It’s been hard to ignore right here in our office, as well – it seems like every day another person shows up flashing a fancy wristband and bragging about their point total or step count.

With that in mind, we’ve dug a little deeper into the features of three popular fitness-focused wearables to look at what makes them interesting – not only for consumers, but also for product development and integration.

Fitbit

What it is: This wireless activity tracking device is available as a carry-along (the One and Zip) and just came out with the Flex, a wristband version. It syncs with an app on both iPhone and Android, and users can earn badges for various accomplishments and share goals through social media. It can also be paired with the Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale to track weight, body fat percentage and BMI.

What we like: Invoke Labs developer Denis, who has a Fitbit One, likes the sleep tracking and Bluetooth 4.0 syncing, which allows for an extended battery life with each charge. He says: “I started taking stairs whenever I can, and my sleep pattern improved because once I know what’s happening, I know how to correct that.”

What we don’t love: A tradeoff is that the new Flex, while more convenient in wristband form, doesn’t track the stair count like the One.

What’s more: As a product line, it’s well thought-out beyond just the devices themselves, with an affiliate program, open API and corporate wellness arm.

Price: $99.95 for the One or Flex

UP

What it is: The wristband activity tracker from Jawbone, a company better known for its audio products like the Jambox, bills itself as providing “a holistic approach” to wellness. It comes in a spectrum of colours, and partners with a smartphone app to track movement, sleep, meals and moods.

What we like: Alex, Ops/HR manager for Invoke Labs, chose it because it offered significantly more functionality than other options on the market, and finds the gamification of daily goals inspiring. She says: “It’s a fun and interactive way to learn more about your personal habits and identify habits that are contributing (for better or worse) to your overall health and wellness.”

The open API allows it to tie into a variety of other iOS apps like Runkeeper and MapMyFitness. This creates an added benefit to the device because it expands the user experience to encompass bike ride mapping, food libraries, and enhanced sleep and mood data. Users can also join “teams” and watch what friends are tracking and achieving.

Jawbone also just acquired BodyMedia, a wearable sensor company, which indicates they’re in it for the long haul as wearable tech evolves.

What we don’t love: What the UP lacks is wireless syncing – users have to plug into their computer via the headphone jack.

Price: $149

FuelBand

What it is: The heftiest wristband comes from the biggest player in the market: Nike. The Fuelband tracks daily activity and calories burned and syncs with the Nike+ app, and offers an LED display (with a clock!) Through the app, users can connect with friends and share goals on Path, Facebook and Twitter.

What we like: David Tedman, Invoke’s co-founder, says the simplicity of the device is part of its appeal. “I actually bought one for my mom and she loves it. She’s not an early adopter of tech product (she still uses a burner as her cellphone) but she picked it up, wears it all the time and likes hitting the daily goal.”

The introduction of the Fuelband was a smooth segue for existing users of the Nike+ running app; however, Fuelband activity and Nike+ running activity are displayed separately (though on one dashboard.)

Additionally, Nike recently opened up its API to allow developers to explore ways to integrate with it, though so far the only apps to incorporate it are Path and LoseIt. Invoke Labs’ own Sprout at Work is currently in the trenches exploring future integrations as part of the Nike+ Accelerator TechStars program.

What we don’t love: The feature set is much more limited than its competitors (no sleep tracking, for example) and its bulky design makes wearing it more obtrusive during non-workout activities.

Price: $149

What is your wearable of choice? Which do you think has the most potential for growth and integration with other products?

Last week, I attended the RealTech SF 2013 conference as part of the Pendo Rent team. We were showing off our rental property management product, newly launched in beta (p.s. sign up!), joining 22 other startups on Startup Alley.

I bet you’re thinking, “Wait, there are 23 real estate technology startups in the entire world?” In fact, the online world of real estate has come a long way since Craigslist first started changing the way people market and search for rentals in 1999. Some of the current big names in online home buying – like Trulia, Zillow and Redfin – followed soon after. Now, there’s a new wave of real estate tech startups disrupting the industry by through the use of data, analytics, paperless transactions and integrated systems.

