Fine Print

The world of Web 2.0 and the explosion of social media have meant serious changes, not only to the speed and depth of communication, but in the way that companies are being forced to relate to their customers. Social media has made it possible for consumers to have a real affect, whether positive or negative, on the reputation of a brand or organization. In fact, even one person can cause a ripple effect using word of mouth that can trigger alarms in the most powerful of companies.

In the past, consumers were often marketed to in a one-way stream, leaving them with very few options to respond. Discontent about a product or service could be ignored by organizations at their leisure because it was difficult and time-consuming for consumers to mobilize themselves. Not anymore.

A great example of this is the wave of discontent or “indignation” being felt by potential iPhone users in Canada. An article today in the Globe and Mail reports on a new site called www.ruinediphone.com that is protesting the pricing Rogers Wireless will be offering customers when the iPhone comes to town July 11.

The site, which contains a petition, has gained over 18,000 signatures since Friday and has received over 2,300 “diggs.”  This is a fantastic example of grass-roots consumer power mobilizing itself quickly and effectively against a massive company. I find it surprising that Rogers didn’t think this one through a bit more – i-fans are a pretty rabid bunch who are young, tech savvy and Apple loyal.

Does anyone else have any opinions? I think the escalating power of the consumer activist is a great thing, but I’m sure there are those who disagree. Please, feel free to share your thoughts!

~ Stephanie Sayer, Account Coordinator, GCI Canada

Maybe the Toronto humidity has gone to my head, but I think Bill Gates is a cool guy. Did I just publicly say that?

Today he officially leaves Microsoft to concentrate on his charitable foundation. A lot of people will say “Good riddance!” but if it wasn’t for him, I believe, the technology industry wouldn’t be so accessible as it is today.  PCs used to be a luxury item; nowadays, you choose one to match your living arrangements, or style. Just this morning, some colleagues and myself were brainstorming various tech ideas and discussing this subject.

Gates had a vision of what he believed, and — to all accounts and purposes — stuck to it, fended off harsh criticism, and became ultra-rich in the process. Forget the annoying little Office paperclip, that was a blip. People who stand up to be counted are few and far between, so let’s all CTRL-ALT-DLT and wish him a charitable future.

[Disclaimer: I do like Macs, Microsoft are not a client, and I have experienced the Blue Screen Of Death on many occasions.]

And, to wish you all a great Canadian long weekend, here’s where I’ll be spending my social networking from now on!

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

I just attended the world’s first Twebinar which was organized by Chris Brogan and David Alston of Radian6. It’s a cross between a webinar and a Twitter session — so you log in (if you were one of the first lucky 500!), watch the webinar and Tweet about it with other attendees. A pretty cool concept, and hats off to the above people for getting it off the ground.

A few personal thoughts …

1) I wish there was a way to keep the webinar and the Twitter session in the same window. I had three tabs open: webinar, Twitter and Summize to try and keep up with the action. It was distracting to jump around to see what people were saying, typing comments and watching the guest speakers. Picky on my part? Maybe, but streamlining it all somehow would be great for the next one.

2) Make it live. I understand this would be due to bandwidth and capacity issues. The videos were pre-recorded (very good thoughts though) with Chris Brogan introducing each one, live, in a small box on the left.

3) Increase the amount of people that can participate at the same time. Again, probably capacity, but there were a lot of disappointed people that couldn’t log in for the 2 p.m. session. It was repeated again at 4 p.m. At one point, it was the hottest talking point on Twitter:

4) It would be a great, time-saving idea to have the Twitter names of the speakers under the videos, so people can follow anyone they find particularly interesting.

That’s about it. I really enjoyed Twebinar #1, it was a very connected experience and I’m looking forward to seeing how the team improve the next one.

Update: Thanks Ken for the mention.

 ~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

Think I just made a big mistake. I waited until I got to the office to write this blog post, thus falling within the regular work hours. Damn! Now I can’t claim some juicy overtime! What was I thinking?!

OK — that’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but this news item got me thinking, again, about productivity in the 24/7 online world we do business in.

First off, I hate this quote in the article from a productivity expert: “I see so much abuse of working hours by employees — personal phone calls, socializing, checking eBay listings, booking personal travel, etc. — that I don’t believe it’s unreasonable for an employer to want a bit of work on personal hours.”

