HOT TOPics

South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive is one of my absolute favourite conferences – it’s a deep dive full of fun, networking, and education, all in Austin Texas, one of America’s most livable cities. Last year we featured four “lessons learned” from conversations and talks heard in the hallways, convention rooms, and cafes of Austin.  Here’s a quick [...]

Last week I attended #SoMeT, the Social Media Tourism Symposium. This is the first year for the event, but it really got my attention for a one huge reason:  The location was “open sourced.” Hotels and destinations pitched themselves to host the event, and then potential attendees voted on those pitches.  That’s a very unique [...]

Is there something in the air lately?  I’ve noticed a lot of small business owners feeling a bit stressed out, overstretched, and in general feeling in a bit of a funk. Perhaps we can  point to the economic situation, which some claim isn’t recovering in the way it should. Perhaps we can say that this is [...]

I’ve just spent a few weeks in America’s Pacific Northwest.  Specifically, I’d like to reflect on the bustling city of Seattle – birthplace of Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft and other amazing brand names.  It’s also the home to the iconic coffee brand, Starbucks, who brought luxury coffee and the high-end café experience to countries throughout the [...]