Introductory video

Thoughts on the Outdoor Adventure Show

It had been at least ten years since I'd last attended the Outdoor Adventure Show in Toronto, but with three others in tow on the Saturday, I braved the trip across the city to Airport Road to attend this year's show. As with the last time, it didn't disappoint.

Presented by Ontario Tourism and produced by National Event Management, the Outdoor Adventure Show caters to adventure enthusiasts, with more than 300 exhibitors that offer products and services that include travel, diving, cycling, hiking, camping, canoeing and kayaking, and eco-tourism.

Arriving shortly after opening, I walked into the hall and right into the Tent City booth, where I discovered several good deals on pieces of gear. With no interest in toting around bags of loot from the get-go, I made a note of the booth and decided to return on my way out.

The most interesting exhibitors were the ones related to camping, even though most of those were there to sell equipment to the outdoors enthusiasts visiting the show. I kept my spending to a minimum but made mental notes about several suppliers and vendors (to be looked up at a later date online).

Perhaps the show's biggest downfall is the myriad of exhibitors that had nothing to do with the outdoors or adventure and made little effort to connect themselves with the overall theme. Whether it was someone trying to get me to sign up for a Visa or Scotiabank offering a new type of savings account or Sony sporting its brand of high-def TVs (putting outdoors shows on the TVs doesn't really count), the show was scattered with examples of vendors that really shouldn't have been on the floor.

Even some of the travel destinations weren't trying very hard. While the Caribbean tourism boards in attendance talked mostly about diving, there were a few others that were more focused on simply getting people to go hang out on resorts or take luxury cruises. The spirit of the show was lost on those exhibitors.

Thankfully, the useless vendors were far outnumbered by vendors who really understood the show's mentality. We ended up spending more than four hours wandering the hall, ending our day waiting for the youngest member of our group to meet Terry "Mantracker" Grant and have his picture taken with him.

All in all, the Outdoor Adventure Show was a day well spent. I saw a lot of cool things, made note of a few places I would like to go in the future, and returned home with a far lighter wallet.

Services

Good communication is key if you want to get your message out there and have it heard (and read). I offer a range of services that can help you get your message across to your present and future customers, partners and employees. My services include:

• Writing newspaper/magazine copy
  
• Advertorial writing
  
• Media/press release writing
  
• Newsletter writing
  
• Web content writing
  
• Marketing writing
  
• Ghost writing
  
• Editing
  
• Book editing
  
• Proofreading
  

Do you need a writer to get your message across? Do you need an editor to polish your manuscript? Then don't hesitate to email me for a quote.

The Road of Life is Full of Shades of Grey

I'd like to announce the release of the ebook The Road of Life is Full of Shades of Grey: Every Day is a Winding Road, created, edited and compiled by Michelle Warren.

Many people contributed to the ebook, each providing one page of content. I number among them.

You can download the entire ebook here.

Social networking: The importance to business

Social networking isn't restricted to personal use. Instead, it is also a valuable business tool, and it's becoming increasingly important for entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes to make use of the social networking tools at their disposal.

The problem is the benefits from engaging in social networking are often intangible. While I've spoken to a handful of people that have found net new business through LinkedIn and one person who got job interviews as a result of Twitter posts, it seems that for the most part, social networking is a place for business to sink time and money.

However, the benefits of social networking come from the exposure you can get from simply being there and being active. LinkedIn was developed to be an online business networking tool. Facebook has groups and fan pages that you can use to market your business. And Twitter offers interested people a way to get your news and views in a timely fashion.

There are two dangers I want to focus on related to social networking, though.

The dead zone
A tool that isn't being used isn't really much of a tool. While it's okay for your hammer or screwdriver to sit around until they're needed, it's not okay to ignore your social networking initiatives. A stagnant Twitter feed is a dead Twitter feed, and a Facebook page that hasn't been updated in several months might as well not even exist.

Businesses that jump into the social networking world need to make sure they have someone who is managing it effectively.

Spewing garbage into the ether
There's the difference between a personal touch and too much information. The former is good, and the latter will create a social networking disaster. Understand there's a fine line between being personable and telling others too much about your personal life in a public forum.

Stay professional. Now, that may mean different things to different people, but if you find yourself tweeting from the urinal in your local bar, you're probably going way too far.

The end result
While I use LinkedIn for keeping track of my network of professional contacts, I have not yet found its true value in generating new business (but others will surely tell you it's there). I've had suggestions for developing new business, but my LinkedIn efforts have not yet generated new business.

Twitter, on the other hand, I see as a valuable marketing tool. While I can't prove that it's driving traffic or potential clients to me, my suspicion is that it will eventually yield results. Time will tell if it really happens.

Writing Samples

Here you'll find a selection of writing samples on external sites. This is only a selection of the thousands of articles my byline has been attached to.

Business

Partners have to change the way they deal with customers at eChannelLine (Aug. 26, 2009)

Technology

Data centres increasingly seen as critical business priority at eChannelLine (Aug. 14, 2009)
Friday File: Game on, students at eChannelLine (April 21, 2005)
Friday File: The proof is in the petition on eChannelLine (Jan. 27, 2005)
Friday File: The HP inkjet cartridge conspiracy at eChannelLine (Feb. 24, 2005)
Data leakage as much a physical and behavioral problem as network issue at eChannelLine (Sept. 30, 2008)

Music

Slipknot interview at Extreme Online

Video Games

Punch-Out!! for Wii (review) at Game-Over.net (July 7, 2009)
Halo: Combat Evolved for PC (preview) at Game-Over.net (Sept. 10, 2003)

Cabin fever sets in

It's the middle of winter, and enjoying the Canadian outdoors means cold temperatures, gloomy weather and a lack of active wildlife. The splendour of freshly fallen snow -- followed by the aching muscles of clearing the driveway -- is missing in action. Instead, we're stuck with the cold, the wind and even rain. There's an element of regret that I didn't take better advantage of the outdoors during the summer months of 2009, but already I'm making plans to explore the out of doors much more this year.

It's almost cliché to say that the Canadian outdoors offers a lot -- particularly here in Ontario where we have those "Ontario, Yours To Discover" advertisements that have been trying for years to convince Ontarians to get out and experience all the province has to offer.

Like many others, I grew up outside. That doesn't mean I was outdoors every hour of every day, but it does mean I was camping almost from the time I was born and fishing from the time I could barely hold a rod. I built snowmen, had snowball fights, soaked the neighbourhood with water guns and stopped to watch squirrels playing or raccoons duck for cover in the early morning. As a budding amateur photographer, some of my favourite subjects were wild animals (one of my favourite photos my parents took of me is a very young me feeding a chipmunk peanuts from my outstretched hand).

Many factors have led to this cabin fever I'm now experiencing, including a successful September camping trip in the Parry Sound area, a continually-growing friendship with a fellow gamer and outdoorsman, learning about foraging, becoming more familiar with modern (lightweight) camping gear, and some creative non-fiction for a potential job.

And now here I am, stuck indoors without proper winter outdoors attire wishing the spring would hurry up and get here so I can go face the mosquitoes and blackflies.