New Media

In 2008 Currents has garnered a steadily-growing readership for its coverage of a range of topics, from current events and politics to the environment social media and tech trends — all things that I have a deep interest in, even if I don’t always have the time to give each topic the attention it deserves every week. I’m grateful for all of your comments and looking forward to an even better 2009

Here’s are some of the highlights of the year gone by:

January. For no particular reason, I set out to become the most searchable Vancouver blogger and come pretty close to achieving it before setting off the Vancouver Blogger Nerd Fight, in which I choose not to run.

February: At Vancouver’s premier blogging conference, Northern Voice, I meet the guy who makes this blog possible.

March. One Thousand Stories, a documentary about my friend and gifted Vancouver-based writer Kevin Spenst’s literary adventure wins the Paul and Ben Film Festival for best short film. Here’s an interview I did with Kevin after his victory.

April. On the political front, the Canada-Afghanistan Solidarity Committee starts enjoying some success in its goal of helping Canadians understand why we need to be involved in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, on the social media scene, Hummingbird604 (then known at the time as a Student of the Environment) provides a blog-inspiring mantra and social media consultant Monica Hamburg gives me a lesson in crowdsourcing.

May. I wander around the world-class UBC Museum of Anthropology and make a video. Also, some people do actually pay me to write for them, and I finally cobbled together some tips for copywriters on my WRITEIMAGE blog.

June. I write about the Great Firewall of China and ponder Vancouver’s success in creating a more environmentally sustainable transportation model.

July. I explore whether us bloggers can and should attempt to provide better web security for our readers when large corporations and public organizations are falling down on that job. Also, Omar Khadr gives me an ethical conundrum and a very bad headache.

August. My preference for more discrete breast-feeding habits for mothers in public spaces makes me a bit of a caveman. On the plus side, I’m told I can now pick my nose and scratch my scrotum in public with no social consequences. I have yet to test out this theory.

September. Dedicated and hard-hitting journalist and author Terry Glavin reminds us again why we must stick to the mission in Afghanistan and ignore the heckles of so-called “peaceniks” who would abandon millions of Afghans to the predations of murderous thugs.

October. A little teaser for the present Israeli-Palestinian conflict plays out on video outside a Vancouver liquor store. Also, I celebrate that it’s time for change in Obama’s adopted hometown (well, before he moved into the White House).

November. Vancouver’s new mayor Gregor Robertson takes on homelessness, just in time, before the cold weather really hits. I have a Super Cool Weekend in Vancouver. Jihadi terrorists bring tragedy to Mumbai, though getting a certain local blogger to express solidarity with the victims against the barbarians is a little like pulling teeth.

December. Currents wins a runner-up award for Best Politics Site or Blog from Miss604’s Best of 604 Awards after a hard, bare-knuckles blogging campaign. A cold winter snap descends on Vancouver. Meanwhile, there’s a political crisis in Ottawa. Vancouver’s indie media tries to work with the Olympics, sparked by Dave Olson and Raincity Studios’ open letter to VANOC, with some excellent commentary on the situation by the OlyBLOG. And just as the year is about to end, I protest for democracy and peace for the Israelis and Palestinians against a bunch of Canadians who don’t seem to really understand what it’s going to take for both sides to get there.

Those are the highlights. Looking forward to a great 2009.

There’s tough times all over and in Vancouver, the poor and marginalized are suffering even worse than usual under an Arctic freeze-up. Kudos to Vancouver’s bloggers, twitterers and other geeks for stepping in to save the day.

Gillian Shaw reports today on a Twitter flash mob assembling in the downtown eastside to distribute warm clothing (Vancouver Sun). An excerpt:

“Here’s a coat,” said Steve Jagger, a Vancouver tech entrepreneur on Twitter as @sjagger, rooting around in the bottom of a bag to come up with something for a homeless man looking to warm up. “No, take this one instead, it’s a better fit and it’s cool.”

Kudos also to John Chow, who has raised over $12,000 for the Union Gospel Mission at a time when Vancouver’s hungry and homeless appear to need our help the most. John is better known for being better known – with 44,203 registered subscribers, his “Make Money Online“-themed site probably beats the readership of most Canadian print publications. Way to give back.

Miss604’s Best of 604 Awards raised $1,800 for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society (which included my donation as well).

Meanwhile, Beautynight stuffed 500 Christmas stockings for their clients hoping to make positive lifestyle changes.

I often blather on about social media and Web 2.0 stuff, so for all you out there who were wondering about whether Twitter and social media really matter, here are some great examples of instant successes that have brought about positive change in the community. It actually works. If anyone else has come upon other examples of this kind of social-media making a difference locally in the last while, go ahead and leave a comment with the details.

It turns out that Currents took third place in the 604 Awards for Best Politics Site or Blog category, just a few percentage points behind a Canadian rock musician whose CD I purchased about nine years ago.

Matthew Good and I are in talks to see if we can’t form a coalition to have Miss604 declare one of us the winner instead of the Tyee, since Canadians just don’t trust David Beers.

Here’s the final tally:

Best site for Politics:
1. The Tyee 35%
2. Matthew Good 22%
3. Jonathon Narvey 18%

Thank you to all my friends, social media evangelists and the millions of Currents fans around the world who supported me in this hard-fought campaign. But the voters have spoken. The Tyee wins this round.

I wanted to write some petty and spiteful things about the Tyee, but the fact is, I actually like it. I read it pretty regularly. So against my baser inclinations, congratulations are in order.

And since the vote counts apparently won’t be released, I can at least console myself that there’s a slim chance this blog beat the snot out of Bill Tieleman’s .

In the meantime, I won a bottle of Yardley English Lavender Bath Foam, Shea Butter and a $25 gift certificate to Howie’s bistro and bar at the 604 Awards raffle, so it’s not a total loss. Nice things for the wife, plus a date night in our future.

Also, congratulations are in order. To my friends in the blogosphere, like Dave Olson (Raincity Studios, Winner Best Company Blog, and Runner-up ), the team at Techvibes (Runner-up, Best Tech Blog — Hey, Wait, I’m Part of That Team! You rock, Rob Lewis!) and Corinna Carlson (Gus Greeper, Runner-up Best Personal Blog), John Chow (whom I met one day at a Vancouver blogger event many months ago– I watched him photograph his less-than satisfactory cheeseburger for the entertainment of his thousands of subscribers)… congratulations.

To all those other deserving blogs out there — there are too many to name, and you know who you are — all I can say is, keep at it. We’re reading what you have to say. Congratulations to you all.

If we are mark’d to lose this 604 Blog Awards campaign, we are enow
To do our blogosphere loss; and if to win the Best Politics Site or Blog Award,
The fewer social media evangelists, the greater share of honour.
God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for web traffic,
Nor care I who doth receive traffic from my blog;
It yearns me not if men my feedburner counter draws down;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from Vancouver.
God’s peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, bloggers of Metro Vancouver, through the Currents blog,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him un-friend me; his passport shall be made,
And the cost of web hosting put into his purse;
We would not be defeated in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to go down with us.
This day is call’d the Best of 604 Awards voting deadline.
He that votes for jnarvey.com, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of 604.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say ‘To-morrow is 604.’
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say ‘These wounds I had on 604’s day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his RSS feeds as household words-
Miss604, Hummingbird604 and Kris Krug,
Jeremy Lim and Dave Olson, Monica Hamburg and Beyond Robson-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And 604 shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that votes for jnarvey.com
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in Vancouver now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That voted with us upon 604’s day.