Who’s never made a personal phone call from work? To book the dentist, car mechanic or other type of situation that can only be done during regular business hours? I have. Does that mean that I feel I should then go home, and check my work-related e-mail for five minutes to make up that “company time?” No, it doesn’t.

I have worked evenings before, if things get hectic during the day. I have written articles at the weekend for my magazines if deadlines are tight. Do I come in and bill the company for that. No. It’s just what needed to be done at the time; I take great pride in my work and career, and anything I put my name to will be the best I can make it.

So, if I then decide to spend 10 minutes checking out cottage listings for a weekend break — shock! horror! slacker!

Please. We’re adults, we work hard, we have a professional ethic. Give us some credit.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

When’s the last time you had a conversation with someone, without saying anything? Just stood there and listened to someone talk at you, without responding? Not that often I suspect.

Journalists tend to do that sometimes. And, as a former reporter and editor of three publications, I feel qualified to say that. Then — not now. Back in the day we’d get the facts, write the story, send it out to the readers, and start planning the next issue.

Blogging and social media have changed the game forever. News is now a conversation, not a statement. Which is why I’m glad to see respected U.K. journalist Roy Greenslade debating that very topic in his blog today: “We were the secular priests who decided what information to give the great unwashed and even told them how they should react to that information, what to think and what to do. Public service performed. Job done. How clever were were. How privileged.”

And, for the record, although I love the online world, I totally disagree with this statement … but ask me again in 2018.

Talking about conversations, I had some good ones at a networking event last night. Interactive Ontario has some good things in the pipeline.

Update: In a follow-up to yesterday’s blog post about Visa, Jeremiah Owyang now has an ongoing list of the social media efforts from banks, credit card, financial institutions and lenders. He’s one smart guy who I recommend subscribing to.

But, if all that talk of news and finance has dried you out a bit before your next client brainstorm, check out Moonstream. Pick your mood, and get inspiration from the ensuing photos, videos and music. Very cool indeed.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

People have short attention spans, and sometimes need to know who you are, your philosophy — and fast.

Enter Wordle. You just type in a bunch of text and it generates a personal tag cloud based on word frequency. Some people have typed in their resume, or words to a favourite song.

I tried with GCI Canada’s mission statement and you can see the results by clicking on the image below:

Following on from Twitter and Plurk, it seems the “word” is back in fashion.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

As I was eating a bagel this morning — we have Bagel Tuesdays in the office — a news item caught my eye about Visa launching a small business application today using Facebook, and pumping in $2 million of advertising to support it. Visa is also promoting the initiative in a multimedia campaign starting next month.

The interesting hook is that the company is offering the first 20,000 small U.S. businesses that add the application a $100 advertising credit to use on Facebook. That’s great news for the social networking site because if the small businesses see returns on their “test” advertising slots, then they will probably sign up for more, and spend ad dollars in a channel that they might not have considered. It could open their eyes to the possibilities of using this type of network to increase revenues.

[As an aside, I wonder what message the 20,001st small business gets on its screen when it signs up?]

Full story here.

Totally unrelated, here’s a world mosaic created from 1,001 different clickable Web 2.0 logos.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

Introducing the first installment of Feel-Good Viral Video of the Week!

Yes, the simple ideas are always the best.

Snip: “Matt Harding, the guy who quit his job in Australia and, after hooking up with Stride gum, travelled the globe to film himself dancing in 39 countries (courtesy of Stride), has recently completed a second journey. This time, Matt visited 42 countries over a 14 month period and, in addition to filming himself dance, filmed the people of each country dancing along with him.”

I deny you not watching it to the end …

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

I just enjoyed a cottage weekend away in the Six Mile Lake area with some good friends, including a couple visiting us from the U.K. We wanted to show them some non-Torontonian parts of Canada. It was an excellent chance to switch off the computer, cellphone and CrackBerry, and do some social notworking.

You remember that, right? It’s when you take a break from the online world, and actually talk face to face with people, without the aid of a Twitter account or text messaging. You are being social, but you’re not working.

We “poked” a few steaks on the barbecue, listened to the birds “tweeting” in the trees and “downloaded” a few beers. The cottage was “myspace” for the weekend, and my “friends” were really, well, friends.