At Startup Alley, we saw companies like Kwelia, which uses market data to estimate rental pricing. There was GoRefi, an online system to allow homeowners to handle their mortgage refinance. Storefront makes it easy to setup and launch pop up retail businesses.

Listening to the pitches from the various startups and observing the panel discussions at the conference, I noticed three trends:

1. A lot of people and companies are jumping headfirst into the real estate tech space. Did I mention … 23 startups? Especially considering the conference initially opened spots for only 10 startups, and had to expand due to overwhelming interest. It’s an industry that in many ways is still stuck in a pre-Internet era – think about most interactions you have with a broker or landlord – which to entrepreneurs and investors translates to big opportunities.

2. As tech-savvy Millenials (and even Gen Xers) get more involved in real estate, they’re demanding a higher quality online experience in those real estate transactions. The generation that is used to the UI/UX provided by Facebook and Apple won’t stand for outdated technology or clunky websites.

3. Many of these startups are targeting a DIY ethic that enables users to circumvent established real estate systems. Both GoRefi and Pendo Rent, for example, allow users to self-manage a process that previously might have been performed by a professional (in these cases refinancing and effectively managing your rental properties.) While real estate professionals haven’t gone the way of travel agents just yet, these new startups are starting to democratize the home buying, selling and renting process.

Where do you see room for innovation in the real estate world? What types of real estate startups do you think will prove the most successful?

While much has been made about the movement of retail to the online space, traditional brick and mortar businesses aren’t the only ones who need to adapt to the modern e-commerce environment. Stale, unengaging, transactional focused sites should also be worried – offering a subpar or traditional e-commerce experience will leave sites stuck in 1995.

Today, the most innovative brands are those that push the traditional boundaries of e-commerce through packaging that makes an effort, pricing structures that put the customer first, copy that speaks like a human, innovative product distribution strategies, and personalized showrooms that simplify the purchase decision process.

Creating Customer Loyalty

Understanding what customers value will turn them into repeat customers. This means taking into consideration efforts that last longer than the item purchased itself: first impressions, experiences, and thoughtfulness. Once a business can capture their target consumer by doing online business differently, the site and brand will start to stand out in this trillion-dollar industry. With the abundance of strictly web-based retail offerings, foregoing conducting business face-to-face is still no excuse to overlook the finer details that will extend the brand’s essence through the digital sphere.

Best In Class Ecommerce

Whether it’s a  traditional brick and mortar business looking to launch their product offering online or a new business concept that will be solely virtual, brands must have an edge that will drive customers to their site and then draw them in upon arrival.

I spent some time crawling the web for examples of eCommerce outlets offering out-of-the-box digital shopping experiences. Here are my top “e-tail” sites that are making an effort against business as usual.

Photojojo: Captivating Copy

Any brand that does a good job at sounding like a real human deserves to be recognized. Doesn’t this simple copy intrigue you and make you want to learn more? Photojojo doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Upon browsing their site, I quickly found they do offer the most “marvelous, stupendous, outrageous, fantabulous, prodigious [and] tremendous” photography accessories on the planet. They are also transparent – they want customers to share their content by offering high-res photo download options for each of their products. They give clear and easy instructions on how to use them on your blog, site, or for print.

BONUS: a token dinosaur toy arrives with your package. It’s humorous and thoughtful – a small gesture that goes along way to communicate Photojojo’s digital space persona into a real-world, physical element.

StyleMint: Online Personal Shopper Meets Curated Showroom

Busy life? Don’t have time to browse 40,000 items offered from other online retailers? No problem. Style Mint is the brainchild of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, backed by a larger group of celebrity curated, member only, direct to consumer sites. They already know my style because I answered a few basic questions about what I like to wear, which is then cleverly used to create my own personal curated showroom. I don’t need to browse multiple sites to find something I like or get the perfect. StyleMint’s algorithms have made my online experience that much more efficient, simple, and specialized. A brand that knows what I like or need is a brand I want to be friends with.

