.

Representing Lebanon, Gibran lays it down thusly:

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have, let these be your desires:

to melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night
to know the pain of too much tenderness
to be wounded by your own understanding of love;
and to bleed willingly and joyfully
to wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
to rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
to return hem at eventide with gratitude;
and then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in
your heart and a song of praise upon your lips

Indeed! But your love will show its true quality in the tough times life heaves at us all – from time to time. This pressures can be akin to the earth squeezing hidden pockets of carbon in scattered mountains and trenches so precisely that the create glimmering breadcrumbs beneath the surface – aching to reveal themselves to sun and eye to reach full their potential.

Sometimes the years we wish to hurry by are the ones that look back upon so fondly – aged with the wisdom and fortitude gained when all looked so rough.

Meanwhile in Paris in the 1700s Jean Jacques Rousseau was thinking the *same thing* – about and loving when the living ain’t easy:

“If our pleasures could be described, there simplicity would appear ridiculous; our walks, tete a tete outside the city

where i spent my last 8 or 10 sous on little suppers at the open window at which we say opposite watch other on two low chairs pace upon a trunk which filled up the breadth of the window niche.

Who could describe the charms of these meals at which the dishes consisted of nothing more than a quatern loaf of bread, a few cherries a morsel of chess and half a pint of wine which we shared between us – Friendship, confidence, intimacy, tranquility of mind, how delicious are your seasonings!”

Certainly, your life with be laden with splendid times and the deepness of your love and patience will only be key when he spends 4x as much as you on a haircut – just know that he did it to look good for you. Or she comes home late saying she was listening to a friend’s problems when you know she just wanted to catch overtime.

However wee, every day and every action adds to the quality of love – and polished with skill – the results are the head-spinning rewards of contented smiles and splendid leisure – so are you ready?

because the Red Hot Chili Peppers suggest:

the one to treasure the rest of your days is here
you’ve each finally found something perfect

so are you ready to show up for duty
serve this woman and honour her beauty?

will you agree to take this man into your world
and be as one?

don’t answer me … While i represent the voice of the people, i don’t represent the law, as such, i’ll defer to my magisterial counterpart to tend to these particulars:

##

Kemp and Sheila, before we segue into a night of celebrations and feasting and who knows what else, i’ll share the thoughts of wandering – in American in the 1800′s – Walt WhitmanL

I have perceived that to be with those i like is enough,
to stop in company with the rest at evening is enough,
to be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh
is enough

to pass among them or touch any one or rest my arm ever so lightly around neck for a moment
what is this then?
i do not ask any more delight, i swim in it as in a sea!

and i’ll continue for him with my dedication to you two:

another Jericho beach sunset stroll after bread, cheese and wine picnic on a Indonesian sarong bought at a market on a sunny day

another main street quest for a surprise bottle of wine to remember that night on the island when you sat on a boulder not caring about algae and cold and held each other, and gazed and awed and wondered about the possibilities, dreaming of a future growing together

or another snowed in cabin day, fireplace, hot place, and comparing passages and patterns – naps and snacks

another saturday helping friends in need knowing you have more to give another night eager to be home together, the willingness for a late night drive home, the patience when someone hogs the beds

another evening sharing knowledge with vigour and passion to return fulfilled – but ready for a kiss

another bus ride night to gather collaborate grow, challenge, learn, knowing that you’ll never stop progressing

another lifetime of walking hand in hand side by side, not in front of, not behind, trusting, hoping, knowing believing that your love is endless – as you pause to count the stars like so many gems

##

Kemp and Sheila, i humbly invite you to grab hold of one another, gaze into one another’s eyes and Kemp its time to kiss t your (smoking hot) bride!

Now you two beloved turn around and meet your future as i have the pleasure of introducing you to the good people as the married couple, Sheila and Kemp Edmonds. Congratulations!

You like what they are up to? I thought so, now go out and donate a couple of bucks and you too can be a producer!

This article originally appeared in the Vancouver Observer as The Music Never Stops: BC Summer Music Festival Guide Redux as part 2 in continuation of a previous article. While some of these shows are past, this will be a handy starting point for next year’s festival season.

Have a fest? Drop a comment.

Here’s the teaser: The Music Never Stops

Not enough fun in chapter 1? Pack the cooler and hit the road for even more tunes in the sun.

Turns out BC is the land of plenty for summer-time music fests. You probably already circled a few faves from: “Musical Dim Sum: A Guide to Small-ish Music Festivals in BC and Washington” now augment with these reinforcements to keep your head melted at just the right temperature.

Line up your calendar and explore the list at: “Musical Dim Sum: A Guide to Small-ish Music Festivals in BC and Washington” and augment with these reinforcements to keep your head melted at just the right temperature.

But don’t delay, the band’s are warming up… just around the next bend.

Soundwave (Ucluelet BC)

Web: http://soundwavemusicfestival.ca/
Date: July 16 – 18
Blurb: Go deep into the coastal wilderness after evading law enforcement and pack your gear into Mussel beach for monster sound systems and high-end purveyors of electronic music — they say, “Soundwave is a three day Journey Less Ordinary” and point out, “Rough Roads Lead to Smooth People!”
Camping: Short answer = Yes – cheerfully detailed at FAQ
Musically noteworthy: Global talent ranging from Live Sets, to an All Vinyl Shakedown

The Big Day Up (Comox Valley

Web: http://thebigdayup.com/
Date: July 17 - 1:30PM to 11Pm ~ plus an after party in the lodge
Blurb: A one-dayer so doesn’t exactly hit my requirements but a day on Mt Washington on the Island is fun in itself — add music for more goodtimes
Camping: Nope
Musically Noteworthy: Australia’s Cat Empire headlines a bill with Daniel Wesley

Bonfire Music Festival (Birken — near Pemberton)

Web: http://www.bonfirefestival.com/
Date: July 23-25
Blurb: “The Moon Farm is located in a beautiful mountain valley that gets lots of sunshine”
Camping: Yep
Musically Noteworthy: “Our stellar lineup of musical performers will appeal to a broad range of the Roots, Groove, Jazz, Funk & Folk audience who are known to appreciate the outdoor festival experience.”

Littlefest (near Slocan)

Web: http://littlefest.ca/
Date: July 23 & 24
Blurb: “Littlefest is little, with a maximum attendence of 500 folks. This way you can easily find your way around, strike up a conversation with your neighbor, have a drink – while keeping an eye on your kids.”
Camping: Free on-site!
Musically noteworthy: Bands with names like Meatdraw, The Dharmas, Wood Pigeon, and Blackberry Wood, looks like a bit of old-timey, mellow-going, good-times

Bass Coast Project (Squamish)

Web: http://www.basscoastproject.com/bass/
Date: July 23 – 26
Blurb: Appears to be part yoga retreat, part mud wrestling escape, and part DJ-driven dance o’ rama alongside the river. Limberness awaits. Photos look like a life-changing space cruise.
Camping: I’m guessing yes
Musically Noteworthy: Ummm… just not sure how to answer this — decipher lineup at your leisure

Wild Salmon Fest (Lumby)

Web:http://wildsalmonmusicfestival.com/
Twitter: @WildSalmonMusic
Date: July 23 – 25
Blurb: Hang/para-glider fly-up plus music festival in the interior and only $40 wknd which supports wild salmon habitat restoration
Camping: Yes
Musically noteworthy: Rockin’. Country. Blues.

Under the Volcano (North Vancouver)

Web: http://volcano.resist.ca/
Date: Aug. 8th
Blurb: Arts, social change and activism at Cates Park in North Van
Camping: Not officially
Musically noteworthy: Assortment of activist-minded acts including Veda Hilde plus speakers including writer Naomi Klein

Remember Stay hydrated, keep you bottles and bongs on the downlow and have some fun. Did i miss a fest here or in Musical Dim Sum: A Guide to Small-ish Music Festivals in BC and Washington? Make sure to add a comment.

Thanks: Photos by KK, Photo editing by fiercekitty, mariachi photo by authour + Tips from various Weed Scouts — merit badges for all!

The summer’s already rolling by and the prime of festivals season is nigh — so hook up your tent trailer, fill a growler of microbrews to go with your a flat of Old Style Pilsner and choose your vibe from world-y folk to trance in the wild.

@kk and @uncleweed at @wghthemovie pre-screening in Dec. 2009

Cross-posted (with some modification) from True North Media House blog post With Glowing Hearts – Tweet and Toonie Torch Relay by Jason Sanders. Re-posted here to rally support for this worthy project — more at: With Glowing Hearts wants to make you a producer!

Also worth noting that Andrew Lavigne also shot/edited my Northern Voice 2010 presentation and many other of my talks, prezos and mis-adventures over the past years.

Put this badge on your blog

Two years ago, Andrew Lavigne and Jon Ornoy took it upon themselves to capture the 2010 Winter Games‘ effect on Vancouver from the perspective of people directly impacted by the Olympics.

Downtown Eastside residents, bloggers, photographers, activists, proponents and opponents found themselves infront of Andrew and Jon’s cameras as With Glowing Hearts documented the changes and opportunities experienced by four individuals during the lead up and execution of the largest event in British Columbia’s history.

Now, the Games are over, the cleanup is almost complete, the province is reviewing Olympic related finances and the stories have been captured. All that remains, however, is the expensive process of distilling hours of raw video into a narrative that spans two years and four stories.

In order to complete the film, Andrew, Jon and Kemp Edmonds created the Tweet and Toonie Torch Relay–a social media campaign designed to promote the film on Twitter, blogs and other online tools while helping raise the $10,000 needed to complete the film. It’s easy and fast to support this project. All you need to do is follow the steps outlined by Kemp below.

For just $2 you can become a producer: your name will appear in a word cloud much like this. A $2 donation will show your name in size one font while a $200 donation will show your name in size 100 font. All fonts are proportional to the largest contribution. An image will be posted of the cloud and made available as a poster.

Enter to win a producer credit and copy of the film with a tweet: You can also enter to win a weekly prize of a DVD or digital copy of the film and a $20 producer credit (size 10 font). Each tweet represents an entry. winner will be chosen at random. All you have to do to enter is tweet one of these messages:

• I am a proud supporter and hopefully winner of a copy of the film #withglowinghearts and a producers credit! http://wghthemovie.ca
• Only $2 makes me a movie producer #withglowinghearts http://wghthemovie.ca
• I am entering to win a film credit and a copy of the film #withglowinghearts http://wghthemovie.ca
• Support local documentaries. Become a producer #withglowinghearts http://wghthemovie.ca

(source: Kemp Edmonds)

While you donate and tweet an entry to the contest, check out this short webisode featuring True North Media House. It’s one of four clips released in anticipation of this campaign and the rest can be found embedded in Kemp Edmonds’ article announcing With Glowing Hearts’ fundraising efforts.

More:

Previews of the film at: WGHthemovie.ca- Webisode #2 ‘True North Media House’ from Andrew Lavigne on Vimeo.

With Glowing Hearts ~ The True North ~ Strong and Social

Northern Voice 2010 – There in spirit and talking images

Originally appeared in Vancouver Observer “Uncle Weed’s Dossier” column as “Musical Dim Sum:  A Guide to Small-ish Music Festivals in BC and Washington” on July 1st, 2010 with photos (uncredited with apologies as i mostly don’t have any idea who snapped them) along with this teaser:

I went searching for the small time concert gems with on-site camping and eclectic line-ups with a mix of the familiar and musical surprises. Here are the BC treats I found so load up the microbus and hit the road.

Summertime On the Road

Getting there is twice the fun

My fave thing to do come summertime is rolling out to a music festival for some tunes with friends at some splendid locale — letting loose on a grassy knoll and sleeping in tent after a few microbrews to the sound of a distant drum circle. Love it.

Lucky for all of us, BC is filled with funtimes in the summer including music fests. Maybe it’s the grey in the beard but this year, rather than the usual circuit of local civic fairs and folk fests, coupled with a couple trips to The Gorge in Washington for the big festivals, I’m widening my range in search of a few gems which will refresh my soul but still keep me employed by getting me back by Monday.

As such, I went searching for the smalltime treats including onsite camping and eclectic line-ups for a mix of the familiar and musical surprises.

Cascadian Fests Backgrounder

I’ve done my time on Grateful Dead tour starting with a life-changing weekend in Eugene, Oregon 20 years ago.

In the 90s, along with heavy doses of loud shows at dingy bars, I caught plenty of outdoor concert parties including Garcia and Grisman at the top of Squaw Valley Blues Traveller in Telluride and Seabird Island for Midnight Oil during Clayoquot Summer.

Pre-9/11 (which thwarted any chance of visas for dissident poets and performers), my squad of renegades caught 4 years of Peter Gabriel’s stellar WOMAD fests in grassy lawns and canvas tents near Seattle to see the the finest world acts which brought both surprise and clarity from Polynesian Te’Vaka to Billy Bragg and Wilco playing the songs of Woody Guthrie.

Or we rolled over the Cascasdes to George for a bushel of multi-band gigs: HORDE, Further, Joni & Van & Dylan, Dave Matthews, KiSS, The Dead + the brothers Allman and Doobie. Good times but acres of chaos and commotion amongst the sublime views.

And yup, I’ve partied in the hot sun in Seattle for Bumbershoot with endless supply of top bands but lines and crowds to match and caught a Phil Lesh show on the 4th of July on the side of a ski hill — lovely scenery but access by crowded buses and then long drives to camp sites made it less appealing.

Certainly promoters in Pemberton and Squamish are bringing in big names (and decent ducats) but I’m off to find something a wee bit more chill ~ I guess you could say I’m seeking fewer folks at my fests.

Desired Characteristics

For this dossier, I sought out summer music fests with these requirements:

1. Close-ish – Driveable from Vancouver on a Friday after work
2. Thrifty – $100-ish will cover your weekend except for beer
3. Chill – Enough people for a party but not a hectic crowd
4. Camping – On-site tenting in natural envrions (bonus: lake)
5. Eclectic – Mix of live music of high quality and interest

The good news, there are plenty to choose from ~ of course, i’ve missed plenty so drop a comment with your favourite.

Solid Selections

All of these fests boast enough familiar names to get you grooving plus lots of up-and-comers to discover:

Vancouver Island MusicFest (Courtney / Comox)

Web: http://www.islandmusicfest.com/ Twitter: @VIMusicFest

Date: July 9, 10 Blurb: On-site yoga, 6 stages, art, beer, workshops, a “boogie zone” for dancing and a festival express shuttle make the ferry trip over even more worth it

Camping: Yes — too many rules to write so just read

Musically noteworthy: Plenty of old faves on the docket like Little Feat, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, David Lindley, Adrian Belew, Joan Osborne plus a newer country-tinged treat called Nathan (more)

Mission Folk Music Festival

Web: http://www.missionfolkmusicfestival.ca/

Date: July 23, 24, 25

Blurb: Already into its second decade and close-in to Vancouver on the way to Harrison features some of the finest folk, world, roots, blues and other music from across Canada and elsewhere

Camping: On-site camping for $20 per adult for the weekend with pass

Musically noteworthy: I’m a fan of Te’vaka from Tuvalu and other Polynesian and Micronesian islands — and there are plenty more

Komasket Music Festival (Vernon)

Web: http://www.komasketmusicfestival.com/

Date: July 30, 31, Aug 1

Blurb: Camping in tipis and Bob Marley’s old band, plus craft vendors, workshops, kids area, swimming and camping in the Okanagan Lake — what’s not to like?

Camping: Tipis rentals and on-site camping available with weekend pass for $10 per person for the weekend. Note no dogs allowed but “Prizes for Most Creative Camp Site!!”

