The Guggenheim is hosting a worldwide bienniale in partnership with YouTube, and promises to be the biggest thing the art world has seen since Jeff Koons. To date, the renowned Modern and Contemporary Art Museum has received over 4000 videos from international artists, videographers and graphic designers in an open call for submissions. The Guggenheim has an insatiable appetite for fresh work, and they won’t be satisfied until they hear from YOU. So budding Picassos, Film Noir-ists and bravuras alike—it’s time to flex your creative muscles. The Guggenheim is accepting video submissions for the next ten days, and will short-list twenty entries to be exhibited at their museums in New York, Berlin, Bilbao and Venice in October 2010.

If you artistically inclined, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Few artists experience this level of elevation and only under the most exceptional of circumstances. This project also speaks to a growing trend in social media, which we discussed in our post referencing Ridley Scott’s ‘Life In A Day’ project: Crowdsourcing.  Crowdsourcing is at the forefront of countless public projects across many genres: the arts, politics—like David Cameron’s plan to crowd source the UK on fiscal policy, and your very own Facebook profile. The practice of crowd sourcing guarantees diversity of opinion, innumerable choice and ultimately, peak results. This presents groundbreaking opportunities for artists to forge deep, permeating connections in the international art world.  The divide between ‘art for art sake’ and preconceived notions of what is museum-worthy has effectively been broken down.  This is reminiscent of the Tate Modern’s graffiti exhibit a few years back.  For me, this is what social media is all about: increased connections and the spread of ideas. Prior to social media and online crowd sourcing how else could a local artist receive this kind of exposure?

The Guggenheim and YouTube jury will select 200 videos to stream on the youtube.com/play channel with the twenty most outstanding submissions exhibited in Guggenheims worldwide.  Take note, The NY Guggenheim blog ‘The Take’ instructs that the jury will seek out creative, innovative and experimental submissions. For further information visit http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york and to make a submission via http://www.youtube.com/play

Take a risk! Submit and let us know when you do.

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Twitter has found a new, and potentially lucrative feature to expand their relevance.  This new official twitter account is a “dedicated deal” venue whereby @EarlyBird followers can take advantage of time and location specific discounts, local events. 

@EarlyBird’s first deal offered a two for one tickets to new film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. A deal that certainly appeals to a mass audience of families, moviegoers and Disney aficionados.  Twitter may have another hit on their hands, and the numbers seem to back this up. @Earlybird’s already has 72,941 followers as of this morning. 

Twitter isn’t the only service taking advantage of time sensitive online deals. Couture fashion site Ruelala.com offers high end and designer apparel at heavily reduced price points.  They also offer 5-star vacation packages, house wares and accessories, with each sale lasting 24 hours.  We think this is brilliant because it provides a win-win situation. The consumer is privy to outstanding sales unavailable in the retail market, while the site benefits from the time-sensitive nature of the sale. The “buy now or never” concept is quite effective for a quick sale on luxury items. Ruelala.com also offers a well-designed, streamlined app so to offer consumers a chance to connect and buy on their smartphones.

A few sites have taken the “dedicated deal” trend one step further. Sites like LivingSocial.com and Groupon.com have merged the 24 hour deal with geo-location capabilities. The user is invited to sign-up with emphasis placed on the city they live in. Living Social and Groupon offer daily deals in your home city for meals, sporting excursions, spas and other activities that get you out on the town.

I recently took advantage of an incredible deal offered on Living Social Toronto. I paid $25 for a $50 dollar voucher to the delectable Coco Lezzone in Toronto’s Little Italy. So in this regard, my money—and my enjoyment—were instantly doubled.

The user is certainly not limited to their home city. With offers all across the United States and many cities in Canada, it’s a great option for travelers as well. Many people really appreciate it when their travel dollars stretch further than their budgets. Everyone loves a deal which reinforces the fact these companies will grow exponentially by word of mouth alone.

There are incentives for consumers to spread the word… at the end of Living Social voucher each user is provided with a unique link to share with friends. If three people purchase a voucher through your unique link then BAM! your deal is free. How’s that for value?

Here at The Blog Studio, we really feel that social media through geo-location is about to explode. We’d love to hear your experiences with the above sights and thoughts on this trend.  So comment away!

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I read the news today, oh boy/ About a lucky man who made the grade…

Ridley Scott and YouTube have been inspired by social media connectivity and The Beatles classic ‘A Day in the Life.” Through a global collaborative effort, Scott and YouTube plan to create a documentary of what life was like on July 24th 2010—much like John Lennon’s musing on the temporal in ‘A Day in the Life .’

