Slide from Kimli Welsh at Northern Voice 2010

The hour is late, so I will share one story that really sticks with me. It’s the story of blogger Kimli Welsh – creator of Delicious Juice Dot Com – and how she used cognitive behavioural therapy and social media to overcome her social anxiety.

“I’m terrified of each and every one of you,” Kimli told us. “But it’s not you guys; it’s my thoughts.”

Kimli’s stories stood out because I relate to them. I, too, have bought tickets to events and then chickened out of going at the last moment. And, like Kimli, I’ve also made some great connections with people thanks to Twitter.

She described social anxiety as “an overall bummer” that “makes you miss out on a whole lot of fun.” True that, in my experience.

Social anxiety affects 1 in 8 people

“It’s been estimated that social anxiety affects 1 in every 8 people, and can range in severity from uneasiness in social situations to a debilitating fear of the unknown,” reads Kimli’s write-up for her talk at Northern Voice.

“Learn how to use Social Media to overcome your terror of the unknown. Get out of your comfort zone! Take on new challenges! Weed out the crazy to forge new friendships and the exciting times that are rightfully yours!”

She also suggested we reassure ourselves with this positive affirmation: “No one here is cooler or more important than anyone else.”

Over and out.

This photo has no relation to this post

It’s the monthly meeting of The Shebeen Club – moved to a different location because the Shebeen was booked. Organizer Lorraine Murphy, raincoaster, wrote in the invite: “Wes aims to bring the mystique and hyperbole of social media down to earth, exploring its practical uses for environmental, political and social activism, and recounts some of his personal experiences on the social media frontier.”

When I saw this invite, I immediately thought about my friend Astarte Sands, program coordinator of Mosaic’s Workplace Connections Mentoring Program. Her program connects immigrants with local mentors who help them find jobs in their professional area. Astarte is already a master networker, and by adding more social media, they can connect with even more people who are willing to be mentors.

It’s $20 for a drink, dinner, conversation, and probably learning something.

Orange Day Volunteers at UGM, Photo by Leah Gregg on Flickr

Yesterday I received an invitation from Derek Weiss, senior public relations specialist for Union Gospel Mission. UGM is a Christian charity well-known in Vancouver for providing community meals, clothing, emergency shelter, faith-based services, and drug and alcohol recovery programs.

Here’s Derek’s invite: Join Vancouver bloggers and UGM staff and volunteers as we chill together and get the word out online about the Orange Day campaign. Then, weather permitting, we’ll walk over to Crab Park to have some fun Orange Day activities and create bright, fresh “analog tweets” to spread the love and encourage homeless in our city and guests at the UGM meal.

When: Monday, March 29, 6:00pm (Chill Winston meetup); 7:00pm (Orange fun at Crab Park)

Where: Meet at Chill Winston, at the intersection of Carrall, Powell, and Water Streets.

What to bring: Outdoor-wear; camera or cellphone with camera to take pictures of you with your posters.

Who: Everyone is welcome

The Orange Day campaign is a week-long fundraising program to raise money for UGM’s annual Easter meal. “For the week leading up to April 2, you can transform Vancouver’s streets by having fun, helping the homeless community, and sharing your adventures online.”

You can read more about the Orange Day Campaign here.

Kudos to UGM for their efforts to make a difference!

Image credit: imelda on Flickr

“On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness,” says the About page for Twestival.

The charity to benefit is Concern Worldwide. Based out of Ireland, this is: “an international humanitarian organisation dedicated to reducing suffering and ending extreme poverty.” One-hundred percent of funds raised will go towards Concern’s projects that focus on providing education for some of the 72 million children in the world who don’t have the opportunity to go to school.

The Vancouver goal was to raise $4000 and we’ve already exceeded this in ticket sales. At the moment I hit Send on this here blog, Vancouver Twitter folks have raised $6402. I’ll update with a final total for Vancouver and the rest of the world.

Aside from the fund-raising aspect, Twestival is also a great opportunity to meet people in real life, after reading their tweets online for so long. Come on down if you have time and $20!

Here I am... at it again!

I love Twitter because I love people and their stories – not to mention the jokes, banter, fake band names, and shock-value photos that make me laugh (isn’t that right @eatsshootsedits?)

And nothing fleshes out this love better than actually meeting my Twitter contacts in real life, like I did last night. It was a St. Patricks day “tweetup” at St. Augustine’s on Commercial Drive – and in case it’s not obvious, this term means a meet up arranged by people on Twitter.

We ended up with about 10 at the table – and I’m not going to list them all here – but we sat, laughing and sharing stories til the place closed. A few folks came and went, but there was a core group of four (including me) who were there for the whole time.

