NOTE: Sent to VANOC {mediarelations@vancouver2010.com, pressoperations@vancouver2010.com} Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008.
Cross-posted at: raincitystudios.com, 2010.dailyvancouver.com, nowpublic.com, etc.

Hello VANOC Media Relations and Press Operations,

I am writing today on behalf of Raincity Studios, a Vancouver-based social media company who owns and publishes a suite of media properties. We had hoped to talk about social media (blogs, podcasts, twitter, wikis etc.) at the World Press Briefing this week, however we did not receive any response from the applications we submitted to the participate in the event. So, as per Mr. Furlong's suggestion at the Vancouver Board of trade meeting last week, we are liaising with VANOC.

In brief, we'd like to have a conversation about how to allow fans and amateur media makers to document their Olympic experience while keeping out of the way of the IOC IP lawyers. As a company and as individuals, we've produced extensive, non-accredited coverage of Beijing 2008, Torino 2006, SLC 2002, and Nagano 1998. With the next games literally in our neighborhood, we'll be hosting an independent, international media centre at our Gastown loft office. As part of this, we'll organize events like photo walks and aggregate fan-made content for the enjoyment of a worldwide audience. We'd like to work with you to do this for mutual benefit.

As you likely know, Vancouver is a hub of innovative journalism with companies like ourselves, Now Public, and others plus renowned conferences like Northern Voice. Raincity Studios/Bryght are also an "official weblog service provider." My colleagues Robert Scales and Kris Krug were published in the academic paper "Pathway: Critiques and Discourse In Olympic Research," participated in the 9th International Symposium on Olympic Studies in Beijing and will be presenting about the experiences at the noted SXSW Interactive conference in 2009.

Between my colleagues and myself, we've posted thousands of photos, dozens of audio and video podcasts along with hundreds of blog posts, updates etc. from several Olympics. Additionally, we've cooperated with mainstream media and published Olympic-related coverage in the LA Times, BBC online, plus outlets in Poland, Brazil, Shanghai, and so on.

In Torino, Scales and Krug (and others) tested cutting edge equipment for Comvu and produced a cross-ocean symposium "Athletes and Social media" between Turin and Vancouver. In Beijing, they tested camera for Qik and contributed to many mainstream media outlets. Our own media properties include DailyVancouver.com, UrbanVancouver.com, Hockeynw.com, plus dozens of other presences, and we are allied with dozens of other media properties in BC and around the world.

Mr. Scales is China desk editor for Now Public and has presented to numerous international business groups about Olympics and business. Mr. Krug is ranked #4 on Vancouver Sun's "Internet Most Visible in Vancouver" list, both Krug and Scales were included on Tech Vibes "Vancouver Digital Media People to Watch 2008" list and appear on various other "best of" lists.

As for myself, I've produced extensive photo essays of event venues and published interviews with Canadian athletes like Duff Gibson, Ross Rebagliati and Crispin Lipscomb and written magazine articles about Olympians. I also appear on CBC Radio One discussing sports culture and new media as the producer/host of the Canucks Outsider podcast.

Bear in mind, aside form the occasional stipend, we do this work for no pay.

We are aware of your obligations to media rights holders and are seeking to provide an entirely different sort of coverage than the accredited media provide. We are not looking to cover events per se but are instead interested in covering the cultural stories, athletes' families' stories, and stories from fans who saved and traveled from around the world for this experience. In other words, we plan to encourage and aggregate fan coverage of the individual's "on the street" experience of the Games. We are locals who have watched (and helped pay for) the development of the Games since before the Plebiscite - as a result, we are tuned in to the issues and excitement surrounding the Games.

To begin our liaison relationship, we would like to attend the media briefing portion of the Worldwide Press Briefing on Thursday. We'd also schedule a follow-up conversation with the appropriate point of contact to discuss how we as a weblog vendor company, and as individuals, can be involved in providing amateur coverage of Vancouver/Whistler 2010.