Musically noteworthy: A danceable mix including The Wailers, Alex Cuba, Dehli to Dublin, and mighty beatboxer Shamik (more)

Summer Meltdown (Darrington, Washington)

Web: http://www.summermeltdown.com/

Date: Aug 6, 7, 8

Blurb: Cross the border and cruise the Cascades mountain to the shadow of White Horse mountain with vending, green village, on-site camping, and beer garden with 21+ micro brews

Camping: Tent camping included with ticket — no vehicles on site so you gotta haul in your gear though there is limited car camping

Musically noteworthy: Some familiar names ready to jam: The Presidents of the United States of America, 5 Alarm Funk, Mother Hips, Hot Buttered Rum, and (former Santana drummer) Michael Shreive’s Spellbinder (more)

Salmon Arm Roots and Blues

Web: http://www.rootsandblues.ca/ Twitter: @rootsandblue

Date: Aug. 13, 14, 15 Blurb: A bit of a stretch from Vancouver but a big stage of solid acts along the Shuswap Lake with sandy beaches could make a perfect weekend

Camping: Limited camping for $75 for the weekend

Musical noteworthy: Looks like a Canada Day party with Gord Downie & the Country of Miracles, K’naan, Ohbijou, Shane Koyczan and The Short Story Long, Wassabi Collective are intriguing and a band called Old Man’s Beard must be good (more)

Outlier Wildcards

These don’t fit the requirements per se but worth noting for musical expeditions on street and lawns:

[Vampire Weekend love Phish -- See them at Malkin Bowl -- photo: KK]

Malkin Bowl at Stanley Park

Date: Throughout the summer Web: http://www.malkinbowl.com/

Blurb: It’s like going to the woods to see a show but you are only a stroll from the West End so you can start with ramen on Denman before sitting on the lawn — either inside with a ticket or outside for free

Musically noteworthy: Can’t miss with any of Vampire Weekend, Flaming Lips, Swell Season with Black Francis, The National, K’Naan

Pacific Rim Arts Society Summer Festival 2010 (Tofino)

Date: July 1-15

Web: http://pacificrimarts.ca/summer-festival-2010/

Blurb: A variety of arts and culture events in the groovy village — pick a weekend with something you like to make your surf trip funner

Musically noteworthy: Virtuoso Russian accordionist, harp and steel duos, and modern versions of indigenous music make for a varied choice

Princeton Traditional Music

Web: http://princetonfestival.wordpress.com/

Date: Aug. 20, 21, 22

Blurb: It’s free (by donation) street fair with the streets closed down for concerts, plus panels and workshops from mining & railway songs and more plus spontaneous “mini jams and guerilla dances” in a small town 300 km from Vancouver.

Camping: Daily bus from Vancouver and camping close to site plus bed and breakfast and motels in town

Musically noteworthy: An extensive mix of early and traditional music

Further Afield

Have some time to disconnect and chill? Pack up the microbus and head to any of these exotic treasures:

Starbelly Jam http://www.starbellyjam.org/ Crawford Bay, July 16, 17, 18
Getting there is plenty of fun with a free ferry ride from Nelson to see Steve Kimock, Blackalicious and Chad VanGaalan near Creston on Kootenay Lake

Kispiox Festival http://www.kispiox.com/kvmf/ July, 23, 24, 25
Down home style community music and arts festival waaaay up between Prince George and Prince Rupert near-ish Smithers and Terrace for rustic fun

Discovery Coast Music Festival http://www.bellacoolamusic.org/ July 24 & 25
Family fun (read: no beers) with kids acts, along with the very adult Jim Byrnes, nestled in the heart of the Coast Mountains

Edge of the World http://www.edgefestival.com/ Aug. 6, 7. 8
Seems like heaven up on Haidi Gwaii if you can get there to see Scatterheart rock out (twice) or Crabapple Creek Electric Jug Band go old-timey funny

Shambhala Music Festival http://www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/ Aug. 6, 7, 8, 9
They say, “Shambhala is a journey, an adventure, a life altering experience” So go hear mostly electronic music near Salmo and “just let loose and dance, dance, dance”

More Hi-jinks

So … are you on the bus or what? Good, i thought so.

Which gigs did i miss? Drop a comment and let me know where I’ll see you boogie-ing-down this summer.

Just look for the grey beard, shady visor and a big smile.

Here’s a piece I’ve wanted to do for some time which published in Megaphone Magazine #55 June 11, 2010. Megaphone is “Vancouver’s Street Paper” and sold by independent roving vendors patrolling the city’s neighbourhoods.

My contribution (which came as a request for a “My Megaphone” 350 word piece and turned into a 950 feature piece) created the theme for the cover with this stellar artwork.

Here’s the article and i’ll add a few links and notes at the bottom for reference. Now, does someone want to make a Google Map of the spots?

Freed Weed ~ Exploring Vancouver’s counter-culture landmarks

Vancouver is always on some “best of” something list extolling luxurious skiing or exotic bistros, but it’s rarely mentioned amongst North American art culture capitals. San Francisco gets credits for its psychedelic pioneers and New York is known for art school punkers, with beat poets traipsing in-between the coasts. Even Montreal is known for jazz, comedy and underage drinking, and Ontario holds claim to the Group of Seven artists.

When it comes to art culture, I’m not talking about big dollar art conversation like “Oh, where shall we move the gallery?” Rather, I’m referring to the creative forces that bubble up from the underground, as evidenced in my wily ’80s adolescence at the York, Commodore and dingy warehouses in what’s now the yuppie enclave of Yaletown. (Of course, the cops were always there to shut the fun down —some things don’t change.)

You have to scratch a little bit to find this Vancouver where explorers found a cheap place to figure themselves out — back before shiny towers and grinning faces of realtors permeated the landscape, back before the teal-hued Expo daze, and even before the immortalized Gastown riots (we didn’t exactly miss out because the ghosts are still out there to inspire your renegade activities).

So put on your boots and get on the bus for a tour of Vancouver’s renegade past:

Magazine photo by @kateleg -- Inside magazine photo by @kk

I traveled several splendid seasons on Grateful Dead tours and never once heard about Jerry and the lads stirring up interest for a show at the Pender Auditorium with free shows at Second and Kits beaches on August 5, 1966 — naturally, each was shut down by the excessively diligent law enforcement. Of course, any decent ‘head will tell you about the legendary free show at Golden Gate Park, which happened a year later with throngs of civic and fan support.

Before breaking in LA, Tommy Chong toiled as a guitar player and promoter at colourfully-named Chinatown clubs: New Delhi Cafe, T-Cabaret, Elegant Parlour and Shanghai Junk — plus brought in future Motown artists to blow the roof off The Blues Palace at the (now sedate) corner of Broadway and Alma. After continual shutdowns (despite re-employing strippers as comediennes), he split town with the only Hispanic kid in town who he’d hired away from carpet laying biz to become the vanguards of Californian stoner culture in the ’70s.

Meanwhile, around the corner, a left-handed whiz-kid named Jimi from Seattle killed the hours while visiting his Granny by wailing on his guitar in a chicken restaurant before heading to England so someone would listen and give a shit about what he was up.

Blocks away in West End cabarets, my great Uncle Lorne entertained town dignitaries and miscreants alike as a lounge singer in a seedy but sophisticated circuit —as a kid oblivious to the violent underworld, I always wondered why he couldn’t bend the knuckles on one hand and covered them with rings.

Further out of town, the founding fathers of creative housing recently arrived from Finland in the 1890s stuck poles in the swampy land which no one wanted near the wild cannery town of Steveston and said, “This is where we live.” Generations lived on in net sheds, boats and ramshackle huts, creating their distinct community until authorities and land-grabbers tried to reclaim Finn Slough. The hardy descendants carry on—partially prisoners of charm and confusion over land claims—far from ideal, but somehow faring better than evicted residents north shore’s intertidal Mud Flats and even the recently thwarted land lease holders of Hollyburn.

Yup, my Vancouver isn’t the city of glass and resto-lounges; it’s stumbling upon the site of the Victoria Argyle Club—run by my ol’ dead Gramps who made sandwiches for pool sharks and olden slackers who never needed a job.

My Vancouver is the motorcycle shop on site of Bumper’s—a short lived all-ages club in Whalley where metal heads sneaking mickeys hung on one side and the grab-bag of punk/goth/new wave kids smoking cloves stayed on the other. No one much ventured to the floor except the seminal night when DOA, The Spores and my friends Abortions on Toast opened the whole world to the 13-year-old version of me.

Up King George a bit by the infamous bus loop was Stardust roller rink (apparently re-opened?) where 6th graders somehow were allowed to stay out all night copping feels and rollerskating circles to REO Speedwagon.

Just across the river where the ALRT used to end, I’d use paper route money to pickup a requisite punk camo jacket from the dingy surplus stores on the waterfront behind the Army and Navy store, the same one where my Mom bought clunky Chinese boots each year for the first day of school.

Now my boots haul me along the trail named for G7 artist (and WW1 battlefield painter) Fredrick Varley, who frolicked in the ‘20s and ’30s between Lynn Valley and Jericho Beach. The fiery Scot finally split town — 18 months behind on rent — after sparking the Vancouver art scene with the first schools and exhibitions in this industrial outpost.

I showed up at school most every day, hung out at libraries and even won the school science fair, before traveling to 20-plus countries learning the secrets of pilgrims and Templars. But never once did I hear about these Vancouver legends and connections. Discounted perhaps? Ignored? Who cares. I know it now.

My Vancouver isn’t the one where it’s often harder to get a beer than Utah, where clubs of hooligans thrive in reckless packs while a low-end live music house can’t get a license. Mine is the same one eagerly celebrated by foreign draft dodgers zipping across the border with Kerouac in their back pocket and even the chain smoking ESL students who pick here for some sense of intrigue and history beyond the glossy brochures.

And now this is your Vancouver too, whether you know it or want it. Get your boots on and find it.

Story by Dave Thorvald Olson

Photo by Kris Krug

Dave Thorvald Olson is a Vancouver-based writer, producer and podcaster. Online, he’s better known as Uncle Weed and can be found at UncleWeed.net.

##

Further Reading

A SMALL HISTORY OF FINN SLOUGH By David Dorrington

August 5, 1966 English Bay Beach Bandstand, Vancouver, BC Grateful Dead (first free concert) — Lost Live Dead

Tommy Chong’s Vancouver By Tommy Chong — Cannabis Culture Sunday, August 24 2008

A rethink on West Lake cabins warranted – Like the Schleswig-Holstein Question. Some are easy. Like the Hollyburn Mountain cabins question. BY NORTH SHORE NEWS AUGUST 24, 2007

Urban Renewal: Ghost Traps, Collage, Condos, and Squats by Scott Watson — Ruins in Process | Vancouver in the Sixties

On Strawberry Hill - The hippie exodus to Canada from the United States was not a mass migration, but it was close. Is it time to rethink this period, then and now? BY CHRIS TURNER — SEPTEMBER 2007 ISSUE OF THE WALRUS

Vancouver History chronology 1970

photo by John Bollwitt

Some of my pals rallied up WordCamp Vancouver recently and i was among many other pals as a speaker. Like last year’s WordCamp Whistler “Greeks to Geeks – Are you Worthy?” (video), I took the closing slot to tell my artsy/history stories after they all had a hectic day of technical learning.

Here’s a round-up archive the artifacts from the prezo called “Art and Technology are Old Pals.”

Blurb

By exploring technological innovations from tubed oil paints and graphite pencils to telegraphs and mountain bikes, Dave will explain how scientific innovation spurs the creative process and how to balance the cranial hemispheres to foster the seemingly opposed disciplines of both building a publishing platform and producing compelling content using WordPress.

Stories and examples will draw from Van Gogh, HD Thoreau, Word Perfect, telegrams, Gnomedex, mountain bikes and the channeled scablands in eastern Washington.

Slideshow

Art and Technology are Old Pals (embed in your blog to share with friends!)

Audio

Available as VBR MP3 and Ogg Vorbis on Internet Archive (.mp3, 1:04:17 , 59MB)

Video

More WordCamp Vancouver videos by Carlson Media

Snaps

by John Biehler

by Rebecca G.

By John Bollwitt

Short Form Commentary

penmachine @uncleweed By all accounts you kicked ass at #wcyvr10 once again. Well done! 9:53 PM Jun 13th

DuaneStorey @penmachine yah @uncleweed hit one over the Green Monster on Saturday… 9:55 PM Jun 13th

arianecdesign @penmachine Indeed he did! @uncleweed, you capped the afternoon with a smile at #wcyvr10 – 10:03 PM Jun 13th

robertdall Breaker Breaker -> DaveO @uncleweed http://flic.kr/p/89QEs3 doing his best Smokey & the Bandit impression. #wcyvr10 – 12:33 AM Jun 13th

robertdall Dave O @uncleweed doing his thing http://flic.kr/p/89MiGx WordScroll #wcyvr10 – 12:30 AM Jun 13th

typefaster @uncleweed loved your talk today, here’s a pic I got of you – http://is.gd/cNjGb – 10-4 good buddy.- 9:16 PM Jun 12th

therealkazia @uncleweed Fantastic and inspiring end to WordPress camp! Thank you! 5:34 PM Jun 12th

mariskar Sunshine and music on Granville Island after @uncleweed‘s great closing talk at Wordcamp! #wcyvr2010http://twitpic.com/1wania – 5:25 PM Jun 12th

kempedmonds Awesome shot of what missed out today @ #wcyvr as @uncleweed closes the show http://j.mp/9Pw3iA by @JohnBiehler – 4:44 PM Jun 12th

arianecdesign All @uncleweed was missing were a couple of SyQuest disks and an 8-track tape player! #props #storytelling #wcyvr10 – 4:38 PM Jun 12th

johnbiehler Here’s @uncleweed closing out #wcyvr10 http://flic.kr/p/89N9D4 – 4:11 PM Jun 12th via Flickr from West End, Vancouver

npdemers Ohmygawd, Dave Olson is hilarious. And hey, I’ve got a couple hours to kill. Let’s visit the museum! #wcyvr10 – 3:53 PM Jun 12th

robertdall If Dave Olson was a reglion I would be a believer. 3:33 PM Jun 12th

typefaster oh my… floppy disks. If we start talking about BBS’s, i’ll be in full-on geek flashback mode. @uncleweed ‘s talk at #wcyvr10 – 3:21 PM Jun 12th

davemmett “Words aren’t for processing. Words are for changing lives.” – Dave Olsen at #wcyvr10 – 3:14 PM Jun 12th via Twitter for iPhone

typefaster loving @uncleweed ‘s props during his talk at #WCYVR10 … we’re so obviously from the same generation. Long live the 70s + 80s :) 3:04 PM Jun 12th

vanessa_chu And the clothes change happening at #wcyvr10 as @uncleweed goes back into the future to the 70′s. 3:03 PM Jun 12th

vanessa_chu Enjoying @uncleweed‘s story telling session to close a full #wcyvr10 day. Art & tech unite! 2:46 PM Jun 12th

airdrie @uncleweed art vs technology. #wcyvr http://moby.to/nnbxn2 – 2:45 PM Jun 12th via Twittelator

wordcampyvr Art and technology are old pals #wcycr10 @uncleweed http://twitpic.com/1w9dgb – 2:42 PM Jun 12th via Twitter for iPhone

Miss604 – #WCYVR10 winding down. Coffee, muffins, & the storytelling of @uncleweed http://twitpic.com/1w9d5z – 2:41 PM Jun 12th

msamye .@uncleweed is a great final speaker for #wcyvr10. Stand-up meets tech = ftw. 2:41 PM Jun 12th via TweetDeck

johnbollwitt Final session of the day with none other than @uncleweed #wcyvr10 http://tweetphoto.com/26922162 – :40 PM Jun 12th

mariska @uncleweed is up! http://twitpic.com/1w9cib #wcyvr10 – 2:39 PM Jun 12th

johnbiehler Everyone’s eagerly awaiting @uncleweed‘s closing talk at #wcyvr10 http://flic.kr/p/89Qmw3 – 2:38 PM Jun 12th

Wrap-up

Miss 604 Rebecca Bollwitt: WordCamp Vancouver 2010 Wind Up

Duane Story: WordCamp Vancouver

Miscellania

Pod-radio-tech-speaker @todmaffin has some concerns and comments about “geek-Camps“

I notice that some of my social media friends in Vancouver have put together an excellent day tomorrow called WordCamp (a day about WordPress). There aresessions on using WordPress as a CMS, being curious for a living, SEO tips, and the inimitable Dave Olsen presenting “Art and Technology Are Old Pals.”1

{snip}

Locals still talk about Dave’s über-inspiring “Fuck Stats. Make Art” presentation at Northern Voice a couple of years ago for which he received a lengthy standing ovation. [↩]

Mr. Byrne spoke at TED about how acoustics of spaces influence songwriting.

