Posts from the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Update: I now have a blog for my cycling trip: CyclingAcrossCanada.org.
This Saturday, May 5th, I’m taking a 1-way flight to Vancouver, returning home by bicycle. It’s going to take me 6 weeks to get to Toronto where my employer, Allstream, is located.
This is a life long dream for me, one I was beginning to give up hope on. My love, Vicki, convinced me that there’s no better time then the present. She has supported me all the way: giving me the time to train, helping me to plan the trip, and giving that extra push whenever I start having second thoughts (6 weeks is along time to be alone and away from home). Now here I am, just 5 days away, packed and ready to go. I still can’t believe it. It is a dream come true.
I’m very excited about re-starting TeamCamp when I get back. When I’m on my bike my mind flourishes with new ideas and new approaches. I’m looking forward to doing some fun and interested things things with our small but energetic TeamCamp group when I get back.
For, your information, the next general TeamCamp meeting will be on June 21st. RSVP on Meetup here. I don’t have a theme for our next meeting yet but I have a feeling we’ll have a lot to talk about.
Thank you all, for supporting TeamCamp over the years. I look forward to seeing you on my return.
A great way to pitch an idea is to tell a story. Explain how you came up with your idea by explaining the situation, the problem that arose, and the difficulty you experienced in solving it. If your situation resonates with your audience then you’ll have an easier time explaining your idea and how it would have solved the problem.
For example, the idea for Twegather came from the experience of planning a “geek” BBQ. We used Twitter to communicate the BBQ and soon we found that people were replying to and retweeting the invitation. The word spread quickly. The problem was we had no way to easily track how many were coming, how many were thinking about it and how many couldn’t make it. Our idea was to build an application that would keep track of this for us.
Now I’m not saying that telling a great yarn means you’ve got a great idea. Others may not feel the same urgency as you did to solve the problem. But at least it won’t be because they didn’t “get it”.
All great ideas originate this way. They solve a concrete problem in a simple way. Now it’s up to you to explain your idea in a way that people will understand.
Care to try your hand at telling your idea as a story? Come out to TeamCamp this Thursday, November 3rd. RSVP here.
- Chris
PS – For more great ideas on pitching ideas read the book “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath. The Heath brothers reveal the anatomy of ideas that “stick” and explain sure-fire methods for making ideas stickier. You can download the first chapter here. Interestingly, the process of making an idea sticky, i.e. keeping it simple; making it unexpected, concrete, credible and emotional; and then telling it as a story; is a great way to test if you’re on to something.
Join us on Feb 17th for a lively discussion with Robert Saric around “Gamefluence”, or how to add gaming elements to a website to improve the user’s experience.
A large part of Robert’s research on game mechanics has been around the psychology of achievements, appealing to one’s competitive ego and understanding two distinct personalities: incrementalists and completionists. Robert is in the process of building a gaming engine for the WhyHire.me community, that will ultimately serve as a framework for motivation without encouraging nonconstructive community behaviours (i.e. just getting the most points). His goal is to educate their users with relevant advice based on each user’s chosen career path, congratulate completion of learning modules and tasks, and ultimately, make “fun” a consequence of a successful learning experience where the outcome can fundamentally benefit each user’s career. Based on his research, and the fact that everyone is talking about gaming mechanics, Robert thought it would be worth while to share some of his thoughts on this topic.
Agenda:
1 Gaming is huge, let me quantify it for you.
2. Don’t use the word Gamification (it’s as bad as Web 2.0).
3. Gaming is all about experience. That’s it.
4. The psychology of game theory
5. The evolution of gaming continues .. in 5 years .. in 10 years
For more information, see Robert’s article on the topic.
Robert is the co-founder of WhyHire.me, a startup that’s focused on connecting employers with talented students and recent-grads. WhyHire.me has helped almost 3,000 of its users establish powerful, relevant online resumes that are directly applicable to their chosen career path. As a speaker, Robert has had the opportunity to present to students across Canada talking about: career success, digital leadership, influence and interaction, and even game theory in social commerce. He enjoys participating in open-forum/panel discussions, and some of the more recent topics included: monetizing mobile apps, identity management, lessons for student entrepreneurs and social network awareness.
Where: The Code Factory, 2nd floor (Ring the buzzer to come to take the elevator to the 2nd floor)
When: Feb 17th, 2011 at 6pm
RSVP: Here
- Chris
The next TeamCamp meeting will be Feb 17th with @Robert_Saric. Robert will speak about Gamification of web applications/sites. More details to follow.
Note: there will be no regular TeamCamp meeting on Feb 3rd.
The last project night at TeamCamp was so successful that we’re going to do it again. We’ll keep working on projects underway. If you have a new idea for a project drop me a note and we’ll set aside some time to discuss it. If you’re new to TeamCamp, please make sure you review and acknowledge the TeamCamp Participation Agreement.
RSVP: here
Where: The Code Factory, ring the buzzer to take the elevator to the 2nd floor
When: Jan 20th, 2010 from 6:00 to 8:00PM
It’s a TeamCamp Christmas! Last year we enjoyed some eggnog and festive treats while revealing our predictions for 2010. It was such a blast that we’ve decided to do it again! So get out your crystal ball and come on down to The Code Factory at 6pm at 246 Queen St. West, Ottawa, and let’s hear your predictions for 2011. Bring your favourite holiday treat.
RSVP here
When: Dec 16th, 2010 at 6pm
Where: The Code Factory, 246 Queen St. West, 2nd Floor (ring the buzzer to take the elevator)
Great post in Seth Godin’s blog this morning on where ideas come from. Seth has an uncanny way of summing things up concisely. You’ll notice that a lot of the items listed have to do with overcoming fear, or what Seth refers to as the “lizard brain”. That’s the little voice inside your head that says things like: “it’s been done before”, or “nobody would be interested in that” or “no one would ever pay for that”. Beat that little voice down because nothing ever gets done by not starting.
Got an idea to share? Want to overcome that little voice in your head? Come to TeamCamp next Thursday and share your idea. Who know’s, maybe you’ll spark the “next big thing”.
Where: The Code Factory, 246 Queen St. West
When: Thursday Dec 2nd at 6pm
RSVP: http://twegather.com/events/1655
If you’re new to TeamCamp please acknowledge the Participation Agreement
We are extremely pleased to announce that Tony Bailetti will speaking at TeamCamp on October 7th.
Tony Bailetti is the Director of Ontario’s Talent First Network and the Director of the Technology Innovation Management program at Carleton University. He founded Lead to Win in 2002 and was part of the faculty that delivered the original program. Professor Bailetti holds a tenured faculty appointment in both the Eric Sprott School of Business and the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering at Carleton University. His teaching and research interestsare in commercialization of new technology. He was the Director of Carleton University’sSchool of Business from 1981 to 1988 and worked at Bell-Northern Research (part of Nortel) from 1988 to 1992. Professor Bailetti has published in engineering management journals such as IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Research Policy, and R&D Management. He won a Fulbright scholarship to study in the United States. In 1996 he won a Carleton University Teaching Award and in 2007 a Carleton University Leadership Breakthrough Award.
Please let us know if you plan to come. RSVP via Twegather.
When: Thursday Oct 7th, 2010 at 6pm
Where: The Code Factory, 246 Queen St., Ottawa (Ring the buzzer to take the elevator to the 2nd floor)
Do you have a great idea for a web application? Do your ideas keep you awake at night? Are you looking for someone to build it with? Then come on down to TeamCamp next Thursday for an idea “PitchFest”. Pitch your idea to a friendly group of people just like you. Together, we’ll explore and collaborate with you on your idea. You’ll meet new friends and who knows, maybe you’ll meet a co-founder? We generally spend about 20 mins per pitch. The format is not important, just be convincing.
To participate in a PitchFest you will need to review and acknowledge the TeamCamp Participate Agreement.
RSVP via Twegather
Where: The Code Factory, 246 Queen St., Ottawa, 2nd floor (Ring buzzer to come to 2nd floor)
When: Thursday, Sept. 16th, 6-8pm
Every startup needs marketing, but many go about it before educating themselves on what it can really do for them.
I’m pleased to announce that Glenn Schmelzle (@heyglenns) will be speaking at TeamCamp on September 2nd. Glen’s presentation will at least make you an educated consumer of marketing services and hopefully show the basics so you can do a little of your own marketing.
Glen is the principal of Marketing What’s New, a services firm geared exclusively for technology firms. Glen has 15 years experieince in B2B marketing and was a former director of multiple software firms.
When: Sept 2, 2010 at 6pm
Where: The Code Factory, 246 Queen St., Ottawa (Ring the buzzer to take the elevator to the 2nd floor)
RSVP: on Twegather on via Twitter: Yes, No or Maybe
The presentation will cover:
- What technology marketing is and isn’t.
- What marketing elements are needed at each stage of your startup.
- How it fits into product strategy.
- Marketing communications, a.k.a. Marcom
- Creating demand – generating leads…and sales
- Measuring marketing effectiveness.