This is definitely a new direction for filmmaking and for digital media.  Usually, a film begins and ends with industry topdogs.  Hollywood creative teams (execs, producers, writers and directors) will take a story and generate a film for a mass audience.  Filmmaking has been turned on its head by opening up the creative process to the everyman. Social media, crowd sourcing and collaborative creation are where it’s at in the post-future world we live in.

Come July 24th we can all collaborate with Ridley Scott, earn a ‘co-director’ credit and carve out a niche in filmmaking when the movie premiers at Sundance 2011. It’s an amazing opportunity indeed… but what’s even more exciting, is this new genre of filmmaking will have broader implications that effect the notion of “art”, and the media industry in general. Ridley Scott is recognizing the potential for greatness in the amateur.

What is ‘Life In A Day’ director Kevin McDonals looking for?  McDonals released a statement which read, “Life in a Day is a time capsule that will allow future generations to discover how we lived on the 24th of July 2010.” What content will peak his interest? And why is July 24th 2010 the big day?  Is it an arbitrary date selected to accommodate Ridley Scott’s production schedules, or is there some deeper meaning?

Will the ‘Life in a Day’ team include average, everyday citizens shaving, hitting Starbucks and heading to the office?  What about authenticity?  Will submissions be an honest account of July 24th or will people submit sensationalized material?

Are you submitting your life to YouTube and Ridley Scott?  What will you contribute to this “time capsule?” Leave us a comment and let us know!

To learn more about the ‘Life in a Day Project’ you can search the hashtags #RidleyScott and #lifeinaday visit http://www.youtube.com/lifeinaday and watch Ridley Scott’s directions in the video below:

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Keynote speaker and New York Times writer Virginia Heffernan, Minster of Tourism and Culture’s hon. Michael Chan, former editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail Edward Greenspon and Dr. David Ellis—chair of Communications at York University—all gave their time and expertise to this cause. Among the esteemed panelists were representatives from “Digital Britain” offering their findings after having formulated Britain’s policy on new media.

Ms. Heffernan’s outstanding keynote addressed common fears regarding the forward progression of digital media. She communicated that many are nostalgic for the pre-digital age. There is a body that feels literacy is at risk in the face of video games and that many are wary of the scope and possibilities of the web.  Heffernan did a fantastic job of unpacking and disarming these anxieties: She feels that this moment in media is analogous to the Industrial Revolution and that there now exists alternatives to computer and off line culture embodied in the iPad and the Android.  In response to the skeptics Heffernan challenged her audience to:

Try an e-reader (preferably the kindle)
Jump right into the web by commenting and engaging with sites
Record your experience

Heffernan feels that this endeavour will result in the same conclusion that she has drawn: “Literacy is not at risk because of the Internet, rather literacy is augmented as a result.”

Next, The hon. Michael Chan discussed an official report detailing the vision and direction of Canada as a top tier media economy. Cultural media is Toronto’s big business and generates billions of dollars for the Canadian economy.  We must create new business models, policy frameworks, and a change management plan for Canadian society amidst our digital transformation. He shared that there are six key pillars for this project:

The development of private investment and financing in new media.
Creating an environment to support, stimulate and grow creative minds in the cultural media sector.
Coordinate the force of all Ontario media companies.
Support start-ups that inject new ideas and matters.
Create an accessible environment for all Ontarians to learn Digital Media.
Most importantly, Ontario must extend its global presence by having an official policy on ‘The National Digital Economy Strategy for Canada.’

Each panel highlighted their major recommendations and concerns for government policy and called upon conference peers and especially, the general public to contribute as well. The main concern recurrently voiced was Accessibility- this means the language and practices of digital media must not be esoteric or class based.  We must ensure there are opportunities afforded to small business, inner city schools and the working class so that our entire country moves forward together and is educated in this regard. Digital Britain found “unconferences” were the way to include those who felt disenfranchised.” Additional issues included extension of broadband as well as funding and expansion of tax incentives.

The conference was incredible as a result of the exchange of ideas and recommendations for digital policy. A note to our friends and industry professionals: The Government of Ontario wants to hear from YOU and will be accepting policy recommendations until July 9th.  Send your suggestions post haste to http://www.digitaleconomy.gc.ca and you can follow @OMDCtweets.

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Whether you are new to Twitter or a die hard addict, chances are you have a set of favorite Twitter tools you enjoy using. This article discusses innovative and helpful tools that you, our clients, can implement and utilize in your everyday “tweetings.” Twitter is a highly effective marketing tool that can increase your company’s visibility and help reach your target demographic. Here are a few tools that will help you make the most of your Tweeting time. 

Seesmic is an impressive and easy-to-use app. Created for the desktop, iPhone and Blackberry, seesmic helps to simplify using multiple twitter and Facebook accounts.. It features an “email-like interface,” unlimited columns, multiple languages, geo-location support and can save your twitter searches. We love it at TBS because it has a clean design and you can see 4 columns on one page, which is about the most you can handle while staying sane and productive. Follow this app @seesmic

Twitter for iPhone: Twitter’s official app also launched a few weeks ago (literally years after twitter appeared on the web itself.) A personal favourite of our Managing Director Lucia, twitter acquired the highly acclaimed “tweetie” and made it all their own.  It’s an excellent application, we like that twitter waited to see how their users navigated the site and what others apps offered users.  Twitter developed a really intuitive app that could really threaten the longevity of other alternatives.  Try it out for yourself and be sure to let us know what you think. Connect via @twitter

TweetDeck: TweetDeck is a fantastic application especially in its design; it’s an Adobe air desktop application that synchs with Facebook, Linkedin, Foursquare, MySpace and Twitter. It is compatible with several operating systems and features multiple columns meant for organizing tweets, direct messages and twitter exchanges. One especially salient feature is that you can organize your tweeps into different groups allowing for a focused eye on certain “twitterers.” Discover this app @TweetDeck

HootSuite: Are you concerned about the time involved in managing a consistent and successful twitter account? Are you often busy with clients and other aspects of running your business?  If you are short on time and can’t be a dedicated “twitter-er,” HootSuite is the perfect solution for busy professionals. We recommend devoting a minimum of an hour each day researching and preparing your tweets.  You can then feed and organize them into HootSuite’s “preschedule” feature and have them published throughout the day.  It’s also a great tool for measuring analytics and managing multiple accounts. Link to this tool @hootsuite

Brizzly: The major feature on this service is the “picnic” whereby you can create a private space to share pictures, links, sites and comments.  You can create a “picnic” from both Facebook and Twitter and invite a select group of people to see and contribute to the “picnic” content. You can create, manage or join up to ten “picnics” at a time.  Services like brizzly bring the art of conferencing to a whole new level. Connect via @brizzly

So now you know what we use at The Blog Studio to stay organized and connected to the twittersphere. We would love to hear your comments as well as your tool and application preferences so please share them with us!

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As we mentioned last week, our President Lucia Mancuso and Lead Strategist Mike Dolan were panelists on two widely anticipated and warmly received panels on the politics and authenticity of Social Media. Our The Blog Studio team was out in full attendance to soak in the sights and the sounds…we brought back key points from our friends that we would like to share with you. We were challenged, inspired and totally had our creative energies renewed:

Challenge: Mike Dolan’s panel kicked things off and certainly set the tone for the week. He and fellow panelists had one clear message: Be Informed and Be Real. Too much of the social mediasphere is being inundated with people who have zero qualifications yet massive influence. It’s also problematic that people share and express things online that they would never utter out loud, it’s important to practice the same social graces and manners that one would in the outside world: take your rules of “real world social engagement” and apply them to your social media accounts. That is how you ensure genuine connections online.

It’s also important to screen what you post; for instance there is really no need to check into your own apartment from 4square because it becomes an “overshare” and reduction of quality. Panelist Andrew Lane gave excellent advice, “Give things to people and hope they will share and enjoy them. Create things that are valuable.” It was an excellent panel and it was worthwhile to hear a candid discussion on social media. They really up’ed the ante…these men are ready to exclusively share their online realties with responsible and inspired users.

2) Create: Next up was the scintillating Scott Stratten who started out with “Everything I know I learned at Lee’s Palace.” He’s also a straight shooter and told us that he lives by three basic principles “Know, Like and Trust.” If you hold this as your goal in social media, business and beyond you will have something of value to offer.

Next up was “The Architects of Community” featuring Erica Ehm of the Yummy Mummy Club who spoke on the subject of “human curation.” She built an incredibly successful network for mother’s to share, seek counsel and advise on parenthood. Ehm built something she cared about and found a strong need for in her own life. What’s the lesson here friends? Again, it’s authenticity—it was a unifying thread for all of the panels—build something that you care about, speak honestly, evoke emotion and that will breed success.

3) Inspire: The afternoon featured “Thank You For Being A Friend” where Lucia and fellow industry colleagues discussed gender, politics and their own personal journey. Panelists agreed that setting clear goals, seeking out mentors, and asking questions were elements of success. Bottom line, information is free, it is up to you to go after it regardless of your gender, orientation or goals. These women were powerful and it really spoke to emerging tech gals… it gave us confidence.

To close the interactive section of the conference we were treated to Ze Frank…it’s hard to say in a few sentences the impact this man creates. He made us laugh, he made us cry and ultimately, defied what is thought possible for human and web connectivity. We love him☺

Did any of you head out to NXNEi? We would love to hear your experiences so write to us and comment. Let’s keep the conversation going!

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1) First on our “dadget” list is the Samsung LED 7000 3D TV: the very cutting edge of television technology.  We got a sneak peak of it a few months back when Samsung held a preview reception, and we were totally blown away.  Regular flat screens are a thing of the past… the Samsung 3-D TV brings a genuine theatre experience into your dad’s life.  What else would be fit for Avatar’s upcoming DVD release?

http://www.samsung.com/ca/

2) Speaking of surreal experiences, how about Apple’s latest tech toy: the iPad?  They might be hard to score, but this device has the cache to truly impress even the most tech savvy pops.  It became available in Canada recently and is buzzing all over the net as the new hot ticket item.

http://www.apple.com



3) If your dad has already beaten you to the iPad punch, that’s ok. We’d like to introduce you to the brand new line of iPad accessories, like iLuv and Gucci’s line.  We’ve read about everything from slick cases, to desk mounts and… they come in a variety of great colours for you to match to your dad’s favourite gadgets.

http://www.mrgadget.com

4) For the dad who’s a world traveler and always on the move, the perfect gift is Indigo’s kobo electronic book reader.  The kobo is simple, sleek, and best of all you will be supporting a Canadian brand.  If you would like try it out for yourself, Indigo is offering tutorials and demos at their Bay/Bloor location.

http://www.indigo.com

5) Canon Rebel: Is the dad in your life always juggling the digital camera, his video camera, memory cards, etc.?  Save him the hassle and surprise him with the new Canon Rebel complete with 15 megapixel camera and HD video capabilities.

http://www.canon.ca



6) If your dad is a true “Mad Men” fan, look to a chic vintage inspired accessory like the ‘Yubz’ Retro handset sold on roots.com.  Yubz looks great and will make you feel even better: it’s been clinically proven to reduce 95% of radiation emitting from mobile phones. Not only will you show your dear old dad that you care about his health, but it upgrades sound quality and is definitely conversation piece.

http://canada.roots.com

7) If your dad is in the Tech and Social Media business (like us) and is already hip to these trendy tools you might be able to surprise him with the first ever Videophone Touch AiGuru from Asus: The world’s first Skype-enabled touch screen videophone that allows users to make free video and voice calls over Skype.  This Videophone boasts an internal microphone, conference calling capabilities and Skype voicemail.

http://www.saks.com

Still stumped? Be sure to check out these dedicated “gadget guide” websites and you will be sure to find him something he will really love:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/

http://www.dlink.com/boxeebox

http://www.theflip.com/en-us/

Happy Father’s Day to all of our friends!

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All hands on deck! The North By North East festival is descending on Toronto Monday for a full-on Music, Film, and Culture takeover.  What’s more exciting for us geeks this year is an ‘i’—meaning NXNE has gone interactive, just like i its’ big sister festival SXSW (where the interactive portion has actually become larger and more popular than music and film!).

Alongside the massive gathering of bands and fans, there will be 30+ panels featuring industry leaders and design professionals discussing digital technology, creativity and social media trends.

This is especially thrilling for us here The Blog Studio, and we’re beyond excited and honoured to be taking a really active role at NXNE. Our President Lucia Mancuso (@lulula), and our Lead Strategy and Outreach nerd, Mike Dolan (@EvilPRGuy) will be speaking on two panels at the sold out conference.

On Monday June 14th at 2:00 pm, Lucia will share the stage with Amrita Chandra, Guinevere Orvis, April Dunford and moderator Meghan Warby on “Thank You For Being A Friend: tips, traits and tactics of successful women in tech and social media.” These women are Toronto’s leaders in Social Media, Marketing, and Digital Communications. They will unveil and discuss gender, workplace and media strategy. You can also expect to walk away from this panel with usable strategies and ideas you can implement into your own workday right away.

On June 14 at 9:30am, Mike will share the stage for the hotly anticipated “Circle Jerking 101” panel, along with Andrew Lane, Kevin Airgid, Mark Evans, and panel moderator Jamie Woo. Mike Dolan is a man who tells it like it is (for better or for worse, his talk at Toronto Social Media Week stirred up more than a little controversy)—and this panel won’t be any different. These contributors will discuss the pitfalls of social media, and exactly what a client can expect from a great social media campaign. You can arm yourself with the insider straight dope you need to make the right decisions for incorporating social media into your business strategies, and avoid getting ripped off by the sham artists that multiply by the day in this industry. This panel is guaranteed to be entertaining, so this is one you definitely don’t want to miss.

These Digital Discussions will be cutting edge, raw and uncut. We are excited to sink our teeth into the NXNEi’s Social Media fabric, but are concerned that NXNEi could fall into the pit that many people feel has crippled SXSW in recent years.  SXSW started small and expanded exponentially very quickly.  With its rampant growth, depth of information and diversity of the SXSW conference, the festival became so popular it it lost some of the intimacy that ensured you would make personal and business connections that are really the most valuable takeaway from a conference..

Too much of SXSW is now spent waiting in lines, coordinating hangouts and trying to hit the fifteen parties hosted each night. A ‘Swarm‘ badge on Foursquare? That’s the line at the Empanada Truck at 4am. How about a SuperSwarm of 250+ people in one spot! That badge popped up at nearly every gathering at the festival.

We love NXNE’s intimate vibe, and are curious to see if it can retain the ‘warm feeling’ this year. As How Magazine editor Bryn Mooth says, “All this Social Media stuff makes us think we are really connected—facebook and twitter are fine ways to do that—But for my money, making connections in person is what really matters.” While Social Media enables you to reach out to a huge cross section of people , there r is nothing like an old school face to face chat.  So come out and chat with Lucia, Mike and all of their colleagues next week during the industry panels (or the parties, which are just as important)!

We invite all of you to attend our panels as well as email us questions to address during our talks, so please send them in. We will also keep you posted via twitter and our blog on the people, parties and panels.

Plus we’ll be annoucning a huge surprise for every attending NXNEi. So keep your eyes on the blog here and at http://www.nxne.com for this special announcement . You’re going to love it (pinky swear)! Stay tuned!

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“I felt a great disturbance in the Force… as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror…”
-Obi Wan Kenobi, “A New Hope”

There has been near hysteria building in the tech community, as well as in the wider world concerning Facebook’s privacy policies, and possible user betrayal. The safety of our facebook “avatars” are being threatened!  Have we sold our secrets and ourselves to an amoral corporation?

Facebook transformed the web, and along with it revolutionized human connectivity, communication and supernova’ed the circulation of ideas, but as the old Star Wars adage tells us “you have paid the highest price for your lack of vision.” Facebook has attracted an unprecedented number of users who automatically agreed to place their identities in Mark Zuckerberg’s outstretched hands.  It started with university students who related to Mark’s youth and admired his forward thinking.  They jumped on a social spaceship, piloted by Zuckerberg, to boldly go where no one had gone before. They also seem to like pretending to be virtual farmers, cultivating a virtual environment.

People are starting to realize that Zuck might be Vader and not Anakin.  As is usually the case with technology, what appears to be empowering, and often is, can also lead to tyranny.  If our technological revolutionaries and friends from Star Wars have taught us anything it is that the line between good and evil can be perilous.

Many of us have already smartened up and altered the way in which we are using facebook. Maybe we’re not using private messages to send our most intimate thoughts or secrets, for fear that they’ll end up public like so many recently have. Some of us are resisting the urge to post amusing, but slightly off-color signatures on friend’s walls, or screening and scrutinizing the photos we post and tag. After all, what will we think of them when we are 50?  Even more concerning, is wondering what our spouses, bosses, decision makers and the general public think of the electronic follies of our youth?  How will anyone be fit to run for public office?

We also have to think about what this means for us historically, in a larger sense, and not just in the facebook bubble. The Library of Congress will be archiving all “tweets” from 2006 onwards, giving us another reason to pause for a second before we hit that send button willy-nilly. We really need to look before we leap (or tweet).  With social media comes social consciousness and social responsibility. The bottom line is that you have to use your head before releasing anything to the web. The power of words can have resounding and far-reaching effects. Then again, maybe your words aren’t yours anymore. They now belong to the government, or Mark Zuckerberg, or the magical elves that run Twitter.

Copycat sites that champion user privacy are beginning to pop up everywhere (ie. Project Diaspora), but are people really abandoning Facebook? If they aren’t leaving now, what will be the new site or feature that creates the tipping point and sends them overboard?? There have been rumours circulating that MySpace is busy creating new privacy settings, to woo back disaffected users that are frustrated with Facebook’s new privacy changes. Is MySpace about to be the new hot thing for the second time?

Considering all of the propaganda, speculation, and reports of facebook’s indifference to personal privacy, people are definitely alarmed.  Maybe it’s time the usually clandestine Zuckerberg addresses the world in an open letter that outlines the implications of having put our trust in him.  We’d like to know what his intentions are, and remind him that our love is turning to fear. He needs to be reminded of the sage advice of Yoda: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Hopefully our leader will lean more towards benevolence than hubris.

More than anything, Zuckerberg must learn that “With great power comes great responsibility”. The lure of darkness is always seductive, and seems to have quick pay-offs, but every major villain from Antonio Montana to the Borg Queen is brought down by Data and the common good.

Indeed, what creates us can also destroy us… but just like Seven of Nine we can defy the superpower collective and take control of our destinies.

Mark, we are hailing you: we’ve opened a channel for communication.  We have come in peace and we are your Facebook civilization. We are waiting for your response.

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The Blog Studio’s Project Manager and Humber College alumni Nalin Sharma (@nalins) was recently invited by his alma mater to give a career talk to students.  Sharma graduated from Humber’s Web Design, Development and Maintenance program in 2008 before joining us at The Blog Studio.  Professor Thomas Borzecki (@iborg) and Amit Chail (@achail) invited Sharma and industry colleague Mike Clark (@shapelike) to share their experiences as two young professionals detailing every aspect of their corporate journey: graduation, job search, and beginning their respective careers.

Nalin and Mike addressed Humber’s students and faculty to guide them through Web Design post grad: they discussed program highlights, offered job search tips, assessed expectations, and shared their experiences.

Nalin’s key message to Web Design students was to recognize that Humber provides the opportunity to work with a myriad of different software and concepts.  Consequently, it is important to realize that this introduction allows you to choose an area of specialization in your professional work.  For instance, Nalin is a specialist of front end coding (HTML and CSS) and has parleyed his knowledge of this industry to oversee business administration within our company.

Mike was able to offer an honest perspective on the highly competitive and intense nature of interviewing as a Web Design candidate: As a current employee of the University of Toronto, Mike successfully completed several panel interviews.  The wide scope of Mike’s job in terms of UofT’s international visibility and reputation requires extreme accuracy and dedication.  He has learned that in junior positions companies are less interested in your CV—every candidate has the basic requirements—and are more focused on your motivations, willingness to learn and ability to work cooperatively within a corporation.  Personality and professionalism has just as much to do with a successful hire as a strong resume.

After the talk, Mike spoke with us and said, “I really enjoyed heading back to Humber and speaking with the current group of students there. They showed a lot of enthusiasm and asked some smart questions about topics I wish I had thought about when I was in school. We spoke about a number of subjects, from project planning, fair rates and client management to standards-based accessible design and using open source projects like WordPress and jQuery. I’m looking forward to seeing the students progress and make a place for themselves in the local web community!”

Nalin added, “The Humber students were really engaged; they participated in the discussion and asked some really well thought out questions! Mike Clark and myself both tried to stress the importance of web design specialization and as well as personal development.  One thing I found was that the students really benefited from working through potential interview questions. We provided some insight into different approaches to answering difficult questions and insight on how to stand out. I will be going back to Humber when the class presents their final portfolio assignments and am really excited to see the development of the students individual skill sets.”

The students were extremely engaged and took this opportunity to openly communicate with Nalin and Mike:  No topic was off limits. Professor Borzecki was pleased with the wealth of information endowed to the students and commented, “The students and faculty of the WDDM program expressed gratitude for the invaluable information that Nalin Sharma of The Blog Studio brought to the class.  It was a very informative and productive session, providing students with answers to questions they may have otherwise been unable to resolve.”

Here is a link to Mike Clark’s notes and recap on networking,specialization and other useful career hints: http://forum.wddmportfolios.com/topic/mike-nalins-talk

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