The description from TED says: As his career grew, David Byrne went from playing CBGB to Carnegie Hall. He asks: Does the venue make the music? From outdoor drumming to Wagnerian operas to arena rock, he explores how context has pushed musical innovation.

David Byrne builds an idiosyncratic world of music, art, writing and film. Full bio and more links

Note:

This article was written as a “Special Dispatch” for Miss604.com - published in July 2008 while Rebecca and John were elsewhere. Cross-posting here so i don’t lose track of it … and to get ready for sumertime out n abouts.

In the article, besides talking about food and music, I tease many of the Vancouver-area boroughs a wee bit including where i grew up (Whalley) and where i live now (Lynn Valley) which attracted some commenting about region/class misconceptions and soci0-economics.

My article sets out to make the point that neighbourhoods are never quite what you expect them to be and that fact is right-on with me. Again this is a late draft, not final edit – see Miss 604 for canonical version.

Fusion Fest 2008 – Where the Folk are the Audience
By Dave Olson

Holland Park Surrey

All my hipster/greenie/crunchy/urbane pals were all bound for the luminary, venerable Vancouver Folk Fest this past weekend. I turned down extra tickets, rumoured media passes, friendly pleadings and erstwhile invitations cause i already had my weekend fest plans in mind – the Surrey Fusion Fest (see also: Greetings from Fusion Fest – video).

Sure you might think that i missed out on the awesome line-up and beautiful people on idyllic Jericho Beach but i spent scant ducats, saw great bands, ate well, and immersed myself in the ethnic re-mix that is the lower mainland’s super-diverse (and much maligned) municipality. Missed nothing methinks.

I made the lengthy transit trek (3 zones for the price of 2 on weekends) from my North Van sanctuary and spent Saturday afternoon/evening at the new Holland Park with my comrade Dan Funboy, and made the following observations:

• No LuluLemon pants in the whole place, none
• No whiny West-enders rolling their eyes about “the bridge and tunnel crowd”
• No small dogs, nor matching small purses to match
• Plenty of police but no incidents i saw (except for two cops rolling over curbs and gardens in quads, WTF?)


Whalley Little League

• Surrey heritage signs celebrating Whalley Little League, early settlers on Old Yale Road etc. were cool bits of edu-tainment
• Few trees in the expansive park – A nice fountain but not enough trees
• Accessible viewing areas for wheelchair rollers to see the bands on the mainstage
• Some real characters dancing and roaming the grounds but everyone was allowed to let their freak flag fly without hassle (Dancing to the Peruvian Pan Pipes – video)
• Surrey is really making an effort to do something to provide a sense of belonging and community

Reportage for the People!

I am very keen on festivals in general and tend to hang out with the proletariat rather than fancy folks, but i also don’t make it back anywhere near Whalley Exchange these days – cause well, i’ve been there, done that.

But in spite of all the yuppie grumblings from the urban core (many of whom speak of tolerance and diversity while ignoring where it actually happens), this is really where many new Canadians live – and this is where the low-income families can come have fun, where neighbours learn about each other, and where you can enjoy a variety of music you’d otherwise never get to hear. At a thrifty (free) price.

I spent my entire $11 on food tickets (plus someone gave Dan 3 more gratis) and, with Dan surveying the menu guide, we foraged the international booths for the following tasty snacks:

• Peruvian empanada (like a Cornish pasty with meat and olives)
• Polish apple cake
• First Nations salmon (somehow i don’t think the dill sauce and rice pilaf was traditional but sure tasty)
• El Salvador tacos al pastor and papusa
• Masala tea from India

Even a veteran linguist would be challenged to name all the languages overheard and foodies could sample some creative tasty bits and also check out cultural exhibits from each cultural region (not political jurisdiction as Persia, Palestine, and Taiwan were included).

The Mainstage

The musical line-up boasted a variety of ethnic and distinctly regular acts from a rock band you might see at a Bridgeview roadhouse (Rocking out while waiting for Salmon – video) to a bass player from the MicMac nation (via New Brunswick) who’s exclaimed that she’s “been in the business for 43 years”.

The Chieftains were the headliners on Saturday night which had a Celtic bent to it with the Connors before them (Introducing The Chieftians – video). The Dublin-based band were joined by some young Canadians who were dancing and fiddling and mugging for the camera with mucho aplomb.

The main Chieftain didn’t care for the cameras on the stage projecting the show onto video screens. The drummer got to sing one and managed not to incite a riot when encouraging people to drink a long with his whiskey song.

Nathan the band

The fave for me were Nettwerk recording artists, Nathan. A four piece with a country lilt and multi-instrument creativity. Switching between banjo, accordion and Theremin, acoustic and electric guitars, they sang tales of romance and deceit in a firm tender way, and even played a waltz. I am sucker for a quaver in a voice and i’ve listened to their plaintive, evocative songs on repeat today.

I planned to attend another day at the fest, but a lazy Sunday of watching the first Alpine stage of the Tour de France and unpacking at my new house (in North Van) won out.

Final observation (with my apologies to the do-gooders) while waiting for a bus at the Newton Exchange, listening to Angus (with a his can of Colt 45) ask a guy if the security guard uniform he was wearing was a Coast Guard uniform, i spotted a young woman wearing a shirt with iron-on glitter letters saying, “I was incredible in bed last night and all i got was this lousy t-shirt”

PS I coulda sworn i saw John Chow, the F*ck Art, Make Stats guy leaving as i arrived. Was that you?

Note:

This version of the CP article “Citizen journalists preparing to get the unofficial Olympic scoop” by Tamsyn Burgman was harvested and posted for archival purposes via a cached version of Guelph Mercury Press– all other CP syndicated version including Metronews, CTV, Yahoo etc. have “expired” the article so it longer appears online.

Ms. Burgmann’s article shares one of my fave Olympic-related stories about the first ever Nepali winter Olympian and gives an overview of what we (at the time) planning for grassroots coverage through the True North Media House project. Also includes comments from Michael Tippet of Now Public.

Artifacts from the anecdotes :

• Cross-country skiing – Men’s 10 x 10km Classical and Freestyle — Feb. 14th, Soldier Hollow
• Cross Country skiing – Feb. 19 – M & W 1.5km free sprint – Soldier Hollow - Rus, Ger, Nor – Mpg movies: Nepalese skier (1st ever winter Olympic athlete)

“Citizen journalists preparing to get the unofficial Olympic scoop”

TAMSYN BURGMANN, THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER, B.C. – When Nepal’s first winter Olympian donned skis to rocket across the Salt Lake City cross-country course in 2002, there were no big-shot broadcasters to memorialize the event.

The proud moment for his nation – despite lack of victory hardware – might never have seen the light of day aside from on-site spectators.

Yet owing to an early digital camera and an enterprising spirit, a 10-second video clip of the feat was viewed by tens of thousands some 12,000 kilometres away in Jay Khadka’s home town.

“This was the only vid they got to see of their athlete in the Olympics because of course, it wasn’t on any kind of TV coverage,” said Vancouverite Dave Olson, who personally captured the footage and posted it online.

Airing preliminary rounds of competition is like watching paint dry for the mainstream media, he said.

“I really started to see that there was an importance there to tell these people these stories they weren’t getting through the traditional outlets.”

Olson plans to be in the thick of the rising contingent of so-called citizen journalists at the Vancouver Games who will dig up and share on-the-ground stories that might otherwise go untold, even as 10,000 accredited journalists from around the world roll into the city to work from the main media centre.

Armed with digital gear, social networking tools and the seemingly limitless bounds of the Internet, the scribbling underdogs will bark from mountain tops even without the same privileges as professional media.

“It has the potential to be huge. A lot will depend on the events that will unfold and who is there to cover it,” said Michael Tippett, a founder of Vancouver-based NowPublic, a pioneering citizen journalism site.

“Numbers favour the amateurs’ side of the house, because if something happens, chances will be someone with a camera phone will be there – even in the context of the Olympics, which will be a media circus.”

The caveat to what will likely be the largest social media experiment the Olympics has ever seen is that the International Olympic Committee doesn’t grant unaccredited media access to official events and venues.

Holding tickets to sporting events doesn’t help because under the conditions imposed by Olympic organizers the public – and therefore citizen reporters – are prohibited from publishing photos, audio or video online on blogs, or elsewhere. Posting snapshots to Facebook and Flickr is OK as long as it’s not used commercially, but posting video to YouTube is a no-no.

The fact is that it will be difficult for Olympic organizers to act with the speed of the Internet to stop citizen journalists, but at the Beijing Games an unaccredited photographer found himself facing legal action from the IOC after the Games were over.

Acknowledging they can’t compete with HDTV anyhow, Olson and others are saddling up to instead get scoops from festivals, parties and any event outside an official venue.

“If you’re not winning a gold medal, involved in a scandal or particularly attractive, the mainstream media doesn’t cover those stories,” said Olson, who with Vancouver-based collaborators in Turin and Beijing also helped alternatively document the Games. “On-the-ground is very different from what you see on TV.”

To make it happen, several social media advocacy groups are offering mentoring, work space and resources for bloggers and online correspondents.

True North Media House, which Olson helped found, will be churning out content and setting best practices for grassroots reporting during Olympic Games. Funded only by cash from their own pockets, they’ve created an online social reporter toolbox, will host walking tours during the big events and aim to connect roving reporters from across the globe.

And NowPublic expects hundreds of contributors. Its staff of six will also use technology they developed to scan social media being posted elsewhere to find trends in what visitors are talking – or tweeting – about.

Space is also available to citizen journalists at city locales including Building Opportunities with Business and The Network Hub, and it’s likely more unofficial gathering spots will take root in WiFi cafes.

The province has also set up an unaccredited media centre, which features space for about 30 bloggers, but will still mostly cater to hundreds of mainstream reporters.

If citizen storytellers do in fact show in force – and then push the limits of the strict control of Olympic organizers-advocates predict they have the potential to turn the page on how Games are covered.

“(Olympic organizers) may become overwhelmed,” said Tippett. “If tens of thousands of people doing it becomes untenable, it could forever change (organizers’) relationship around the property they presume to own.”

Authour's intro in Heads Magazine

Authour’s note: This article “Zen Rambling in Japan” by me Dave Thorvald Olson originally appeared in Heads Magazine (now defunct) in the Vol. 6, Issue 4, circa: Spring 2006, as the cover story for the Travel Issue.

The iteration below is a late-version draft rather than the (apparently misplaced) submitted final version so there are some minor errors. This article is also markedly different from my “classic” Hemp Culture in Japan articles (see below) as this all original piece concentrates on modern times and practical tips rather than focusing on history and cultural change.

Heads did a beauty lay-out (excerpt scans included) and added several ancillary articles about Japanese culture in the issue. I’ll try to add in the photos where {indicated} in the article.

Be wary and read all the safety tips and caution closely – neither the Japanese police or Yakuza are to be trifled with but, if you keep it chill the good times are in store.

Ganbatte!

dvo, June 2010, Vancouver.

More Hemp in Japan

Hemp Culture in Japan – a 1992-7 ground-breaking treatise on the history and cultural significance of hemp in Japan is available in .html or .pdf . For alternate versions, visit JapanHemp.org, a site dedicated to Hemp in Japan. Published in Cannabis Culture magazine (#13 & Best of …), the Journal of International Hemp Association (V.4 N.1), as well as excerpted in several books including Hemp Horizons (USA), Hemp for Victory (UK) and “Hanp” from Norway.

Forget Everything

Japan can be intimidating, even for seasoned travelers. You arrive to massive sticker shock, tiny octopi in soup and 30 kinds of hot canned coffee which all taste the same in ubiquitous vending machines. You will also find a vibrant underground culture of tokers enjoying quality weed, homegrown from imported foreign seeds in crafty gardens, or harvested from the wild fields on the northern island of Hokkaido.

Japan is a long country with 80% mountains – covering several climates, from frosty Hokkaido in the north, to tropical Kyushu giving adventurous folks much opportunity to head to the outer provinces for exploration of the heady scenery of this varied archipelago. And, while weed is not cheap in cities, and can be hard to find in the countryside, with some planning, politeness and persistence, combined with a little zen, you can find big adventures in the land of the rising herb.

Indeed, it is easy to get lost in the big cities of Tokyo and Osaka – crowded with skyscrapers and twisted alleys, piled high with screaming neon clubs pumping techno, reggae or karaoke and shops piled with futuristic technological gadgets that won’t make it to North America for another decade – but, far away from the expensive hotels and talking toilets of the huge Pacific metropolis, you may find yourself soaking in alpine hot springs on a starry night, drinking sake with strangers crammed into a mountain hut after a backcountry dinner of rice, seaweed, miso and green tea and finishing up with a bowl of wild Hokkaido herb smoked from a long “kiseru” pipe.

Checking the Scene

While cannabis holds cultural significance in Japanese history, all varieties were declared illegal in post WWII by the US occupational government. However, good genetics have existed in Japan for decades, both domestic strains of high-THC fiber hemp THC and imported strains from tourist hotspots from India, Thailand or Jamaica by young Japanese turned on during the 1960-70s when worldwide youth culture turned to individual thought and away from the rigorous norm imposed by society.

In recent years, many young Japanese have traveled to Australia, Canada and New Zealand and brought back seeds, growing techniques and liberal attitudes, and, in the past 2-3 years, growers may legally order the seeds from finest breeders in Canada or The Netherlands. Coupled with access to experienced grow advice via the Internet or myriad books, it is just a matter of time until new flavors emerge from these novice growers.

With the lack of big commercial grow-ops and sketchy quality of imported weed, many experienced smokers either grow their own or make an annual trip to Hokkaido for a harvesting wild cannabis for private stash which, while untended, can be a sticky treat.

Electricity is expensive in Japan so any indoor operation must be efficient and certainly discrete, but close-dwelling Japanese are used carving out bits of privacy in confined spaces and enthusiasts squeeze small, personal-use gardens into apartments, closets, and greenhouses.

In suburban areas, back porch greenhouses gardens with a few plants blend well in with the neighbourhood.

Since you aren’t growing yourself, you’ll need to find some a friend. But, due to the harsh punishments, tokers are obliged to keep low-key and with the city prices at $30/gram, usually aren’t ripping bong tubes all day long if you know what I mean.

Find a reggae club, surf beach, or mountain festival, make some friends and be patient and respectful and follow your nose. In the cities, you may also find open-minded foreigners teaching English or running a street stall who may be able to lend a hand in a hookup.

If you are more fortunate, you may find quality stash illicitly imported from Holland, more common in the last 8-9 years. The strains are different each time and the price is sky-high at $40-$80/gram, but you also may end up with a wild goose chase or a dicey situation.

There is also a busy trade of lower-grade, seedy ganja imported from The Philipines or Thailand, and sold for $15-30/gram by organized crime organizations (Yakuza) at train stations by hired foreigners – along with speed, cocaine and whatever else they have. This is not your best option as you are likely to be ripped off, arrested, or turned-in for reward money. As one Japanese friend in the Tokyo-area points out, “There are many Iranians in Tokyo, they always have hash, not weed. They are usually around the big stations but I think it is dangerous to get in touch with them because police keep eye on them.”

Punishment for growing is harsh in Japan but the police are more concerned about organized crime gangs than personal use or small-scale growers so, as long you are low-key and not disturbing the peace, the Japanese police will rarely bother with you, but remember this is the country that jailed Paul Mccartney for 1 oz. and native rocker star Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi’s (think of a Nihonjin Springsteen) career was almost destroyed when busted with 2g of weed. Same goes with non-fiction writer Nobuhiro Motobashi who was also relegated to a penance of public groveling for minor possession charge.

Trips & Places

Honshu, the biggest and most populous of the four main islands, varies from the pacific-side, which is crowded with cities and fast-paced lifestyles, and the over the mountains running down the spine and life slows down but a little less convenient.

Since you probably arrived in Tokyo, check out the busy urban area of Shibuya to get started. Under Japanese law, it is illegal to possess or import a drug itself but the plant from which it comes, is legal. As such, marijuana seeds, mushroom spores kits, whole peyote cacti and paraphernalia are commonly sold in the hectic recreation areas like Shibuya.

