I’m not a transit user anymore but I can see the value in this, especially in Fredericton. Visitors, new students and new residents especially will find it easier to reach their destination.

Fredericton Transit has joined with Google to offer a mapping service that allows transit riders to not only map out their routes, but to get walking route suggestions and projected durations of their trips at different times in the day.

It would come in handy for anyone who has tried to make sense of some of the transit routes where if you need to go to one side of the North Side to another area of the North Side by crossing to the SOUTH side of the river.

 
(Click for larger image) 
Fredericton Transit

NB has made some good progress with the transit systems and the use of the web as Moncton had wifi implemented on their transit not that long ago.

We had a big dump of snow in Atlantic Canada yesterday. Being outside yesterday tackling all this white stuff made me guiltily realize I still hadn’t put winter tires on my van.

So I head to Canadian Tire Online to check out their winter tires and found myself a bit surprised at what I encountered.

Maybe it’s a guy thing, but I couldn’t imagine sending this to facebook, digg or de.li.cious. Sure, they’re on sale, but not out of this world on sale. I can just imagine the looks on my friends faces in facebook if I sent this. I realize it’s a storewide option, so I tried to envision cooler items at Canadian Tire that I’d want to add to my facebook…. possibly, yes. And maybe this is where gender kicks in. I could maybe envision sharing a beautiful patio set that would be on sale. But winter tires just don’t have the same effect on me.

Jason Rowser blogged that he recently discovered that yellowpages.com had an add to facebook option.

Is it just me, or do some of these social networking options for some commerical purposes just seem odd? At this point, I don’t think there’s enough relevance for all situations.

A few weeks ago, Allen Stern at Centernetworks.com had a Blogworld Expo schwag giveaway that I was lucky enough to get a t-shirt from. So it’s only fair I show it off. Now I can really be a kick ass blogger;)

Ok, this is already overdue. Since Cyber Monday, it has become a bit of a crazy time for those of us with e-retail companies, so I’ve been a tad neurotically busy lately. I was also caught up in trying to write intelligent, witty interviews for this piece and I’ve decided to just git er done instead;)

Day two of ThinkNB was a hub bub of activity. Spheric was the first of the companies that I interviewed.

Spheric

I noticed their booth right away. The bright orange booth header with We’re Lazy spanning the top drew the eye of many of the crowd attendents. As I made my way over to the booth I noticed the Spheric team all wearing bright orange t-shirts with an energy to match. I had the opportunity to talk with Adam MacDonald, co-founder of Spheric.

What is Spheric?

Spheric provides Enterprise Portals using BEA Aqualogic. We’ve recently expanding into application development and ruby on rails development. Apps like the facebook application called Expressions as well. We’re based in Moncton, NB.

Why are you called Lazy?

It’s all about simplicity and reducing redundancy. We have a disdain for repetition and prefer to automate processes. Our clients love us for it.

Who are some of your clients and success stories?

Spheric is proud to have a stellar lineup of clients such as Procter & Gamble, Bristol & Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Property Guys and more. Some of our clients are early adopters and are developing enterprise portals (Enterprise Social Architecture™ ) that incorporate social networking aspects to their portals. One of our clients has 68 servers with 14 million active users.

Are you funded or self-funded?

Self-funded

How are you marketing Spheric?

We haven’t very much to this point, nor really needed to. We always said we were the biggest company you never heard of. We’ve had very good success with our association with BEA Aqualogic and direct customer relations. We will be attending more trade shows and conferences but we have a solid referral system.

What technology is used at Spheric?

.net, php and Ruby on Rails. .

Who are your competitors?

There really aren’t any locally. 70% of our work is hired through the vendor.

Do you find it challenging being in New Brunswick?

Yes, it does provide complications. The time and expense of travel adds up. Since 98% of our clients are outside of Atlantic Canada, we are travelling a lot.

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

Our work culture is unique. We have developed a 3 level certification process that all our staff go through to ensure they will mesh in with Spheric. This creates continuity and ensures that our team is prepared and passionate about the work we do. Our clients receive a team and not an individual. We’re able to deliver on time and above expectations.

From talking with several of the Spheric team members at the booth, this company culture was very evident. They were infectious, fun and yet at the same time exuded an air of competency.

What does the future hold for Spheric?

More direct sales. European expansion and continue to build on our customer base and partnerships.

Spheric also has a couple of impressive recent news releases.

Spheric Technologies a Moncton based Software Development and Service Company is excited to announce they are in the final stages of completing a Co-development agreement with one of the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturers Proctor and Gamble (P&G). Spheric will maintain IP rights to a number of new productivity and innovative collaboration tools which will be utilized by P&G under a worldwide licensing agreement. This agreement is the continuation of the development of Spheric’s Enterprise Social Architecture™ which is seen as a key contributor to substantial innovation and productivity gains across the Enterprise

Spheric Technologies a Moncton based Software Development and Service Company is excited to announce they are in the final stages of completing Marketing and Sales Agreement with 2Markets a Reston,Virginia based Complex Sales and Marketing Outsourcing services Company. The agreement will continue to support the visions of Spheric’s founder which is to focus on the strengths of the Company which include multiple software development practices including Aqualogic, Ruby on Rails, as well as SharePoint. Spheric is moving ahead with its Enterprise Social Architecture™ and has become a force in the Enterprise Integration field using Web 2.0 portal environments. With the largest Enterprises looking to increase productivity and Innovation within their organizations, Spheric has created unique tools and processes to support these initiatives thus providing a competitive advantage to the adopters of this new creative collaborative communication process.

I’m fairly certain the future is bright for these lazy guys at Spheric. Dan Martell’s blog, co-founder and Director of e-Business has more highlights of the event.

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.