One man wouldn’t have been able to attend because he’s having a struggle with money. He said (via Twitter) he was too broke, but then another super-nice guy from Twitter (who he had never met in person) said: “Just come down and I’ll buy you some beers.” So he did make it to our tweetup afterall – and the two men hugged when they met for the first time in real life.

You see that all the time at tweetups: people hugging hello! It’s so exciting to see these online contacts in the flesh – after you’ve been following them online for weeks or months. So often you hear: “Oh!!! So you’re [insert Twitter handle]!!!”

The first time I went to a tweetup, I felt kind of weird and stalker-ish (and a bit shy) to walk up and introduce myself to someone I knew online only, but now it feels totally natural. Every single person has been friendly and it’s not at all clique-ish. I’ve heard of a few people alleged to choose their conversations with a “What can you do for me?” attitude, but I’ve never encountered it. All I’ve ever experienced are genuine, welcoming people who seem to like socializing as much as I do. I guess that’s why they call it “social media”…

The Olympics on tv at the Red Burrito, with First Ave. and Commercial Drive in the background

In the final days of the Olympics, I’m noticing you can watch the games in many unexpected places – like Red Burrito on Commercial Drive at First Avenue.

I rushed into Red Burrito last night to grab one of my favorite stand-by take-out items: veggie burrito on a sundried tomato tortilla. As I approached the door, I noticed patrons inside, looking up above the door, with intent “watching” expressions on their faces. Sure enough it was the Olympics, which I had just been watching earlier at the Three Lions Pub where I stopped for a single beer and a bit of conversation at a Tweetup with some really great folks. I’m not really big on TV sports (not a popular thing to admit in some crowds these days) but I enjoyed watching the crazy ski jumping. It was also cool to watch the figure skating while I waited for my burritos.

Here in Vancouver, nearly every cafe, restaurant, and store has the Olympics on their TVs. Even WorkSafeBC had a TV playing hockey a couple of days ago when I was out there for a meeting.

I wonder how people will feel when it’s over – especially the people who were on such a “Go Canada!” high. Leaving aside the folks are “against” the Olympics, what will happen to the people who were really into it?

And how long will it take for all the fencing and security blockades to come down? How is the airport going to handle it? (I heard on CBC radio that Monday is the big day at YVR and they are providing music at the terminal.)

What will happen? Only time will tell…

A silly staged photo taken by Dave Dawson, on request of Susan Main

Last night my son and I went to the Grand Finale night of the Vancouver Real Writers’ Series and I won an advance copy of Darwin’s Bastards Astounding Tales of Tomorrow edited by Zsuzsi Gartner.

It includes 23 stories from different writers – including William Gibson and Timothy Taylor, who last night read an excerpt from a novel he expects to publish in a year. Actually he left us in a very suspenseful moment of the story…

According to the Douglas & McIntyre website, the stories in Darwin’s Bastards “…take us on a twisted, wild ride into some future times and parallel universes where characters as diverse as a dead boy, a one-legged international actuarial forensics specialist, a pharmaceutical guinea pig, and a far-sighted fetus engage in their own games of the survival of the fittest.”

Thanks to organizer Sean Cranbury, all the writers, event coordinator Fleurie Hunter, and everyone at W2 for putting on this great series. I felt so happy to see how nice people were to my super-friendly son – the only kid there. (I asked ahead to see if it would be okay, as I always do.) Thankfully he was on his near-best behavior for much of it, though he did get a bit wound up after that great deal on Nanaimo bars…

We plan to go back on Saturday night for the W2 Olympic Wrap-Up Party where Vancouver’s legendary Hard Rock Miners will be playing – and inviting everyone to join in for a sing-a-long. The Hard Rock Miners Sing Along is a monthly event at the Railway Club and I recall hearing it would not be happening during the Olympics month – so it’s at W2 instead.

Charles cooks

My son and I are heading down there to meet up with our friends from the Island.

Kids can hang out on the big stage and play with the toy kitchen or draw on the blackboard. Adults can eat and chat and not worry about the kids because it’s so kid-friendly. This is a breakfast spot with something for everyone – except people who can’t do without meat in a meal, since it’s vegetarian.

Last fall I heard the sad news that Virginia was dealing with cancer and had to decline an invitation to carry the Olympic torch on Vancouver Island. Then yesterday I read a story by Vancouver Sun reporter Gerry Bellett who reports that Virginia rearranged her chemotherapy schedule so she could take a second chance carrying the torch. She just had major surgery in December along with six rounds of chemotherapy – but this didn’t stop her from carrying the flame in honour of all people having chemo and everyone who offers them support.

