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...

nitchCraft: Having a coffee for the Kids with DailyChallenge.org and Pay it Backwards Day

Tomorrow is a very important day across the province of Ontario so I would be remiss if I didn’t feature my Darius Bashar of DailyChallenge.org who will be presenting Pay it Backwards Day tomorrow, September 30.  Wednesday only, any time you walk into a Second Cup and buy a coffee (or anything) for the person behind you in line, $5 will be donated to Sick Kids Hospital.  I think this is just amazing, but rather than make the intro a spoiler, let’s allow the interview to do the talking as we learn more about this great event and all that’s going on...

nitchCraft: Travelling the world and bringing a loyal audience along, with Journeywoman

Today nitchCraft features its first non-video content site.  This distinction goes to a blog that serves as a written content resource several thousand pages strong, frequented by hundreds of thousands of women looking to travel smarter.  Journeywoman.com was started by the intrepid Evelyn Hannon waaay back in a little decade called the 90s and it continues to grow today with the help of one of our new friends, twitter, and a continued commitment to respecting her loyal audience.  Without further ado, I give you, Journeywoman. Brand: Journeywoman Key Mediums: Blog...

nitchCraft: Lesbian online dating and some digital strategy on the side with Seeking Simone

In this installment, nitchCraft switches gears from beer-swilling hockey card nuts to… well… lesbians.  Today we’re talking to the co-creators of the now-internationally renowned web series for the lesbian community, Seeking Simone.  In an exciting twist, Simone (the star of the show if you couldn’t put that together) is actually played by co-creator, Renée Olbert.  Along with her creative cohort, Rosemary Rowe, they’re going to give us insights into engaging an under-served niche with new technology.  Let’s get to it! Brand:...

The SXSWi Panelpicker and the opportunity for Toronto to prove community works

Anyone in the Toronto digital/social media scene likely noticed that Monday was the official opening to voting for the South by Southwest Interactive Festival’s annual “Panelpicker”.  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, SXSW (an annual music, film and interactive conference in Austin, Texas) opened up the opportunity to present at their event to the world.  After thousands of submissions were administered, they’ve now launched the Panelpicker, essentially a Digg-like crowdsourcing application where the organizers are the only ones...