ChangeEverything.ca, the online community we conceived and built for Vancity, has been nominated for a Webby Award.
Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham's blog
ChangeEverything.ca gets a Webby nomination... and some big-league peers
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – April 15, 2008 - 3:09pmHow your non-profit can earn revenue with Web 2.0: Part 4 - Fee for service
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – April 2, 2008 - 12:10pmThis blog post is part of our series on Social Media for Social Enterprise: How non-profits can earn revenue with Web 2.0.
Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep. 13: the over-participation episode
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – March 5, 2008 - 8:43amThis episode finds Alex and Rob with some company in bed: the kids. (Parental discretion advised: contains explicit sounds of complaining toddler.) We talk about what happens when your favourite online community members participate just a little too much... and what you can do about it.
Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep. 12: the keeping-up-to-date episode
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – March 1, 2008 - 12:27pmThis episode, Rob talks about the release of Google Sites... which Alex hasn't had a chance to check out yet, leading her to ask, how do you keep up with the news in your field when everyone's so busy these days?
Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep. 11: the wikified episode
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – February 28, 2008 - 10:58amThis episode, we take on wikis: when you should use them, and when you should try something else.
And we try on a new feature: the tip-off, where we alternate coming up with handy tips on a topic until one of us runs out. The result is our first 20-minute episode... which tells us we might want to review the rules. Maybe require each tip to be phrased as a limerick...
Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep. 10: the humorlessness episode
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – February 27, 2008 - 9:18amMore detailed notes to follow. But in a nutshell, Alex wants to know why the left doesn't have more really funny stuff up on YouTube.
Rob suspects fear has something to do with it... and, judging by some of the stuff passing as funny, lack of practice.
Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep. 9: the intentional episode
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – February 26, 2008 - 12:35pmRob has had it, had it, had it with multiple versions of the arbicidal Yellow Pages showing up on our doorstep. Alex confesses a shameful Luddite secret.
And then we cross over into the woo-woo side with a discussion of the metaphysical power of intention. Alex thinks there's something to it and while Rob is skeptical, he shares something a tad woo-woo itself.
Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep. 8: the little-of-this-little-of-that episode
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – February 22, 2008 - 12:19pmPodcast feed: here
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This time out, we talk about the kind of writing that makes good blog posts, telling stories and finding a conversational voice.
That, oddly enough, leads us to a new speech recognition option for the Mac. Alex notes that Richard Powers, the author of The Echo Maker and Galatea 2.2, uses speech recognition to write. And Rob launches a passionate defence of video walkthroughs.
Then Alex proposes a Software Idol reality show before dropping the idea in favour of Software Documentation Idol. And that closes off the show.
Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep. 7: the gearhead episode
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – February 21, 2008 - 11:43amPodcast feed: here
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Break out the propeller beanies: it's a gear-heavy episode this time. It starts with Rob talking about the swishy new voice recorder that will soon be replacing the combination of a 4th-generation iPod and Griffin iTalk. That'll mean much nicer sound... and the end of that hard-drive-spinning-up whine that we're guessing you won't miss at all.
But Alex quickly sees Rob's bet and raises him an iPhone.... specifically, her quest this evening for a task manager she can carry around on her new favourite-toy-EVVVer. We touch on Central Desktop, the solution of choice for organizing Barack Obama volunteers on Super Tuesday (hat tip to the excellent TechPresident site).
We tweak the folks at 37Signals' Highrise CRM application for lifting Alex's likeness for their web tour (or as she's now known in these parts, Suzanna Cavatrio, copywriter for Enormicon).
And we issue three demands from Apple: the long-awaited software development kit for genuine third-party apps on the iPhone; the official arrival of the iPhone in Canada (maybe we can blame Ted Rogers for the holdup); and an Apple Store in Vancouver.
Oh, and there's one last thing: the Fake Steve Jobs turtleneck.
Enjoy. We'd love to hear from you - just leave your comments below.
Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep. 6: the back-in-the-saddle episode
by Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham – February 20, 2008 - 11:20pmPodcast feed: here
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Valentine's Day has come and gone, but we're not going to let an arbitrary deadline conspire with the flu to rob the Internets of the chance to hear a few more bedtime conversations from Alex and Rob.
So here's last night's conversation. We started with Rob's roundtable presentation for the BC Technology Industry Association yesterday, and wound up talking about Alex's perspectives on the soul of the Internet. We also talk about a few Web 2.0 fears that may not be completely unjustified, whether Facebook birthday notifications can save the world, and why the social web is like Barack Obama.
(Incidentally, you'll notice a few whining noises during this episode. Contrary to what you might think, that's not us complaining about comment spam, digital rights management or our frustrating search for the perfect Basecamp replacement. It's actually the sound of the hard drive spinning up on Rob's iPod... a sound you won't be hearing much longer, eBay and Canada Post permitting.)

