Team building with a social element. That is Inspire Canada! Helping to build cabinets with corporate teams for a good cause, people are learning important skills such as team work, planning and transfer of knowledge.

Biz Pod Interactive was the "fly on the wall" at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, taped this 4 hour event and turned it into a 6 minute video message. Our mission was to catch the most important learnings and provide an online video piece that shows the key moments of that day.

First there was a business card, then a business website and soon you will send a short video message to a mobile device featuring you and your business...

Wireless technology revolutionized the way people are using computers. In a traditional environment users come to a computer, which is connected with wires to other computers and networks. Obviously this makes it very difficult for people to move around and stay connected at the same time. Mobile computing however differentiates in two main ways: mobility and broad reach. Mobility for the fact that  the user who carries his mobile device is able to initiate real time contact with other systems from where ever they are and broad reach referring to the fact that once the users mobile device is switched on he can be reached instantly and with the built in GPS device even location tracked.

In our promotional video "Do you love your MINI?" we were searching for the MINI Yaletown Maniac. This all started about 10 weeks ago when we went to work with MINI Yaletown , the local MINI Cooper dealer, to create a video for their site. We brought up the idea of having a testimonial video from a MINI owner since we know that MINI Cooper drivers are VERY proud of their cars. So we created the MINI Yaletown Maniac contest where candidates would write in why they deserved the title of MINI Yaletown Maniac.

What a crazy few months. I have been wearing a lot of hats lately. I redesigned the new website (www.kelvintools.com) which was quite a chore learning the whole process. I even added online shopping. In the end I can say that I got close, but there is a reason people are experts at this stuff.

Jesus saved me...literally. Jesus is a friend of mine from Argentina that does web design, and he took the mess I created and made it work.

Biz Pod Interactive appears with a new look on the web and integrates its look and feel with the recently produced print brochure. The revisited website is easy to navigate and features an interesting showcase, showing three different forms of how to incorporate online videos within your organization.

Your chances to grab your customers, investors or staffs attention with a short online movie clip is much higher than other traditional forms of communicating.

I believe that watching online short videos on a computer is only the start. The trend to receive and watch short video clips on your iphone, blackberry or G1 will continue and grow rapidly. Higher bandwidths, better displays and fixed download amounts included in your subscription from you mobile provider will help this development.

With more and more people using smart phones and other portable video playing devices these videos are a very efficient way to reach your audience anytime and any where.

"The trend will continue", said one of the key decision makers from the biggest mobile provider in Switzerland, that I talked to while being here. "To carry the iphone", he said, "is a must have, something that our customer want and we just have to offer!"

And yes! I witnessed this with my own eyes in Switzerland: The usually very calm Swiss people lining up in front of the stores, trying to get one of these fancy devices and going nuts playing with their new toy.

Web resource: http://www.biz-pod.net

Announcing the WorkSpace B3 series designed to help you Build a Better Business -- Presented by WorkSpace Cafe and MindHeap Technology. This October we present the first sessions in both our business and technology tracks hosted at the WorkSpace Cafe on the Gastown waterfront in Vancouver, BC.

Visit EventBrite to see all WorkSpace B3 Events or to purchase tickets for this event.

From the WorkSpace B3 October Technical Track:

WorkSpace B3 Scalability Workshop

October 21, 2008 - 9:00AM to 4:30PM

Many companies tackle scalability and performance when it is already too late to avoid embarrassingly bad performance or damaging downtime. Both should instead be part of your process from day one.

In Wednesday's two-page spread about the concept of co-working, The Globe and Mail Travel Section turned to WorkSpace General Manager Dane Brown for advice and comment on the topic.  After all, Dane was one of the first brave pioneers of co-working and the caretaker of Vancouver's premier open work environment.

If you can't find the full print copy, or wrangle a copy from Dane, see the shorter online version on the Globe and Mail website.

Biz Pod Interactive was contracted by the British High Commission to film and produce a session on the global carbon market at the Globe 2008 conference in Vancouver, BC.

Experts from North America and Europe came together at the Globe 2008 to explain the implications of emissions trading in Canada and, more importantly, how companies can prepare for the inevitable pricing of carbon. This session was hosted and moderated by the British High Commission.

The Vancouver Ruby/Rails Meetup is being held tonight at WorkSpace from 7PM until 9PM.

Topic:
New Ruby Patterns: Tools to improve your code. Reduce code clutter. Increase readability.

Description:
Sunny Hirai, founder and CEO of MeZine Inc., a successful and profitable Internet company, will be presenting several Ruby patterns, many of which you've never seen before. These patterns will make your Ruby code cleaner, easier to read and more powerful. If you like discovering new ways to make your code better, you will enjoy this in depth discussion.

Presentation includes free handouts of the patterns and how to use them.

I decided to go to Vancouver. Since I knew I would not be able to part from work, due to both external and internal pressures, I decided on a workation. How long this goes on depends on how well it works out. I'll try to explain the potential benefit of nomadic work.

This is cross-posted from prototype

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Working from a new place

Some people find meaning in religion, others in children, I tend to find meaning in meeting people. I find it so wonderful to, even for just a couple hours, talk to a new person and see how similar our concerns and passions are. I feel in this instance that I am not so alone, possibly not so much myself either. Better than just meeting is working. Working with new people is probably the most meaningful thing I could do. To build a working relationship and have a tangible outcome is a thrill. Working cuts small talk to the cracks of conversation and focuses my mind, and other people on a shared concern or task.