So, back in the office today, catching up and scanning what I missed. This is working, back to it.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

I am a huge Digitaljournal.com fan and I thought I’d spread the word about a great video synopsis of the “AP-blogger scandal.” For those of you that haven’t heard, the Associated Press has asked that bloggers and citizen journalists pay AP for quoting or referencing its articles in posts etc.

This video features Dave Silverberg’s “interview with the Harvard Citizen Media Project to find out what bloggers should do to protect themselves legally.”

Video link here.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this saga plays out in the coming weeks and months, as the lines between bloggers and journalists continue to blur.

~ Sarah Van Lange, Consultant, GCI Canada

When I shared with a friend that GCI Canada has started a blog that employees are invited to participate in, and that we were aiming to have consistent, daily posts, his response was highly critical. His POV is that you should only post on a blog if you have something meaningful to share or an important topic about which you would like to start deep conversation.

I agree that this is what blog posts can be, but I think that it can also be a lighter sharing — not something that requires massive editing and contemplation, but just a “here is a really amazing mash-up I found and I like it.”

Sometimes from that will come discussion and deep contemplation, and sometimes not. But isn’t it important to share both the good and the bad, the frivolous and the heavy? Can you imagine if the only reason you spoke with your friends was to impart great wisdom or thought-provoking revelations?

I think that kind of relationship is too hard to maintain; so too with blogs. If you want to be read, you need to provide substance, but not to the point of overwhelming your readers. Consistency, substance and balance: hallmarks of good friendships … and blogs.

~ Larissa Marks, Account Coordinator, GCI Canada

A very cool project that I have been working on for The Firkin Group of Pubs over the past couple of weeks has resurrected an ongoing debate in the corridors of GCI Canada’s 40 Holly Street – well actually between me and John Carson.

When we sat down together and started brainstorming ideas for the Firkin Facebook group, he turned to me and asked about whether I had a “professional profile” – which I don’t. As I am an administrator for the group, the discussion was raised about whether I was comfortable with strangers potentially having access to my profile, friends and photos. This led to us discussing whether PR practitioners should make a point of limiting the privacy settings on our pages to co-workers, journalists and industry contacts.

My two cents: a friend is a friend is a friend. I don’t have a professional profile out of principle and I wouldn’t post anything on my page that I wouldn’t feel comfortable with my mother seeing. My rule of thumb – if it would make her uncomfortable, it isn’t going up on Facebook! Fortunately, my life is also pretty “scandal-free” so this philosophy has never failed me.

(My mother actually did join Facebook last week …)

What are your two cents?

~ Sarah Van Lange, Consultant, GCI Canada

Brand Tags is a pretty cool idea, very visual. A random company logo is displayed, and you have the option to skip to another one, or submit a word or phrase that you associate with that logo.

You can then view a page of words that others have submitted — the popular ones are larger, and gives you an instant brand marketing snapshot of people’s opinion. There’s an option to submit a brand into the database if you want to take a chance with a client’s logo!

Noah Brier is the creator, and he also has a blog here.

p.s. The image above is for some words people associate with MTV.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

The geeks out there will know that it’s download day for the long-awaited Firefox 3 browser. Creator Mozilla is trying to break the world record for a software application download — seems to be working as its site was down a minute ago.

Anyway, there’s a Firefox 3 launch party in Toronto (Bloor/Spadina) tonight that should be a pretty good networking opp.

Details:

Facebook group

Registration page

Update: Here’s some coverage of the event, pretty fun. Even more here.

New world record.

(Photo taken using my friend Lee Fay’s camera: shout out!)

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

My RSS reader was jammed today after the weekend, so I quickly scanned the headlines and an article by Mark Evans caught my eye titled “Is Digital Productivity Dead?”

The crux of the article is that the average U.S. worker spends 28 per cent of their day doing non-work stuff. So, in a regular 9-5 job (remember those?), they are – allegedly – shirking for nearly a third of their day and getting paid for it.

Evans writes, “My sense is most knowledge workers are productive; it’s just a different kind of productive.” That’s a statement that I have to agree with.

So, if you wander past a colleague’s office, and see them hands clasped behind their head and staring out of the window, do you assume (a) Wow! What a slacker! And he’s getting paid for that too! or (b) Wow! What a smart dude! He’s just worked his butt off on a great piece of work and now he’s taking a 10-minute stretch break to alleviate eyestrain before the next task, therefore being even more productive in the great scheme of things!

