Marquis Côté . com

The iPhone: I-Life in my pocket

Marquis — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:55:17 +0000

I’ve had my iPhone for almost a year now. There’s no way I would consider using any other mobile device today. I’ve been playing around with iPhone Apps and making iPhone friendly sites for a while now and I must concur that Apple has just delivered us the beginning of the “Mobile Age Revolution”.

Here’s my top 25 mid-August ‘08 iPhone Apps list:

My Top Productive iPhone Apps:

1. Files by Olive Toast, Category: Productivity, $7.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link
Between DataCase ($6.99) and Files, Files gets the higher score. Files allows you to store and view files on your iPhone or iPod touch. You can connect to Files from any Mac or PC and drag and drop files straight from the Finder or Windows Explorer, as you would with any other shared folder. Files supports the viewing of most Microsoft Office documents, PDF documents, images, text, html, movie and audio files. With Files you can take documents with you wherever your iPhone or iPod touch goes, view them and transfer them easily to any compatible Mac or PC.

2. Evernote by Evernote, Category: Productivity, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

3. Jott by Jott Networks Inc, Category: Productivity, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

4. PocketPunchclock by EplPhone Coders’ Guild, Category: Business, $9.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link

5. Google Reader by Google, Category: Bookmark Button, Free
Website, Use the safari browser ;)

6. Google Docs, by Google, Category: Bookmark Button, Free
Website, Use the safari browser ;)

My Top Useful iPhone Apps:

7. Remote by Apple Inc, Category: Entertainment, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

8. Exposure by Connected Flow, Category: Photography, Free/$9.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link

9. Now Playing by Cyrus Najmabadi, Category: Entertainment, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

10. WeatherBug by WeatherBug, Category: Weather, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

11. The Converter by Vladimir Kofman, Category: Utilities, $0.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link

12. Phrasebook - Talking Spanish by Coolgorilla, Category: Travel, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

13. PayPal by PayPal, an eBay Company, Category: Finance, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

My Top Social Media iPhone Apps:

14. Facebook by Facebook, Category: Social Networking, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

15. Twitterific by The Iconfactory, Category: Social Networking, Free/$9.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link

16. WordPress by Automattic Inc, Category: Social Networking, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

17. MobileChat by twenty08, Category: Social Networking, $2.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link

18. Bookmarks (del.icio.us) by DeliciousSafari, Category: Utilities, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

My Top iPhone Show off & Play Apps:

19. Shazam by Shazam Entertainment Ltd, Category: Music, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

20. Comic Touch by plasq LLC, Category: Photography, $4.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link

21. iLightr by Ubermind Inc, Category: Entertainment, $0.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link

22. MotionX Dice by fullpower, Category: Entertainment, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

23. Texas Hold’em by Apple Inc, Category: Games, $4.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link

24. Crash Nitro Kart by Vivendi Games Mobile, Category: Games, $9.99
Website, iTunes App Store Link

25. iPint by Beattie McGuinness Bungay, Category: Games, Free
Website, iTunes App Store Link

City Hunters Hits on Canada Day

Marquis — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:42:13 +0000

The Other Side Studios wants you to explore your city, snap some photos and party Canada Day away with an exciting new event called City Hunters. This July 1 in Ottawa’s ByWard Market, teams of Hunters will set off from Pub.101 on a scavenger hunt with digital cameras in hand to snap pics of cool and interesting items while having a lot of fun exploring this gorgeous part of the city. After checking off as many items on their list as possible, Hunters will come back to Pub.101 for the judging, food, drinks, prizes and a great party. Cost is $30 for a team of two Hunters to enter together and $20 for a solo Hunter, and will run from 10 AM until the mid-afternoon (or stick around for the evening if you feel like it). It’s the best place to be on Canada Day and combines the best of seeing the Ottawa sights along with a great party in a popular pub. And it’s early enough in the day that it fits right into everyone’s Canada Day plans.

The Other Side is really proud to put this together and watch it happen. The Hunting itself is a lot of fun, but we’ve also put together a lot of really terrific prizes. Hunters also keep their pics at the end so they can remember the great day once it’s over. And look where it is: Is there a better way to spend Canada Day than partying within a stone’s throw of the Parliament Buildings? For as low as $15, there’s nothing in Ottawa that’ll give you a better time.

The Other Side Studios is a company dedicated to incubating and growing creative startup events and ventures. Established in 2004, The Other Side is currently producing several exciting ideas which are born from entrepreneurs in the Ottawa region.