Everlane: Rid Yourself of the Luxury Middleman and Foster Organic User Generated Content

Everlane’s vision is clear – eliminate the middleman when it comes to designer, luxury goods. It’s a new retail mentality that puts the customer first. Everlane has found a niche in consumers who want luxury items without the markups. Items arrive beautifully wrapped in craft paper with a small thank you note tucked inside. This small detail goes far in making a good impression on customers. Where Everlane wins big is that these little details naturally compel social savvy fashionistas to share photos of their Everlane parcels on social media. Look at these packages, who wouldn’t want to snap a photo and post it to their social profile?

I have ordered countless items online that arrive in factory plastic bags with a warehouse waybill enclosed – not very glamorous or special. No one is going to post a photo of their new dress in a plastic bag that states “not a toy” or “keep away from small children to prevent choking”.

But, Everlane’s most noteworthy marketing strategy is their #CrowdFundCanada campaign. A consumer call-to-action driven campaign that asked consumers to pledge their shopping dollars towards Everland in an effort to make shipping available up north. The innovative, simple call-to-action was a resounding success: Shipping north of the 49th parallel began in March.

ebay Now ‘Brings It’ With Same Day Shipping

eBay Now has solved a problem most of us have encountered at one time or another:

1. Needing a tool to complete a home reno project you are smack dab in the middle of

2. Wanting a new outfit for an impulsive special dinner with friends after work

3. Picking up that birthday gift you meant to buy but couldn’t because you got stuck in meetings all day and the party is just after work

This new eBay offering is an app based, mobile-only shopping experience aimed specifically at solving these “in a pinch” problems. Customers can order an item during their morning commute and have it delivered in time for their morning coffee break.

To further gain consumers’ trust, eBay partnered with big box retailers that include the likes of Best Buy, Macys, Wallgreens, Office Depot and Target. It’s an ingenious way to help these large, traditional brick and mortar businesses expand their customer base,  while gaining visibility online and targeting on-the-go customers.

Currently, eBay Now is only available in San Francisco, San Jose, and some parts of New York City. It will be interesting to see if they follow suit with Everlane’s example and expand their services to other major cities in the US and Canada.

MOO: Quality Products and Reusable Packaging

MOO was born out of the love for amazing, high quality prints with a goal to be the best print shop in the world. MOO’s personality is fun, creative and enjoyable to engage with. They are not just selling a printing service, but also inspiration. A large section of the site is dedicated to design ideas for their numerous products and how a brand can creatively stand out with MOO print materials,  best practice examples from satisfied customers to help others visualize what MOO can do for them, and even a “Startup Toolkit” page where customers can gain knowledge about building their own business from a carefully selected group of Startup experts. The “Startup Toolkit” campaign encourages users to  share their own business tips on Twitter with Moo’s hashtag #MooStartupKit, further extending their brand’s reach. Talk about marketing as a service!

Returning customers are “personally” welcomed back to the site, with their shipping address and payment information conveniently saved in the system, which goes a long way in simplifying the checkout process and creates further incentive to purchase. No graphic designer? No problem. Users can easily import photos from their social media profiles or e-commerce presence; like Flickr, Facebook or Etsy, to create a personalized, DIY design.

With Moo you can forget the standard, flimsy, throw away box received from other printers. Business cards, stickers, and postcards in a beautiful, bright, and for the most part, reusable packaging. It helps keep materials in prime condition whether they’re stored in your briefcase or your desk. In addition, the beautiful, reusable packaging creates consumer conversations and allows the brand persona to live past the life of product, keeping MOO top of mind when it’s time to re-order.

Now that we’ve taken a peek at some of my favorite eCommerce sites, start thinking about the value your site and products have to offer current and potential customers. Developing a satisfactory, memorable brand experience from end to end doesn’t have to be complicated and can begin with something as simple as a personalized thank you card included with orders or a small keepsake memento that resonates with your brand personality.

What are some of your favorite online stores? Tweet who you think stands out in the crowd to @Invoke.

Only four months into his tenure as Invoke CEO and Michael Smit hasn’t stopped making waves. A seasoned storyteller and businessman, Michael’s background and experience have intrigued many and this time around, he’s piqued the interest of BC Business Magazine enough to warrant a special business profile interview in the latest issue.