With Best Regards,

daveo (and Robert Scales and Kris Krug)
--
Dave Olson
Community Evangelist
Raincitystudios.com

PS These links will provide a flavor of our point of view:

* Raincity Studios Olympics posts: http://raincitystudios.com/search/node/olympics
* Olympic overage at Daily Vancouver: http://2010.dailyvancouver.com
* Beijing kick off post: http://raincitystudios.com/blogs-and-pods/daveo/beijing-2008-social-medi...
* Krug's Flickr Olympics photos: http://flickr.com/photos/kk/tags/olympics
* Scales' Flickr Olympics photos: http://flickr.com/photos/raincitystudios/tags/olympics
* Olson's Flickr Olympics photos: http://flickr.com/photos/uncleweed/tags/olympics
* You Tube videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/robertscales
* Olympic Outsider podcast feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/olympicoutsider
* Scales' Olympic coverage on Now Public: http://my.nowpublic.com/user/6247/assignments
* SLC 2002 photo/video essay: http://olsonboys.org/galleries/olympic-gallery.html
* Torino/Vancouver Symposium: http://2010.dailyvancouver.com/torino/symposium

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"And where might those be?", you ask....

They'd be over here and may help if you're having fun setting up a home network.

Enjoy your day, Everyone!

Get ready for a dining experience that is a little out of the ordinary. Enjoy delicous home cuisine in a homy environment while mixing and mingling with other foodies. Intrigued? Check it out
http://www.socialbites.ca/pb/wp_43c215d0/wp_43c215d0.html. There are only a few tickets available to this event...so hurry!

Vancouver Central College is a private institution that works with individuals, especially newcomers to help them become full participants of Canadian society. The College is known for its exemplary work in providing opportunities that acquire knowledge, credentials and marketable skills that lead to commensurate employment. The programs at the College are offered in the areas of AutoCAD Engineering, Construction Technician, Networking, International Trade, Accounting and Residential Care Attendant. One of the key features of these programs is that they provide you with industry specific skills that will land you the right job. In addition to the hands on training that is provided in these three to eight month diploma or certificate programs, there is also a practicum option which provides students with the chance to work in a company in the Vancouver area. When students perform well in the practicum, there is also the possibility of attaining full time employment with the company.

The good news is that if you are skilled newcomer with a background in engineering, construction or international trade, there is funding available to help newcomers pay for the programs. Moreover, if you have been laid off, there is also Employment Insurance (EI) funding that is available to cover the costs of these programs. There is also a special $2500.00 grant that is available for those individuals that would like to enroll in the Residential Care Attendant (RCA) program. Vancouver Central College is committed to creating awareness of this funding and these programs to the South Asian community. We are regularly staring new sessions and offer programs in flexible formats to suit different schedules. If you would like more information about these programs and the funding that is available or to simply discuss your career goals please contact Amy Saini at 604-430-5608 or amy@vancollege.com

Build an education. Build a career. Build a life in Canada.

The 2008 edition of Whistler Film Festival kicks off with the world premiere of Anand Ramayya’s feature length documentary, Mad Cow Sacred Cow, on December 4th, 3:00 pm at the Rainbow Theatre in Whistler.

In the wake of the Mad Cow Crisis, terrified of his food, filmmaker Anand Ramayya (Cosmic Current) embarks on a journey from his in-laws’ family farm in Canada all the way back to India, land of the Sacred Cow. His Journey reveals shocking connections between the Mad Cow crisis and Global Food crisis.

Weaving interviews from Dr. Vandana Shiva, Maneka Gandhi, Dr. Murray Waldman, Nettie Wiebe and Swami Agnivesh with stunning visuals of a personal journey that crosses continents, the story of Mad Cow Sacred Cow takes us from the filmmaker’s own happy days of indiscriminate beef consumption to the frightening realities created by globalization.

Congratulations to the crew: Producer/ Writer/ Director Anand Ramayya, Producer Ryan Lockwood (Hulo Films), Cinematographer Thomas Hale, Composer Raj Ramayya, Editor Chris Bizzocchi.

Financing partners of Mad Cow Sacred Cow include Canadian Television Fund, Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, Rogers, SaskFilm and broadcast partners CBC Newsworld, Saskatchewan Communications Network, and Knowledge Network. It will air on CBC Newsworld's The Lens in January 2009.

contact: anand@karmafilm.ca, rawtalentbc@gmail.com
www.rawtalent.wordpress.com

What happens when a happy frog and a pod of whales get together to change the world? Vancouver, Canada-based, green web companies 3rdWhale.com and happyfrog.ca announced an equity merger with plans to grow globally with the goal of helping eco-minded consumers make informed choices in all aspects of their lifestyle - from organic food to eco-travel.

Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) November 12, 2008 -- Vancouver Canada-based, green web companies 3rd Whale and happyfrog.ca announced an equity merger and plans to grow globally under the 3rd Whale name.

The merger combines 3rd Whale's location-based mobile phone application with happyfrog.ca's rich "web 2.0" platform providing green consumers with cross-platform tools to find values-aligned businesses. By using the company's next generation mobile and web tools, participants can easily share their eco-smarts by adding business reviews, blog posts, and mentoring programs to help others reduce their eco-footprint. 

3rd Whale is best known for the "Greenest Person in the World" contest which generated media exposure from Venezuela to Germany. 3rd Whale is the brainchild of Boyd Cohen, who holds a Ph. D in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and is an Assistant Professor at British Columbia's Simon Fraser University. The company recently opened an office in Sunnyvale, California and is actively adding members to the executive team and meeting with venture capital firms in Silicon Valley.

Dr. Cohen, CEO, points out, "By combining happyfrog's expertise in web delivery of green business listings, and related community engagement, with the growing global brand of 3rdwhale.com and our mobile application, we are poised to initiate truly global change."

In just over a year, happyfrog.ca grew into the definitive directory for finding environmental and wellness focused businesses and organizations in B.C. Happyfrog's platform also gave a voice to bloggers and the public to share their opinions about favorite businesses from yoga to sushi with the Myhappyfrog social networking platform.

Happyfrog's "Frog squad" of bloggers and podcasters were visible at eco-trade shows and conferences, including EPIC Sustainable Living Expo at Canada Place, resulting in tremendous exposure for the businesses and organizations showing real environmental leadership.

Founded by independent media veteran Ron Williams, happyfrog was built and launched by Webby-nominated consulting firm, Social Signal (known for Change Everything, BCHydro Green Gifts).

Williams, now President of 3rd Whale, expressed his excitement with the merger saying, "When I first dreamed of creating happyfrog.ca, I knew partnering with values and technology-aligned companies would be the key to scaling to a larger base. Upon meeting the 3rd Whale team, I knew we'd found a great fit to bring our local prototype to a worldwide audience."

3rd Whale's mobile application (called Luna) is in public beta for iPhone and on track for general release on Nov. 14th followed by versions for the Google Android and RIM Blackberry platforms. The happyfrog.ca site will be re-imagined and re-branded as 3rdwhale.com and tens of thousands of new entries will be added in conjunction with subsequent rolling launches in new markets worldwide.

##

More at PRWeb: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/11/prweb1600134.htm

On my recent visit to the neighboring city of Coquitlam when I dined at the satisfying Blue Sea, I spotted Insadong at the intersection of North Road and Lougheed Highway, as I was making the return drive home. If you’ve ever been to Coquitlam, perhaps you’ll feel as I did and think that a large part of this reported Korean population in the Vancouver CMA is all based here, given the prevalence of so many Korean businesses and signs in Hangul. Frankly, it could easily rival the likes of the Wilshire/Hancock Park neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and the Shin-Okubo area in Tokyo, for having a densely concentrated Korean community that manages to exist in its own little bubble all within another country’s society. A bit surprising, considering the small percentage of the population that are Korean.

