Today I planned to take my kids up to Ready, Set, Learn at Tweedsmuir Elementary. Alas, I was led astray by bad information on an undated (and apparently stale) PDF on the School District website. I’m picking on the school district today, but this problem is endemic to New Westminster institutions.

Last night I presented a two-hour program at the New Westminster Public Library called Blogging Basics, to help people get started creating their own blogs. We had a great turnout, with 60 registered and only a few empty seats in the auditorium.  It was a very lively crowd, full of questions and comments – I barely made it through the presentation in those two hours!
Hopefully I was able to answer some questions and even inspire some folks to start blogging themselves! We also disussed using Twitter and Facebook to promote …

I’m attending the Northern Voice blogging conference this weekend along with a few of New Westminster’s Twitterati: @ruthseeley, @duckbeaver, @themarina, @somethinglemon (and maybe a few more who I haven’t seen yet). As I mentioned on this blog last month, I’m speaking tomorrow on hyperlocal blogging at 11:30 a.m. My talk is called “Passionately Local” and I’ll be sharing my experience launching and co-authoring Tenth To The Fraser, and describing the community response and personal impact of this site.
I first began blogging in 2003 as “breebop” (though that blog is long …

Ruth Seeley is giving away one ticket to the Northern Voice blogging conference (Feb. 20/21). The catch is that it has to be someone new to blogging and social media. I think it’s a great idea. NV is supposed to be for both established bloggers and people who just want to see what the fuss is about. When tickets sell out less than five days after registration begins, it’s much more difficult for the newcomers to get involved.
To enter, leave a comment on Ruth’s No Spin PR blog with either a …

I am delighted to announce that I [Briana] will be speaking at Northern Voice (the blogging conference in Vancouver) on the topic of hyperlocal blogging. The title of my presentation is Passionately Local: Blogging about your own backyard.
Here’s the synopsis of the talk:
Blogging may be an opportunity to reach a worldwide audience, but with Tenth To the Fraser, we’ve narrowed our focus considerably to cover only issues and ideas that relate to the city of New Westminster. 
In this talk I’ll share the benefits of hyperlocal focus to both blog authors and …