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

A few weeks ago I had dinner with the esteemed Steve Makris – now a freelance writer and a columnist for the Edmonton Journal – who was in town for a number of press events and briefings.

Steve and I have known each other for a number of years and I regard him as a veteran journalist, whose technology expertise and flair surpass most in the business. Our conversation was a long over due catch-up – a lot has changed in the industry since the last time Steve and I met face-to-face just a few short years ago – especially in the arena of social media.

As a PR practitioner, my job has always been to work with Steve to find an interesting angle, and to help him gain access to the executives at the companies that are my clients, who can help him tell his story. My hope was always that the results of my efforts would help Steve access the information he needed to write a traditional newspaper article. And the best case scenario, was that the article would be picked up across the CanWest Network.

Well times, they are a-changin’.

The arena of social media has brought with it so many new and exciting opportunities. Steve is just one example of a veteran journalist who has re-invented himself and changed with the times. He is still a regular columnist with the Edmonton Journal and appears as a regular guest on Global Edmonton.

What’s different today is that Steve is now a blogger, he is his own cameraman, he produces video for the Edmonton Journal and he has his own channel on YouTube.

Instead of one or two opportunities, working with Steve opens the door to four or five. If traditional media is changing its face, then we as PR practitioners need to change too and help our clients develop new and exciting content that keeps pace with the digital world.

~ Elynn Wareham, Group Manager, Technology/Digital Media, GCI Canada

If you are familiar with the early public relations campaigns of the 20th century, you already know what I’m talking about. The entire concept of public relations seems to have begun with an understanding of human psychology and ways to influence it.

Meet Edward Bernays, the greatest publicist ever and the father of public relations, according to many history books. It is a lesser-known fact that Bernays was Sigmund Freud’s nephew and applied Freud’s theories about the irrational, unconscious motives that shape human behaviour to public relations. One of the earliest executions of this theory changed the American breakfast forever.

In a time when Americans on the run grabbed a light breakfast of toast and coffee, the Beech-Nut Packing Company, a bacon manufacturer, approached Bernays to help it sell more bacon. Bernays sent out letters to 5,000 physicians asking them just one question: “Which is healthier ― a light breakfast or a hearty one?” Around 4,500 physicians replied that a hearty breakfast was obviously healthier.

Armed with this research finding, Bernays ran an educational campaign with his own version of what makes a breakfast hearty: bacon and eggs. He redefined not only the product, but also the whole way America thought about breakfast. Newspapers wrote about it, people bought into it, and that’s apparently how the all-American breakfast was born.

Many rightly denounced Bernays’ use of psychology to scientifically manipulate public behaviour as sordid propaganda. To be honest, I do too. But the fact remains that understanding human psyche does help cater to the articulated and unarticulated needs of consumers.

Public relations has thankfully come a long way from being branded as propaganda to information sharing and fair persuasion. It has come a long way from manipulating to enlightening consumers and encouraging choice. And now more than ever, understating consumer psyche and the ecosystems they create around themselves, play a significant role in devising ways to reach them. The fact that traditional dependency on demographic data has given way to targeting consumer groups based on their common interests and needs (read Facebook) is testimony to my belief that the “P” in PR also stands for Psychology.

~ Akshata Kalyanpur, Consultant, Technology Practice, GCI Canada

During my one-year stint at The Times of India Group, India’s largest media conglomerate, I had the good fortune of knowing and working with Mr. Bhaskar Das, Executive President for the Group’s print business. A respected visionary, thought-leader and one of the most fun-loving and warmest people I know.

Amongst the many things I learnt from him, his deep insights into media convergence helped me understand the fast evolving “Google-ized” world we live in. In his words, “The biggest, most significant paradigm shift that defines consumer behaviour today, and the approach to reach them, is intent.” Our actions are no longer driven by the availability of information and options, but solely by our intentions to use them. Our intent drives our wants and needs, and we search for specific solutions to fulfil those needs. The fastest and easiest mediums that provide those solutions have our attention, and again, for as long as we allow them to.

