The iPhone 4 is finally here – but is it really worth the hype?

The new iPhone is here. If you managed to escape the news through US commercials (where it’s already launched), Facebook, your fanboy friends’ incessant rambling, the lineup update barrage on twitter this morning, or even the recent “antenna gate” crisis, then I’m telling you now.  It has arrived. As with the iPad and pretty much every Apple device before it, the Canadian release date has lagged behind the US. Today it finally landed in the Great White North and the regular lineups at the Apple stores, Best Buys, and the expected low grade hysteria as proud...

Facebook may be “Big Brother”, but I’m not too scared

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk in the news and on social networks about Facebook’s “evil” privacy policy.  Before you start worrying that Facebook is coming to take you down for your personal info – relax.  Take a deep breath.  Telling Facebook some things about yourself isn’t so bad. Once a novelty known as the place where “the kids” could “poke” ’til your hearts’ content, almost overnight, Facebook has now become the latest iteration of Big Brother.  And it’s not a difficult...

Promoted Tweets: Should Twitter be “playing Google”?

By now you’ve heard the big news – Twitter has (another) business model!!  It’s always slightly amused me how venture capital money can build companies that can bring the internet to a standstill with announcements like “hey everybody – we have a plan to maybe make some of that money back!”.   And when Twitter announced Promoted Tweets, that’s exactly what happened.  It caused everyday Twitterati to gossip, quip and chatter.  It caused brands to ask questions.  It caused agencies to create “official...

The business of Facebook and the new world of PR

As many of you know, I took on a new role to begin 2010 at Weber Shandwick, heading up their Digital Communications practice for Canada.  I think the thing I love most about any new opportunity is that it gives me the chance to take on a new learning curve and a new way of thinking.  Perhaps the most prevalent example of this is the position of traditional media relations professionals in the new world of social media and digital engagement. After spending my days thinking on this position and working with colleagues and clients to position Weber in the Canadian space,...

Checking in at SXSW and the location-based revolution

So I just got my first “swarm” badge for checking in on Foursquare, and I couldn’t be more excited.  For a while I rejected joining the Foursquare movement, but upon learning I’d be heading down to South by Southwest Interactive, I knew I’d have to jump on the Foursquare bandwagon (or Gowalla – I suppose they deserve a shoutout too). Excited to see its potential in action To begin this location-based adventure, I was lucky enough to travel down to Austin with some notable Toronto “agitators”, David Crow, Jay Goldman and...

Excitement of Olympic proportions

I usually try to keep personal news out of the blog, but there’s just too much goodness to share to avoid it this time. Later today, in the culmination of about 5 years of planning and anticipation, I’ll be boarding a train to travel across Canada with the final destination of the Vancouver Olympics!  In addition to an unforgettable trip across the country (something I’ve never done before) and having tickets to multiple Olympic events, my travel buddy Zed and I pitched our adventure to the CBC and they’re letting us blog about it!  We’ve...

Talkin’ New Years, NXNE, and needing your support

I’m a little late to the game on this but Happy New Year Decade everyone! I’ve been busy updating all things nitch* lately to give it a fresh new look and hope that everyone likes what they see.  But in the meantime, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I’ve applied to present a panel at the upcoming North by Northeast Interactive conference (#NXNEi).  My panel is called “Content, Storytelling and the future of digital brand engagement”.  Those who’ve read the blog before shouldn’t be strangers to my strong views...

If content is “king”, then what’s wrong with paying for it?

I’ll be heading to nextMEDIA Toronto this week to take in the broader discussion and also moderate a panel with some incredible producers talking about bringing traditional media content into the digital space, and most of all, methods to monetize that content.  I’m always excited to speak on these sorts of subjects because, for all the valuable content we consume on a daily basis – between the news, the weather, research, slideshare presentations, tabloids, sports reports, games, television series, web videos, iPhone apps and more – people tend...

nitchCraft: Talking personal style and personal relationships with The Refinery

Today things are getting stylish here at the nitchblog. I had the chance to chat with Wendy Woods of The Refinery, a creative image consulting company that helps real women find clothing and accessories that enhance their personal style and are practical for their daily lives. But more than an image consultant, Wendy has become a media guru in her own right, using numerous tools to help spread word about her business and educate her clients (and potential clients). I’m really excited to share some of what this non-traditional media business has done in the...

It’s time for the magazine industry to realize digital is an asset, not an adversary

When the news came down the pipes this week that Conde Nast was shutting down four of its magazine publications, I’m not sure that “shock” was a word many people associated with the announcement.  Sure, Conde Nast is a huge company and would theoretically be able to weather the storm longer than most, but the reality is this is just another example of how magazine, as a medium, is now almost completely unsustainable in its current form. Looks like it's back to Kraft Dinner for me.... However, as was pointed out in a great article in Mashable this...