Do not call? =)

Kind of ironic that you can't get through to put your number on the do not call list! The web site isn't working either. I guess it may have been hard to predict how many people would want to be on the on-call list. I'd be guessing pretty much every one with a phone number though.

Here's an article from the CBC on the frustrations people are experiencing.

On a positive note I think it is great that this option now exists for us. Interruption based marketing is going the way of the dinosaur.

Feel free to register your number here. [UPDATE: It seems to be working now]

Let me introduce you to the B2B Specialist!

Today, I've decided to establish a clear delineation between my professional online "persona" from that of my personal one. The problem I want to avoid is mixing professional friendships and relationships with personal ones. My professional persona will evolve around my being a B2B (Business to Business) specialist and student. This blog has been focusing primarily on B2B Marketing & Sales which will still be the case. I will be exploring other B2B areas of interest to me that relate to these core areas of focus. This includes customer relations, social media, product management, knowledge and talent workers. These functional lines are merging.

Professionally speaking I had a blast helping grow Unis Lumin into something very special, having been a finalist in Cisco's I-Prize Contest, a global social media driven innovation contest and I'm now, with the help of many others bringing ProductCamp to Toronto.

Why this "delineation"? Well, quite honestly do you really want to see pictures of me going down a rollercoaster, or sitting at the beach or mountain biking?! =)

So, that's enough about me! What I hope this can mean to you is that we can establish a professional connection of mutual value. In the coming months I'll be setting up my Professional Persona and social media network. I consider myself a B2B specialist AND student especially in the areas of marketing, sales, product innovation and leadership.

If you're interested in connecting feel free to subscribe to my FriendFeed channel located on the right side of my blog. Over time, I hope to create some cool social media experiences with you.

I'm still undecided but the Liberals get a nod!

It's 11:30 on a Saturday and I get a knock at the door...ugh! Who's selling me something now, I'm thinking. It turns out it is Tyler and Kyle canvassing my block for Bonnie Brown, the incumbent Liberal candidate (in case you didn't know there is an election in Canada coming up too!). My response? Wow!

Young adults have been criticized of not getting involved in politics.... don't get me started on this because many older adults "don't bother" to vote. Kudos to Tyler and Kyle (who gave me thumbs up to blog about them and post their photo, thx dudes) for getting involved in politics. If they knock on your door, even if you're not voting for Bonnie, encourage them and show how much you appreciate their commitment to get involved in the political process. We need more youth to get involved! We need to listen and learn from them. We need them to become our next leaders.

Example of an Open Grid session

Another example of an unconference in action. This post talks about the Open Grid process. We'll be finalizing our Open Grid approach shortly. In the meantime, if you haven't registered for ProductCampToronto give it some serious thought. Here's where you can register, as well as see who's planning on attending. Head over to our proposed sessions to see what's been proposed....add to the list!

A quick look at what an Unconference is like

The "unconference" experience!

What is cool about this video is that it gives you a slice of what an unconference is like. This is a Startup event and I noticed three key things in this video.

First, you get to see them going through the Open Grid process. Where sessions are proposed and voted on in real time and the event schedule is generated on the fly. This is the first major activity that takes place an an unconference. Why is this cool? Because the participants that show up are what matter! We have over 40 potential session topics for PCT. These topics and new ones will be "proposed during the Open Grid session and participants decide which ones are most interesting and relevant! Cool!

Second, it shows you how interactive and engaging this type of event can be. No bullcrap presentations, no sales pitches... just authentic conversations about things that are important to the participants.

Third, it shows an interesting activity called "speed geeking" something we may think about doing for PCT.

Shameless PCT Promotion..podcast interview

Special thanks to Donna Papacosta host of the Trafcom News Podcast for interviewing me about ProductCampToronto. Donna attended our Pubnight on August 6th. The interview starts about 17 minutes into the podcast and lasts 2 minutes. An easy way to listen to this podcast from your screen is to use the blubrry player (see the "Listen Now" option to the right of her post).

Thanks for your help in promotiong ProductCamp Toronto Donna!