(Cross-posted from the Strutta blog)

On Saturday, the inaugural Bridging Media Conference took place, bringing together delegates from the worlds of digital media creation, film, broadcast and many other disciplines.

Organized by local digerati darlings Megan Cole and Erica Hargreave and held in the "Hangar" at the Masters of Digital Media program on the Great Northern Way campus, the goal of Bridging Media was to better align the talent and experience of both the broadcast worlds and that of "new media."The discussions throughout the day on the various panels did exactly what they set out to do; ask and answer some of the tough questions related to "Where do we go from here?" In that regard, I would call the day a tremendous success, in my humble opinion. At the close of the day, I was asked what I would like to see done differently next time around. Overall the event was just right in most ways: size, content, format, and the fact that they sevred Vera's burger's for lunch! Yummmy. If there was something that needed changing, it was the diversity of folks in the audience, which I'm quite sure is no fault of the organizers. For an event meant to bridge the gap between the broadcast and online worlds, there seemed to be a noticeable lack of folks from the broadcast side, aside from a few producers who already had a great understanding of web content and how to leverage it. And I'm not afraid to say it- it's the folks from mainstream broadcast who needed the information and discussion the most.

I was invited to sit in on a panel entitled "Monetize, Monetize, Monetize," and prepared myself for a contentious discussion about how the current broadcast/advertising system has been broken by the web, and we need to figure out a better model to support the true value of content on the web. I didn't exactly articulate that point as well as I had hoped (isn't that always the case?) and I was quickly reigned in by the bright and inquisitive audience. Thankfully my brilliant co-presenters had plenty to add about other ways of adding value to various forms of content. And thus concludes my passive apology for spending too much time talking about advertising, when the crowd wanted to know more about ways to continue to make money off of their art.

I'm glad to have attended the Bridging Media Conference, I think it's a great idea that needs a lot more attention and a lot more discussion, so I sincerely hope that the organizers are keen to continue the discussion in subsequent forums. If there was one thing that we accomplished as a group on the weekend it was asking a lot of the right questions and I for one think we should reconvene until we have them all answered.

Bravo, Megan and Erica!

At Northern Voice a few weeks back, I was doing my best to shoot as much video as possible.

The action and the great presentations kept me from getting too much coverage, but during lunch one day I did sit down for an interview with Lee LeFever of the Common Craft Show, to talk about the rising popularity of their “paperworks” how-to videos. This is also the very first time I’ve embedded a video using Kyte, a new video broadcast service I signed up for while dining with Kyte’s CEO in Austin during SXSW:

If you love the Common Craft Show as much as I do, then read about how they were nominated for a Yahoo Video Award, and cast your vote!

That was the subject of my first appearance on the Lab with Leo, and at last I have the embeddable video of that conversation.

Mr. Laporte and I talk about how to set up a Google News Alert, as well as how to monitor tags and search within Technorati. (Scroll past the obligatory G4 Tech TV promo, if you prefer)

Big thanks to Ryan Yewell and the rest of the producers for having me on the show, and then even being kind enough to have me back!

Stay tuned for my second appearance, where we discuss using social media tools to market your business, including a discussion about Facebook profiles, apps and groups.

I’m proud and delighted to report that Tell Ten Friends has been selected to be among the Top 30 Canadian Marketing and Advertising Blogs, by Experience Planner, authored by Scott Weisbrod.

Membership on the list is based on a number of factors including # of subscribers, link count, Page Rank, and a few others. Having been around a while, I still have enough “juice” to be on this list, even though I’ve been posting a lot less frequently over the past several months.

It’s an honour (spelled with a ‘u’ today, thanks) to be among such bright, talented and well-informed bloggers such as the rest those that grace the list along with me:

1. adgoodness
2. One Degree
3. Canuckflack
4. Twist Image
5. Pro PR
6. My Name is Kate
7. Leo Burnett Toronto
8. chroma
9. Common Sense PR
10. Buzz Marketing with Blogs
11. Crap Hammer
12. PR Works
13. Buzz Canuck
14. Student PR Blog
15. Transmission Content + Creative
16. social media group
17. The Client Side Blog
18. The Praized Blog
19. Experience Planner
20. Canadian Marketing Blog
21. BPWrap
22. The New PR
23. ADS-Links.com
24. Blogging Me Blog You
25. Mutually Inclusive PR
26. FlackLife
27. The Other Blokes’ Blog
28. Tell Ten Friends
29. Happy Pixels
30. Youngblood PR & Marketing

Go Canada! With lists like these popping up all over the web for various categories in various areas, it’s nice to see that someone is willing to take the time to index all of the incredible Canuck blogs on the web each week.

Thanks Scott!

The week seems to be flying by, so I thought I’d better quickly post an update.

Joel Burslem’s talk at the Real Estate Tech Meetup Monday night was great; he hit upon the changes in the markets in the States (their bubble has has done what bubbles always do) and how it is affecting the businesses and professionals in that industry.

His words come as a bit of a warning to Canadian Realtors; there’s still time to establish a level of service and interaction that will keep people coming back lest our markets suffer the same fate as down South, and the web is a key piece in the puzzle.

Sidebar: I taped my segment with the Realty TV folks yesterday, it went pretty well. It airs first on Thursday the 27th at 11pm PST on City TV, channel 13 in Vancouver (plug that into your DVR now, Mom) and again the following Saturday the 29th at 9:30 am.

To highlight just some of the changes that digital media is having on all industries, Joel closed his presentation with this great spot for Kodak that I thought was really entertaining, and just had to share it:

I don’t know what it is about “Boo-Ya!” that always makes me chuckle.

You don’t need me to tell you that Vancouver is a hotbed of activity in the tech industry, especially when it comes to the web.