My Social Media Circle

Marquis — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:14:34 +0000

Here’s a good overview on how I use social media on a daily basis.

Stay Informed & Participate in Conversations

Google - Main search engine
Google Reader - RSS reader, here are a few of my feeds:

iTunes - A few of the video podcasts I subscribe to:

Create

Not everyone is a creator of content.

Stay Connected with Social Networks / Media

Communicate and Collaborate

Gmail / Gtalk (imkreativitea)
MSN Messenger (imkreativitea)
Skype (marquiscote)
Google Docs

Please note that I can do most of this anywhere from my iPhone. Create your own Social Media Circle by downloading the PSD.

A Wiki Government could lead to a true democracy

Marquis — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:23:09 +0000

We claim to be living in a democracy but we have also come to believe in an administrative governance of professional experts is the best (if not only) way to organize decision-making in the public interest. Experts decide on acceptable levels of mercury emissions in the air and the standards for digital copyright laws.

“The justification for this professional decision-making, articulated by theorists ranging from Max Weber to Walter Lippmann, is that while citizens can express personal opinions based on values, they are incapable of making fact-based decisions on matters of policy. For Weber, the complexities of modern governance call for “the personally detached and strictly objective expert.” Only institutionalized and governmental professionals possess the expertise, resources, discipline, and time to make public-policy decisions. And citizen participation is hard to organize and administer, and even harder to scale. It is one thing for 10 bureaucrats to debate a policy and come to an informed consensus; try getting the same result with 10,000 people–or 10 million.” - Beth Simone Noveck’s posted on the Democracy Journal

We are now seeing the voice (screams) of the people all over while we understand that there are available collaboration tools today that can create a huge shift of power from the professionals to a grassroots movement. People have now the opportunity (and want to) to take part in an on-going conversation with their Government by participating more than voting once a year. The future looks like we can produce government decision-making that is more democratic.

The above screenshots of the Proof of Concept for the Collaborative Library Wiki from The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat shows they have begun to explore the use of Wikis and other Social Media tools. Our baby steps continue towards a better connected world.

CDC on Second Life, could Canada follow?

Marquis — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:57:02 +0000

Nedra Weinreich posted a great article on how U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took advantage of the Second Life hype to build their CDC Health Fair within Linden Lab’s virtual world and pushing social marketing to the next level by leveraging social media.

Nedra writes how the initiator of the project at CDC was able to make it happen, she tells the story how John first started exploring Second Life and had convinced the powers-that-be within a 4 month period to build a CDC virtual presence. John seems to be the CDC’s go-to guy for their health communications “Special Forces” by not only setting up new communications offices in various parts of the agency but he is contently exploring how social media can be used to promote public health, and he plans to continue to serve as the CDC’s virtual face in Second Life.

I decided to check it out, I logged on and teleported to the CDC Island.

I’ve been consulting for the CDC’s Canadian equivalent, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) since February 2007, with the mission to educate senior managers and staff and begin the deployment of new communication tactics to reach stakeholders and targeted audiences by taking advantage of social media and new technologies. The CDC has not only pioneered the use of social media within the public sector in virtual worlds but has also initiated conversations with their Health Marketing Director’s blog.

On a side note, Mike Kujawski on his post MARCOM 2008 Debrief mentions hearing that Library and Archives Canada has bought some property on Second Life.

Thank you Nedra for your article and Kudos John!

Hey Google - Look At Me!

Marquis — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:24:22 +0000

It’s about time I post something on Search Engine Optimizing (SEO)! We’ve all gone to Google and found what we were looking for - right? But did we? Maybe there was better information available, but because the Web page had not been crafted to respond to Google’s criteria, it ranked low down on the search results list.

Not only can Google be used to find information, but also to reach the intended audience. Most Web writers want their content to be retrieved by Google and displayed on the first page of the search results. Accomplishing this requires an understanding of the various factors that have an influence over this powerful search engine. Of those various factors, which are the ones that Web writers can manipulate?

Tips on Google’s searching priorities:

Page title - what you see at the top of your browser has the most effect.
Breadcrumbs - a series of links appearing above the text which form a navigation trail back to the entry point of a website.
Main title - the wording of this should clearly indicate what the content is about. Generic titles, e.g. ‘Links’, should include distinguishing information.
Sub-titles in the document - these too should relate to the topic.
Content of the first paragraph - this should contain as many of the relevant keywords, that a user might employ to find content on a particular topic, as possible.
Complete text of the document.