Out of the town a ways, score a quintessential Japanese moment at a now-legal, microbrewpub with a view of the famous Mt. Fuji. If you are gung-ho you can walk up the giant cinder cone with fantastic views, no shade and with yes, … plenty of vending machines near the top. Or cruise over to Yokohama to Blaze pipe to buy a piece and take a roll on their skateboard ramp.

From the busy Tokyo/Yokohama area, high-rollers can head down the idyllic Izu peninsula for surf and boutique hotels, otherwise, grab your stash and head into the hills!

Between Nagano and Tokyo, make your way through Tochigi prefecture where you might meet Takashi Okanuma who is growing legal hemp under a license to make traditional “zouri” sandals and maintain a traditional hemp weaving craft called “nara sarashi.”

The field is carefully administrated by the local agricultural agency and is grown with a low-THC cultivar called Tochigishiro derived from a indigenous strain containing cannabidiol acid and thought to be indigenous to Japan since the Neolithic Jomon period. However heavier THC cultivars also existed since ancient times, likely brought from China via Korea as did rice and Buddhism. At over 15ft, these native varieties of hemp was the tallest tested by the USDA in 1930s and with over 4% THC.

{Picture Caption: In the countryside, a few plants grow from imported seeds grow well – perhaps disguised with bamboo, goldenrod grow – on valley and mountain sides where the only other visitors are likely harvesting mountain vegetables and rare matsutake mushrooms and understand the importance of safe herbs for medicinal use.}

Another hemp farmer in Shizuoka prefecture, Yasunao Nakayama, has worked through the government red-tape and processes his hemp crop into oil for skin products which he sells at a shop called Kaya and, along with other local farmers, hosts a “hemp festival” every August in Shizukuishi village in northern Iwate Prefecture.

Further along, in the fat middle belly of Honshu is Nagano prefecture, with the Japanese Alps and fertile valleys with farms, this is the historic heartland for hemp culture in Japan. Most recently famous for the incident at the 1998 Winter Olympic games in which the first-ever snowboard gold medalist, Canadian Ross Regabiatti tested positive for marijuana and was briefly stripped of his medal. Regabiatti stood his ground and after days of interrogations and hassles, his medal was returned and a cannabis hero was born and the strain Nagano Gold named in his honor.

Just a few kilometers from the historic snowboarding run is the town of “Miasa” meaning “beautiful hemp.” A tiny rural hamlet in this breadbasket area, Miasa celebrates its hempen heritage with a seven bladed leaf emblazoned on the village brochure and the local museum displays scenes of hemp processing techniques common to the area until the 1950’s.

The Nagano area is home to communities of homesteaders who dropped out of city life and moved into abandoned houses in forgotten valleys. Reviving villages after a long slumber of disrepair when a generation went away to war and never returned leaving remote communities occupied with only old folks. Once the prefectural government moved them into apartment homes in nearby towns, the historic homes stood unoccupied for decades until these new residents squatted in to rebuild and keep the old customs alive.

Nowadays, this progressive element combined with the stunning scenery, make the area around the ski town of Hakuba a worthwhile visit. Summer months feature counter-culture music festivals, programs at an alternative arts retreat, plus hiking and/or paragliding through a range of jagged peaks, well-adorned with mountain huts and hot springs. Head up during the O bon holiday (mid-August) – a Shinto festival during which people visit graves of ancestors and generally party down with festivals.

The northern island of Hokkaido boasts wild cannabis, adventurous winter sports, the Sapporo brewery and more hot springs. This wild cannabis is no mid-west ditch weed, instead it is more than folklore that potent weed survives (flourishes in fact) untended in fields around the sparsely populated island.

Crafty stoners head north in early autumn to prospect and harvest quickly at night, filling trunks and driving straight back to city or holing up for a couple of days in a cabin to cure and make the sticky, seedy weed into bubble hash. The police know people do this but, there is so much land to cover, and cannabis disguised growing in so many fields that the yearly eradication and arrest programs hardly make a dent. If you are feeling dangerous, head to Hokkaido during early fall for clandestine harvest but, bear in mind that this is tricky business and not to be undertaken lightly. Otherwise, take your snowboard and enjoy Sapporo’s snow festival and beer instead.

{picture of weed drying in cabin or field with hard to see cannabis plants}

Back on Honshu, history enthusiasts must visit Kyoto, the venerable old capital city of which survived the bombings intact and is now a busy city of temples, museums and nightlife. Poets and philosophers have come here for centuries seeking knowledge and peace through aesthetic arts and meditative practice. Alternatively, Nara is a smaller and more low key city with more history, ancient temples and semi-wild deer wandering the streets and parks.

Heading down the Pacific coast, you’ll come to Okayama, served by the bullet train but cheaper to stay in, this medium sized city is a handy jumping off city for trips to Shikoku and nearby artistic exploration. Sometime called the Venice of Japan, nearby Kurashiki is a town of numerous museums including Japanese folkcraft, archaeology, toys, natural history and a eviable collection of modern modern European masters at the Ohara museum (e.g. Picasso, Pisarro, Degas, El Greco, Cezanne, Monet, Millet and Tollouse-Lautrec). Also near Okayama city is Bizen, one of a handful of traditional pottery centers in Japan with walk-in-sized kilns that look like giant wasps nests are fired for weeks at a time.

Every trip needs a reality check, in Amsterdam it is the Anne Frank House, Japan’s heavy history lesson is the atomic bomb site in Hiroshima. Besides the buzz kill, you may learn something plus Hiroshima is a good city for Okonomiyaki restaurants where you grill your own savory-pancake type creation.

From Osaka or Kobe, hop an overnight ferry to the smaller island of Shikoku featuring a sparse population, surf culture, sacred hemp fields, and the “pilgrim’s path” – 88 sacred sites spread around the island visited by white-clothed pilgrims like an oriental Road to Santiago. On the ferry, dig the Inland Sea, turquoise blue and smattered with tiny islands, while picnicking on the big open floor with new friends. Hitch and hike your way around the coast, pitch a tent on the beach, or use simple pilgrim hostels along the way and you’ll left alone to meditate on what wandering poet Issa Kobayashi meant when he wrote:

The grass around my hut also
has suffered
From summer thinness.
Just when I hear
The sundown bell,
The flower of this weed

Shikoku’s Pacific beaches have great surf and cheap land so attracts surfers and drop-outs who may not fit in with the rigorous Japanese city life, sounds like a good place to meet cannabis aficionados. Head to the south central coast for the surf town of Kochi with a restored castle and surrounded by national parks, this is a great area to let the good times roll and rent a board or explore the sandy beaches, tropical plants and unique coral and rock formations.

Inland, in Shikoku’s farming region, hunt for the clandestine hemp field growing secretly for the Imperial family’s ceremonial use. Once cannabis was made illegal by the US-occupational forces and the Hemp Control act “taima torishimari hô,” this village continued growing to preserve the sanctity of sacred Shinto rites requiring hemp as a symbol of purity including the imperial coronation ceremony several years back when they revealed their illicit field to the relief of the royal folks.

{photo of author hitchiking on Shikoku}

To discover some traditional Nihon, point your thumb towards the San-in coast from Tottori to Shimonoseki on the Sea of Japan side (or Sea of Korea depending on who you ask). A stretch of fishing and farming villages with traditional festivals – drums beaten by drunken farmers and fishermen who are back at toil hangover and all the next morn, men who will be out on the squid boats bobbing offshore with glowing lamps attracting tomorrow’s sushi.

Far away from the tourist track, you’ll find giant sand dunes complete with camels, hidden coves for snorkeling, the finest Asian pears on this planet, open air hot springs and climbing on high empty mountains

Heading further south brings you to the more tropical island of Kyushu, and further yet, the entirely culturally different island of Okinawa.

From Kyushu, catch a ferry to continue your trip to Korea from the closest point between the countries. This same area is site to pre-historic cave paintings depicting what appears to be foreigners bringing a five-leafed plant and horses to Japan. Go find the cave and decide for yourself.

Zen of Travel

Traveling well in Japan is an exercise in simplicity – pack light with versatile clothes and shoes that are comfortable but are quick to take on and off (trust me). Unless you are planning to stay in one place, don’t bring your surf/snowboard because you’ll quick grown frustrated lugging it around in confined spaces, trains, subways, rooms, lockers – everything seems just a wee bit small.

Food

If traveling on the cheap, you can buy most anything from omnipresent vending machines to sustain your journey (including beer) – indeed instant food can be tasty and purchased in the most remote places. Beverages of every description including the aforementioned coffee machine with 30 brands all sweet, milky and strong (served at 110 degrees until one day, all machine magically switch to cold coffee). Look for noodle stands for huge steaming bowls of miso ramen or udon noodles, slurped standing up. Abundant shopping markets sell prepared foods to take away and fill your belly while saving your money.

Take some chances cause you aren’t likely to find Mexican food or peanut butter. Local fruits and vegetables are much less than imported ones. Dairy products are outstanding as is tofu of course. In this land of sushi, killer seafood everywhere and most always safe and clean if sometimes a bit odd (puffer fish anyone?). Japanese beef is famous raised on beer and massage, you can enjoy it in small strips you grill on a hot plate on your restaurant table. When you get serious hungry, find an all-you-can eat curry rice joint for a mound of rice smothered with Japan-ified sweet curry laden with meat and veggies.

Crash space

Most all flights arrive in Tokyo or Osaka, if you are on a budget, get out of the big cities as fast as possible! If you have a friend’s place to crash at and who will show you around, then you’re styling, otherwise, make a smart choice or you’ll spend a lot of money staying in the city.

Besides hostels – which can be rather stale and poorly located in the city but sometimes fantastic in the countryside – you can stay at a Japanese-style “Ryokon” (an traditional bed and breakfast inn with tatami mats, kimono robes and funky food), or western-style chain hotels (some even with a strange Denny’s in the lobby), but the smart late night partier finds a handy gaudy “love hotels” which are rented for a 4 or 8 hour block – usually close by train station. Rooms are ordered in like fastfood – pictures of available rooms are lit up on a board (i.e. jungle room, bondage room), push a button to select and slide money through a window and voila, your heavenly crash pad awaits.

Once in the countryside, you can find accommodations in temples and monasteries if you are looking for some enlightenment or just a memorable night.

Getting Around

Buy a Japan Rail pass to cover the long distances – the trains range from clunky locals and to the warp-speed Shinkansen bullet train, prices range accordingly but all are timely and relatively comfy. Like a Eurorail pass, the JR pass must be purchased outside of Japan and gives you unlimited travel on most routes. Get to know the schedule to make your life easier at the manic stations and plan smart so to catch sleep en route.

The train stations are the hub of activity in any town with myriad restaurants and accommodations close by. Every station offer unique pre-prepared box lunches called “eki-ben” (literally = station box lunch), a great way to sample local cuisine while taking a slow train through new areas. Take a chance and get off at random towns to find family-run restaurants, empty beaches, historic temples and great walks up to samurai fortresses.

The overnight coach buses are another great way to cover the long distances in quiet and comfort. These ain’t no Greyhounds but rather sleek, comfy cruisers whisking you through the night to a distant destination in a whole other climate.

To get off the beaten path, get you left thumb ready to hitchhike. Thumbing around is a great way to meet people and often score a meal, or visit to their village or other adventure. Make a sign of where you are going – write in ABCs or find a friend to write the Kanji characters.

Communication

Everyone studies English for years in school but who remembers their high school Spanish, German or French lessons? Me neither.

Do not fear, with a dozen words (remember the Karate kid), much patience, and a small notebook, you’ll skid along just fine. Japanese are very impressed and grateful when anyone makes an effort to understand their unique culture and difficult language and will respond with kindness to your noble effort.

Hello: Konnichiwa (ko-NII-chi-wa
Goodbye: Ja Nae (Sayonara is more formal)
Excuse me: Suimasen (see-mah-sen)
Thanks/Thank you: arigato – domo arigato (Mr. Roboto)
How are you?: Genki desu ka? Answer: Genki desu!
Yes: Hai No: Iie
Please: Kusasai or Onegaishimasu
Foreignor: Gai-jin (or Canada-jin, American-jin, Nihon-jin, etc.)

Tokers know the word “ganja” or use “taima” (cannabis) or “marifana”
Say, “dozo” for “here you go” when passing the joint.

Arriving & Departing

You’ll likely fly in and out of Tokyo or Osaka and the officers take their immigration procedures very seriously so have your shit together. Clean your pockets and fingernails to prevent stray crumbs from your killer going away party from cutting your trip short.

Under 26-years-old Canadian, Australian and New Zealand travelers wishing an extended trip may qualify for a six-month working-holiday visa allowing you to make some money along the way. You’ll get a Gainjin Registration Card which you MUST keep with you at all times, and turn it in when you leave.

Ganja train

For me, I got caught the ganja-train in Nagano, high in the hills, stuck with a broken down van. Followed unclear directions to third-hand friends, I ended up living with a group of big city drop-outs, reinventing life in the hills. Ended up in counter culture festival in an abandoned children’s ski hill…. Teepes and psychedelics. Drums and tents, fat joints passing around – especially after the very-plain clothes cops went home. That’s when i learned about he wild Hokkaido herb. Seems too good to be true but turned out to be better than believed. I didn’t believe the story of trunk full of potent weed until an afternoon in a teepee in Nagano.

After a festival weekend, I was still in full party mode. Feeling jaded about the look of the weed, I rolled a giant joint of the weed harvested in a clandestine evening operation. The weed was seedy but sticky and dense which seemed a contradiction – thick sweet smoke, couching hard, heavy indica high…. Before I knew it, the teepee was spinning and I wasn’t sure if I channeling the ancient local shogun or the native north Americans. The festival, camping in tents, watching sunrise after all night drumming, I could’ve been anywhere.

Resources

Check out JapanHemp.org for comprehensive list of head shops and news articles and historical research.
Japan Hostel Association: http://www.jyh.or.jp/english/
Official Japan tourism: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/
Japan CANNABIS CONTROL LAW in English: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/legal_library/jp/legal_library_1994-07-15_1994-35.html

Bio

Dave Thorvald Olson is a North Vancouver-based writer and entrepreneur who also brews up the “Choogle on with Uncle Weed” podcast and made the 1997 documentary film “HempenRoad.” He’s enjoyed herb in fourteen countries on four continents so far.

Letters from Russia is a mixed media work including hand-written letters, paintings, sketches, and book crafts. The version in Exode contains just the text narrative done up in charming design.

As of this writing Letter One and Letter Two are posted — with another dozen letters to follow weekly.

The gist: Letters From Russia offers hilosophical discourse on war and love written as letters from a cobbler with Napoleon’s army in Russia, to his fiance in Paris. The letters chronicle the logistics of the protagonists’ journey plus observations about all manner of conundrums related to international trade, diplomacy, physiology of war, and individual liberty versus requirements of society.

Plenty of more background including prezo videos, downloadable .pdfs and interviews are scattered amidst this journal for your perusal, including:

Letters from Russia Recap from Northern Voice 09

Letters from Russia preso video from Northern Voice

Letters from Russia on Santa Cruz Free Radio

Background notes on Letters from Russia

Letters from Russia related images on Flickr

Letters from Russia on WriteNow on Santa Cruz Freak Radio

Northern Voice 2009 Dave Olson Letters from Russia (miss 604)

Reading the Oresteia at WordCamp Whistler - photo by Ianiv & Arieanna

Likely that WordPress super dude Lloyd Budd will be in attendance - photo by @johnbiehler

Tickets are sold out so if you slacked — too bad for you. Along with my talk are even more of my cohorts are speaking including John Biehler, Nadia Aly and Tris Hussey. More to be added but this roster is already looking fine.

Like WordCamp Whistler, I am closing the show down and will be laying down a prezo about creativity and history kinda like last year’s “Are you Worthy? AKA Greeks to Geeks” talk.

Loading up the Suitcase - photo by Ianiv & Arieanna

In all the commotion in my life recently, i wasn’t sure what to talk to the people about as i wanted to make sure to spread my kind of knowledge but also tie it all in to topics they’d studied during the day, ergo: about WordPress, the blogging software.

The other night in the bath, i figured it all out – really stemming from a note in my original draft of F@ck Stats, Make Art talk from Northern Voice and SXSW which points out that while the tools are different, the process of expression isn’t new.

