Copyright © 2010 Miss604. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2010/03/old-gastown-meets-new-technology.html.The Gastown Business Improvement Association founded the Gastown Blog in the summer of 2009 to breathe some new life into this historic community. With daily features, history lessons and business profiles, it’s a one-stop source for Gastown information.
Over the last few weeks the Gastown Blog launched an initiative to put QR codes on old buildings where passers-by can scan the code and call up a post from the blog about that building. Ray Kanani, who worked on the project, explains in this video:
Your smartphone’s camera acts as a scanner while processing the symbol, which looks like a scrambled bar code. The QR code contains information that can...
miss604 posted a photo:
I'll operate a VM with Windows on the left screen so I can do QA for websites I...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/12/favourite-places-on-google-maps-vancouver-edition.html.Google has just launched their “Favourite Places on Google Maps” for the first time in Canada and they have profiled spots around Vancouver. The favourites are all marked on the maps with little maple leaf pins and have been hand-picked by local experts.
View Rebecca Bollwitt’s Favorite Places in a larger map
This includes venues and destinations submitted by: Premier Gordon Campbell, Olympic Gold Medallist Ross Rebagliati, Olympic Gold & Silver Medallist Simon Whitfield, Iron Chef Champion Rob Feenie, Singer-songwriter & breast cancer survivor Bif Naked, Children’s book writer Kit Pearson, Monte Clark of the...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/09/foursquare-comes-to-vancouver.html.In just a few minutes I’ll be heading over to V in Yaletown (at Earls) for the launch of Foursquare in Vancouver. I’ll be liveblogging from 5:00pm until 8:00pm so you’ll be sure to get the entire scoop about this latest craze. Photos, videos, and some interviews will follow but in the meantime… what are you first impressions of Foursquare?
Update: To use Foursquare terminology, I have now checked-in at V in Yaletown (at Earls). I did a quick interview with John Biehler to introduce Foursquare and the reason why we’re all here this evening....
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/05/twitter-tees-and-geeky-clothing.html.About a year ago I wrote about t-shirts designed with the geek girl in mind and I’ve always been a fan of techno-savvy tops (although in an early post from 2005 I did feature HTML underwear). Today a trending topic on Twitter is “Twitter Tees” as it appears Threadless has come up with these amusing styles for the Twitter-minded.
I still like the cheeky “Show Me Your Tweets” shirt I got from 6S Marketing, I enjoy the “Robots - No Follow” shirt I got for John and we have a few favourites...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/05/real-life-twitter.html.Everyone’s favourite microblogging site, Twitter, has been going down for maintenance quite frequently lately. This could be due to its massive and rapid growth, the upgrading of features or because millions have flocked to the service to see what Ashton Kutcher or Oprah are doing minute-by-minute. However since it is currently out of commission (for the next hour or so) I thought now was as good a time as any to share this clip… ROFLcopter
Watch Real Life Twitter on CollegeHumor...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/05/stanley-park-iphone-app-review.html.I discovered a new iPhone app today called Mo Discovers: Stanley Park and as I spend much time trekking through Stanley Park’s trails, slipping in its mud, photographing its natural beauty and have blogged about it for the last five years so, I figured this application was worth a download.
The Mo Discovers: Stanley Park was produced by the folks at CellMap Inc., whom I’ve heard of thanks to various tech events around town. It features a very basic map of Stanley Park along with video highlights of several areas of...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/05/google-insights-for-canucks-fans.html.I love random stats and tidbits of information which is why I’m currently addicted to Google’s Insights for Search feature.
Basically you can pop in a search term and see trends such as which cities or countries search what term the most, where people are located, what are some top searched words, and various other statistics.
I just received an email from Google letting me know some of the top Canucks trends, and I thought these were definitely worth noting:
Biggest Googling Canucks fans in BC…
Delta...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/04/nambu-twitter-management.html.With practical, helpful and innovative applications such as TweetDeck revamping their memory-guzzling ways the race to provide the best Twitter manager is still going strong. This past week we saw the launch of Seesmic Desktop, a TweetDeck-like app from the creators of Twhirl, as well as Nambu for Mac users.
I’ve been using Nambu all day and I love it more than any other app I’ve tried for Twitter over the last two years (and it also supports FriendFeed). It’s smooth, simple, and runs like a charm. Here’s a...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/04/twitter-quick-tip-backgrounds-part-two.html.This morning I was reading Is Twitter the New MySpace over on TechCrunch and was inspired to do the second part of my Twitter Quick Tip demo series (basic/beginner).
