I’ve had a lot of guilt lately about the lack of posts. WalkingSpree is booming and it’s taking up even more of my time on top of normal life. Yet, I know there will be lulls again and I think there’s a need for this information. So I’ve requested for other writers to help collaborate with me on the blog. I have a few that have come forward. If anyone else is interested in sharing with posts, please contact me.

On another note, We had our Third Tuesday Social Media Meetup in Fredericton recently. Generously sponsored by LearnNB and OrangeSprocket hosted the venue for us at their very trendy office space. radian6 had managed to arrange to have a question/answer session with social media expert Chris Brogan via the web. Chris Brogan is not only informative, we also discovered that he has a wonderful sense of humour.

Congratulations to Kira Award winners this year of which Spheric and radian6 both took away awards.

Finally, I’m in Moncton this week at AIM (Atlantic Internet Marketing Conference). I’ve already met some really interesting people and look forward to the talks tomorrow.

Last week, Third Tuesday held it’s third meeting in Moncton. Dan Martell and crew did an amazing job with promoting the event and we had a whopping attendance of approx. 120 attendees. The crowd was diverse with people from IT, marketing, business, tourism, health, and entrepreneurs. I would have to say that studio 700 was a fabulous venue.

We were fortunate to have a couple of mentions in the TJ and T&T over the last couple of weeks. Although I have to admit, that I find the mix of cybersocials and Third Tuesday in one article a little odd. However, it’s good news for everyone in the IT industry that there is more involvement and participation from all fronts. I’d also like to make sure that David Alston from radian6 is credited as the co-founder of the Third Tuesday NB group.  And I feel a need to qualify my old boy’s club statement from the article;) I was referring to how social media breaks down barriers like those that exist in the “old boy’s club”. That we can communicate with everyone on the same field from IT to business leaders to media moguls. Those of you participating understand how rich the collaboration is within social media.

You can read comments about the events and join Third Tuesday NB meetup if you haven’t already;

http://publicrelations.meetup.com/99/

This ensures that you’re on the mailing list for new events as they happen. We’re preparing out next meetup for Fredericton in April.

Lisa, Dan and Chris

And yes, we’re holding a Mac Air, courtesy of Dan. It truly is as thin and light as they say.

I want to wish everyone a very wonderful Season’s Greetings from meshEAST.  I will be back next week with a recap of some items over 2007.

I think Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation had the best holiday greeting out there this year, so I leave you with that.  Share 2007.

All the best,

Lisa

I was thrilled when the 1st AIM conference was held in NS last year. Although I found out about it too late to attend.  The 2nd Atlantic Internet Marketing Conference will be held in Moncton, May 4-6th 2008. I will definitely be attending.

From their website;

Who should attend AIM 2008?
From management, to the team that makes your website work, AIM 2008 will open your eyes to what you can and should be doing online - and how to get it done right. AIM is for anyone who needs to learn how to succeed online including:

• Marketing Executives
• Marketing Managers
• Media Buyers
• Tourism & Travel Operators
• Designers & Programmers
• Project Coordinators
• Business Owners
• Consultants & Strategists

The line up of speakers at this point looks very promising. Ken Munro, the General Manager at Yahoo, Jordan Banks from e-bay, Jay Mitchell from AOL as well as 28 other industry experts.  I was also especially pleased to see some Atlantic Canadian speakers including a few women speakers (although still a small percentage) . Cheryl Chappel, Vice President - Integrated Marketing, Bristol Online, Krista White, Cossette Atlantic, Sarah Oldford, Online Media Manager, Colour, Wilma Hartmann, AppleCore Interactive, and Stephanie Lummis, ISL – Internet Solutions. If you follow the web 2.0/marketing conference circuit, you’ll often hear that one of the complaints is that there are not enough women in the speaker list. I’d like to see more women speakers but this is a good start.

I think 2008 is going to be one of the best year’s yet for Atlantic Canadians with conferences in online media. If you haven’t already don’t forget to register for The Power Within and Online Revealed. In the New Year, we’ll also hopefully have news on an unconference event as well.

Speaking with Chris Nadeau at Evolving Solutions was a pleasure. I found him to be modest and confident with an evident passion for what he was doing. 

What is Evolving Solutions?

My brother Adrian and I formed Evolving Solutions 7 years ago. In 2004 we moved into our office space where we are now in Saint John, NB. At Evolving Solutions we offer several products:

Big Santo - CMS web marketing system

Office Gateway - Online Office Project Management

Envoy - Email Marketing

YourTeamOnline - branched off of Evolving Solutions and is now it’s own company. It was originally created as Elite Coach, a product for coaches, but that evolved into the current YourTeamOnline which launched it’s beta on November 6, 2007 as a product for coaches and players to manage their teams and share with others.

Other services include web design, logo design, hosting and consulting.

I covered more of YourTeamOnline Recently that has links to a review from StartUp North and comparison with its competiton Team Page with this blog posting.

What makes you tick?

The web and sports.

Can you share some information about your clients? Success stories?

YourTeamOnline has 700 teams on it including a team in Italy. Evolving Solutions has severeral small to mid-sized companies that it provides products and solutions. Something that was very unusual compared to most other companies at ThinkNB is that 85% of it’s business comes from within Atlantic Canada.

What technology is used at Evolving Solutions?

Java integration, java api.

Are you funded or self-funded?

Evolving Solutions is Self-Funded. YourTeamOnline received a New Brunswick Innovation Fund of $50,000.

How are you marketing Evolving Solutions?

Primarily through building relationships. Although YourTeamOnline being a social networking aspect, it is virally marketed through blogs and other social media.

Who are your competitors?

Mighty Community and Spheric would both be local competitors.

Do you find it challenging being located in NB?

No

What does Evolving Solutions have that makes it stand out among everyone else?

Simplicity, no jargon and building relationships.

Chris really seemed to understand the value of relating to people in everyday terms. Their marketing reflects that and I think it will be an asset to them.

What’s next for you guys?

YourTeamOnline will continue to grow. There are lots of great features that we’ll be looking to grow and build on.

I think their passion and desire to really make a difference will take them far. You can also follow along with Chris on his blog.