Here’s the gist:

Title: Art and Technology are Old Pals

Description:

By exploring technological innovations from tubed oil paints and graphite pencils to telegraphs and mountain bikes, Dave will explain how scientific innovation spurs the creative process and how to balance the cranial hemispheres to foster the seemingly opposed disciplines of both building a publishing platform and producing compelling content using WordPress.

Stories and examples will draw from Van Gogh, HD Thoreau, Word Perfect, telegrams, Gnomedex, mountain bikes and the channeled scablands in eastern Washington.

I hope to see ya there.
Also my Mom’s excited about this too.

photo by Ariane Colenbrander

I lay out my best stuff at Northern Voice – a Vancouver personal expression conference full of familiar faces and free thinkers which allows me to experiment with both my form and message.

I kept my string of 5 years alive {Rock N Roll Photo panel, Letters from Russia prezo, F@ck Stats Make Art prezo, Canucks podcast panel, “Bob Dylan” Podcasting prezo, Blogging your Passion panel} with this year’s contribution delivered via video while i was recuperating from a surgical procedure.

While sad not to be there, my sprits were buoyed by the kind words via Twitter etc. from folks who made it by to see the video in panel along with my pal Monica Hamburg delivering thoughts about Finding your Voice Online.

The video was made by a frequent collaborator during production of With Glowing Hearts, Andrew Lavinge. Music was from my stand-bys: The Numbskulz with “Doggie” & The Black Tories with the intro to “Pretty Like Gasoline”.

I was physically weary and run down while shooting but this condition perhaps helped in capturing significant honesty from me. As such, I hope my words offer you solace and inspiration. Special dedication to my Mom who wrote the bit in the baby book.

See more background at The Vancouver Observer: Sparking creativity by taking risks and practicing craft

‘Storymaking’ Spiel from Northern Voice 2010 pt 1

‘Storymaking’ Spiel from Northern Voice 2010 pt 2

Dossier

Panel: Finding your Voice Online

Finding a creative voice which personally fulfils and inspires others begins with growing comfortable with your own stories and their related artifacts. In a field trip to his home studio in Upper Lynn Valley, storymaker Dave Olson (AKA UncleWeed) extols important keys to creativity over a cuppa tea before sharing creative project example from childhood to present. Along with explaining how each endeavour shaped his voice for a contemporary stream of mixed media personal expression, he shares key influences via shelves full of heroes who provided solace and wisdom. Monica Hamburg will help you decide how to shape your online voice, what good blog writing means, and how to write in a way that will convince readers to care about your blog (“C’mon! My cat is sooo cute, right?”).

Pics:

See Flickr photos tagged uncleweed and nv10

King Tut Science Fair project as per anecdote - photo by my Mom

Storymaking prezo at Northern Voice 2010 By @nbloom

Blog Round up

Inspired & Inspiring « Give Music

Also, in today’s 2010 Northern Voice conference on blogging and social media,Monica Hamburg and Dave Olson did a fantastic job of encourging practice, honing skill, taking risks, and being true to self so I’ll do just that and maybe I’ll get somewhere.

NorthernVoice 2010 « gotcurls

One of my favorite presentations was Finding your Inner Voice by Monica Hamburg and Dave Olson. It was funny, engaging, and told an incredible story, one that each person could relate to. Dave wasn’t able to make the session so he sent in a video. When they were setting up the video I honestly thought “Oh man, I should bail out of this now and just get in line early for lunch.” I really wasn’t expecting much from a video presentation.  Fortunately I decided to stay.  Here is Dave Olson’s video.

So if you watched this video, which I hope you have, you probably thought it was pretty frackin’ hysterical and creative. I, like Dave, loved writing stories as a kid and I loved art work. My mom set up a special room for us in our home where my sister and I could sit at our art table and work on any project we wanted. She had an art box for us full of glitter (a parent’s worst nightmare), scissors, glue, construction paper, paints, markers, stencils, and pencils. As long as we cleaned the art table after crafting we were able to create anything we wanted. Our laundry room was converted into our art gallery. Random drawings and paintings were taped onto the laundry room cupboards and strung along the ceiling. Dave Olson’s video reminded me that of my art room and art box, I honestly had forgotten about it, or perhaps just haven’t thought about it in such a long time.

Northern Voice 2010… Just A Beginning… – Bob Songs

Dave Olson and Monica Hamburg gave a great Multi-Media session on “Finding Your Online Voice“. Great insight into finding inspiration.  All Bloggers have run into the “What do I write about” and “How should I writer about it” questions. I (and other Crazy Cat people) found it funny, how on Day One, every session made a reference to Crazy Cat people.

Northern Voice 2010 takeaways – Random Dude

Dave Olson says “Take Risks and Hone your Craft with practice. Your voice comes out of your personal experiences.

Northern Voice 2010: The Great, the Meh and the Ugly – Kim P Werker

One of the themes of the conference (no, I don’t actually think the organizers ever actually said the conference had a theme) was about finding your voice. Kimli and Steff certainly reiterated what I hear was said during Monica Hamburg’s and Dave Olsen’s session called, ba-dum-bum, Finding Your Voice. I missed that session because I made the regrettable decision to attend the Copyright and Online Expression talk instead (more later on how bad a decision that was). The chatter on Twitter, however, indicated the voice session was very much loved and adored.

Northern Exposure – Design Faire

Next up, was one of my favorite sessions by Monica Hamburg and Dave Olsen on Finding Your Voice. Monica’s witty presentation left me with the confidence to know that although I may suck at blogging right now, writing more, reading more, and writing more will make me better (I hope!). Oh and having good grammar and hygiene helps too! And don’t forget to spellcheck!

Dave Olsen, aka @UncleWeed came to us via satellite (ok, it was pre-recorded) from his mansion on the hills (North Vancouver). Somehow Uncle Weed seemed to be channelling Mr. Rogers and the resemblance was uncanny. His wisdom was perhaps no less instructive than the late Mr. Rogers. Blogging is about storytelling. Regardless of the medium, voice can only be found when we find the stories within and learn to tell them. And in the wise words of Uncle Weed, it’s 80% meditation, 10% execution, and 10% inebriation.

Blogging: Find Your Online Voice with Monica Hamburg – Tech Linz

oh and Dave, the audience was in stitches with your video (pun intended!).

The Genius Kids at Northern Voice – Speak When Illuminated

In Storymaking with Dave Olson, we followed Dave on a journey through his own personal artifacts and heard how he uses them as inspiration for current projects. You can follow him at Uncleweed.net This talk made me want to run home and start mucking about with paint and random boxes of collectables.

Twitter-ized

berryshine - craft+intent/integrity=art (re: Dave Olson) - 9:34 PM May 16th

sleslie - @uncleweed‘s “storymaking” video for #northernvoice is really fantastic http://bit.ly/9Az7zD be brave, take risks, let it percolate - 9:43 AM May 13th

rickvug - The always entertaining @uncleweed on finding your voice online [video]: http://is.gd/c31YA (hint: take risks + hone your craft) #nv10 - 11:30 AM May 10th

quinnhigurashi - @uncleweed is very inspiring. Thanks, and hearts for you. http://ht.ly/1IUwG - 9:56 PM May 9th

anitawebster - @uncleweed Really loved video you made for us at #nv10. Slippers, tea – all of it. Get well soooon! 9:36 PM May 9th

stephen_rees - @uncleweed and you both did a great job! I really enjoyed the movie #NV10 #northernvoice10 - 5:14 PM May 8th

Miss604 - You should watch the With Glowing Hearts trailer http://wghthemovie.ca (I want to hug @aprilfilms & @uncleweed right now) #nv10 #olympics - 2:10 PM May 8th

Held in around 300 cities, Pecha Kucha originated in Tokyo and now spreads like a erstwhile secret society into the creative underbellies of boroughs and urban centers where architects, world changes, artists, poets, musicians and survivors face the audience under pressure to inspire, amuse, inform, and/or educate ~ but mostly inspire ~ through their story. The Vancouver incarnation is wrangled by Cause+Affect.

20 Slides, 20 Seconds, each, a dozen “amazing people with brilliant ideas” and beer are the needed ingredients for aPecha Kucha Night {Facebook}.

Dave Olson - Story Maker/Writer/ Producer (uncleweed.net) speaks at Pecha Kucha - photo by Melissa Gedney

I am now in the club, April 7th i was 3rd up after rad skateboard/snowboarder/game designer legend and a Scotslady who’d just sung for the attendees and before two hip architects, Gair Williamson and Bing Thom.

I spieled forth a version of my F*ck Stats, Make Art/Greeks to Geeks/Sparking Creativity riffs but added a few new slides and no old-timey suitcase – no time for props to soliloquies. Rapid fire style – hold on because the slides are rocking by – the crowd enjoyed the anecdotes and the time flew by – afterwhich i settled in to check out the rest of the remarkable people with amazing ideas.

Deck

echa Kucha “On the Road remix” slidedeck:

Artifacts

“Pecha Kucha 10 at the Vogue Theatre entertains and inspires with elements of show-and-tell, open-mike night and happy hour” by Jonathan Hanley for Vancouver Observer

Dave Olson at Pecha Kucha - photo by Jonathan Hanley

Jonathan also included an audience recording of the spiel at his Music Planet Pecha Kucha post

Andy Chung writes:

Pecha Kucha 10 in Vancouver is this Thursday, should be fun. I haven’t really heard of anyone in the line up, so it should be fun going into it with no expectations.

update: Pecha Kucha 10 was awesome. The stand out talk for me was by Dave Olson.

Raw Bean recaps PK in the Coke and Count Chocula blog post, Out and Aboot:

Sometimes it’s hard to remember or tell what someone does and that was the case with the next guy Dave Olson. But he was hilarious! I’m pretty sure he was the one that said “don’t be precious” which we wrote down.

… and shared a photo and a video clip:

From Out and Aboot in Coke and Count Chocula blog

Give Music blog writes Please Continue Supporting the Arts:

It was great to attend Pecha Kucha Vancouver last night to hear individuals such as Dave Olson on his theories of art, Bing Thom on his theatre design for Washington DC, Stephanie Corker Irwin on nomosolo offline dating, andPamela Masik on her efforts to raise awareness through painting. The format of Pecha Kucha really allows for community sharing at a very personalized level. Arts was featured and culture is what it’s all about, so that’s an inspiring place from which to post about supporting the arts. Thanks Vancouver.

kempedmonds shot a bit of video:

Dave Olson is killing it at Pecha Kucha Vancouver [VIDEO] #pkn http://yfrog.us/2mljpz 8:14 PM Apr 8th via Tweetie

MarkBusse attached a photo:

Dave Olson (@UncleWeed & DaveOhoots) slaying the audience at Pecha Kucha Vancouver Vol.10. #PKN http://ow.ly/i/113t

Ephemera

mikalat Dave Olson/Uncle Weed just did 6min40sec of awesome ;) 8:17 PM Apr 8th via mobile web

MarkBusse @UncleWeed to sold out Pecha Kucha crowd at Vogue Theatre: upgrade your heros, explore translucency, get stoned, make art & spell bad. #PKN 8:17 PM Apr 8th via Tweetie

kk Dave Olson just killed it at Pechu Kucha Night Vancouver 10. Hilarious, poignant & totally inspiring. Fuck stats, make art! #tnmh #pkn 8:20 PM Apr 8th via TweetDeck from Financial District, Vancouver

SimoneKaminsky So far @uncleweed is my fave presenter at #pechaKucha #Vancouver–he rocked it! All inspiring, tho! 9:06 PM Apr 8th via HootSuite

jakobg @uncleweed just rocked his 6:40 at Pecha Kucha night at the Vogue. That’s how it’s done. 9:09 PM Apr 8th via HootSuite

dariankovacs @kk @uncleweed uncleweed killed it. Great seein you yesterday at f5 9:26 PM Apr 8th via Echofon in reply to kk

judybishop @uncleweed – dood, you killed it ! Well done … ! 10:05 PM Apr 8th via TweetDeck in reply to uncleweed

thoughtpatterns Enjoyed #pechakucha #Vancouver tonight. Pretty cool presentation by Jay Balmer as well as by Dave Olson. 10:16 PM Apr 8th via Twitterrific

VanObserver @uncleweed you were both inspired and inspiring, still laughing from some of your insights 9:36 AM Apr 10th via web in reply to uncleweed

AmandaFenton Awesome prez by @uncleweed at #pk10 10:50 PM Apr 9th via txt

thebuzzer @uncleweed Excellent talk at Pecha Kucha, sir. I really enjoyed it! 11:47 AM Apr 9th via HootSuite

HNBD Another stellar #pkn event in Van last eve. Special kudos to @uncleweed @btarchitects @SCorkerIrwin@pamelamasik Marthy Sturdy & Jay Balmer 10:36 AM Apr 9th via web

SimoneKaminsky @uncleweed Haha, you did! I like your perspective. You were funny and motivating, thanks! @shaaarrr: D. Haddow was another fave of mine too! 10:31 AM Apr 9th via HootSuite in reply to uncleweed

StephenIrving Feel better for having seen @uncleweed and @douglashaddow‘s presentations last night at Vancouver’s#pechakucha…9:39 AM Apr 9th via web

zoepawlak Congratulations @causeaffect. Vancouver Pecha Kucha was off the heezy. I love Uncle Weed! Awesome vid @thecheapershow. Can’t wait for more.8:13 AM Apr 9th via web

judybishop @uncleweed – EVERYONE enjoyed. You should be proud of your ability to amuse, entertain + stimulate. #artist 8:05 AM Apr 9th via TweetDeck in reply to uncleweed

krystlesivorot @uncleweed loved the presentation @pechakuchanight. Really entertaining & great message. thanks! 12:29 AM Apr 9th via HootSuite

wghthemovie @uncleweed speakin a rockin…great presentation tonite! Wicked setup, solid finish -first star! Love the Pecha…so inspiring! 11:41 PM Apr 8th via Tweetie in reply to uncleweed

jeffwerner Dave Olson at PKv10: Upgrade your heroes, develop a personal archaeology and stay translucent not transparent. 11:40 PM Apr 8th via web

Comments from Vancouver is Awesome “What I Love About Pecha Kucha” BY BOB KRONBAUER

Hilary Says:
April 9th, 2010 at 1:26 pm

Totally, Bob! I kept thinking the same thing throughout the evening. Especially because what was shared by the presenters was so personal and also indicative of the paths they each chose, the choices they made (as Pamela Masik spoke to) that brought them to where they are. I especially loved Dave Olsen’s presentation (how galvanizing!) and Marc Baumgartner’s perspective on “context.”

Great night. Very inspiring.

mayglobus Says:
April 12th, 2010 at 3:11 pm

Dave Olson and Bing Thom had me laughing AND inspired. What a truly awesome night.

Thanks to all the folks who came up afterwards to say thanks and tell me what they are up to and to everyone who chimed in with Twitter/Facebook/SMS/Flickr etc. love – my words are nothing without ya and you now know how i much i value chronicling events with artifacts so thanks for making stuff.

Go ahead and watch, it’s short and cheerful.

Bonus: Beers at the EPIC

After debuting with a guest recording for the Naked Marketers direct from the Social Media Clubhouse Party bus at SXSW with John Biehler, I joined 2 of the host – Pete Wright and Dane Christensen – of this straight shooting marketing conversation podcast a few weeks later.

After a roadshow for my day job to Seattle, Austin and Toronto, we had plenty to talk about community building plus practical anecdotes demonstrating about the importance of content, creativity, inclusivity and sincerity in your social media powered outreach efforts.

Also laughed with co-host Dane Christensen about some college day community building projects including the Long Hair’s Club at at community college in Utah and his efforts to fenegle a travel scholarship to Northern Voice conference. Go Listen!

Note: While i share remarks about my day-job, my opinions are my own and should not be confused with official company information.

Episode Blurb:

Ep 06: On the Poor Boat

{snip} Our guest on the show this week is the one and only Dave Olsen, community wrangler from HootSuite, who fills us in on just how to build a compelling and effective community and social marketing campaign on the cheap.

Finally, might i suggest this artwork for a forthcoming Naked Marketers episode cover ;-).

More Naked Marketers

• Episodes
• Subscribe in iTunes
• Facebook

Flying High by Dave Olson - as appeared in RainZine #4

In The Resistance Issue! Number 4, I worked with Carla and Anita to create a pullout insert called Flying High – a boardgame-inspired personal art history i glued up from stacks of source materials – each square has a story. They photographed and distributed as a pull out piece along with the interview by Ms. Olson pasted below. The finished piece feels like an old-timey broadsheet which poets, folk singers and activists would share throughout the countryside in olden days – i feel part of that lineage.

The tome, alas, has switched to permanent hiatus mode after 4 splendid issues but no worries, these passionate creators are up to all sorts of other endeavours. In particular, Carla ringleads (is this the correct word?) The Purple Thistle – a program and facility for young artists which needs a spiel of its own to recount the perfect afternoon i enjoyed teaching a group of remarkable youths about podcasting (audio and video to come at some distant point on the horizon).

View from my Seat by Bev Davies (at Northern Voice 2009)

After first meeting Carla and Anita during the “Phone for Fearless” campaign via Raincity Studios, they hopped on board my jalopy train of story and spiels at Northern Voice 09 where they caught my Letters from Russia and Rock N Roll Photography gigs.

We quickly realized all share a love of scissors, glue, tea and laughter as key ingredients to making art. I proudly wear my Rain pin on my coat and am often blamed for heralding precipitation but rather i am an advocate for radical art in nature.

Rain also published a dossier about Letters from Russia in issue 3 where i shared pages with my good pals photographer Kris Krug and painter/designer Jer Crowle. This time the issue is stocked with skill includes poems from C.R. Avery, a mixed media singer/beatboxer/writer who played the release party evoking memories of Tom Waits.

So in tribute and thanks to RainZine, here’s the interview with Anita which i’ll always remember at Arbutus Coffee shop (after forgetting where i’d really booked the meeting), afterwork on a blustery autumn night with warm beverages and a cassette recorder – truly thanks Carla and Anita for bringing the Rain down on me.

Letters from Russia dossier for RainZine in 3 iterations

Who is this Dave Olson Guy anyway?
by Anita Olson from RainZine Issue #4

Last fall I had the pleasure of chatting with this Dave O guy and was reminded of a sociology paper I wrote about how the Internet fosters multiple selves (not to be confused with multiple personalities, of course). The basic idea is that the self is not a singular but rather made up of a compilation. Sherry Turkle, a big smarty pants at MIT, wrote a book called Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet, discussing how “the Internet has become a significant social laboratory for experimenting with the constructions and reconstructions of self that characterize postmodern life. In its virtual reality, we self-fashion and self-create.”[place number 1 here for footnote] In other words, the computer helps us see the multiple selves we posses and can help foster their development. Sitting with Dave O was like sitting with a Turkle case study.

Dave O is an artist, writer, poet, painter, drawer, collager, podcaster, speaker, hockey fan, tree hugger, pot advocate, hiker, documentarian, blogger, storyteller, office worker, daddy, husband, activist, teacher, do-gooder, and sauna sitter but I reckon that there is probably more in him that I missed. Many know him as the infamous Uncle Weed or simply as Dave O…and of course there’s Dave Olson.

Using the Internet, Dave has created different personas each capturing a certain audience. Whether it’s talking bud with Uncle Weed, rattling hockey stats as Dave O, or reading literary essays by Dave Olson, he has a lot of virtual ground covered. But having an audience is only half the tale; Dave would like “a paycheck to go with it.”

In the two or three hours spent with Dave so many stories flowed that I can only fit a tiny fraction of what was shared that evening. I hope to have highlighted Dave as the artist he truly is. Who better but to have Dave’s own words to describe his artistic process, a new project and how he perceives himself as an artist. The following is an excerpt from an autumn chat between RAIN and Dave O.

What he’s recently been up to…

DAVE O

[I’ve been working on] some recordings I made in 2006 while visiting the Clayquot Sound area. I was at the blockades in 1993 near Tofino. I was a young 20 something year-old and I stood on the blockade lines and watched everyone get arrested…and out there on the blockade lines I learnt a lot of pivotal lessons, and it’s really what got me into hemp and alternative fibers and peaceful activities and bringing people together rather than squabbling. I realized out on the blockade lines, the environmental advocates and the loggers both wanted the same thing. They both wanted the trees, they just wanted them for different reasons. These guys wanted them for jobs so they could buy TVs and RVs and those guys wanted them so they could feel good about breathing air. But we need to find a solution so we can all just get along.

So, over the intervening years I hear all this news that it had been turned into a UNESCO world heritage site and I was like, “we won and we changed the world”. So I pack up the family (in ’06) and it’s going to be great, it’s going to be like eco heaven. But when we got out there it was industrial tourism. Fucking RVs, provocatively named resorts, swimming pools and Jacuzzis everywhere. While we were there, the city of Tofino ran out of water and they packed up and stopped commercial usage. All the hotels had to pack up all the people and send them home. And I just happened to be there. And because I’m the kind of guy that takes a bag full of books with me on vacation and paints, I just used this as a sort of a catalyst to make a huge amount of paintings and my little recordings. The water outage and my whole tension about the area gave a spark to the whole thing. I brought all these files home and I totally stressed myself out on this vacation because I wanted to document all this injustice of the world and then I misplaced the files. [They were] missing for quite some time….on another computer on another thing…anyway I finally found the files and thought, this is what I gotta do; I gotta find how to make these into something.

So over the last month I’ve made them into a nine-part podcast series called “Rain Forest Dispatches.” It’s a combination of me reading essays, me kind of running on spiels, my own personal frustrations with things, then flashing back to the blockades, and then visiting the friends of Clayquot Sound Organization and having some interviewee conversations. I was wondering what to do with them…it’s hard editing your own audio. For one, you sound like a chipmunk and two, it’s like, “shut up, we get it dude”. I needed something to break it up and stretch it out and the stories were all told out of sequence too. It was totally non-linear but then I started to put together a few bits and pieces of music. A young lady named Becks from Vancouver Island made a song called “Lonesome Traveler” and it was…perfect. I made a little introduction with seaplanes and sounds of waves lapping against the shore. And then I found this guy William Whitmore Elliot. It sounds like he’s an old 75 year old man from the delta but he’s this nice young college boy from Iowa, sings these great blues songs. And our pal Geoff Berner in “Light enough to Travel” where he sings about smashing the windows of logging companies just to get a little release and these pieces just came together. Labour Day weekend I locked myself in my studio and just edited audio and I started releasing them. I’ve got five of them out now.

How he describes himself and what he does…

DAVE O

I make mixed media story packs…I’m a story maker rather than a storyteller. To describe what I do, it’s not really performance art and its not really spoken word and it’s certainly not slam poetry. It’s more like I sit around a campfire with a very focused conversation about things because everything I do is very, very deliberate…and my presentations, in order to make it look like I’m making it all up, take a tremendous amount of work.

I’ve made a deliberate point of knowing how to write in every style. Everything from press releases, expository and free prose, and that is what keeps me employed.

I’m a private man and separate my family and day job from the Internet. I only share bits of myself that other people may find compelling in one way or another.

I like sharing stuff…I just don’t like organizing it to share it.

But Dave’s work is organized in the virtual world. He has a wicked website, www.uncleweed.net where there are links to numerous podcasts, blogs, poetry, essays, pictures, films, paintings, a resume and more…a virtual adventure well worth diving into!

*On the front of this lovely little insert is a bit of a timeline Dave whipped up for RAIN titled “Flying High.” It displays his eclectic style and the thoughtful intention he pours in all of his work. Sharing parts of himself, from a scrawny kid, where he’s lived and traveled, paintings, writings and up to what he’s currently been doing covers this aesthetically pleasing and informative piece.

1 Life on the Screen. Simon & Schuster. New York: 1995

Mudhoney poster at CiTR

Over the past few months, along with starting a new job, travelling far and wide, and media hacking the Olympics, I’ve spread my messages to various groups, radio stations, organizations and so on.

For the record, here are a few annotations and a bucket for assembling artifacts and documenting details.

CiTR – Radio Free Thinker

Skeptics discussing Olympics and media, surveillance and security, economic impact and civil liberties – i quite enjoy their show – thanks to @robmagus and pals ~ Note: CiTR is an important cultural resource at University of British Columbia and oddly this my first time being in studio

Radio Free Thinker blog

Radio Free Thinker podcast feed

Radio Free Thinker show notes

CKNW news/talk radio

Outside of The Edge pub, spoke about social media and Olympics (and late night partying) on this news/talk station - Translink heard it/Twittered it

Capilano University

Inter-disciplinary class discussing Olympics through a variety of lens – met a Latvian student who helped spread my enthusiasm back home – Chris Brieks started a Facebook Group to rally Lativian Fans in Vancouver 2010

Notes: OLYMPICS, MEDIA AND LIBERTY + GOODTIMES

BCIT

Spoke to Tris Hussey‘s Trendsetters program tomorrow night – packed old-timey suitcase with a mix of Greeks to Geeks, Fuck Stats Make Art and Olympic and Social Media spiels ~ keeping it fresh and spontaneous (note: gained 2 interns from this gig).

Tris gave me some inspiration props in his article forVancouver Observer: Confessions of an Olympic Curmudgeon in which he shares the vibe:

I was so not looking forward to the Olympics. The crowds, transit delays, favourite places jammed with people…ugh I just didn’t want to have to deal with it. I even had everything planned so I wouldn’t have to leave the house much during the two-weeks of the Winter Games. Then a couple things changed. First Dave Olson guest lectured to my class at BCIT. My students and I were all inspired to get out and chronicle the Games. That got it going, but that didn’t seal the deal. Sure I started to get excited Thursday and Friday, but watching the Opening Ceremonies on Saturday. That did it.

Plus adds more to the mix on his View from The Isle blog: Newly Inspired to Cover the Olympics by Dave Olson – pardon the disjointed snippets (here for the record):

Sabre wine opening at Police Museum by Tris Hussey on Flickr

I’ve been lukewarm on the whole Olympics thing for a while. I’m not a huge fan of large crowds or sports, so the idea of the whole world descending on my fair city wasn’t very appealing. {snip}

Then Dave Olson came to talk to my BCIT class last night.

Dammit Dave, you keep frigging inspiring me to do better, write better, chronicle better. I was at the original True North Media House meetings, but felt I had to stay at arms length from it.

Oh and not only did Dave inspire me, I think better than half of the students in the class are newly inspired to do something during the Games. Leaving class, my students and I were talking about photowalks and just being a part of the whole amazing time.

Yeah, just another standard, run-of-the-mill talk by Dave. Inspire 30 people to do more, write more, contribute more. Nothing much.

Thank you Dave.

Dude you are so welcome man – love seeing your photographic observations from the Games too

Vancouver Film School

The precursor to Social Promotion for Movies guide presented to the entertainment management class with some great students (except for those two who were chatting in the back the whole time) – thanks to @Scales

Notes: NOTES FOR PROMOTING MOVIES ONLINE

Bonus: Podcast of my previous lecture at VFS: Lecture on Using Social Media for Artistic Endeavours at Vancouver Film School

Canadian Film and TV Producer Assoc – BC Chapter

As mentioned, I presented Social Promotion for Movies guidebook on behalf of MovieSet (previous employer) to a room of professionals working in a industry of great change – some evolve, some scramble to hide from the changing tide.

blog post: Social Promotion for Movies guidebook – White paper

white paper: Social Promotion Movies Guide

prezo slides: Social Promotion For Movies Prezo

CFAX talk radio

Spoke about media change and the Olympics – unsure if any artifacts exist from this news/talk station

{Update}

CBC Radio International “The Link”

Another radio segment for my fave cultural institution, the much maligned CBC – this time on Radio Canada International on the show “The Link” for a panel discussion about the Vancouver Olympics and their legacy. With host Marc Montgomery and a couple other panelists.

The Link episode archive

Episode Audio (CBC player)

Gist:

Episode: PANEL – OLYMPIC LEGACY: On our weekly panel discussion today, a look at the Vancouver Games and what they’re doing for Canada’s international image.

Our show, “The Link” is the English-language flag-ship program on Radio Canada International (the CBC’s International shortwave service). We’re also heard live on-line at rcinet.ca between 8 am to 10 am Pacific (11 am-1 pm Eastern) and our program re-runs overnights on the main CBC Radio-One network (midnight to 2 am Pacific, 2 am to 4 am Eastern). Our mandate at RCI is to reflect Canada’s various immigrant communities and the issues that affect them, as well as to explain Canada to people around the world.

The panel was pre-taped and aired at 9:30 on Friday Feb 26th, 2010.

Be sure to explore the entire photo set - Citizen, Alternative Media Converge at Olympic Games in Vancouver – for some real treats but i’ll include a couple of my best pals here plus Kris’ intro which sets up the piece:

It has become second nature for people to capture experiences, events and news using their phones, cameras and computers. We live in a world were journalism is an action — and citizens have stepped up to answer that call to action.

As a result, the story of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games is by no means limited to the version being told by official media sponsors. Social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, WordPress and Tumblr are enabling citizens and independent media to provide real-time coverage of the culture, events and community that are part of the Olympic Games. More stories are being told than ever before — and most of them have nothing to to do with the athletic events.

Kris Krüg is a photographer with Static Photography and a prominent member of the citizen and alternative media community in Vancouver. He is out in the city covering the broad spectrum of events that are occurring during the Olympics.

This is his photographic recap of citizen and alternative journalism at the Olympic Games.

Citizen journalists John Biehler and Dave Olson hold up the media accreditation badge for theTrue North Media House. TNMH is a virtual and independent media house operating during the Olympics. It provides media accreditation to citizen journalists of all types and also aggregates their reporting.

Rebecca Bollwitt, a.k.a. Miss604, is a Vancouver podcaster, blogger and all-around social media maven. She has been covering the Olympics for her popular Vancouver community site.

Official media accreditation for the Vancouver Olympic Games is issued by VANOC, the organizing committee — and only the official Olympic media partners are eligible. But other forms of accreditation, such as the one offered by True North Media House, have also been created. Robert Scales, who runs the site Vancouver Access 2010, is holding up his British Columbia International Media Center accreditation badge. This center is created and maintained by the British Columbia government, and is home to a wide variety of Canadian and international media. A few spots were also offered to independent media and bloggers.

Again for the record & archive, I’ve pasted liberally from the article but encourage you to read the full version in context at True North Media House, W2 Provide Citizen Media Hub at Olympics by by Craig Silverman (bio below), February 22, 2010. The article ran with photos (including this one of interviewing Gord Rickards at Molson Brewing by John Biehler) for the Olympic Outsider podcast plus video clips from WGHthemovie.ca- Webisode #2 ‘True North Media House’.

Dave Olson, left, conducts an interview with Gord Rickards at Molson BRewery, Vancouver - Photo by John Biehler

The article sets the stage thusly about the changes in the media landscape compared to previous Olympics and offers the background of the TNMH campaign:

Well over 100 unofficial media folks are united under the True North Media House, a virtual media accreditation organization that’s aggregating content from bloggers and citizen journalists at the Games. The TNMH initiative also helps them coordinate and communicate with each other via a mailing list and #tnmh Twitter hashtag, while also serving as a point of aggregation for reporting and content.

{snip}

TRUE NORTH MEDIA HOUSE

Last Wednesday, an email went out on the True North Media House email list to let people know the group would be holding an “Olympic Hockey Tweetup” the following day between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. at a local club. “There will be an appearance by special guest Guy Kawasaki at about 8 p.m.,” the message said.

{Ed Note: The mentioned was just rebroadcast via True North Media House but was organized by another group}

Apart from a few organized events like that one, the people sporting TNMH badges have largely roamed Vancouver on their own, or in small groups. They go where they choose (and where security lets them) and report, photograph and tweet what they see. As a result, theTNMH news feed is an eclectic mix of content. It’s also spreading far and wide, according to Dave Olson, one of the organizers.

“What we’re starting to see now is people are getting their coverage up and out and distributed well before the mainstream media,” he said.

Olson, whose day job is the marketing/community director for Twitter client HootSuite, hatched the idea for TNMH with Robert Scales, who runs Raincity Sudios andVancouverAccess2010.com, and local photographer Kris Krüg, who is contributing photo essays to MediaShift during the Games.