“I now have an enormous regard for the kindness and help that has been shown me especially from people who are going through the same thing,” Virginia told the Sun.

I send my best wishes to Virginia and thanks again for the advice, which I tried to encapsulate in this post from my other blog on Jan 29, 2009:

Virginia Greene shares a new expression at IABC event in Vancouver

The expression is “hidden wiring” and Virginia Green picked it up a few weeks ago at a business event during the U.S. election campaign. Virginia, president and CEO of the Business Council of British Columbia, says the expression was used in reference to the bonds that exist between business people who work together from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. Their personal relationships are held together by “hidden wiring” that is stronger than a change in the U.S. administration.

Virginia spoke before an audience of communicators at “Networking 101” – an event hosted by the B.C. chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators at Steamworks Lounge in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

“These relationships are so deep – so interconnected, personal, and one-on-one,” says Virginia, who networks all day long as a part of her job as Council president / CEO.

Virginia told us Business Council members reported in a recent survey that networking is the main reason they are members. Virginia described three different networking situations:

1) The optical opportunity – This is a “see and be seen” situation that shows your organization was represented at an event. You might just whip in for 20 minutes, circulate, says hello to a few people, and leave after making a quick appearance.

2) The serendipitous opportunity – You run into someone you haven’t seen for a long time – maybe someone who used to work at a company you just took a job with, or perhaps the ex-wife of your new boyfriend! These conversations can turn out to be very illuminating…

3) The strategic opportunity – This is a situation that is important to your business. You are there to work and you are approaching the event mindfully with a purpose.

Vancouver is “a nicely networked community”
We’re considerably more casual than other cities, and Virginia says our community is friendly, open, and entrepreneurial. People make time for each other and return each other’s calls nine times out of ten.

It’s “personal courage” that keeps us going in networking situations, as we follow up with contacts and try to get past receptionists who might say: “Will he know what this is about?” (though now most executives use email and blackberries and iPhones and it’s not as hard to get through the old school “receptionist filter”)

I leave you with two final tips I took away from Virginia’s talk. They are just so wonderfully basic and obvious – and important to keep in mind for those of us who might feel shy or “not on” or lacking in “personal courage”… (or self-conscious about our outfit choices LOL) We are all told that “confidence” is attractive and important – and this is very challenging for people who are naturally more introverted. So it helps to be prepared…

What do you do when you arrive at an event? Look for someone you know. That helps to get you relaxed, geared up, and social. Have a bit of a chat, then politely move on to someone you don’t know. What are some good ice breakers? “Hi. How are you?” is always a good stand-by – along with “What business are you in?” or “Where are you from?”

Musicians John Tanner and Rachael Chatoor entertained the crowd of about 200 bloggers, writers, web designers, and others. Some guests were from the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup.

“This city has so much going on in it – so many brilliant people, and the more the better,” Linda said. “We need thoughtful articles written by thoughtful people who develop a subject enough to help ordinary people make decisions about things that affect their lives.”

The cover story of the re-launched VO tells the story of Vancouver blogger Chris Shaw.

“Chris is being harassed a lot by security forces for his anti-Olympics work,” Linda said. “He has a really important voice – as do the people who are for the Olympics.”

Chris, and others, oppose the City of Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Games By-law (No. 9908) put in place July 23, 2009. They are filing a law suit against the the City and the Vancouver Olympics Committee, saying the new bylaw stops free speech.

Support from The Tyee

David Beers spoke at the party to share his support and encouragement. David launched The Tyee in 2003 to cover B.C news not found in corporate media. Some of the province’s top writers have contributed.

On the day of the VO’s re-launch party, Canwest filed for bankruptcy. Beers noted the irony.

“Let’s help build the next wave of media in the crumbling wreckage of the last one,” Beers said, encouraging us to support Linda and the VO by emailing, tweeting, and posting links on Facebook. “Spread all the really great things the Observer is going to find out – all the great ideas she’s going to uncover. Spread these far and wide in our community.”

Linda thanked web development consultant David Egan who directed the VO’s redesign and upgrade using Drupal.

“Dave has a vision and really knows how to take a project from start to finish in an amazing way. He is more than a Drupal developer,” Linda said. “After all this I still don’t know what the hell Drupal is. Dave, what is Drupal?”

Drupal is – according to its about page: “A free software package that allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website. Tens of thousands of people and organizations are using Drupal to power scores of different web sites.”

Dave also developed Geist and Modern Dog magazines.