If Web writers ensure that words are strategically selected and placed, they will be harnessing the muscle of Google and making it a mighty partner. Both partners, working in unison, can connect the right information with those searching for it.

Keep in mind that there are a number of other important elements that contributes to pushing that search result up, such as domains .gc.ca and .org have better ranking as a credible source, also the amount of links from other credible sites to your site pages ads value to your ranking score.

Social Media “in plain English” videos

Marquis — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:38:49 +0000

As a Web Strategist, once we find resources and tools that help us educate our clients in Social Media and its importance in the future of communications, it’s our role to spread these tools within our own network. Last year I stumbled upon the first few smart and witty short, unique and understandable videos by Common Craft, today with the launch of their recent “Social Media in plain English” clip they’ve pretty much rounded up a library on all the top aspects of Social Media.

Social Media in Plain English

Produced by Common Craft

RSS in Plain English

Produced by Common Craft

Blogs in Plain English

Produced by Common Craft

Wikis in Plain English

Produced by Common Craft

Podcasting in Plain English

Produced by Common Craft

Online Photo Sharing in Plain English

Produced by Common Craftt

Social Networking in Plain English

Produced by Common Craft

Twitter (micro-blogging) in Plain English

Produced by Common Craft

Social Bookmarking in Plain English

Produced by Common Craft

More great videos by Lee Lefever from Common Craft on his YouTube’s page

Micro-blogging? Why? Twitter in Plain English

Marquis — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:54:55 +0000

During a presentation on social media to a group of senior corporate communications managers at a Government organization, they had picked up on the role and advantages of most social media elements, but the one I had a little harder time to explain and even a harder time to convince them on what could be an interesting social media medium to explore is the phenomenon of “micro-blogging” (ie. Twitter)… why? This is a great little video from Common Craft Show explaining it nicely.

I’m not an avid user of twitter (today) but maybe you are ;) From time to time I’ll make an update.

digitalOttawa : Building eGovernment

Marquis — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:59:54 +0000

We’ve officially launched the new face of digitalOttawa, a consulting firm composed of consultants with experience delivering strategic advice and services to over 50 public sector clients since 1997. We create a foundation with governance review, education and change management (including financial and human resource restructuring) and then build project-specific tools to help meet and exceed mandated goals with sustainable solutions. Services includes:

Consulting

Let us advise, coach and assist in making your eCommunications governance, marketing, partnerships and existing policies serve you better. Our available services include but are not limited to:

* Organization and governance review
* Website and eComunication tools review
* Online / Internet marketing (social marketing, viral marketing, online advertising)
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Content Optimization
* Web Accessibility and Usability
* Web and eCommunication strategy and implementation plan
* Online / Internet partnerships
* Social Media integration

Educating

We deliver workshops, training seminars and coaching on trends in eCommunications and its vital importance for the public sector to help your organization thrive in today’s world.

Producing

We help you build re-usable tools such as Common Look and Feel (CLF) templates, checklists, strategy & statement of work samples, graphic & interactive accessible elements which will lead to effective and powerful strategies.

Social Media in Government at Summit 2008

Marquis — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:34:08 +0000

Co-presented by myself and Tamey McIntosh

Trying to implement or even talk about Social Media is no April fool’s joke for the participant’s of the Social Media Summit in Toronto. This was particularly true for the public sector participants.

During the introductions, this group in particular expressed the difficulties that they face within the public sector when it comes to implementing social media. Many of them were not even 100% sure what they could use social media for, but they had a strong sense that it would help them reach their clientele.

We (digitalOttawa) were able to speak to many of those challenges with our presentation on an Introduce Web 2.0 & Social Media in the Public Sector - Case Study: Public Health Agency of Canada.

The presentation covered several main topics. The first was the “What” – what is Social Media and how does an individual use it and how can an organization use it to be more connected. Short answer is:

1. Participating in the conversation
2. Initiating the Conversation
3. Sharing Content
4. Social Media in “all” marketing

Next came the “How?” The first step being the recognition that this change will be a large organizational behaviour shift. We then introduced the Six Step approach:

1. Needs Assessment
2. Educating
3. Planning
4. Implementing
5. Coaching
6. Evaluating

Finally we answered the “Why?” and the short answer is because it’s happening and if your organization doesn’t move in the Social Media direction it will fail. The shift of power from the “Matures” to the “Millennials” and “Generation X” was also given as a strong example of “Why” social media.

We also stressed that despite the challenges faced by the public sector it was possible to implement social media! It can be done!

The presentation was very well received, and there was much head-nodding by the public service participants.