{snip}

Now that the games are up and running, Olson said it’s a matter of letting the TNMH-accredited reporters go about their business, produce content, and see what happens. One surprise so far has been Aleks, a 5-year-old Vancouver boy who’s blogging about his Games experience with the help of his dad. He proudly wears his TNMH badge wherever he goes.

“We have people who four or five days ago didn’t self-identify as social media reporters, but they had a passion for photography or making videos,” Olson said. “Once the Games were on, they realized they see stuff no one else sees. A lot of people are just stepping up and saying they want to be a part of this.”

The reports in the TNMH news feed and discussion on #TNMH bring to mind the old saying that youth is wasted on the young. It’s hard to imagine professional media are bounding around with as much joy, delight and enthusiasm. Certainly, not having an assignment editor or producer harrassing you on deadline helps keep the TNMH crew happy. But you can’t help noticing how much fun they seem to having.

He continues to profile my compatriot John Biehler who produced exceptional quality and quantity of work during the Games:

BUSINESS ANALYST GETS ACCREDITED

John Biehler is an e-business analyst for an insurance company in Vancouver, but he’s also a self-described camera geek. He loves taking pictures and shooting video, and he shares his work on a blog and on Flickr.

Biehler booked off three weeks of vacation so he would be able to document the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, and now spends his days and nights reporting on everything from the torch relay to tall ships and zip line rides. His videos and photos are available in a special Olympic section of his blog, but they’re also showing up in the news feed of True North Media House.

Biehler proudly wears his TNMH media accreditation badge around his neck, and is often stopped by people who ask what it means, and where he got it.

“Some of the [people wearing the badge] have been able to get past security and get into venues because security think it’s official,” he said. “They don’t know we printed them out on a home printer and went to Staples and got them laminated.”

And Mr. Silverman shared my point (for which i am very glad) that grassroots content creation is for documentation as much or moreso than reportage or journalism.

DOCUMENTATION OR JOURNALISM?

Biehler is enjoying a unique experience because he has both a TNMH pass and an official one from the BCIMC. He is among the lucky few bloggers and folks from online media outlets granted access to the province’s media center. For the most part, he said, the professional media folks have been welcoming.

“They seem to work more hours,” he said of the pros, “and it’s been interesting talking with them about what I’m doing and what I’m working on, and comparing gear. Even if they’re working for a big company we’re similar in that we’re just trying to figure out the best way to do something.”

Olson said TNMH is more about documentation than journalism.

“But we’ve taken great pains to educate people about journalistic standards and how to tell a mixed media story,” he said. (The resources section on the website offers a wealth of useful information.)
The night we spoke, Olson was rushing off to meet a group of hockey fans from Latvia, an experience he looked forward to documenting.

“How often do you get a chance to meet someone who has come halfway around the world to your city to enjoy something that you’re also passionate about?”

To which he could have added: and then share that experience with the world.

Again, be sure to read the entire article and related media at True North Media House, W2 Provide Citizen Media Hub at Olympics and thanks to Craig for spreading the story.

Bio: Craig Silverman is an award-winning journalist and author, and the managing editor of MediaShift and Idea Lab. Follow him on Twitter at @CraigSilverman.

I’ve liberally pasted from the article here for the record, but encourage to read the entire article in context at How Social Media Is Changing Olympic Coverage – The Conversation in Harvard Business Review {by Alexandra Samuel, Friday February 26, 2010}. As Alex mentions, we’ve worked on projects over the years so she understands the expertise and enthusiasm Kris and I (and others of course) hold for the experimenting with social storytelling and documentation of cultural events. By the way, check Dr. Samuel’s blog for a variety of articles like: Five Unsolved Problems Social Media Could Fix.

Bonus: Dave Olson and brother celebrate the opening ceremonies - Photo by KK

The brainchild of Vancouver’s social media community, True North Media House (TNMH) was conceived as a way to organize otherwise scatter shot social media coverage of the games into something like what an alternative newspaper would provide. TNMH supports and spotlights Olympic coverage by independent bloggers, tweeters, photographers and videographers, adding their voices to an event dominated by carefully crafted messages disseminated by a controlled (some would argue subjugated) media. Each of those quotes above represents a story about the Olympics that’s been ignored by the mainstream media but is reaching a global audience.

I have firsthand knowledge of how effective the TNMH crew can be in spreading the social media gospel. I was a blogging newbie five years ago when I met TNMH founder Kris Krug. He introduced me to Flickr, cajoled me into learning the Drupal online community platform, and worked with me on some of my first online community projects. And I worked with Dave Olson, one of the other driving forces behind TNMH, to launch an online community for green Vancouver.

Kris and Dave were way ahead of the curve thinking about how the Olympics would intersect with Vancouver’s burgeoning social media scene. They anticipated an upswing in local blogging, and the influx of social media contributors, that would come with a global event. And they also anticipated that many of these folks would fall between the cracks of the traditional Olympic media support system.

“Most of the Olympics is about exclusivity and elitism,” Krug says. “True North is the opposite. You self-accredit and take the True North Media House oath, and you can print your own badge.” The oath is simple:

As a True North Media House Social Reporter, I agree to:
Take responsibility for my work
Publish with creative commons license
Tag content “TNMH” for sharing

To date, 108 contributors have signed up with TNMH and are busily shooting, blogging, tweeting and tagging. “The stories tend to be covering and documenting the fan experience rather than uncovering scandal or investigative reporting,” Olson observed. “With a diverse group of reporters following their key interests, you see compelling stories ranging from civic issues, art and culture, transportation, surveillance and security, to beer and wine.”

Kiratiana Freelon is a Chicago-based blogger who has used TNMH to make the most of her Olympics experience. “I came to the Games with the explicit goal of covering the black athletes here,” Freelon says. She says the TMNH pass “is useful to look like you are halfway legitimate media.”

Then again, none of Krug, Olson and Freelon is looking to make social media more like “official” media, either in terms of access or coverage. “I’m not sure that I want explicit support from Olympic organizers,” Freelon says.”Once you start connecting officially to the Olympic Games, things get restricted.”

Olson makes a similar case for the value of working outside the usual media system. “Once something becomes official and requires approval or adherence to guidelines, the vitality is reduced and (usually) no longer represents the true spirit of what’s going on,” he says. “All people who create and publish content on- or offline should have the same rights and responsibilities.”

Outsider status might preserve the authenticity of social media, but what does it do for the Olympics? Krug sees the International Olympic Committee’s Flickr photo group as a sign of the potential of the Olympics’ embracing of social media, and also a sign of the limitations. “It’s easy to make the right decision on photo sharing,” Krug observed. “But if they were to take their newly friendly attitude to photos and extend to videos, they would pretty much erode their traditional revenue model.

“We’re in for interesting times as the IOC tries to reinvent itself. The IOC is really a big media company like every other big media company. And they are behind the eight-ball because they are hardly an innovator.”

Alexandra Samuel is the Director of the Social + Interactive Media Centre at Emily Carr University, and the co-founder of Social Signal, a Vancouver-based social media agency. You can follow Alex on Twitter as awsamuel or her blog at alexandrasamuel.com.

Article: How Social Media Is Changing Olympic Coverage – The Conversation in Harvard Business Review

PK is a unique event: 20 slides for 20 seconds each – that’s it. No “forward” or “back” or “just a second” ~ just keep the train on the tracks in a room full of smart folks. Described thusly:

What is Pecha Kucha Night?

“Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.”

Roster for Volume 10 Vancouver

Jay Balmer
Experience Director

Things you need to know about Pecha Kucha Night

01- Pecha Kucha Night is for creativity and not for profit

02 – Pecha Kucha Night presentations are 20 images x 20 seconds each.

03 – The presenter has no control over the images. No ‘forward’ or ‘back please’

04 – In any city there are almost no spaces where designers can share their work

05 – Pecha Kucha Nights are about exposing the hidden creativity in a city

06 – Pecha Kucha Nights are held in social spaces

07 – Pecha Kucha Night is a true social network

08 – Pecha Kucha Night is about thinking and drinking

09 – Pecha Kucha Night is about the live event – not a LCD screen in your home

10 – Pecha Kucha Nights are held in over 283 cities

11 – Everybody who produces a Pecha Kucha Night has a day job

@daveohoots on @techzulu photo by @johnbiehler

Amongst the witty banter and jokery - occasionally in Scottish brogue, I shared a few tips and anecdotes about using HootSuite including integrating RSS feeds, creating analytic reports, and using networks other than Twitter through HootSuite… plus punditry about Superman, haggis and robot queens.

My segment starts at about 23:29 but be sure to check out the other variety of guests for more punditry from the mansion. Follow along for future mischievous behavior via @techzulu and @socialmediaclub.

Watch the video via UStream: TechZulu SXSW Recap Day 2 03/13/10

Guests:

Danny Robinson

Ben Pickering

Dave Olson

Erika Lehmann

Matt Macnaughton

With the future in mind, I’m reposting the article here but encourage you to read Geek Speak: Dave Olson, True North Media House in it’s entirety in context.

(As usual) the article runs from one of many rad photos my pal Vancouver photographer Kris Krug captured of my mug:

Dave Olson is the communications wrangler for the True North Media House. Photo Kris Krug

Dave Olson knows the 2010 Winter Olympics will look completely different on the ground than they do on television. So, he wants to use the Internet to share a “street-level view” with the world.

As the communications wrangler for the True North Media House, Olson is the “ringleader” behind a project that he expects will bring together over 300 bloggers, podcasters, photographers, and artists from all over during the Games. In contrast to the W2 Culture + Media House, a Downtown Eastside facility that will host non-accredited bloggers and journalists covering the Olympics, the True North Media House is billed as a “media collaboration campaign”. “Social reporters” can join the project by signing up for “self-accreditation” and agreeing to publish content under aCreative Commons licence and label it with a common tag.

Olson, who’s 40 years old, was born in Saskatoon, grew up in Surrey, and now lives in North Vancouver. He covered the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, uploading photos and video of 28 events in 13 days. In January, Olson joined HootSuite as its community director, following stints at MovieSet andRaincity Studios. He’s a contributor toVancouver Access 2010.

The Georgia Straight reached Olson on his cellphone at work in Railtown.

Why was it important for you to organize the True North Media House?

I think documenting the people’s history of how we see our communities ourselves is critically important to augment the mainstream media’s impressions of Vancouver that they’ll be spreading.

How is the True North Media House turning out differently than you first envisioned it?

It attracted more attention than I imagined at the beginning—from all over the world—and it’s become more of a thought-leadership, educational project than a resource centre.

What form will True North Media House take during the Olympics?

A series of meet-ups, events, get-togethers, photo walks, field trips to what I like to call internationalize—meaning hanging out and collaborating with international people hanging out and collaborating to make media.

How would you describe the people who are going to participate in the house?

People like me and my other colleagues who have organized this project, but from other countries. So, for all of us, there’s social-media doppelgangers from all over the world, and, just like here in Vancouver, we’re all ages and all backgrounds and work in all sorts of different media—photography, writing, audio, and so on. Those kind of people but just coming from, you know, somewhere else.

What are the main differences between the True North Media House and the Olympic social-media centre at W2?

Well, I can’t really speak for W2, but I know that they’re focused on community media and they have a physical space, and they’re also hosting the legal-observers program and the BCCLA, where True North Media House is about thought leadership, education, workshops, meet-ups, and so on.

What kind of stories do you expect people involved in True North Media House to tell during the Games?

I think hidden Vancouver gems; unique art projects, like the stuff that’s coming through the CODE program—the Cultural Olympiad Digital Edition; hospitality houses and what’s going on there; stories of lesser-known athletes—skiers from Ghana and Nepal, for example; and also shining a light on the civic and community conundrums that we see here in the city; and really tell the stories of the communities outside of the core Olympic area. I’m talking about places, like Squamish and North Van and even Surrey and Prince George, that aren’t getting as much throughout the Olympics. I think Squamish, in particular, is a great example of that.

What will you personally be doing during the Games?

I’m a guy with a day job and so I’ll have some flexibility. Pretty much every day, whatever I’m doing, I’m going to be listing it up as an event and inviting people to come along. So, for example, meet up at Gassy Jack’s statue at five o’clock with your True North Media badge and we’re going to a special tour of the police museum or the Vancouver neon exhibit, or we’re going to a live site, or we’re going to the Switzerland hospitality house, and so on. Everything I do, I’m going to be doing it publicly and inviting anyone that wants to come along to come along, and other people are doing the same thing as me. Throughout the day, they’re leading photo walks, they’re doing trips out to here, there, everywhere.

One of the most valuable things that we’ve done to kind of make this all happen is we put together a huge reporter’s toolkit, which also includes a guideline of cans and can’ts—what you can and cannot do throughout the Olympics—as well as practical tips about blogging and Twittering and how to tag things and how to track trends and stuff like that.

How do you think Vanoc has treated bloggers and citizen journalists?

They’ve missed a massive opportunity by not embracing and deputizing it—social-media makers. To compare and contrast that with London and what London and Sochi have done, London and Sochi have both embraced social media, where Vanoc has ignored and just simply missed a huge opportunity, especially in light of Mayor Gregor talking about promoting Vancouver as a creative-industry hub. Vancouver is a creative-industry hub, especially in this new-media field, and by not promoting the social-media activity and companies that are going on here, it’s a massive economic opportunity lost.

There’s some sort of badge, so it’s an alternative accreditation?

It’s really to kind of snub our nose at the whole accreditation pecking order. You’ll see during the Olympics everyone has some kind of laminate on. Like, everyone has something dangling from their neck. So, it’s kind of a little bit to say declare yourself to the world, and if you are saying you’re a reporter and you are following these best practices, then your work is of value.

Every Friday, Geek Speak catches up with someone in Vancouver’s technology sector, video-game industry, or social-media scene. Who should we interview next? Tell Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui

“We are the naked marketers. Hosts Pete Wright, Megan Strand, and Dane Christensen and guests are dedicated to pulling back the veil on marketing ridiculousness and folly, and helping communicators develop a strategy that is both effective, authentic, and fully awesome.”

I was happy to oblige his request for a report from the streets of Austin Texas during SXSW. I was delayed a few days as i basically lost my voice in the dry air and loud parties but i hopped on the Social Media Club party bus and recruited my pal (and SXSW speaker and ace photographer) John Biehler to help tell the story.  Topics range from bar-b-q and beer to marketing and locative check-in software apps.

The set-up is great as they offer a “caution this podcast is in Canadian” disclaimer off the top. Hope you manage to get the nuance and bear in mind, this was recorded on a brightly coloured converted school bus stockpiled with Molson Canadian beer and a batch of social media renegades.

are you on the bus? photo by @johnbiehler

Here’s their description of Boots on the Ground at SxSW Interactive with Dave Olsen from HootSuite Released Mar 19, 2010

“Direct from the technicolor party bus in Austin comes this SxSW update from our friends Dave Olsen and John Biehler. If you weren’t able to make to Austin for the event this year, check out what Dave and John have to say and then mark your calendars for this time next year, so you can join us for some beer and BBQ in Texas! Dave is a community wrangler for our favorite social media tool HootSuite, and you can find him on Twitter @DaveOHoots. John Biehler is an e-biz analyst and freakishly awesome photographer, and you can find him on Twitter @JohnBiehler.”

Subscribe to Naked Marketers podcast in iTunes

Jason snapped the real time photo and John captured the screen of the streaming show later showing Leo and the audience’s point of view. Alas my witticisms were snipped from the archived version in favour of other wandering geeks but believe when i tell ya it was a beauty ;-).

here's an envelope Leo - photo by Jason Sanders

here's an envelope Leo - screen cap by John Biehler

Note: Originally published at Vancouver Access 2010 on Feb 18, 2010 as part of on-going Olympic-related cultural documentation.

Over the past 8 years since attending 2002 Olympic Winter Games in SLC, I’ve spoke to groups at colleges, bars and conferences about the difference between seeing the Olympics on TV and “on the ground.” My examples most always include the first-ever Nepali Winter Olympian (a x-country skiier) and the passion of the Latvian hockey fans as sources of inspiration for my documentation.