Continued w/pics...
http://foodosophy.wordpress.com/2008/11/09/insadong-coquitlam-bc/

On Saturday November 22nd and Sunday November 23rd, 45 fabulous and funky local designers will come together in the historic Heritage Hall to display their eclectic mix of jewellery, handbags , scarves, hats, belts and so much more. Heritage Hall is located at 3102 Main St at 15th Avenue in Vancouver. $2. admission, Kids Free, 11:00am-5:00pm daily. For mor information email to fabfair@hotmail.com or call 604 874 9535

German VOICES Vancouver, a newsletter published for the Austrian, German & Swiss Community in western Canada is nearing its one year Anniversary. Editor & owner, Elke Porter, is making some changes to help streamline its publication.

The name will be changing to "Westcoast German News". At the same time, the DKV Society will be changing its name to "Westcoast German Society". This is in hope that more Canadians in western Canada will be encouraged to send press releases, articles, photos & events pertaining to the German-speaking Community.

The second change will be that this will be an online/Internet publication only from January on. Most people prefer to read it online anyways. Those who like are encouraged to print it out and share it with their Oma, neighbour, or anyone with no regular computer access. Since libraries & Internet cafe's offer their services free and/or cheap, anyone can have access to e-mail these days.

Finally, we are inviting German Organizations, Businesses & famous citizens of the US with German, Austrian or Swiss descent to join our growing publication. Spread the word - German-speakers must be heard!

Check the website: http://www.germanvoicesvancouver.com for more information!

In celebration of the release of A Very Vancouver Christmas Volume III, an album of original Christmas/Holiday music, in aid of the BC-SPCA, contributing artists will be performing their festive tunes live at several benefit concerts around Vancouver. The album features 13 original holiday songs by local rising stars, as well as some old favorites. All artists and services are donated, and all proceeds from album and ticket sales will be donated to the BC-SPCA. Benefit concert schedule is as follows:

Wired Monk Nov 24th @ 7pm
2610 West 4th, Vancouver

Sillken
Melissa RaeAnne
Scott Jackson
& Special Guests

Wired Bean Dec 13th @ 8pm
102-200 W. Esplanade, North Vancouver

Scott Jackson
Andre Chrys
Karen Fowlie
Melissa Endean
Lindsay May
Richard King

The Railway Club Dec. 14th @ 8pm
579 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver

Burnettes
Melissa RaeAnne
Silken
Heidi McCurdy
Karen Fowlie
Aaron Grant

Roxy Dec 18th @ 8:30pm
932 Granville Street, Vancouver
Tix $10 (includes door & 1 free drink)
Contact: raveonstudio@gmail.com

Richard Klein
Marq DeSouza with Nenah Barkley
Debbie Bergeron
Karen Fowlie
Scott Jackson
Michelle Dumond
Lindsay May

With The Christmas All Star Band

The project is the creative brainchild of Vancouver Record Producer, Jenn Ashton of Rave On Studio, who wanted to find a way to showcase some of Vancouver's amazing new musical talent, while at the same time involve and give back to the community. She also wanted to pay tribute to non-traditional Christmas and holiday music and to the people who make it. In August 2006, ten of Vancouver’s most popular musicians and bands were invited to participate in this project for charity. They wrote and recorded their own original Christmas/Holiday music for the first volume in just a few short months, and the results were amazing! Due to the unprecedented success of the first album, it was decided to make this an annual event.

Musical styles are varied, from jazz and blues to rock, country and indie music. All of the material is original with a Christmas/Holiday theme. One of the goals of this album project is to make these musicians and their music available to a wider, non-club going audience. "I consider many of these musicians to be the 'next generation' of Vancouver's finest, and they have been hand-picked because of their talent and marketability,” explains Ms. Ashton. “We mixed in a few favorites as well, for name recognition, and again, to showcase some of Vancouver's amazing talent!”