Big thanks to Lindsey Peacock for the coverage and to Peter Holst for the great photo.

This is going to be a two-part post. The first is going to outline why we spent the time to get a VPC up and running, and why clustered hosting is something that works really well in a VPC. The second is going to try to help you when you decide to set up VPC, by walking you through the two main differences between a standard AWS group of servers and a VPC:  subnetting IP address space and configuring a NAT host.

First, though, you might be asking yourself, why would I want to set up a VPC? What would a cluster in a VPC give me that a cluster outside of a VPC wouldn’t? Well, there are a few benefits:

Benefits of VPC

• Free

• Best practice for clustered web hosting

• Well on your way to being compliant with a range of standards, such as PCI / HIPAA

• Gives you the option of site-to-site VPN if you need it

• More secure / control over your firewall configuration and Amazon Security Groups feature

• Gives you something new to learn to keep your skills and knowledge up-to-date.

While I’m sure it’s nice for Enterprise IT departments to create site-to-site VPNs into Amazon, the feature is far more useful than that alone, especially for organisations that don’t have an Enterprise IT department. It allows the rest of us to build clustered web hosting configurations according to best practices, and to have a lot more control over what our web hosting infrastructure looks like. The benefits are important enough that Amazon has announced that it will make VPC the default container for EC2 instances when you create instances in a region for the first time. They’re rolling out the change slowly on a per-region basis, so now is the time to learn about VPC and how best to make use of it!

Given the breadth of the topic, this blog post cannot be an exhaustive resource into networking best practices, but we can start off by pointing you in the right direction. Two classic books that you should read are Building Internet Firewalls (2nd Ed.) and Practical UNIX and Internet Security (3rd Ed.)

But, in order to make this blog post, and VPC, useful to you, there are two aspects to VPC that are different from setting up a normal group of Amazon EC2 instances: networking subnets and an NAT gateway EC2 instance.

Before we get to some tips and tricks about how to quickly implement these two steps, let’s talk a bit more about the process of setting up a VPC.

You probably don’t need a VPC during development unless you’re going to be doing all of your development in the cloud.  Here at Invoke, our developers use vagrant to do their development locally, and this works well for a couple of reasons: it keeps our initial costs low, so we don’t need to spin up resources before we actually need them. Additionally, it forces us to automate the process of building our application environment so that by the time we are ready to launch our staging and production environments, we have automated scripts in place that we know are working. Best of all, developers who wouldn’t otherwise pay attention to sysadmin tasks are forced to at least be aware of the steps needed to get the application into an operational state!

Chances are that you have a staging environment in which you can test your system before putting any changes into production. Since you plan on running your production system in a VPC, you should be setting up a VPC for staging as well as production. That way, you can test your VPC configuration as part of your system architecture before going into production. One thing that is really nice about Amazon is that you can use CloudStack to build out your production environment just like your staging environment, so the time and effort you spend in setting up your staging VPC isn’t duplicated when it comes time to put your system into production.

Given all this, we decided to build the infrastructure for our project as correctly as possible, and wanted to make the greatest long-term impact in terms of security and maintainability. In the next post, I’ll go over IP Subnets and NAT hosts, and how to set them up on Amazon via the web interface.  In particular, I’ll show you how to use a single Amazon instance as both your management host and as the NAT gateway– that way you won’t need to run an extra instance as a NAT gateway!

Alright, that’s enough knowledge for now. What’s your approach to working with Amazon VPC?

Kate Drane, Indiegogo

Chatting with Kate Drane, it turns out she was never entirely comfortable as a public speaker, but now that her job includes telling a room full of passionate, innovative people about the best ways to crowdfund your passion to success, Kate can’t get a mic in her hand fast enough.

And we’re glad she did; last night’s IDEA MAKERS: An evening with Indiegogo drew a packed house of some of Vancouver’s best and brightest brains across a wide variety of industries, from designers-turned-restaurateurs Clinton McDougall and Dane Brown (Bestie), to local musician David Vertesi (Hey Ocean!), to the facilitator of new business Devon MacKenzie (The Chinatown Experiment), to documentary film maker Hilary Henegar (Fractured Land), we couldn’t believe the calibre of speakers and panelists who so willingly gave of their time, let alone our esteemed guests. The evening was truly an embodiment of the spirit of crowdfunding, as Kate would say, “multiplying the power of your community, and your community’s community, to make dreams happen”.

Clinton & Dane, Bestie

Alright, enough with the warm fuzzies, let’s get to the good stuff: how do you run a successful crowdfunding campaign?

For starters, get your head wrapped around a very important fact:

Crowdfunding is not panhandling, it’s shared enthusiasm.

What now? Well, according to Kate, the key to a campaign success is as simple as, “being prepared”. Get out of the “If you build it they will come” mindset and remember that you need to connect, market your campaign, and actively build community. The best way to pitch your campaign is by playing to the three P’s: Passion, participation and pride, and perks.

• Passion: Show yours. Even better, show it through video. Campaigns with a video raise 114% more money. (Of course, the quality of the video and the story it tells matters, so don’t underestimate the effort it takes to make one. It took Clinton and Dane 1 month to make theirs and it was a critical part of their campaign.)
• Participation & Pride: Your campaign isn’t about products and projects, it’s about people. Contributors invest because they feel pride in helping a dream become a reality, so be proactive with your communications. Clinton and Dane recommend that you always articulate what it is you need, show your community what their money is building and how their participation is bringing this shared vision to life. Kate adds, “the more you can lift the curtain, the more people get excited with you.”
• Perks: Naturally, it helps to give your contributors a little token of gratitude and a badge of pride. Make sure perks are relevant to your vision. Clinton from Bestie recommends that if you’re fundraising for a commercially-driven business, the best perk is product (in Bestie’s case they offer the “magic sausage card”, good for redeeming oh-so-tasty sausage. Who wouldn’t want that?)

IDEA MAKERS panel (from left): Clinton McDougall, David Vertesi, Devon Mackenzie, Hilary Henegar, Kate Drane, Dane Brown

Hilary Henegar: Branding is really important, it helps a campaign feel more real and show people that you’re serious.

Clinton & Dane: It’s all about the pre-game set up and execution. Then, you have to remember the follow-up. Make sure you complete the story. A campaign takes a lot of management, so be prepared to be in it for the long haul.

And there you have it, the keys to crowdfunding success courtesy of Indiegogo and a rich panel of knowledgeable fundraisers.

Want to see what makes for a great Indiegogo campaign? Check out Kate’s top pick: Who gives a crap?

Who’d you like to hear from at the next #IDEAMAKERS? Leave your suggestions in the comments, we’d love to hear them.

*Bears repeating: Thank you to our generous venue sponsor Guilt & Company for providing an awesome space to host awesome people. 

Is your office thinking about joining the corporate composting movement? If so, there are likely a few unanswered questions that might be holding you back from jumping on the bandwagon. Will it stink up the whole office? Do I have to clean it out? What can and cannot be composted? As your very own guinea pigs, we’ve got some first-hand experience to share that we hope will calm your composting anxieties.

Will it stink up my office?

NO. The bin Growing City provided our office with has a nice strong seal on it so that, while closed, it keeps all unsavory scents contained and undetectable. We also avoid putting meat, fish, and bones in our compost bin because, although they are all compostable, these tend to be the ones that most commonly lead to odour.

Do I have to clean it?

NO. The Growing City team drop by your office once a week to remove the week’s compost and give your bin a thorough cleaning so that you can start the next week fresh and clean.

What can and cannot be composted?

If your infographically inclined, Growing City provides an excellent visual representation of what items can and cannot be composted on a nice little magnet that adheres to the lid of your Growing City compost bin. But if your more of a wordsmith, here is a breakdown on how we compost at Invoke.