In other words, broadcasting is now replaced by “broadcatching” ― vast amounts of information being radiated across various media platforms to users who catch just relevant information, as demanded by them. What this means in our world of public relations is a shift from sharing information to engaging with relevant content ― at the right place, at the right time, through the right medium. And at GCI Canada we are already well on our way, enabling clients’ businesses to reach and impact audiences, leveraging multiple media platforms. In Mr. Das’ words, “We are embracing the era of ‘and’ instead of ‘or.’”

~ Akshata Kalyanpur, Consultant, Technology Practice, GCI Canada

Yesterday was one of those rare days in my PR career where I actually felt like the work I do can make a real difference in someone’s life. GCI Canada has been a huge supporter of the Little Geeks Foundation since its inception in December 2006 when the organization first launched with the mandate of providing kids in need with refurbished computers.

Since that point in time, I was asked by founders Andy Walker and Lisa Shishis if I would sit on the Board of Directors, and I can honestly say it has been one of the more fulfilling extracurricular activities of my adult life.

Yesterday, for the first time since joining the board, I got to experience the look on several kids’ faces as they received their very first computer. The fact that these computers were used (most of them were probably four to five years old) did not matter to these kids. They were thrilled to have the opportunity to play a few games and surf the Internet just like all the other kids they know. And the smiles on their faces were really priceless.

We had a great turnout from Toronto’s top media outlets, although I will admit I was disappointed by the turnout from the Canadian technology trade media, but we’ll continue to reach out to them over the coming days. All in all, it was a fabulous day in support of a great not-for-profit organization and I’m really proud of the team here at GCI Canada for pulling off a superb media event for a very important cause.

Photo: Amber MacArthur interviews some Little Geeks for her commandN show.

For anyone out there who has an old computer in their basement, give Little Geeks a call or log on to the website at http://www.littlegeeks.org and help us change the lives a young child, one little geek at a time …

Yesterday was a great day for this GCI Canada team of Big Geeks!

~ Angela Carmichael, Vice President, Technology Practice, GCI Canada

GCI Canada snapped up a couple of cool URLs to help in the digital media drive, and also encourage those friendly little SEO bots to say “Hi” by forwarding them to the main site.

http://www.canadiandigitalmedia.com/

http://www.canadiandigitalmediaagency.com/

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

Chances are you are educated. Chances are you probably might *still* have some student debt hanging around your neck, especially if you recently graduated, or are still studying PR or communications.

The Firkin Group of Pubs has stepped up to the plate and recently started a campaign called “Say F.U. To Student Debt” as part of its Firkin University’s Un-Scholarship Program. GCI Canada is encouraging all debt-ridden students and recent grads to check out the official Facebook group here, or you can apply here.

There are five amounts of $5,000 to be given away (if you qualify) to help ease that student debt.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

We have a cool media briefing on June 13 for tech journos and bloggers: find out about the hardware and special effects behind The Incredible Hulk … and then see the film.

Contact me if interested for an invite: jcarson [at] gcigroup [dot] com.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

“What?! You mean you haven’t — gasp — got a widget yet?”

That’s the social media equivalent faux pas of asking in the ’80s if you had a cellphone the size of a brick, and that you needed a suitcase to carry its battery around in. Hernia be damned, at least you could call the other five people who owned one and shout, “Hello, hello, you’re breaking up!”  for two minutes before the juice ran out.

It seems that these days, if you haven’t got a widget, then you’re not maximizing your branding opportunity. I agree to some extent — widgets can be great, but only if they’re useful. If they can report the weather in your locale, and ping you to grab an umbrella if it starts to rain, or enables you to check your business referrals on five different social networks, then, cool … where do I get that from?

So much the better if your client has its logo at the top, or a link to its website in a prominent position. It will be “their” widget that makes your life easier. Job done.

But, I don’t think that you should create a widget just because it’s the latest fad, or the current “in” thing to do. You have to decide if your client will get value from it, what they expect to gain from it and whether the developer gets the exact brief on how it is expected to perform.

Further to that, Wal-Mart today announced its new widget, called “101 Days of Summer Staycations” to help people enjoy the summer, and suggest tips and products on a daily basis. Personally, this type of widget doesn’t appeal to me because I know what I plan to do this summer, but each to their own.

And, if you do decide to go ahead and make a widget, The Buzz Bin has some timely advice.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

A judge in Florida is using Web 2.0 to punish a couple of teens who filmed themselves throwing soda at a fast food cashier, and then posting it on YouTube.