If you haven’t already, jump on over to Techcouver.com to see a map of just a few of the many web trail blazers that call this city home. And if you’re sitting on “the next big thing” for the web, hit up the “Get on the Map” link to have your venture added.

It’s fitting that this post contains a large map image too, as the real estate (technology) industry is today’s subject. After all, tomorrow night I’ll be downtown at The Real Estate Tech Meetup, checking out a (free) presentation by Joel Burslem, author of what I think is the best real estate technology blog on the web; Futureofrealestatemarketing.com.

Joel, who works for Inman News, is based in Portland but is making the trip back up North to share a few insights about trends in online marketing in the real estate biz. Give credit to the guys at Ubertor, Vancouver’s leader in web content management solutions for Realtors, for luring Joel to Ceili’s Irish Pub for his speech with promises of beer and good cheer. If local real estate technology news is what you’re after, Steve of Ubertor pumps out fresh info every weekday, too.

I suspect that I’ll be nodding approvingly at most of what Joel has to say tomorrow night, and I hope to learn a few new things as well. The timing is great too, as the following day I’m taping a segment with the folks of Realty Television on CityTV, on the subject of the web and social media, and their part in the rapidly changing real estate industry.

Not only that, but Canada’s first significant real estate/social media/community site, Myrealplace.com recently launched here in Vancouver. Yes, that’s them on the Techcouver map. Their membership is growing, including a number of industry professionals on hand to answer questions (myself included, as a marketer of course). I gave my brother a little nudge and had him sign up, too. Everybody, users and Realtors alike, gets access to a blog as well so if you’re a Realtor and you’re reading this, hop on over and be among the first few who are quickly changing the way buyers, sellers and real estate service providers connect on the web.

With all of this activity, and plenty more to come I’m sure, it’s safe to call Vancouver a force on the scene.

If you’re reading this and scratching your head, I know a certain marketing consultant who can help you understand how to do better business with the web, or help you build that community site that you’ve had in mind. Oh, and here’s a quick note to any investors out there looking for a brilliant new real estate marketing vehicle: I’ve got a great idea for one…

Rob emailed me a post from Read/WriteWeb recently (say THAT three times fast) that lists 10 Future Web Trends to keep an eye on.

Admittedly, some of it goes over my head. But of particular interest to me were the references to mobile, virtual worlds, web sites as web services and the “Attention Economy.” This is an idea that has been developing and evolving for some time, the concept of relevant marketing and advertising messages bundled with content that users opt-in to receiving.

Definitely a great article about the bleeding edge of the web, and one that will get the gears turning for many, I’m sure.

Need a quick way to build a community around an idea, event or concept?

Want to generate some discussion around a topic that is important to you (and you’re pretty sure other people are just as psyched)? Start a Facebook Group.

It’s easy, and finding members won’t be a problem. Just invite the folks that you know are most likely to join, and watch as their like-minded friends and contacts spot the group in news feeds and start joining en masse. Perhaps even encourage the most influential folks among your invitees to spread the word- or even better, to add content to the group in the form of photos, videos, links, and discussion posts.

In part, this post serves to turn the spotlight on a group I recently created called The Social Media Bar. The idea was born during a session at Barcamp Vancouver, where I assembled a panel of some incredibly bright folks who are experts in the field of social media. I’m speaking of Monique Trottier, Linda Bustos, Lee LeFever, Tanya Davis and Geoff Gachallan, plus myself.

As a group of about 40, we talked for an hour about social media and marketing, and as you might have guessed, we merely scratched the surface. The group was created to continue the discussion, and just a few days later, membership is growing quickly. I have seen group members adding each other as friends after seeing them in the member list, and that alone is enough reason for me to call it a success. Everyone is welcome, so please join.

Surely there’s an idea or group that you can rally a community around, and start a discussion that the whole collective can contribute to. It might just be the best way to find out who else shares your interest in something that is important to you.

So if you haven’t already, start your very first online community in the form of a Facebook Group, and you’ll begin to get an idea of what it means to bring people closer together using the social tools of the web. Plus, it’s a whole lot of fun!

Bonus link: An “awesometastic” example of a Facebook group with a great message: The Kindness Crew group, started by the guys of ExtremeKindness.com. They’re from my hometown, and travel around committing random acts of kindness and matching short-term volunteers with worthy causes. Well done, guys!

Once again, the folks from the Common Craft Show have put together a great tutorial; this time on the subject of social bookmarking.

Lee LeFever lays out the concept of bookmarking using Del.icio.us, and along the way explains how tagging works, in just under three-and-a-half minutes:

Click To Play

A great resource for people getting their feet wet in the web marketing space. Remember, every time a site gets bookmarked in this nature, it raises that site’s (or page’s, or entry’s) SEO ranking as well.

For good measure, why not bookmark Lee’s original post, or if you like, save this one too:

With a simple idea and excellent execution, the boys over at StandOut Jobs have created a great little recruiting site that fits nicely into this world of “Web 2.0.”

Started by a partnership of Montreal-ers including friend and fellow entrepreneur/blogger Benjamin Yoskovitz, they’re “changing the face of recruiting.”

How? In a word, video. In their words:

• The job market is broken.
• Online job sites don’t work.
• Hiring people should be an ongoing process.
• Hiring people is about having conversations not bureaucracy.

Well if that’s true, then the best way to learn more about their company is to watch one of their own recruiting videos:

They’re on the lookout for more postings, as well as videographers from all over Canada and the U.S. to shoot and edit the recruitment videos.

Check out their blog too, where they share the latest postings as well as news about the company and their own insights into the tech job market.

::Bonus BarCamp connection: The trio that started the company came up with the idea at Barcamp Montreal.