Inspiring Young Canadian

My six-year old daughter has been singing an unfamiliar song a lot lately. She often sings songs repetitively so I've trained myself to drown them out but a few words in her song broke through that filter and caught my attention. International... Space... Station.

I had to stop doing what I was doing and listen a little closer. I heard her correctly so this required a few questions, the first being ‘What are you singing?’ She was learning a song at school for the year end performance. That answer was followed by her knowledge that a Canadian astronaut named Chris Hatfield was commanding the International Space Station right now.

My first thought was what an amazing role model Chris Hatfield is. Years ago at Conestoga College I actually got to meet him at an event and remember being impressed back then by what he stood for. Now a whole generation of young Canadians can be inspired by his example and can keep the dream of space exploration alive. Truly his reach is international so it is more than Canadians he is inspiring, but we get to experience that extra pride as a nation for his achievements.

The second thought is what a great social media marketer Chris Hatfield is. If you haven't been following Chris Hadfield's tweets you should be. He has been sharing amazing photographs of our planet and they are really something everyone should see. I can see my house in this one. He's done an amazing job creating visibility for the Canadian space program through his pictures on Twitter. And as well with the song I have now been exposed to that he sings with The Barenaked Ladies “Is Somebody Singing” which can be viewed on YouTube video down below. Commander Hatfield put a lot of thought of what he was planning on tweeting since he only had one chance to bring up any needed props. It is a great idea for companies to have a social media calendar and plan ahead; so kudos to Chris for showing us how its done.

Have you seen any images from the International Space Station? Do you have any favorites?

Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg

I had just finished reading the most amazing book to my two daughters (6 and 3) and had to write a quick review of it. The book is 'Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg' by Gail Carson Levine. It was published back in September of 2005, and currently it is available in hardcover, paperback and audio CD. We borrowed our copy from the library but I can foresee us buying this book.

The story begins when a new fairy without a special talent, Prilla, comes to Never Land and she tries to find her purpose. A hurricane strikes the island and the magical egg that keeps everyone from aging breaks during the storm. It is up to a team of fairies to restore the egg and save the day.

This book really expands the character and world of Tinker Bell from the Peter Pan story and movie from the 1950s. The author, Gail, does amazing job at expanding the mythology of the Disney Fairies that goes beyond their natural commercial appeal. We find out where the dust comes from that gives the fairies flight. That fairies are at risk of dying if children stop believing in them. And that there is a dragon that lives on the fabled Never Land.

I am a huge fan of the television series LOST and my girls are a little too young to be introduced to that show. So imagine my delight when in the book, the island is revealed to be a character too with LOST-like qualities. It decides who gets to come to its shores and it moves and morphs to help our heroes on their quest. Plus anyone who is a fan of the Desmond episode 'The Constant' from season four will have a special appreciation for Prilla. (I'm stretching it a bit with that example.)

Because it is about fairies, this book is primarily targeted towards a younger female audience. But I found it comparable to stories like The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings so I think a lot of Dads would enjoy this story. Characters are thrown together to solve a problem while facing impossible challenges and making personal sacrifices. It is a basic premise that works wonderfully in this story.

I'm also excited to learn that there is a sequel, "Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand" by the same author. The girls and I have found that book at the library and are currently reading it. I'll let you know if it lives up to the first book.

What books have you read to your kids that you were surprised you really enjoyed? 

Return to Facebook

Today I have made my return to the social media heavy-weight; Facebook. Based on previous posts you might find this hard to believe or maybe the writing was on the wall.

Recently our Facebook expert at work moved onto new challenges and suddenly I was the person they turned to with a question about the site. I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about and therefore couldn't answer them. That was the first moment that made me think that I should stop ignoring Facebook as it was now offering a new learning opportunity as a digital marketer.

Then today I was listening to the Facebook announcement about their updated News Feed and I saw a lot of potential as a digital marketer. My first thought was that it resembled Google+ quite a bit, which is a format I really like, and the second thought was that my current knowledge of Facebook is going to be 100% useless now. Best to get back on the wagon.

So bottom line I reactivated my account and started rebuilding my friend list. Who was the first person I added? Our previous Facebook expert of course: Shaminda Attygalle - Host of the Digital Marketing Lounge. I can't wait to begin understanding Facebook again for Marketing purposes and for keeping up-to-date with family and friends.

What do others think of the updated News Feed? How many social sites should one be on?

Update to 'Buying a tablet'

At the end of October last year I was listening very carefully to all the news coming out about the latest tablet computers. Mainly they were the Apple iPad Mini, Google Nexus 7, and Microsoft Surface RT. I was weighing all the pros and cons of each based on my needs.

Well the winner, as I speculated in October, was the Google Nexus 7. I didn't want to spend too much which eliminated both Apple and Microsoft, plus I was excited to try out the Android operating system.

Here are three immediate observations I have made.

1) Appreciate Google products more
My favorite new tool is the Google Calendar believe it or not. I love how I can set  up appointments on the tablet or on any desktop computer I was logged into and it would sync up between the two. The same can be said for Gmail and especially the Google Play store. I can find an app on my desktop computer and download it and it will automatically be on the Nexus 7 the next time things sync up.

2) Tablets are a gateway to a smart phone
I don't own a cell phone (here is why) but after being introduced to tool such as Google Now I have started thinking about it more and more. The following video features how Google Now works on the Google Nexus 4, their mobile phone from LG, but the Nexus 7 can do most of the same things (where there is WiFi). I love how intuitive Google Now is and I can just imagine all the ways it could make life easier and more organized if you had it everywhere you go.



3) It is still an iOS world
Apple still owns a huge share of how people perceive tablets. At work when coming up with an app, the primary consideration was making it available on iTunes. When Vine came out from Twitter it came out on iOS devices first and there is currently no word on when it will be coming out for Android. Other than that I find the app stores comparable for what I am looking for. Any apps that weren't available just weren't compatible with the tablet screen and not the operating system it was on. And in those cases there were suitable online solutions that worked just as well.

One other quick thought is that I have found that a tablet can't 100% take over as your main computer. I am currently typing up this blog post on my desktop computer with a keyboard. I can't imagine writing this on the tablet, but I have observed that this could just be a generational issue. It really is better at consuming content versus creating it. However there are Bluetooth keyboard docks out there that could make that easier.

What do other tablet owners think; did I make the right choice? 
How important is the operating system compared to the hardware?