Please read this important notice about Refresh Events.
Future Events
Gatherings
Join us for our monthly gatherings. Learn, connect, interact, and be inspired by some of Toronto’s most knowledgeable experts!
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Scott Stratten, “Social Media Trends in 2010 and Beyond”
February 3rd 2010, 6:30pm
Function 13, 156 Augusta Avenue, Toronto (map)
Admission: FREE
2009 was the year of “What is Twitter?” and “Yes, I have a Facebook fanpage” but going forward, what are we getting into? This session will cover a variety of topics, including overused acronyms like:
- ROI: How companies are planning to actually justify social media, instead of just “being there”.
- FTC: Do the new guidelines come in to play for Twitter/Facebook/Blogs, especially for Canadian companies.
- TMI: Location based social media, like FourSquare. Is it more than just approved stalking?
Join us at 6:30 on February 3rd 2010 at Function 13 (156 Augusta Avenue) to hear Scott Stratten wax poetic on what 2010 has in store for social media.
This event is now sold out. Thank you to everyone who registered!
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Axle Davids, “Pragmatic Branding: How to Create Brands That Are Simple, Social and Scalable”
February 16th 2010, 6:30pm
The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto (map)
Admission: $10
Traditional branding is too slow, complicated, and un-collaborative for today’s pace of innovation and communication. To survive and thrive, brands must now be more than relevant, compelling and competitive. They must be easy to grasp, share, and grow. Drawing on extensive branding experience with industry innovators like AT&T Mobility, Applied Biosystems, and AutoShare, as well as his experience as a technology entrepreneur in the MaRS Incubator, Axle Davids will reveal the new brand strategies and new tactics to help your brand simplify, scale and succeed.
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Adam Thody, “Grails: Why Building Java Web Applications Doesn’t Have to Hurt”
March 15th 2010, 6:30pm
The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto (map)
Admission: $10
Programming Java applications is often viewed as less than pleasurable. This perception is exacerbated when enterprise Java frameworks are stacked up next to all the wonderful new web frameworks and methodologies available to developers today. Grails, a Java-based, agile web development MVC framework, may change all that.
In this talk, learn from a one-time skeptic how your team can use Grails to speed up project delivery, streamline maintenance and support, increase functionality and performance, allowing you to spend more time focused on business objectives in your next web project.
Workshops
Sign up for our workshops and learn from the experts in your industry. Get first-hand knowledge from industry professionals and walk away with new skills, insight and understanding.
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WordPress: Zero to Hero
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
8:30am-5:00pm
Rich Media Institute, 156 August Ave, Toronto, ON (map)
Admission: $125
Peter Flaschner (Keynote Speaker)
A veteran of online marketing, Peter has worked in online strategy and design since 1997, for clients like Turner Broadcasting, Unicef, The Yellow Pages, MaRS, Hot Docs, Fox News, and many more. Peter brings a high degree of empathy, a killer eye for design, a sixth sense for business, the ability to teach, a desire to help, lateral thinking skills, and a love of technology to each and every project he takes on.
Peter is a bonafide expert in the field of social marketing and social design for the web. In 2004, he founded The Blog Studio, the world’s first design studio focussed specifically on the then emerging social web. He regularly speaks and writes about social media, and has been featured in numerous books and articles and interviews. His web and identity design work have won a number of awards, is seen by over a million people per week, and generates millions in revenue for his clients.
Nick La (Workshop Leader)
Join Nick La, creator of the popular blog Web Designer Wall, owner of N.Design Studio, IconDock, and Best Web Gallery for a one-day immersion into WordPress, the world’s most popular publishing platform.
If you want to learn how to create your own WordPress themes, understand how to use template tags and conditional tags to format and display the data you want, or how to use WordPress as a content management system, Nick will take you from WordPress Zero to Hero in 7 hours flat.
Past Events
Here’s a few of the events we have held in the past. View all…
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Tamera Kremer, “The Social Tools Won’t Save You”
January 18th 2010, 6:30pm
The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto (map)
Admission: $10
Social media is on everyone’s radar as we head into 2010, and while there are solid case studies proving the power of using the social web to drive business and relationships, social networking tools are not the answer to all marketing woes. Too many people believe that if you just open a Twitter account or run a UGC contest you are all set with customers, only to get burned in the space down the road. Social media is powerful when based on a solid foundation for engagement and a strategy that looks for long-term engagement vs quick hits. In this talk learn why integrating social media within the organization and engaging directly with customers and employees is the way to drive meaningful success, and what the tools can and cannot do for your company.
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Panel Discussion: Using Twitter as a Customer Engagement Platform
December 7th 2009, 6:30pm
The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto (map)
Admission: $10
Twitter is quickly becoming the de facto tool of choice for brands and companies to promote their products to a global audience. In keeping with the “engage, not broadcast” rule of thumb in social media, some organizations are also using Twitter to help customers solve tricky technical issues, resolve customer service complaints, or just find out why their flight has been delayed. If executed successfully, Twitter is a valuable tool that, when used in tandem with a larger social media strategy, can help companies engage with their customer, build new relationships and create an army of brand advocates.
However, in a recent study by Weber Shandwick, only 9% of Fortune 100 companies examined used their Twitter account for customer service. The panelists (Jenn Godbout from The Drake Hotel, Brad Ross from the TTC, Shabnam Weber from The Tea Emporium, and Mary Pretotto from Rogers), moderated by Martin Rubio, will talk about their experiences with Twitter as a customer service platform, what they’ve found works, what doesn’t and shed some light on why Twitter is becoming a popular platform for customer engagement.
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Lynette Latinsky, “Can Lunch Be On Me Today?”
November 16th 2009, 6:30pm
Samovar, 51A Winchester Street, Toronto (map)
Admission: Free
Building a business means networking and schmoozing, but without proper strategies it is not always financially viable.
It is important to work out what you are spending your money on. At the end of the month, do you know where your money went? As well, it is just as important to understand where your money is going and how to make it work for you in the most logical and effective way, so that you spend “smart – not more”. When this is added to the mix, people become more successful and less stressed, and can build their careers properly. I will present some strategies that work, and get you on the path to create your plan.
