On the Web with Kim Vallee

August 17, 2009

Adding BackType Connect to Your WordPress Blogs

We installed BackType Connect to integrate related Twitter conversations into the post comments. It is not hard to do by yourself. Adding a plugin in WordPress usually works like a charm. Since we are perfectionists, I asked my tech guy to fine-tune a few things that required his programming skills. One thing, Jerome did what to [...]

SOCIAL MEDIA

August 12, 2009

1 Comment

Encouraging Women to Attend and Speak at Tech Conferences

If you follow the social media crowd, you probably have noticed the current campaign against the lack of women speakers and presenters at big Tech conferences. Allyson Kapin summed it up on Fast Company when she wrote Where are Women in Tech and Social Media? yesterday. There was an improvised discussion on that topic at PodCamp [...]

HOW to use, SOCIAL MEDIA

August 9, 2009

5 Comments

Defining Social Media Etiquette One Step at a Time

The New Times published an article today about the fact that party hosts and some bars are starting to request no twittering, no blogging, and no photos. I agree with their concerns. With the capability of uploading our pictures, updating our status and to publish all the time on social network sites, we need to use [...]

SOCIAL MEDIA, TOOLS

August 2, 2009

5 Comments

Quickly Share How to Get to a Place on Twitter with TwitArea

Many people use Twitter to meet their friends at restaurants, shops, museums and other public places. Launched last week by Praized, TwitArea enables to quickly lead them to a place’s address, phone number and locate the place on a map. If you have a smart phone, you will find that having a direct link on [...]

HOW to use, SOCIAL MEDIA

July 29, 2009

5 Comments

Reviewing Hellmann’s Eat Real, Eat Local Social Media Initiatives

I happened to fall on Hellmann’s Real Food Movement Web site this morning. Hellmann is using social media (blog, Twitter and Facebook Connect) to raise awareness about the need of eating local food. Using a higher social motive to raise the profile of a brand is nothing new. What is new is how brands tap [...]

BLOGGING, Blog PROMOTION

July 24, 2009

5 Comments

The Need for Fresh Content on Your Facebook Fan Page vs. Your Blog

I see my two fan pages (one per blog) as an extension of my brand. But it is not purely my property as my blog is. I wish to reinforce the difference between your fan page and your blog. They complement each other but they are 2 different things. Your readers must get something by [...]

SOCIAL MEDIA

July 24, 2009

3 Comments

Properly Setting the Fan Permissions on Facebook Pages

A reader asked me to tell him how he can post text on a fan page. The same way that you can decide if your Facebook friends are allowed to post comments on your wall, the owner of a fan page can define their wall settings. In short, a fan can post text, photos, videos [...]

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS

July 13, 2009

5 Comments

Matt Mullenweg Talked about His Open Source Story to Christian Aubry

This is the follow-up interview realized by my friend Christian Aubry with WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg. In this second segment – a third is coming – Matt Mullenweg talked about how he started WordPress and how the open source community swelled the popularity of WordPress. It is a case where the whole is bigger than [...]

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS

July 12, 2009

9 Comments

A Quick Recap of My Experience at WordCamp Montreal 2009

I had a great time this weekend at WordCamp Montreal. The conversation with the founder of WordPress Matt Mullenweg was inspiring and calming. Matt was really zen while he answered questions from the crowd. In the after-talk, many people pointed out to me his soothing voice. Amongst other things, Matt shares the core value of [...]

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS

July 6, 2009

0 Comments

Quick Tips to Find Story Ideas for Your Blog

I put that story on hold after the long weekend. Plus, the summer vacations are at our door. I am writing this now because it is always after a vacation or a break that it is the hardest to get back to our blogging schedule. People often ask me if I get the writer’s block. I [...]

BLOGGING, Blogging TIPS

June 30, 2009

5 Comments

The Blogger’s Toolkit and Why I Upgraded to the iPhone 3G S

I wish to discuss today the essential tools for bloggers. The two must-have tools to start blogging are a laptop computer and a digital camera. You need a laptop because it enables you to cover live events. If you are on a market for a laptop, read why I prefer the Mac to the PC [...]

HOW to use, SOCIAL MEDIA

June 29, 2009

5 Comments

IDEO’s Innovative Ideas on the Future of Journalism

Newspapers are endangered species. Like many industries, it must adapt to its time. Although it is easier to read a print media, the hyperlinks, the velocity of the news and the multimedia power of the Internet clearly highlighted the weakness of the print media. Look at how this article I read on the San Francisco [...]