This past Saturday, some of the kitestring team took in the soulful voice and rockin’ guitar pickin’ of Matt Anderson. We loved every second of Matt’s rock, coutry and blues performance! Plus, he sounded that much more fantastic backed by the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra!

Some of our favourite tunes included One Size Never Fits and his cover of The Impressions’ song, People Get Ready in which he had the whole audience ooo-ing, aw-ing, toe tappin’ and singing along!

Matt Anderson performed with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra as part of their 2011/2012 Pops Series. The Series continues next month when Chantal Kreviazuk joins them to sing some of her most popular hits! For more dates to see the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra check them out here.

And did you know, if you’re under 30 you can see the HPO for only $10 with their HPOgo program! Go Check them out!

Plan to attend Hive X 2011, Hamilton’s inaugural Young Professional Conference brought to you by Hamilton HIVE. Inspiring speakers, engaging panelists and interesting workshops will focus on the most pressing issues pertaining to the growth and development of our city. With special guests that include Canadian Social Media and Tech expert Amber Macarthur, the Honourable Glen Murray, Bob Young, and many others. All registrants get a FREE ticket to the final Hamilton Tiger-Cat home game on October 22nd the night before Hive X. Oskee-Wee-Wee! You won’t want to miss this opportunity.

REGISTER HERE:
http://www.hamiltonhive.ca/?p=1264

I spy with my little eye someone who is a junior web developer/intern, hopefully lives in the Hamilton area, and has good attention to detail.

• Someone who is obsessed with HTML and CSS to pixel perfection.
• This person is on the hunt for a contract position where they’ll work on a project by project basis.
• They can rock the PHP for back-end heavy lifting.
• Can work with many open source Content Management Systems (Drupal and/or WordPress will do for now).
• Can work with Photoshop and Illustrator to take apart the design, optimize it, and put it back together in website form.
• They’re the type of person who gets seriously jazzed about JavaScript (and jQuery).
• They’re ready to start paying back debts from their higher education in a job they’re excited to roll out of bed for.
• And, they are self-disciplined enough to work independently from home while reporting to kitestring’s Director of Technology.

If you found yourself nodding to the above description, maybe we’re looking for you.

kitestring’s relaxed and fun culture might seem appealing, but trust us, it’s not for everyone.

This eight week contract starts immediately, and the lucky contestant will need to have access to Skype for daily interactions and come to the studio for the occasional meeting.

Send your resume, some samples of your work, and bit about why you’d be a perfect fit for this adventure to:
iwant2work@kitestring.ca

Last Thursday, the whole kitestring gang attended the #140 Conference Ontario. The conference was the first of its kind in Canada and brought together many familiar faces, from the world of social media, to share their stories! kitestring took this opportunity to perform a short skit, Real World 101, poking fun at social media platforms.

The crowd seemed to love us as they laughed the whole way through! Plus, #kitestring became a trending topic on Twitter that afternoon! We were even bigger than Justin Bieber in the Twitterverse that day! That’s huge! Thanks so much to the organizers of the #140 Conference Ontario for inviting us, we had a blast! You can watch our short skit in the video below (we’re at about 03:12)!

Video streaming by Ustream

The #140 Conference is only one week away and we’re getting excited!

On September 15th, the kitestring gang will entertain and inform the audience of the #140 Conference in Kitchener! The #140 Conference is the first of its kind in Canada and will explore the  power of the internet and how real time social media sites have changed the way we respond,  react, and think on a day-to-day basis.

We’re very excited to perform a short skit poking fun at social media platforms. In our quirky and quick comedic skit, Real World 101, Professor Chambers will attempt to teach students like Tina Twitter and Freddy Foursquare the sometimes forgotten ‘real world’ skills in a counselling classroom.

kitestring will share the stage at the sold out event with popular social media influencer, Amber Mac and UnMarketing’s Scott Stratten.

See you there!

Want to win a  “Night Out in Westdale!”?!?!? All that you need to do to enter this contest is to fill out this short survey here. This should take only five minutes of your time.

This survey is intended for folks that live in the Greater Hamilton and surrounding areas who are either aware of the Westdale neighbourhood but have never visited, those who have visited before, and even those who live in the area.

All of the information provided will be kept confidential and will be used solely by kitestring creative branding studio to help better reflect Westdale Village’s brand.

