Blogs & Pods

Vancouver Access 2010

Scales — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:45:12 +0000

Olympic Passion

It's no secret, Raincity staffers have demonstrated their passion for anything Olympics, Open Source and Social Media over the past 5 years...

During that time, as individuals and as a company we have had the honour to attend, cover and enjoy two Olympic games.

In 2006, we where part of a delegation of Vancouver companies that attended the games in Torino, Italy. Accredited by the Piedmonte Media Centre, we generated fan stories, using YouTube and other web tools to share our experiences. We tested a new video streaming device built by iMate (JazJar), running on a software created by ComVue. We also held a symposium on Social Media and the Olympics at the BC Canada House.

This first hand experience helped us create our strategy for 2008 where we attended the games in Beijing, China. Again, we covered fan and cultural stories and took part in an academic symposium on Olympic research. Some of our social media coverage gain popularity and was distributed by the BBC, the LA Time and various other media outlets.

We love to share...

For 2010, we wanted to push that envelope once again. We hope that in sharing our knowledge and adventures we could help others enjoy and create their own Olympic experiences.

With that in mind...Raincity's former CEO; Robert Scales along with the help of some friends Nadia Aly, Dave Olson, Mariska Richters, Kris Krug, Rebecca Bolwitt, and John Beihler created Vancouver Access 2010 (dot) com, a website dedicated to Culture, Fans, and the Olympics.

The site launched January 12th 2010, a month before the start of the Vancouver winter games.

VANCOUVER ACCESS 2010 is a collection of multi-media content; blog posts, pictures and videos covering the various winter/summer sports and cultural events during the past several games include Torino, Italy in 2006 and Beijing, China in 2008.

Currently we are working on creating content related to the 2010 Winter games in Vancouver, Canada.

Come play with us

I Invite you to follow our adventures and plan your Olympics with us @ www.VancouverAccess2010.com We currently have over 70 articles on sponsors, cultural olympiad, concerts, international houses, things to do for free and much more...

Raincity Studios "Made in Vancouver"

Scales — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:37:45 +0000

Raincity Studios is listed along side 9 other companies in the current issue of WE. The West Ender Cover Feature:Made In Vancouver.

Our city is a hotbed of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. From the fashionable to the ecological, here are 10 businesses — new and established — we think are at the top of their game.
We are honored and exited to be featured with some of Vancouver's greatest and most innovative companies.

Here's what they had to say about Raincity:

RAINCITY STUDIOS
What it is: trailblazing online-community host

Why them? Rising from the wreckage of 2002’s internet bubble bust, technologist Robert Scales was in search of something new. At the time, Vancouver’s open-source and Web 2.0 scene was very much in its infancy, and Scales set out to chart new territory in what was then known by his contemporaries as the Wild West of new media. He became the sole founder of Raincity Studios in 2003. Since then, the influential Gastown headquarters of the social media and technology consulting firm has evolved, becoming known as the pioneering hub of Vancouver’s new-media scene. True to the multifarious nature of open-source technology itself, Raincity Studios is difficult to define in one stroke — the company creates templates for websites built in Drupal (an open-source content-management system), delivers graphic-design services, and helps companies build websites which, in turn, build community capacity. Sounds like the future? Well, it’s all happening now. (RaincityStudios.com)

Also on the " Made in vancouver" list:

The prominent Vancouver shoemaker John Fluevog

Small Potatoes Urban Delivery, a personal favorite since 1998.

Pyrrhais, jewelers to the stars

Cheeky Umbrella supplying Vancouverites with dryness accessories.

The Co-operative Auto Network, an awesome idea, catching on fast.

Portobello West, Vancouver’s original fashion and art market.

.. and a few more..

In our opinion, this list is only a small fragment of the amazing talent that is present in this city.

As Vancouverites, we are lucky to have an empowering community and amazing support to help us harvest the innovations and creativity that is found here.

Without this community and the support of our friends, employees, family and peers, perhaps we would be telling a much different story today... Thank you everyone for the support you have given us over the years.

Transition 2.0 (part 3): Virtual Reality

Scales — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:55:33 +0000

We've seen a lot of changes at Raincity Studios over the past six months. This transition has not necessarily been an easy road, but we're finally beginning to see the fruits of our labour. After closing down Bryght, restructuring our management team, moving out of the Gastown offices and repaying a majority of our liabilities, we're happy to announce that the first phase of our transition action plan is nearly complete. And now, as we head into Autumn and the world returns from summer vacations, we're excited about the projects we have on our plates and the projects we are working on.

One of the biggest changes that's taken place is that now Raincity is a 100% virtual studio. We've always collaborated with people working in other parts of the world, but after moving to a smaller office, we've decided to get rid of our physical space altogether. It also compliments the working style of many of our team members. We spent a good part of the summer trying to figure out the bast way to facilitate that kind of collaboration. We've got improved process, new tools in place and implemented new communications practices that seem to be working out quite well.

One the bonuses of going virtual that we've already discovered is having the chance to meet with clients on-site. In the past, we've often had our clients come to meet us at our offices during the planning stages of project. Now, it our turn to head out into the field and meet our clients on their turf. Sure, this makes for a little extra travel time, but it's given us a unique insight into the daily working experience of our clients. Typically, when a client comes to us, it's because whatever out-of-the-box solutions they've found online aren't meeting their needs or they need help navigating the many possibilities that exist. Of course, every client is unique and often the organizational culture can play a big part how online tools are implemented and used. This is even more so the case when these online tools aren't simply being used to publish to the web, but help teams organize and collaborate in the daily work. As a result, we've found it's been a great experience to meet with and talk to the people who will be using these tools on a regular basis - something that isn't always possible when clients are coming to you.

That said, just because our office has gone virtual,it doesn't mean we don't exist in the real world. You can still get a hold of us just as easily. You can reach us by email at inquire@raincitystudios.com, on our new toll free number at 1.888.706.2211 or at our Legal Office and mailing address:

#412 - 228 East 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V5T 1G5

And of course, there's one big question facing any team that considering a virtualized office: will it be boom or a bust for productivity? Sure, without a office to get to in the morning, there's the temptation to hit that snooze button a few extra times, maybe cut out early to catch 9 holes in the afternoon, or even just take that extended lunch and catch up on the world of daytime television. Well, to be honest, we're not to concerned about that. We know we've got a solid team of individuals who are committed to their clients and its our love of the work, not the boss over our shoulder, that keeps us getting up in the morning. Besides, many of tend to be more productive alone in the wee hours of the night anyhow, so toiling alone or in our weekly "work party" in the comfort of our own spaces is something we find somewhat comforting.

SXSW 2010 Panel Picker

Jeff Traynor — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:31:48 +0000

SXSW is still almost 6 months away but you may have noticed a flurry of self-promotion on Twitter as the Panel Picker was launched last week. The panel picker allows the people to weigh in and tell the organizers what they're interested in seeing at conference, but with over 2200 panel proposals, the prospect of browsing them all can be an overwhelming prospect. Here's a few recommendations to get you started...

First up, I would be remiss to not mention our own Robert Scales and his panel, Social Media and the Olympics: A Case Study. This panel is sure to be a very timely and relevant topic with SXSW falling just on the heels of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Scales has been an Olympic fanatic, providing social media coverage of the Games in Turnin, Beijing and now Vancouver this winter. The IOC has been criticized for their posture towards social media and yet this years games is poised to have more social media coverage than ever before. This panel is sure to be full of stories from the trenches and examine the challenges and opportunities facing social media and sport.

Another recommendation would be for Dave Olson and his panel, Hitchhiking to the Boardroom. Olson is a poet, artist, storyteller, traveller, producer, and and all around bon vivant, yet still makes time for his day job helping various tech companies and start-ups. Dave's unorthodox perspective has brought life many stale meetings and his panel is sure to the same. Dave's also set to be moderating the Rock and Roll Photography panel with our friend Kris Krug and legendary photographer Bev Davis. After seeing an early version of this panel at Northern Voice, I can say without hesitation that this one's not to be missed - it's a beautiful and candid exploration of how musicians and bands can work together.

KK also has a couple other irons in the fire that you should check out. Listening on the Internet: Online Media Monitoring examines some useful strategies for making the most of all the data that's being produced online and finding out what people are thinking/feeling/saying about your brand. And beyond just listening, Kris will examine how all of our activities online are actively shaping our online identity in Your Content is You, Your Website is Dead.

Another Vancouverite with a proposal worth checking out is John Biehler and Do the Cool Kids Leave when the Suits Arrive? John will examine the tension that can arise between business models and users just wanting to be social and have fun. This discussion will examine the importance of "co-creating fun and valuable experiences" with your users.

There's lots more to have look at. I'd recommend checking out Joy Gugeler's Make Friends with Cannibals: Linking Print and Online Publishers, Hillary Hartley's Building Your Local Open Government Tribe, Sabastian Benthalll's Beyond Google Maps: The Open Source Geospatial Web, Alex Williams' Whuffaoke and the Magic of the Magic Bus, James Chutter's Ubiquitous Participation: Graffiti Streets to Social Networks and Cecily Walker's Can I Reserve this Book with my iPone? Looking for more? How about Dries Buytaert's proposal, RIP Content Management Systems (an unexpected title from the creator of Drupal) or Julie Blitzer's Not Just for Obama: New Media Get's Local.

There's something for everyone so head over to the Panel Picker and have your say. The people's vote counts for 30% of the decsision, but make sure you get your votes in before the polls close on September 4th.

Drupal.com gets a Facelift. She's looking good!

Jeff Traynor — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:55:03 +0000

We're excited about the re-design of drupal.com. Most of us who work with Drupal on a regular basis are very familiar with drupal.org - the home of the Drupal project, the contributed modules and all the amazing developer activity that makes Drupal such a great platform. But as Dries pointed out in his DrupalCon keynote this past year in DC, the Drupal.com page, until now just a simple placeholder page forwarding visitors to the project, is apparently getting a significant amount of traffic. Lets face it - lots of people just assume your website ends with a .com extension. And since people who are familiar with drupal are likely browsing directly to drupal.org, we can assume that most of the folks that end up on drupal.com are trying to learn about the project.

Now these noobies have a great place to learn about our favorite CMS and Drupal gets the slick showcase it deserves. The good folks over at Development Seed did a excellent job of designing the site and the images they've used make for a very compelling presentation. We can't help but notice the smiling face of Raincity's own Robert Scales (who is responsible for many of Drupal's tattoos) and our good friend and community hero Boris Mann (apparently responsible for Drupal's great haircut). It's great to see the Vancouver drupal community so well represented!

Drupal.com looks great with this new makeover and it's another victory in battling Drupal's reputation for being "less pretty" than other platforms like Wordpress and Joomla. Efforts like the Design4Drupal camp held this past spring in Boston are trying to build the design community and proving that with a good designer and a solid themer, anything is possible. We already know that Drupal is powerful, but, like the at end of many hollywood teen flicks, the nerdy girl just took off her glasses on prom night and it turns out she's beautiful!

And more than just being pretty, drupal.com has a message for the Fortune 500 Companies: Drupal is enterprise ready. Many of us in the community have known this for quite some time after seeing Drupal deployed and scaled to serve high traffic sites and massive online communities, but large companies have been slow to embrace open source technologies. Now, with companies like Fedex, Nokia and Sanyo jumping on board and efforts being made by Microsoft to let their servers run PHP and MySQL, the future looks bright for Drupal and the Fortune 500. We're ready when you are!

And you may also notice the change in font on the drupal logo - this is another sign of good things to come. If you haven't seen it yet, check out the drupal.org redesign that Mark Boulton Design has been cooking up.