Artists included on Volume III are Adrienne Pierce, Bobby Richards, Rick Fines, Karen Fowlie, Melissa RaeAnne, Scott Jackson w/Melissa Endean, Heidi McCurdy, Debbie Bergeron, Michelle Dumond, Lindsay May, Sillken and Rheal Poirier. To learn more and to preview the album, please visit A Very Vancouver Christmas websites: www.veryvancouverchristmas.com and www.myspace.com/veryvancouverchristmas

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Sunshine Restaurant was my opponent on this evening, innocently lulling me in with an Ali-like rope-a-dope as I drove by and spotted the brightly lit open sign still on. With easy parking access right in front, like a moth to a flame, I calmly walked in and easily got a free table. A few members of the staff were sitting at one as well, which probably should have been my cue to do a quick 180 - as you know things can be well when the workers are lounging about where customers normally should be. Seeing a large menu board that was filled with drink items such as fruit smoothies, other hot and cold beverages, and bubble tea plastered above the main counter, I wondered what limitations there would be with the food.

Continued w/pics...
http://foodosophy.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/sunshine-restaurant/

After initially having some difficulty finding Athene’s courtesy of my lackadaisical reliance on Google Maps, we found our way to the front entrance on a late weekday evening. Right away, the dimly lit interior and relaxed atmosphere made me feel as if we were being welcomed into the living room of a beloved heritage home. Inside, the place was already abuzz with a few full tables of diners as we were led to an empty table by the front window. Perhaps it was the absence of strong interior lighting and the fact that it was past 8pm already, but I did not get a sense of that tacky, white-everywhere-on-the-walls style of decor that seems to be the aesthetic of choice in too many North American Greek restaurants.

Continued w/pics...
http://foodosophy.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/athenes-vancouver-bc/

Surrey / Langley Location - Please call for info!
To all my Vancouver Friends****

Women's & young women's (teen/preteen) clothing line is
holding a "1 day" only launch party!
Our new 'Inspirational Clothing' line is now available in our online boutique & we are
having an impromptu gathering to personally invite you to see our hip, stylish, & powerfully
thought out line! Bring your girlfriend or daughter for some 'girl time' & do a little CHRISTMAS
shopping at the same time.
Bevvies & snacks will also be served.
******* PRICES FROM: $10.00 *********
******* SAT., (1:00pm-3:00pm) ********
The Perfect Christmas Gift for every woman!
Hip trends & styles like; tunic's, tee's, tank's, legging's, crop pants, top's & accessories!
This is a 1 day, 1 time only party & we want you to be on the leading edge of this line that
is on the ground level of breaking out in a big way!
Fashion with Passion - EfferVaCious!
Location: Surrey/Langley border - Please Call to reserve your 'leading edge' seat!
Call: Joanna #604-339-7744
EfferVaCious@hotmail.com
http://www.effervacious.com
Be what you wear!

The House of Dosas is located in an easily recognizable space, in a one-story building on the corner of Kingsway and Knight Street. With large inviting windows with minimal coverings, you can’t help but notice it when driving by, especially when stopped at the lights of that intersection. A friend of mine had mentioned that she had seen it and said we must make a visit one day, and as luck would have it, a group of us were up for an impromptu weekday dinner gathering. I was just hoping the dosas would be as great as the ones I had for my daily breakfast this past spring in Trivandrum, located on the southern tip of India.

Continued w/pics...
http://foodosophy.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/house-of-dosas-vancouver-bc/

Check it out - an awesome time was had by all, last weekend at the Parade of Lost Souls on Commercial.
http://www.vancouveriam.com/videos/1cc45f4db3ec

With all the talk about doing what’s best for the people on “Main Street” amid the financial meltdown and stump speeches in the American election, it stuck me that I rarely visit the road with the same name on Vancouver’s east side. Neither living nor working in that part of the city, nor having any friends with residences there that I would ever visit, Main Street really is an afterthought for me. However, I did know it is home to many off-the-beaten-track, hole-in-the-wall, beloved restaurants with the locals, and it deserved a thorough investigation. For this, I decided to walk up from the intersection at Broadway and Main, all the way up to 49th Avenue - and on both sides of the street...

Continued w/pics...
http://foodosophy.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/hawkers-delight-vancouver-bc/

My husband came home with a light blue cardigan. Said cardigan has since, coincidentally, gone missing.