If you have any questions, please contact meg@kitestring.ca

If you’re like us, you like to unwind at the end of the day with a (insert alcoholic beverage of your choice here).If you’re like us, we need you. We need you to talk booze. We need you to talk booze while tasting booze. Ok, maybe not at the same time. But one after the other. (Responsibly. Because you’re 19th birthday was probably a decade ago and there’s no longer an excuse for “sloppy” on Monday evening.)

This speakeasy market research is so exclusive, we can only have a certain number of people of the right demographic over to taste cool beverages and talk about them with the kitestring research team.

Want to come? Fill out this quick survey.  kitestring will contact those who apply and meet the demographic criteria. You’ll be well fed and watered. You’ll leave with swag and more booze. You’ll also end up playing a role in the rebranding process for one of kitestring’s clients.

Here’s the deets, including when you’ll need to be available:

BOOZE TALK: A Market Research Speakeasy is on a Monday evening, but we can’t say here which one because it’s a Speakeasy. And Speakeasy’s are secret.

Have a question? Email meg@kitestring.ca

Local fashion enthusiast, Andrea Malick, approached the kitestring team to create her brand when she decided to open up a women’s jean store in the James St. S district. Everything from Rivet & Tailor’s brand name, visual identity and brand elements are inspired by the Victorian heroines of novels past – from Emily Bronte to Jane Eyre and Josephine March of Little Women. Old books and libraries alike were brought together when thinking of her brand’s story. Rivet & Tailor will celebrate its grand opening on September 17th! Check out the store and its beautiful storefront sign at 136 James St. South!

After I heard about Madison Lord’s lemonade stand’s cooler being stolen, I suggested to the kitestring team that we step up and help out. Turns out, some of our good friends also had the same idea! With the power of social media, we rallied our followers and the kitestringers came together with Mark Scutella (of Pinstripe Painting) to provide 10-year-old Madison with a brand new lemonade stand! I got to help paint it and everything!

The Cossart Exchange is also going to provide Madison with free entrepreneurship classes – she’ll be the youngest person to ever go through their program! Plus, she’ll get to sell lemonade for charity at the Ottawa Street Sew Hungry: Food Truck Rally! Tomorrow everyone is getting together at the kitestring studio to present Madison and her family with the new lemonade stand and the big news! There will be lemonade and cookies to celebrate! We’re so excited!

Wanna come?

Contact meg@kitestring.ca or margaret@kitestring.ca and let us know!

Like most Canadians, I’m not really sure what to make of this week and it’s only Wednesday. Earth quakes, tornadoes and the death of an inspiring political figure  make me feel like my none-too-pleased little sister on the spinning swings at Marine Land: “Stop the world! I want to get off!”

Like most Canadians again, I wish I had more time to read. So, I know I’ve only got about five pages into Connected by Drs. Christakis and Fowler, but in that short minute it took me to get that far before I fell asleep it offered  a concept that made me want to “hold on for one more day.”

So in this book, these cool docs are suggesting that our humanistic tendencies propel the formation of social networks. Yes, yes, we’ve heard of “Pay it Forward,” but this is a little different. Here’s an example, however unrelated: If our friends, friends, friends are gaining weight, you’re more likely to get fat too. Chapter One:  “The Butterscotch Ripple Effect.” I joke, I jest. That’s not the name of chapter one.

But this notion can be applied elsewhere to other “good” activities we share with our networks. For example, I was never much of a political person, but during the last election my social networks began exposing me to all kinds of ways that my vote truly counts.So I became more educated on political parties, and I think I made my first vote that wasn’t heavily influenced by looks alone this time around. Oh, admit it. You did too! *see “Left”, literally.

Another great example of this “butterscotch ripple effect” is Stuart Thursby’s, Art Director at Proximity Canada, timely tribute to the late Jack Layton (see image at top of post). Almost instantly after the release of Jack’s message to Canadians, Stuart created and shared these posters, turning a hopeful legacy for a nation into visual beauty.

Like many of us, I too am now inspired to be a better Canadian. Maybe we could all influence one another so we don’t forget how we feel right now by sharing on our social networks. Maybe this sounds like the study of twitter communities through rose coloured glasses, but lets give it a spin!

Be loving, hopeful, and optimistic… and then don’t forget to share it.