Despite the small population and history of totalitarian Soviet control, Latvians ice a team good enough to play in the A Pool but not necessarily good enough to win the big prize. However, you can’t tell them that as any Latvian truly believes their team is as mighty as the rest.

This belief comes from a long history of performing with heart and vigor although often in the Soviet system and/or on Dynamo Riga club team which is filled with Latvians.

The proudest moment for the Latvian Men’s Hockey Team was when they defeated the Russians in 2000 – in St. Petersburg, Russia – at the World Championships led by (former Vancouver Canucks) goaltender Arturs Irbe.

While speaking at Capilano University about the Olympics, I met a Lativan student named Reinis Spaile who posted my enthusiasm on a Latvian social networking website which produced a throng of Latvian fans following along with my Olympic punditry including my “People’s History” manifesto.

My pal Chris Breikss is of Latvian heritage and we’ve spoke of the unique nature of these fans from the Baltic country. He’s rallied the enthusiasm from the Latvian community into a Latvian Fan Unite Facebook group and began rallying meetups and events to both welcome visitors and explore his own Latvian ancestry (personally i am happy to provide a wee bit of inspiration as i think this internationalizing is the best part of the Olympics).

As it turns out, Chris’ Latvian story is stunning – a real life Dr. Zhivago story of sorts including poets, gulags and love.

As explained in Vancouver Sun article by Gerry Bellett: “Tragic tale prompts Canadian to fly Latvian flag – Chris Breikss’s grandfather was a famous Latvian poet and patriot who starved to death in a Siberian gulag after being arrested in 1941″

The tale involves his grandfather, Leonids Breikss, a famous Latvian poet and patriot who was arrested in 1941 when the Soviet army invaded Latvia.

He was sent to a Siberian gulag, never to be seen again by his family, and died within a year of starvation.

“He was taken because he spoke against the occupation and talked of peace and love for his fatherland,” Breikss said.

Leonids’ wife, who is still alive and lives in Toronto, was pregnant at the time with a son — Chris’s dad, Peter, who would never see his father — and the pair eventually made their way to Canada at the end of the Second World War.

“She’s 91 and still remembers the day they came and took him away from her,” he said.

To honour his grandfather, Chris Breikss has become an unofficial Latvian Olympic team cheerleader. Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG, Vancouver Sun

Chris’ fellowship with the Latvians also included a meet and greet with the President and Prime Minister who visited Vancouver to support their team as evidenced in a video clip from the event: President of Latvia Meets with Vancouver Latvians: The President of Latvia, Valdis Zatlers, met with Vancouver Latvians at the University Golf Club at UBC. Later on this day the Latvian Hockey Team takes on Russia in their first game of the 2010 Olympics.

And finally, while at the men’s hockey game vs. Russia, Chris interviewed two Latvian fans with a compelling story with unfinished research, ergo:

According to Martins and Filips Andersons, the flag that they were wearing at the first Latvian hockey game of the 2010 Olympics was from 1917-1918. This was a time when Latvia was first becoming a country in the 1st World War. Could we have had one of the first Latvian flags in hand? It appears so. More details wanted…

An Original Latvian Flag

Now, how do I get my hands on English translations of the collected works of Leonids Breikss?

In all my projects, I extol the importance of recording and contextualizing the changes in the civic landscape in the midst of significant world events and these indie filmakers are demonstrating a stellar example of the role of creative arts in the offering this context.

Along with True North Media House, the With Glowing Hearts crew documented the W2 Woodwards arts project and April Smith and AHA Media.

I encourage everyone which an interest in social change and media r/evolution who  living in, or visiting to, Vancouver to watch this clip about True North Media House as well as the aforementioned clips plus My Vancouver.

Andrew Lavinge sets up the clip thusly:

“The latest webisode highlights the folks at True North Media House, featured are two local social media gurus, Vancouver photographer Kris Krug (@kk on twitter) and his counterpart story maker and social media activist Dave Olson (@uncleweed on twitter)”

These independent filmmakers are self-financed and are asking patrons to “Chip In” with a donation to defray production costs.

Follow With Glowing Hearts

WGHthemovie.ca- Webisode #2 ‘True North Media House’ on Vimeo

With Glowing Hearts on You Tube

@wghthemovie on Twitter

With Glowing Hearts blog

Animal Mother films on Flickr

Kris Krug and Dave Olson at Animal Mother Films presents the launch party for With Glowing Hearts, December 2, 2009

More With Glowing Hearts Coverage

WGHthemovie.ca- Webisode #2 ‘True North Media House’ [video] – True North Media House

Creating the People’s History of 2010: Accredit Yourself and Start Reporting, Partying, and Schmoozing with the World – Vancouver Observer

With Glowing Hearts film documents True North Media campaign - Now Public

With Glowing Hearts the movie – DOXA Film Fest

With Glowing Hearts… Webisode – The True North Media House – Vancouver Access 2010

“You know it’s gonna get stranger, so let’s get on with the show” Shakedown Street, Grateful Dead

Ours to Document

How are you spending your Olympics? No matter how you roll, whether you plan to celebrate, protest, or observe, my admonition is to document the people’s history about how the Olympics interacts with our communities like historian Howard Zinn would advise. Perhaps you’re skipping out of school to see some events or explore Vancouver’s hidden gems? Good. Recluse J.D. Salinger woulda wanted you to, but wouldn’t let you know it.

Indeed, the frustrations many feel about the Games is because the VANOC doesn’t represent “us” the way we see ourselves and we want the world to see our communities the way the really are. Not the fabricated, sanitized version TV will spew to the world. Alas, most any sense of excitement is overshadowed by the broken promises, funding overruns, security boondoggles and twisted public priorities. However, the Games are coming soon.

And if we don’t tell the stories from the street, who will?

Accredit Yourself

My personal objectives are:a) story making; b) internationalizing; c) good times.

In other words, I’ll be seeking stories about lesser known athletes, civic conundrums, and festive adventures and inviting other social story tellers along for my forays and finding the best hospitality along the way.

Wanna do the same?

Declare your intentions with a self-accreditation badge and share something you enjoy. Lead a walking tour of Chinatown, the old Expo grounds or your own neighbourhood. Maybe host a pub meet-up for Latvian hockey fans, or show up for a blogger tour of the Police Museum. Rally a field trip to Surrey or Richmond for celebrations and cultural exchange with the rest of the outsiders. I’m envisioning a moveable feast of ad hoc events led by anyone, attended by anyone, no signup. Go with the flow, share your skills and content using web tools.

I plan to meet international arts and media-minded visitors and show them Vancouver beyond Stanley Park and Granville Island (though those are great too).

Personal Documentation

“The first thing you’ll probably want to hear is about my trip to Nagano, Japan where I rented a crumby flophouse to turn into a coffee and craft shop and all that kinda David Copperfield kinda crap, but all I remember from Nagano is that snowboarder whassis name getting all hassled – why can’t anyone just leave people alone – makes ya wanto head to the mountains and live in a bunker.”

- (not a) lost chapter from Catcher in the Rye

SLC 2002

After seeing the torch in Olympia, WA, I loaded up a car with my brother, a stack of tickets, two ounces of herbal supplements and a trunk full of NW micro-brews and smoked meats and cheeses. After 13 days and 28 events, I’d documented with 700+ photos, dozens of video clips, a couple TV appearances, partied with gold medalists and lent Don Cherry my hat.

I also learned the power of grassroots reporting by sharing a video clip of the first-ever Nepali Winter Olympian (vid) and observed the passion of Latvian hockey fans. I also learned what you see on TV is very different from on the ground – ain’t it all bad. Heck, the Olympics brought public transit and liberalized beer laws to Utah!

Torino 2006

I remained in Vancouver, living on Torino time with 4:00 AM cappuccinos and frustrating hockey games while my colleagues Mssrs. Krug and Scales were the new media pioneers encamped in Turin at the Piedmonte Non-accredited Media Centre, testing streaming video cams, visiting hospitality houses, and rallying photo walks in between events and business outreach.

I assembled a collection of Olympic Outsider podcasts and frequent Olympic Notebooks to document the sports, media, and business issues of the games. But the gem of the Torino 2006 social media experiment was the “Social Media and Sports Symposium” – a panel discussion delivered from Vancouver and Turin over the web featuring Ross Rebagliati discussing the changing role of blogging since Nagano with Roland Tanglao and Will Pate ~ the old media begin to notice the magma bubbling up from renegade tech-journ-artists.

Beijing 2008

Everyone wondered how the bureaucracy and policies of social control would affect every aspect of the Games and the torch relay was famously interrupted several times and the Olympics became a politically-charged event akin to days of Moscow and LA boycotts compared to relatively non-political Games in Athens and Sydney.

This time around, I again contextualized content from colleagues Kris and Rob who stormed Beijing like savvy pirates covering street food, conferences and fencing. From the Occident, I assembled massive storypacks from their artifacts through Raincity Studios and crafted educational toolkits and closely observed the nuances of IOC’s priority of protecting rights-holders.

Vancouver 2010

Leading up to Vancouver turn to spend, there were a bevy of events to podcast including the Governor-General presenting the Olympic flag from Oslo, the flag tour with Crispin Lipscomb and Duff Gibson, plus reconnaissance of venues in Whistler, Cypress, Richmond and Vancouver.

But the big effort started with rejection from the worldwide press briefing and an open letter to VANOC – which sparked commentary, meetings and ideas. The letter also attracted media of all flavors to the conversation about the roles and regulations in the grey space between “accredited journalists” and “fans with cameras and recorders.”

Now the fruits of this conversation are evident with publications and organizations building coverage communities and logistical resources for all sorts of journos – more on these below.

Handing the Laptop

London 2012

A few months ago at the IOC Congress in Copenhagen, ad man Martin Sorrell spoke about the “Digital Revolution” (video) Slide Deck (.pdf) to the assembled dignitaries and extolled the virtues of easing IP restrictions, embracing fan media makers and using social media channels.

While VANOC was late to the revolution (they have made efforts @2010Tweets – Youtube), London has a head of New Media evangelizing Change, Social Media and London 2012 plus concerned citizens are using social media in a non-confrontational manner to express concerns directly to Jacques Rogge. Dr. Andy Miah of Univ. of Western Scotland will be documenting what he sees here and sharing in the UK after participating in the Social Media and the Olympics Panel at Northern Voice here in Vancouver.

Sochi 2016

Residents of Sochi will enjoy the benefits of social media for community discourse from early days of their Games as they received a Knight News Challenge of $600,000 to use for:

“… the latest online tools to both discuss and influence the impact of the games. A web site and database will allow the community to track and debate how the plans are changing life there over a five-year period. The idea is to help residents better prepare for the Olympics, to inform the media about the city’s issues and to use discussions about the games as a way to improve life in Sochi.” A notable achievement to celebrate by – props to young Fulbright scholar, Alexander Zolotarev – and I hope i can help out!

Strong, Free, Social

While some are quick to polarize attitudes about the Games into pro or con,  I am convinced that embracing a variety of opinions about the Olympix events is of significant value. While IOC and VANOC policies may be sources of personal frustration, by documenting the people’s history of the arts, sports and civic issues around Vancouver, we can effectuate positive change in our community and pass on knowledge for future events.

With this spirit in mind, the True North Media House campaign encourages social media education, aggregation and collaboration. My cohorts and I assembled a toolkit of practical resources to help find, tell, and share stories:

Stellar Work! The lads behind With Glowing Hearts – the Movie demonstrate the importance using creative art to document the social transitons and civic landscape which otherwise go under-noticed. Their ongoing film project includes a segment about the True North Media House evolution which Scales also discusses at Vancouver Access.

Good Idea! Like predictive back-to-school essays, some of my cohorts have published posts about how they will spend their Olympics – consider doing the same. Meet: John Biehler, John Bollwitt, Rebecca Bollwitt, Duane Storey plus the crew at Vancouver Access 2010 who are providing epic info resources for fans and props to event mapmaker 2010VanFan AKA Andrea.

Hang your @

Need a place to plug-in? You can meet like-minded doppelgangers at several physical facilites – each with a distinct point of view and requirements including:

• IBC at Canada Place 2 – no use mentioning it cause you ain’t getting anywhere near it unless you’re already sorted out
• BOB co-working centre – Building Opportunities through Business program has a drop-in co-working space and is hosting some CODE activities
• Network Hub – a entreptrenuraial co-working space renting desks by hour or month
• W2’s Media Arts Centre (also hosting the Legal Observers program) – call for pricing details
• BC International Media Centre – run by the provincial secretariat and hosting some accredited trad. and social media outlets
• Squamish tourism and rumours of more centres at UBC, Whistler/Blackcomb, Carnegie Library and others …?
• A city full of coffee shops and libraries with wi-fi and tables (tip your baristas)

Need a place to publish your work? Find an online community which suits your tastes like: Vancouver Observer, Now Public, Orato, Rabble.ca, Media Co-Op /Dominion or roll your own blog, set up Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo accounts to season, and you’re rolling.

Best Social Practices

There is a huge difference between sticking your content on Facebook and sharing it for the public enjoyment and archiving. Without giving your the full “Web2.0″ manifesto, here are three critical steps to maximizing the reach and longevity of your creations.

• Publish your work Creative Commons – this alternative copyright framework allows you to give permission for non-commercial use with conditions of attribution and share-alike-ness (CC on Flickr)
• Tag it specific, tag it general – tags are meant to increase findability – i’ll use #van2010 for all Olympics related content and tags for community-specific awareness e.g.: #vo2010 #tnmh + track in HootSuite so I see everything</plug>
• Share it to last – don’t hide your content and expect your work to live on, instead, publish content across multiple sites including Wikimedia commons & Archive.org

It will get Weird

No matter what you think now, expect mind to expand and evolve as you find some inspiration or motivation which you never previously considered.

Perhaps, you’ll discover the notion to express yourself or find new co-conspirators to create a new reality or play a role in helping others explore the places you pass each day.

If not, methinks you’ve missed out on the biggest chance for international fellowship since Expo 86 – and whether you plan to celebrate, protest or observe, you now have the ability and opportunity to contribute to the public record.

So, what do you plan to contribute to the future?

Photo Credits:

Canadian fans – Dave Olson

Roland, Ross and Dave – Rachel Ashe

Ski Jump – Dave Olson

Media Badge – John Biehler

Claudia Pechstein on drums – Dave Olson

Roland, Ross and Dave 2 – Brad Rees via Dave Olson

Seahorse Snacks – Kris Krug

Duff Gibson & medal – Dave Olson

Scales, Maih and Krug – Via Andy Miah

Governor General and Mayor – Dave Olson

Dave and Nadia at Fresh Media – John Bollwitt

Protest Sign – Dave Olson

Don and Ron – Dave Olson

This report lives on the Dailies blog but is designed to be shared and passed along. With this in mind, here is the Social Promotion for Movies guidebook (you can download the .pdf on Slideshare) plus the slides from the presentation (pardons for a few formatting anomalies – as such, not downloadable).

While some of the content is specific MovieSet’s production tools and movies marketing in general, most of the knowledge contained within can be applied to other products or projects you are promoting using social media and search marketing – plus all tools mentioned are free or cheap. So excuse the marketing sales stuff and you should gather a few juicy bits outta this guide. Happy to hear your comments however this is likely a final iteration as my time at the company is finished.

After the jump …
Guide Book:

Contents:

• Intro to Participatory Marketing (keys, benefits, results)
• Preparing Content (strategy for video, stills, blogs, news, links)
• Search Optimizing (how search engines work & how to rank well)
• Promotional Tactics (outreach, comment, converse, create, contests,
• Campaign Planning (activities, objectives, assembling, approvals, measuring
• More Help (sign-up for MovieSet’s tools or services)
• Glossary/Toolbox/Credits

Blurb: “Social Promotion for Movies – A Practical Guide” covers most everything film producers and publicists need to know to begin identifying, outreaching and engaging fans. The white-paper-like booklet explains topics like Search Engine Optimization, Campaign Planning, Promotional Tactics and tips for preparing videos, stills, blogs, and news for maximum impact. Along with professional tips for building keyword lists and monitoring conversations, you’ll find a list of tools, resources, performance indicators and action plans for getting cast and crew onboard.

Presentation Notes: