Alberta Business Marketing

Getting away from it all

The 6/49 TV ads from BC Lotto are a frequent reminder of how great it is to be all by yourself with some good friends in beautiful places.  The British Columbia provincial motto, the most beautiful place on earth, suggests that whatever you might wish will be found here somewhere in the province..  Indeed that is true.  There are many contenders.  However if you wish to get away then Saturna Island, the second largest and least populated of the Gulf Islands, would be a strong choice.

It has been home to First Nations peoples for thousands of years.  Saturna was explored by Spanish sailors and named in 1791 after their naval schooner, the Santa Saturnina, which was one of the ships in the Spanish expedition that discovered the Strait of Georgia.

Although the population rises in the summer there are only 350 long term inhabitants. There is only one campground on the island and accommodations are limited, so if you wish to spend a vacation on the island, lodging reservations are recommended.

Saturna Island for great nature

In addition to the beautiful views in all directions, Saturna Island is blessed with a wide variety of natural life.  Nearly half of the newly created Gulf Islands National Park incorporates undeveloped wilderness land on Saturna Island.   Here is a partial list of what you may find:

• The 497-metre (1,630 foot) summit of Mount Warburton Pike offers a 360 degree view of the surrounding Gulf and San Juan Islands, which you will share with wild goats, soaring eagles, falcons and vultures.
• magnificently gnarled Garry oaks and the red-barked arbutus trees
• a protected Peregrine Falcon nesting site
• a myriad of seabirds, orcas, porpoises, seals and sea lions thriving in  the surrounding ocean

Saturna Island for great wine

The Saturna Island Vineyards are situated on a bench of land nestled between the waters of the Pacific, and a magnificent soaring sandstone and granite cliff face on the south side of the island. This creates a micro climate which is unique to the region, and is similar to the northern Mediterranean. There are 60 acres of vineyards that are ideal for the cultivation of classic European grape varietals. These include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, and Merlot under vine. The summers are warm, and the winters are mild; which gives the ideal conditions for a long growing season.

Saturna Island for great living

That northern Mediterranean micro-climate, which is so good for wine-making, is also excellent for living.  If you have the yen to put roots down, then fine properties do come on the market from time to time.  There is a great waterfront residence just across the road from the Winery, Long Field Cottage at 16 Trueworthy Road.

Here are some photographs to whet your appetite:

For more information, you can contact the Real Estate Agent for the property, Annabel Young.  She will be delighted to explore with you how this property and Saturna Island can provide your ultimate living experience. Full details of this residence can be found on the MLS listing: 296625.

… and it is all just 15 minutes away

The Tourism British Columbia website has perhaps the best short description of Saturna Island:

Saturna Island is a short floatplane haul from Vancouver and Victoria – the two most urban, densely populated cities in BC. Yet this is by far the most remote, crowd-free refuge in the southern Gulf Islands. A tiny population combined with cozy accommodations, the bare minimum of retail activity and the island’s well-protected natural beauty make Saturna a prime R&R locale.  Saturna draws visitors who appreciate peace, pleasant outdoor activities, and abundant quality time with books, binoculars, journals, art supplies and creative imaginations.

They also include the following map of the Island: Another useful source of information is the Saturna Island Tourism Association (SITA) website.

Post from: The Other Blokes Blog

16 Trueworthy Road, Saturna Island BC, a Waterfront Home for Real Living

Technorati Tags: British Columbia, Gulf Islands, Saturna Island, tranquility

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Tags: british columbia, canada, Gulf Islands, living, Popular, Saturna Island, tranquility
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Join MSP Marketing Specialist Stuart Crawford with Neil Jones from Live Virtual Help Desk.

Live Virtual Help Desk (LiveVHD) is a North American leading “LIVE” Help Desk/NOC support service for desktops, laptops, servers, network devices and hand-held devices.

Based in Vancouver, BC, Canada…Live Virtual Help Desk can help you with all your help desk requirements.

Tune in live on Thursday, August 19th at 1 PM Eastern/10 Pacific – http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mspshow/2010/08/19/going-live-with-live-virtual-help-desk

Tags: british columbia, Business, Business/Finance, canada, Desk, Help desk, Marketing Specialist, Neil Jones, stuart crawford, Technology/Internet, The MSP Show, Vancouver, Virtual help desk
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Our team at Ulistic coaches many small business folks and marketing teams across North America each day.  This is the part of the job that I truly enjoy, openly sharing concepts, tips and tricks and practical use of social media.    It is always such a delight when the light bulb goes off during a consulting session with one of our clients.  Business in my opinion are done with the fluff around social media, they want the hard facts, return on investment justifications, what are the opportunities and most importantly what do need to do.  Interested in learning more, just click here, drop me an email or phone call.

One Product that rocks my world – Hootsuite

One of the products we discuss at length during our Social Media Consulting engagements is Hootsuite.  Hootsuite is the cornerstone of our social media modules and it rightly deserves it place in the pecking order of must have social media management tools for any size of business or hobbyist.

I have personally tried a number of social media services out there (Tweetdeck is one).  Hootsuite is really the only true social media dashboard product out there that is easy to use and does almost anything you can imagine.  One the biggest stress factors with social media is managing the time to engage properly online and make important connections, Hootsuite solves this.  With Hootsuite, you can manage multiple Twitter accounts, LinkedIn profiles, Facebook pages, Foursquare accounts and so much more.  You can even invite members of your team and share certain online social media accounts.

It is a must have for any serious social media professional out there and it is also Canadian.

Hootsuite is based in Vancouver, BC.

Hootsuite runs online, it is a true cloud solution.  Leveraging the power of HTML5, Hootsuite requires no software to install and no widgets or browser add-ons, simply point your browser to http://www.hootsuite.com, create your account and you are off to the races.

Karim at Techvibes shared some recent news on Hootsuite the other day.  Hootsuite is cranking it up another step.  I love the fact that I can segment my Twitter account into lists, searches and much more but now I can filter these columns on keywords or Klout.  My Klout score sits at 29, it has taken a hit over the past little while since I haven’t been that active in the Twitter Universe lately.

Go and check out Hootsuite, it is awesome web-based solution that rocks!

Tags: awesome web-based solution, british columbia, cloud solution, Facebook Inc, foursquare, Hootsuite, LinkedIn Ltd, media accounts, media dashboard product, media management tools, media modules, media services, North America, Online social networking, Real-time web, social media, social media consulting, Technology/Internet, Tweetdeck Inc., Twitter, Twitter Inc, Vancouver, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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Earth Day In The United States

This is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, which started in Ohio and has now spread around the world.  President Obama’s Earth Day message emphasizes that it is not about laws, it is about every individual.

President Obama issued an Earth Day message with a challenge: He wants you to take action. While Washington has its place, Obama argues that the environmental movement is not about the laws that are passed, but about citizens coming together to make demands for the Earth.  It can be as simple as riding the bus or the subway to work, making your home more energy efficient, or organizing your neighbors to clean up a nearby park.

You can see this message in the following video:

Americans are encouraged to sign the Earth Day 2010 Climate Declaration to demand a comprehensive climate bill from Congress.  Arts for the Earth is reaching out to artists worldwide to raise environmental awareness through the medium of art.

Earth Day in Canada

Earth Day Canada is a national environmental communications organization mandated to improve the state of the environment by empowering Canadians to achieve local solutions.  Local organizers are provided with resources to help arrange activities and events that will raise awareness.

Earth Day in Langley, British Columbia

One local activity that will use the medium of art to heighten environmental awareness is a poetry reading on earth goddesses and climate change that will take place on Earth Day itself, that’s Thursday April 22.

Local poet Susan McCaslin and Ontario poet Penn Kemp will be giving readings to celebrate Earth Day and National Poetry Month. This will be held in the Fort Gallery, 9048 Glover Rd., Fort Langley, from 7 to 9 pm.

The artist, Susan J. Falk, whose exhibition, Equine Persuasion, continues at the Fort Gallery until April 25, will also be present.  Posters of the exhibition are on sale and partial proceeds of the exhibition are being donated to Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association, a local charity that provides therapeutic riding to special needs children.  It should be an evening not to be missed.

Post from: The Other Blokes Blog

Earth Day in Langley BC

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Tags: british columbia, climate change, Earth Day, Environmentalism, society
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Every once and a while in my travels as a Calgary social media consultant I run across a gem of a business or a group of business that simply impress me.  During my recent travels to Arizona I met up with a great Canadian firm who help out the busy and often stressed out IT professional by providing help desk services to managed IT services providers and the average IT professional.  I got chatting with Neil Jones as a enjoyed the beautiful Arizona sun and instantly became great friends and learned lots about what they are up to in beautiful British Columbia.

Neil’s firm “Live Virtual Help Desk” provides help desk services to Manage Services Providers.  You maybe asking “what the heck is a managed services provider?  Fair question…think computer support guys, IT folks and computer professionals for us out there who are not in the IT support industry.

In chatting with Neil I learned about the struggles computer support companies have working with their clients and dealing with the simple calls for help.

Have you ever had a printer stop printing?  I am sure this particular example happens to all of us and when we try to call our IT guy we get caught in the endless abyss of voice mail or transferred from department to department often scratching our heads wondering if someone will take care of us.

Well my friends at Live Virtual Help Desk has a cure for this feeling of loneliness and your dead computer system.  They take on your calls for help by working with your IT folks to solve your basic to somewhat technical calls for help.  They are sometimes the knight in shining armour when your techy guy is swamped with a bunch of other things happening around them.

If your IT guy isn’t using these guys…they should be – maybe you can refer Neil’s firm to them.

If you are an IT guy reading this…you need to reach out to Neil and his team at 1-866-677-3256.

BTW, I am not an agent for Live Virtual Help Desk nor do I receive any payments for sending business to Neil.  I simply think he and his team have their head screwed on pretty tight and can help all IT firms succeed in customer service.

Tags: 1-866-677-3256, Arizona, british columbia, Business, Calgary, Calgary social media consultant, Customer experience management, Help desk, help desk services, Live Virtual Help Desk, Management, Neil Jones, printer stop printing, Stuart's ramblings, Technical support, Virtual help desk, Voicemail
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