Blogs | Social Signal

Stop keeping up.

That's the central message of my latest post for Harvard Business Online, in which I argue that we're seduced by the relentless flood of must-have social networks, applications and gadgets. We focus on keeping up with the latest thing, instead of focusing on what's important to us and looking for the technologies that support our own personal and business priorities.

Twitter's no different than any other hot social-thing-of-the-moment: if you're just getting into it, you'll find lots of people out there with advice on how to use it (including us).

We're having our first open house next week... and we're thrilled to have one of the coolest people we know as our featured speaker. If you're interested in building authentic brands, destination marketing or user-generated content, you'll want to join us.

Because you'll get to meet Randy Twaddle, one of the partners behind ttweak. They're the Houston, TX marketing firm that came up with a brilliant - and completely unofficial - campaign to promote the city.

In my search for the perfect Internet café I've tried more than my share of Vancouver's wifi-enabled cafés and restaurants. Just like Vancouver's neighbourhoods, its wifi cafés and restaurants range from the scruffily hip to the chicly modern.

In this post I round up (and map!) the best of the good-to-great. Every place on this list has reliable Internet service, at least a few accessible power outlets, and decent coffee; on every other key café ingredient they vary widely.

Some people prowl the earth in search of the world's greatest Don Giovanni; others look for the finest shoemaker, the best bookstore, the ideal glass of Pinot Noir. I put my energy where it counts: the search for the perfect wifi café. While I've yet to find my Holy 802.11b-enabled Grail, i have pinpointed what makes for the perfect, laptop-friendly coffee spot. (And in a separate post, I've identified the best Vancouver wifi cafés and restaurants.)

Here's my list of criteria:

Blogathon 2009 is here.

Starting on Saturday at 6:00 am, nearly 200 bloggers from a number of cities - Vancouver prominent among them - will be posting to their blogs every half hour for 24 hours. They'll be raising money for a wide range of charities; so far, nearly $27,000 has been raised.

Here in the Vancouver area, Rebecca Bollwitt is serving again as the rallying point for local participants. Many of them will be gathering at Workspace in Gastown, where she's sponsoring a tweetup for the duration.

It's a terrific event. So tomorrow, give a thought over the course of the day to those bloggers (especially as the wee hours approach!) - drop by their blogs and leave a comment, and maybe make a donation via their widgets.

Our contribution to the economic recovery took the form of feverish technology purchasing throughout April, May and early June. Now that the dust and Visa bills have settled, it's time to stop and rate the roses.

The ratings I've assinged to our past 6 months of tech investments aren't based on assessments of comparative products -- though every product on the list was purchased after reading other people's reviews and comparative perspectives. No, these ratings are based on pure, subjective wow factor: how much each product has filled our hearts with joy, made our lives easier, and inspired evangelical "you gotta buy this cool thing I got" pitches.

This weekend, Alex will speak to the Whistler Forum for Leadership and Dialogue, a group that brings leaders from around the world together to promote civic engagement and collaborative leadership. She'll then be joined by a panel of respondents for an open conversation.

It all promises to be fascinating stuff, and if you happen to be in Whistler, do check it out - guests are welcome to attend for a small donation.

Here are the details: