Why?

To thank our clients, vendors, and friends and to officially launch our brand new web site. This event is a great opportunity to meet new Resolution team members and to see the digital elixirs we've been concocting over the last year or so. Join us for cocktails and appetizers at The ARTS Project (http://www.artsproject.ca/) in London, Ontario on October 29th 2009 from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

There isn't a schedule of events so don't worry about missing anything -- just make sure to leave enough time for a couple of drinks and to check out the mad interactive displays the team has been cooking up.

Here's a Google Map to both the ARTS Project and nearby parking.

See you Thursday!

With the importance of blogging covered, the next question I generally receive is 'I can hardly handle the work I have on my plate now, how in the world will I be able to consistently update a blog?'  Here are some answers to that question:

• Set a schedule for as far ahead as you can.  Sit down, brainstorm, and use a schedule template like this one (PDF) to come up with as many topics as you can.
• Don't go it alone.  If you work with a team of six, for example, each person would only have to commit to writing four posts per year in order for your blog to be updated twice monthly.
• Help yourself remember. Use applications such as Evernote or social bookmarking services like Delicious to remember web sites, news articles, and blog posts that have sparked an idea you could write about.
• Don't worry. Try to stick to your schedule, but don't lose sleep if you haven't posted in a couple of months.  A few blog posts are better than none at all.

Blogging is an enjoyable and rewarding exercise that doesn't have to be overly time consuming. If you have further questions about blogging, or aren't sure how to get started, feel free to get in touch with us.

Zander defied our preconceptions in every way.

The co-op student that walked through our doors was a rock-star high school Flash developer, and contributed in a more-than-major way to a number of projects over the course of his stay here. We kept him on as a paid full-time employee over the summer, and are happy to report that our first co-op student experience was a resounding success.

Zander left us (with an open invitation to come back any time) at the beginning of September to persue his post-secondary education at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. We presented him with the parting gift of a copy of Halo 3, all the while knowing he doesn't own an Xbox on which to play it.

This video picks up with Zander cordially accepting the game, not knowing his real gift was stashed away in the women's washroom:

Zander is @onefifth on Twitter. You can also follow @ResolutionIM to keep up with the goings-on at Resolution.

• Monetizing community means that you have to get to a scale that matters.
• Scaling is a function of business, so UNDISTRACT your company.
• Human nature has a tendency to admire complexity but reward simplicity.
• People choose to make their startups complicated for very human reasons (ego, pride, assumptions, sacred cows, secrets) and these are obstacles to success.

I also really enjoyed the presentation by Matt Wyndowe from Facebook. He shared some of Facebook’s insight into the question of how communication tools affect social network size. The newest ‘type’ of communication is what Facebook calls The Stream (Facebook’s Twitteresque newsfeed that allows you to ‘like’ or comment on people’s updates, photos and conversations). This kind of interaction has increased the size of our Active Network (the network of people in your life that you engage with and influence on a weekly basis - family, friends, co-workers) by allowing 2x the amount of communication you can take in.

For example, have you noticed that we are starting to get used to the stream? I find that I wish I could ‘like’ (or dislike) articles and advertising on other sites but the functionality just isn’t there yet. How would your organization’s website function differently if people could interact with it in the same way we do with Facebook? Something to consider.

I would be out of line not to mention Jason Scott, who kicked off the day to share his story about his cat Sockington (@sockington), who has more Twitter followers than Snoop Dogg, Kevin Spacey, Paris Hilton and Lady Gaga. What else can I say? People who like cats ... like them a lot. The real takeaways? More direct quotes:

• I hate bad and evil marketing and I hate bad and evil marketers.
• Only robots would say, ‘A brand is like a relationship with a friend.’
• Twitter is NOT a big, fat networking ATM.

TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival)
Unrelated to social media and the web, but highly relevant to me personally, I saw the North American premiere of Werner Herzog’s My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. I am a die-hard fan, so I enjoyed them both but I have to say that the latter really blew my mind. I didn’t expect it to be so funny.

I was also extremely pleased that Herzog came out to introduce the Thursday afternoon screening of Bad Lieutenant and even stayed for the Q&A - it had premiered at TIFF on Tuesday and I was NOT expecting to see him again after the opening of My Son, My Son. He was incredibly gracious and entertaining and I was doubly pleased that I was sitting in the third row for his surprise appearance. WOW.

What We're Looking For

    • Wonderful verbal and written communication skills
    • Excellent organizational skills
    • Strong eye for detail
    • Team work skills
    • An enthusiasm for usability (ease-of-use)
    • Exceptional interface visual/conceptual design and development skills
    • Exceptional problem determination and creative problem solving skills
    • Ability to hand code web projects and create/maintain reusable code

Technologies/Languages You Need To Know

    • HTML/XHTML
    • XML
    • CSS
    • Javascript
    • PHP
    • SQL
    • Actionscript

Nice To Have's

    • Objective C
    • ASP.NET (C#)
    • Experience with Subversion/Git

Required Education/Experience

• 2+ Year College Diploma in a new media field (Web Development, Multimedia Design, Programming or similar)
• 5+ years experience in developing commercial data-driven web and flash projects.
• Experience managing a team of web developers and production staff.

Terms
Permenant Position. You want HOW much? Let’s chat!  Resolution staffers enjoy a competitive annual salary in a relaxing, open, collaborative environment with excellent medical and dental benefits.

What To Submit
Your resume and a couple of samples that you feel show off a little of what you can do. You *must* provide an example of your *best* work to be considered for an interview.

Examples of what you could submit:

    • Code Samples
    • Screen Shots Of Interfaces You've Designed
    • URL's to Websites/Projects That You've Created

Keep in mind we’re a digital agency so it’s your web/screen applicable stuff we’ll be looking for specifically.

Please send your resume and portfolio URL to hr@resolutionim.com

Standard disclaimer: Only applicants chosen for an interview will be contacted. ResIM is an equal opportunity employer.

The grassroots volunteer-driven initiative began in 2006 with support from TechAlliance, Fanshawe College and the City of London, and a goal to foster involvement, investment and voice for 25-44 year olds, a demographic key to London’s future job market, assessment base and philanthropic sector.

In the past three years, EL has hosted four “think tanks” (attended by several hundred young leaders), to collect new ideas to help improve London for the future; connected EL volunteers to positions on dozens of local nonprofit boards and special committees; paired talented ELs with business and community mentors; hosted a number of professional development seminars and educational opportunities (including an event with author and philanthropist Seymour Schulich); and provided ongoing opportunities to socialize, network and build-relationships.

Today, EL counts approximately 800 individuals as members and nearly 100 local organizations as partners.  

For more on this exciting news please see the official notice on the emerging leaders web site.

When people ask me to give a brief synopsis of who I am and what I’ve been up to for the entirety of my working life, I find it difficult to summarize. That said, I’m always up for a challenge, so here goes:

I am a communications professional who has spent considerable time pondering the effects of web design on my clients’ business goals. My background is in public relations and marketing and I have been fortunate to work closely with clients whose needs bridged those disciplines. I cut my teeth at Thornley Fallis Communications in Toronto (working mainly with clients in the consumer and technology sectors) where I found myself surrounded by social media savvy colleagues and clients who were ‘ready to go there’. It was a fabulous place to explore the intersection of traditional public relations, digital marketing and social media possibilities.

Working with clients such as Visa Canada, Sharp Electronics and Travelocity provided me with insight into the communications needs of diverse industries and gave me the tools and the confidence to strike out on my own over the past year.

As I mentioned, I’m always up for a challenge.

I’m looking forward to working with Resolution not only because they’re doing some really exciting work but because they’re also pretty cool and much better at thunderstorm golf than I am.