As the national broadcaster, the CBC has a special place in hearts of Canadians. Growing up in the USA, there is really no equivalent - PBS is well intentioned but just doesn't have the public mind-share the 'Ceeb garners with important documentaries and top-shelf sports coverage. Now that i think of it, the ability to satirize politics and still gets funding tell me that something like the CBC could never exist back home!!

In continuing coverage (otherwise known as "staying up with the Raincity crews' activities"), here's a recap of Bridging Media at the Great Northern Way campus (AKA The Hangar). The event was wrangled up by Megan Cole and Erica Hargreave with able assistance by RCS's KK and Bmann and the speaker roster included many of our Van-groovy eco-system.

Old School Hockey Sweater Challenge - Olson vs Fergusson!

Since interviewing Michael Fergusson of Kinzin for Raincity Radio a few months back, and hearing his compelling discourse on participatory marketing using the ubiquitous Facebook, I've worked hard to soften my cynicism about the pervasive community aggregator.

I am (shockingly) a bit serious about how i spend leisure time and tend to think of Facebook applications as obnoxious (albeit well-meaning) hugs, squirts, pokes, trivial nonsense which requires an "ignore" to avoid participation.

The other day at Moose Camp, I caught up with Megan Cole - a Canadian classic, she's a social marketeer and my predecessor at RCS who convened a session (symposium) about Social Media marketing.

After i told her about my nutty holidays past when i invited all my brothers and families to my place in North Van, and mass photo hysteria which ensued, she told me about the new Kinzin Facebook app which has got me thinking ....

Lab with Leo is a technology show filmed in Vancouver. Hosted by the well known Leo Laporte with Matt Harris serving as producer of the show and has been working with Leo for 3 years.

Leo Laporte is well known on TV and from technology forums, a best-selling author of several gadget guides and technology almanacs as well as a TiVo guide. He also hosts The Tech Guy radio show and works on several podcasts on the TWiT.tv network, plus was a host on Call For Help and The Screen Savers.

Raincity's President Kris Krug has appeared on the show many times. He's covered topics like the Creative Commons licensing, Drupal, Facebook applications and more and recently filmed three more episodes covering the way bands are use content management systems as a way to power their new fan sites, growing open source Internet business in China, and the way corporate PR strategies have changed with new media.

At the risk of missing on a few details and publishing an incomplete list of conversations, anecdotes and contacts ... suffice to say that Launch Party 3 was a raging success full of new faces and the best and brightest Vangroovy hopes as listed in Techvibes Techies to Watch list and Raincity's Tech Women to Watch lists.

A contingent of Vancouver Tech Women to Watch 2008 gather round the pool table

Part of my job is to outreach to communities - both local and international - and I regularly stroll through Gastown to visit other tech hives and attend (too) many events, yet I still meet new people with great startups here in Vancouver which I had no idea about.