The judge has ordered them to post another video on YouTube … an apology that shows the teens face down and handcuffed on the hood of a car. It’s assumed the public and peer humiliation will serve as a deterrent to others.

The victimized cashier was savvy enough to follow the video trail back to the teens’ MySpace accounts, befriended them anonymously, and used the phone book to find out their identities. The rest is virtual history.

Full story here.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

People in this industry are very busy, so are their clients, and their customers. We are all inundated with a wealth of information on a daily minute-by-minute basis, if you have an active RSS reader on the go. I am an information junkie and hate missing the latest buzz about social media and Web 2.0 developments.

I ran across this smart campaign today. It’s graphic, but very interactive and gets the point across nicely. Very simple, and worth a mention.

Just grab the eraser and you get the point.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada

I recently received an e-mail from a friend of mine telling me how “cool” it is that my job encourages me to get involved in social media. She tells me she’s become so involved that she may have to retire (at the ripe old age of 26) in order to blog, Facebook, Twitter and Plurk full time.

This is one of the reasons I resisted joining Facebook for so long — people become obsessed with it. I spend enough time online as it is and was a bit concerned I would end up sleeping and eating in front of my laptop.

Although I do have a personal blog I create for a select group of friends, I didn’t understand the concept behind Twitter. Was this not the same as MSN Messenger? Was it necessary to have another method of communicating to friends? With my blogging and e-mailing, I’m fairly certain they hear enough from me as it is.

Over the last two weeks I’ve joined them all! Facebook, I must admit, has been a lot of fun. Despite the shock of seeing my high school friends 10 years older, I definitely understand how connections are made and how useful a tool Facebook has become. As a newcomer to the business of PR, my contact base has been growing steadily due to my online connections.

As far as Twitter is concerned, it doesn’t seem to be a method of communication that many of my friends have caught on to. The only person I found using this tool lives in Europe, and as I mentioned above, has a clear obsession with social media. However, seeing as there are members of the media out there who prefer to be pitched by Twitter alone (as it forces you to be quick and to-the-point) I’m positive it will come in handy as part of my job. In the meantime, I’m sending Twitter invites to my friends in the hopes that they’ll jump on the bandwagon. Only time will tell …

And as for Plurk — I am still trying that one out, so watch this space!

~ Stephanie Sayer, Account Coordinator, GCI Canada

Agency life can seem as foreign and unfamiliar as Wonderland, with unique behaviours that are just as difficult for newbies to understand as the rules of Wonderland were for Alice to comprehend. From billings to the demands of client service, the world of PR is radically different from most other office settings.

GCI has made the transition down the rabbit hole far easier for me by providing a ‘guide’ — a fellow account coordinator who has been there to explain, clarify, listen and teach. This white rabbit has been my first line of defense when I make a mistake, my sounding board when I am frustrated and my friend at all times in between.

Agency life is unlike any other: it is unique and wonderful and distinct. To be successful, you need to understand the new culture you are in, your role in this culture and what the rules of the game are. I am sure that figuring this out on my own would have been, well, gruesome, and trying to learn with a Cheshire Cat-type guide would have been even less helpful.

My white rabbit has made my way clearer and easier, enabling me to keep momentum and absorb the myriad of lessons that are taught each day.  Without her, it would most definitely been off with my head!

~ Larissa Marks, Account Coordinator, GCI Canada

We set aside some time to do work for a good cause called Little Geeks. It was set up by Canadian tech journalist Andy Walker: http://www.andywalker.com/.

Little Geeks is a philanthropic organization and registered Canadian charity that collects, refurbishes and re-distributes donated home computers to children in need. These computers are given free of charge, and are coupled with an Internet connection at the child’s home.

On June 12 from 3 p.m.-7 p.m., The Little Geeks Foundation will hold an event and give refurbished computers, complete with Windows 2000 and Microsoft Office, to 100 families of underprivileged children, free of charge. This event, the first of many to come, is one way the Foundation is reaching toward its 2008 goal of 1,000 PCs delivered to the homes of the families that need them.

The event will be held at:
St Andrew’s United Church, 117 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 1A9

People with a child in need of a computer, can visit http://www.littlegeeks.org/ to register. Once qualified, recipients will be contacted by a member of the Little Geeks staff to attend this event and pick up their free computer.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada