THIS WEEK IN TECTORIA

A community blog celebrating Victoria's booming tech sector

CONTACT THE TECTORIA BLOG

Got a cool story about technology and creativity in Victoria? Email stories, tips, pictures, links and anything of interest to Tessa Bousfield at: tectoria@viatec.ca

Foam Sweet Foam

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This past Christmas we really wanted to do something that would be memorable and put the tech community on the map. We decided to get involved in Victoria’s famed Santa Day parade. Of course simply participating wasn’t going to be enough. Having one of the best floats was an obvious pre-requisite of this project. Once we decided on the parade it just seemed natural that Freddy (the robot we use for our tech awards) should represent us to the community at large. At some point Dan came up with the idea of having Freddy ride a rocket which left us with one final piece to our puzzle. Who was going to bring this idea to life? Enter Ultimate Foam Creations.

While we did commission UFC to create Freddy and his trusty rocket, we did so on a (very) short deadline. Freddy was ready on time and did a great job representing VIATeC to the 40,000+ people who attended the parade. While there were some amazing floats there – few got as many looks from kids as our giant, multi-coloured, lights flashing, steam shooting, robot riding a rocket in the back of a 61 Chevy pickup with Dan at the wheel.
UFC-Freddy

James Paquin and a rotating group of artists have been operating in Victoria at UFC for just over a year now. We needed their help and they came through. Their use of foam as an artistic medium allows the creation of 3-D pieces that are both lightweight, and at the same time durable, thanks to the hard coating they apply to their pieces. If you want to see more of their work (3-D signs, moveable set backgrounds, custom work trucks, etc) check out their website. If you just want to see more of Freddy go here.

A VIATeC Christmas – 2 Parties 1 Night

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The Count reminds us that the VIATeC Christmas Party is Almost Here

2…………..2 Christmas Parties, ha ha ha ha

That’s right. It’s gotten so big, we’ve split this year’s VIATeC Christmas Party into two. Here’s  what you need to know:

VIATeC Members – PLEASE REGISTER EARLY.

Part 1 -Networking & Nibbles plus Tyler Harvey

5:00 – 7:30 at Rifflandia HQ, 1501 Douglas Street.

This part is for our friends and members that want to network with the tech sector but don’t plan on making a night of it.  Register Here (We suggest you Hurry)

Part 2 – DJ Shrew and Humans

If you want to stick around for when the party will really get rollin’, you can follow this link and register for the 7:30-11pm session. Use the password “After Dark” to get access to tickets.

Tyler Harvey will be wrapping up his set and DJ Shrew will take the floor.

The cherry on top will be an up close performance by Humans!

VIATeC MEMBERS: PLEASE RSVP EARLY to receive priority access to the party.

There will be live music, crisp wine, local beer & eats… what more do we need to say?

*Members: There is a strict capacity at this venue so please RSVP and arrive early to ensure access. This event is open to the public, although VIATeC members will have priority access.  (I think we’ve hammered this point home enough, right?)

This all goes down Friday, December 13th after Discover Tectoria 2013.  It’s going to be one hell of a day.

And because we promised it in the newsletter, here’s the completed version of:

Your 3 Keys to Success at this year’s VIATeC Christmas Party(s)

  1. Say Yes to Everything
  2. Keep your Tectoria Showing
  3. When in doubt, blame Friday the 13th.

We look forward to seeing you there, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.

by  Steve Hof

Want Some Tectorian Support?

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I am Tectorian - Spartacus

Even Spartacus Needed a Little Help from his Friends

Searching for ways to have your story heard throughout the Tectoria community and beyond?

Having trouble making a dent on Twitter, Facebook, and other channels?

Your friends at VIATeC are here to help. We want to scream your story from the top of Mt. Finlayson, but we can’t do that until we hear the story ourselves.

So, how do you go about making this happen?

Help us Help You

Between this tectoria.wordpress blog, our This Week in Tectoria Newsletter, the VIATeC E-Bulletin, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Flickr, we have thousands upon thousands of people to tell your story to.  That doesn’t even include all of our offline channels.

So Send us your Stories Already

Keep in mind, however, that what may be a story to you, could sound like a sales pitch to someone else; and the quickest way to lose an audience is to continuously scream sales pitches at them.

So How do you Know if you Have a Story or Not?

We’re going to keep this very simple. Especially at first, just err on the side of sending us too much stuff.  We’ll wade through everything each week and determine what we feel will work the best.

Lets be clear about something though, by writing this post the way I have, I’m setting myself up for a great deal more work, haha.  Now that’s fine, and could actually be quite wonderful, as long as it serves a purpose.

While we’re here to ensure that all your great Tectoria stories are given the audience they deserve, behaving like the startup who cried wolf by repeatedly sending us SELL SELL SELL material, is a sure fire way to get your stories to the bottom of the pile.

A Few Key Points to Remember

  1. Starting this very second, send any stories / ideas to me, Steve Hof, at shof@viatec.ca
  2. For blog posts, the stories need to be especially compelling, or motivated by a clear intention to help the Tectoria cause.
  3. If you’re on Twitter, mention @VIATeC in a post and include the hashtag #I_AM_TECTORIAN
  4. If you’re on Facebook, post to the VIATeC wall so we know you’re there.
  5. Don’t want to do either of those things? Fine, be difficult. At the very least, however, send me an email listing the channels you’re on and the best ways we can support you.
  6. There’s no ‘h’ in Tectoria.  It’s the little things people.

Is there something I’ve missed? Do you have a mind blowing, or even slightly above average idea for helping us help you?

Post your ideas, questions, and concerns to the comments below.  Lets hash it out.

Okay Tectorians, the ball’s in your court.

I mean, even Rod Tidwell figured it out eventually.

Help me......... Help you.

Help me……… Help you.

by Steve ‘Soon to be Very Busy‘ Hof

Crowd Content’s new website goes live

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Crowd Content infographicVictoria’s Crowd Content has launched a new version of its site. Crowd Content is a content platform designed to help organisations gravitate to page one of search engine results for key terms, and as someone who works for an online bookseller, I can assure you that if you are not on page one then you are nowhere.

Crowd Content is also designed to ensure brands can maintain a high profile on social networks where content is king. This video explains the service in a nutshell.

Basically, you sign up for their services, describe what you need to your account manager and Crowd Content’s team of writers delivers the content – whether for corporate websites, blogs, product descriptions, white papers or anything else that requires high-quality copy-writing. The Crowd Content’s service hinges on the fact that it offers an easy way of obtaining decent content. I like how they are pitching at brands but also agencies and a wide range of marketers.