Note: I only suggest using another’s background as a template so that you can get your placement and sizes right - I do not recommend using any part of someone’s original design - re-create and make it your own, use it only as a guideline.
In this video I reference the “Top Ten” backgrounds on Twitter, which you can find here, and...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/03/popvox-award-nominations-are-now-open.html.The 2009 PopVox Awards are upon us and the people’s choice nominations are now open.
If you have created a project, submit a video by April 30th, 2009 for consideration and the winners of the following categories will be based on popular vote:
Best Student Project
Best Start Up
Best Do-Gooder (Social Change Initiative)
Best Design (Website)
Best User Experience (Website)
Best Viral and/or Digital Advertising Campaign
Best Company Use of Social Media
Best User Generated/Crowd-sourced Content Site
Best Mobile...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/03/twitter-quick-tip-backgrounds-part-one.html.People often list their reasons for not following someone back on Twitter and on each list, something about the aesthetic of a user’s profile page is always included. I’ve decided to do a multi-part series of quick tips on how to make your Twitter profile shine. The first video (below) is about how to match your background colour with an uploaded image.
I’ll follow up with some steps on background image customization and perhaps anything else that can be explained easily in under 90 seconds....
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/03/the-new-ipod-shuffle-minimalism-at-a-whole-new-level.html.Scanning through Twitter this morning I noticed a trending topic was “New iPod Shuffle” and having given my mother a shuffle last Christmas (and after receiving one as a conference swag item last year at Convergence) I was curious to see the updates to the device.
It’s the smallest iPod ever and is about the size of a USB thumbdrive with 4GB of storage (about 1,000 songs worth). It also has voice over which is an option that tells you what song is playing and who’s performing it....
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/03/jon-stewart-talks-about-twitter.html.I saw a link to this pop through on Twitter this morning so I thought it was worth its own post. I’m asked on a daily basis about Twitter and its benefits and some people pretty much have the same comments as Jon Stewart here in this clip where he talks about Twitter with Samantha Bee (whom I had the chance to meet briefly last winter in Toronto).
Found via @Doctorow from Global Nerdy / via Venture Beat
I like how the Growl of the person who recorded the segment is visible as well. As a side note, remember to enter my...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/03/launch-party-vancouver-6-rilli-and-mobifyme.html.Last week the Vancouver startup and tech scene met for the 6th Launch Party over at the Uber Lounge at The Landing and Steamworks. Kudos to the organizers for using this great space, there was room to move, check out the demos, grab tasty canapes as they passed by, and chat with many interesting attendees.
Photo credit: bobbydassler on Flickr
Photo credit: bobbydassler on Flickr
Photo credit: dcesarini on Flickr
The good folk at Strutta brought Launch Party to Vancouver and through events like these we are...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/02/rip-a-remix-manifesto.html.I had the chance to catch a screening of RiP: A Remix Manifesto this morning and will have a full review posted prior to its March 20th release date. For now, visit the website, read the blog, add them on Twitter and preview this trailer:
You can also become a part of this project by checking out opensourcecinema.org....
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/02/facebook-terms-of-service-update.html.I’m always hesitant to grant permission to aggregator sites to redistribute my content, I mean I license my entire site under a Creative Commons License although sometimes those “attribution” or “non-commercial” bits get lost in the shuffle.
One thing I never did was republish my content on Facebook as well, knowing that they would probably somehow determine they have the right to whatever I post so I thought it best to avoid that mess. Turns out with the newly updated Facebook Terms of Service...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/02/super-sunday-whats-in-your-closet.html.After a trip to Canadian Tire last week to pick up some big plastic storage bins we decided to start purging and sorting out clutter from the apartment today. As I was going through old boxes I found a plethora of old computer parts, CD’s, VHS recordings of old TV shows and various other goodies. Whatever we didn’t toss, we’ll be giving to the UGM next weekend.
Modems for some fun BBS action.
Zip disks for backups and Sony Mini disks for audio recording backups.
Gentner switch for connecting telephone...
Copyright © 2009 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2009/01/breakfast-with-jeff-pulver-in-vancouver-january-2009.html.In June of 2008 I stopped by Subeez on Smithe to check out a breakfast event with Jeff Pulver. I didn’t know what to expect aside from a hot meal and “real time tagging” (in true social media meetup form) however I ended up walking away with a whole lot more.
“Jeff Pulver is the Chairman and Founder of pulver.com, and one of the true pioneers of the VoIP industry and a leader in the emerging TV on the Net industry. Leveraging well over a decade of hands-on experience in Internet/IP...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/12/twitter-tools-online-from-stats-to-search.html.It seems like many people got a Twitter account for Christmas. It’s great to see so many new faces, organizations, and businesses using this tool that connects so many across the globe.
For a bit of background…. “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.”
Over the last year or so I’ve reviewed Twitter clients...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/12/feel-good-friday-funny-graphjam.html.A few months ago I shared Demetri Martin and his large pad that contained data and “findings”. However it was only recently that I cam across the same type of humour (mixed with a little LOL Cat flare) over on GraphJam.
Explore the archives a little for a chuckle, I’ll be offline for most of the day doing some sixty4media work and hopefully getting over to Covenant House to drop off some donation items. Happy Friday everyone!...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/12/review-mysweetcover-laptop-case.html.With gift-giving season in full swing I have been given a few items to try out and review on my site. I have not been paid for these reviews, I have simply been given the items for review to share with my readers.
A while back I wrote a blog post about laptop bags and the options out there for women who would like to have something comfortable, durable, and yet still stylish. Shortly after I was contacted by the folks at MySweetcover.
“The Sweetcover is designed to protect and add that special something to your...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/12/wordpress-theming-tools-for-your-mac.html.Over the last few weeks my company, sixty4media, has themed, coded, and tweaked quite a few WordPress sites (and even more over the years before we even had the company). I am often asked what I use to code or theme so here are some of the tools that make my life a whole lot easier.
MAMP
MAMP allows you to run a mini WordPress web server from your computer so that you can theme sites locally, without having them published online or on a development site.
FTP
You need a good FTP application for uploading files and images...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/11/best-of-604-for-2008.html.Each year around the time of my blogiversary I write a reflective post or hold a contest. For 2008 I’m going to invite everyone celebrate the online efforts of others from across the region with the Best of 604, since being ‘hyper-local’ is what I do.
As often as I can, I try to highlight and promote local business, organizations, bloggers, and online triumphs. In 2007 I started the Best of 604 wherein I listed some of my favourite things around the region.
This year, I wanted to leave the nomination and voting to the...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/11/canadian-blog-awards-2008-voting-begins.html.Although you don’t win anything but bragging rights and a badge for your sidebar, I still like the Canadian Blog Awards as they are people-powered and they always introduce me to some great blog and sites across our nation [Canadian Blog Awards 2007].
The nomination process is complete and round one voting has now started. This will continue for another week until there is a second round of voting (finalists) and it all wraps up December 7th. You can only vote once per week, in each category.
Here are some...
miss604 posted a photo:
read the blog...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/11/wordle-is-neat.html.While recording an episode of The Crazy Canucks Podcast tonight, my co-host Alanah mentioned she did a Wordle of a Patrick Roy conference call. As this was the first time I had heard of Wordle I looked into it and even made my own based on my current feed.
You can input a block of text, a url or an RSS feed and it will create a tag cloud for the most prominent words used in that story, chunk of text, post or site. I think it’s pretty neat - even moreso that the largest/most used word in the Roy story was “mean”....
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished WITHOUT permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/11/gmail-themes.html.While in the middle of my weekly segment on Talk1410am my computer screen flickered and my Gmail turned blue. Thinking something was amiss, I immediately signed out of my account. Once I logged in again I took notice of a little message at the top of the Gmail window - hello themes!.
I know there are many people who do not like change and I can be the first to admit that it takes me about 2 months to try something after John tells me it’s cool and I should be using it.
No need t worry though, there is a “default” setting that...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished without permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/10/television-talk-miss604-tv-poll.html.
Photo credit: Duane Storey on Flickr
First things first, I was not paid by any company to write this post in any way, shape or form. I did however, attend an info-session with live demos of Toshiba products and have decided to share some thoughts based on my experience there.
Our current TV was generously donated to us by Gus when John first moved to Vancouver about 3 years ago and I have actually been curious about LCD and Plasma TV technology since I live blogged a debate with Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte over at Future...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished without permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/10/blogging-is-dead.html.Parsing through my Delicious links this morning I came across two articles that John sent me (yes, I become giddy when I notice my husband tagged something for me in Delicious).
The title of the first bookmark was “Blogs More Relevant Than Ever” and the next one, right on top of that listing was, “Blogs are so over”. The interesting thing is that they are both referencing a Wired article by Paul Boutin.
Thinking about launching your own blog? Here’s some friendly advice: Don’t. And if you’ve already...