Some things to AVOID putting in the compost:

• AVOID liquids
• AVOID meat – yes, this is actually compostable but we try to avoid putting it in our bin as it can cause odour
• NO food wrappers
• NO styrofoam
• NO plastic yogurt containers
• NO plastic k-cup containers
• NO gum packages

Things you CAN compost:

• YES tea bags, coffee filters, coffee grounds
• YES uncoated paper plates and cups (but lids are NOT always compostable – check what’s written on the lid)
• YES bamboo cutlery
• YES fruit, vegetables, and their peels
• YES dairy and egg shells
• YES bread, pasta, and grains
• YES paper towels and napkins
• YES flowers and plants

And, if after all of that, you’re still on the fence about getting your office into the composting spirit get in touch with Compost Queen & Dragon Tamer, Lisa Von Sturmer, CEO and Founder of Growing City, who’s sure to get you on board.

Joining us from San Francisco, Kate Drane will be speaking into how Indiegogo works directly with entrepreneurs to empower and educate them about how crowdfunding can impact their business (or business-to-be).

You’ll also hear from Clinton McDougall, Co-founder of Bestie, an Indiegogo success story, and a panel of very special guests including:

• Dave Vertesi (from Hey Ocean)
• Hilary Henegar (from Fractured Land)
• Devon MacKenzie (from Chinatown Experiment)

Thursday, April 25th at 6pm.

Many thanks to our generous venue sponsor Guilt & Co.

**Update: Tickets are sold out!

Now feast your eyes on Bestie’s campaign video (which may explain why they raised over $5,000 more than their fundraising goal …).

What was the impetus behind CyborgCamp coming to Vancouver?

My great friend, Kharis O’Connell, and I saw that Amber Case (renowned cyborg anthropologist and Director, R&D for ESRI in Portland) was holding an un-conference called ‘Cyborg Camp’. We both love tech but really wonder how you make sense from chaos using systematic design and technology. We wanted to be around likeminded people so we drove down.

When we attended, we met Amber and started casually chatting about how maybe we should bring it to Vancouver. It had been here in 2010 but in such a small way it got no notice so we wanted to create something more established and with a good roster of speakers and attendees.

We spoke with Amber and kicked off planning in December 2010 with our team at The Holon Group and in coordination with our friends at MAKe.

 What’s the long-term vision for the conference?

CyborgCamp first started back in 2008. The first speakers were Ward Cunningham, inventor of the first wiki. There was an interaction designer – Bill DeRouchey, and a real cyborg. The cyborg was connected to an insulin pump 24/7. Since that initial event CyborgCamps have been held in Portland, Seattle and Toronto. Now Vancouver will become part of the Cyborg family on May 11th 2013. Cyborg Camp will continue here and in cities in Canada, US and elsewhere going forward.

The Holon Group’s vision looks beyond this. We will take our learning and excitement from this year and build a more significant event around technology, culture, music and media on a yearly basis in Vancouver. We have started planning on that big idea so stayed tuned.

CyborgCamp focuses on the relationship between humans and technology. What role does Canada play in this burgeoning space? What about Vancouver and the local innovation scene?

We can start by looking right here in Vancouver. Last year an amazing futurist, Frank Ogden aka Dr. Tomorrow passed away. He predicted a future of teleports, limited labour unions, the growth of self-employment, and body implants that would turn people into cyborgs. He travelled widely throughout his long life, giving lectures on all things high-tech and experimenting with different cultures, including studying voodoo in Haiti. His thinking helped us understand more about the area.

Also, in September 2006, a group of students at UBC, Dan Eisenhardt, Hamid Abdollahi, Fraser Hall and Darcy Hughes, undertook an MBA project in heads-up displays (HUD). They then went on to form Recon Instruments and then went on to introduce the world’s first Heads-up Display (HUD) products to a consumer market. The company has developed HUD solutions which provide hands-free performance stats, navigation and communications information, direct-to-eye, in real-time. Shane Luke, VP Product, is speaking at the conference.

In addition, Vancouver also has a great innovation culture with incubators at Launch Academy, The Hive, Grow Labs, Network Hub and Full Stack driving a lot of thinking and development of amazing ideas and technologies. We have amazing talent here in town and I see a bright future.

Speaking of tech in Canada, what do you think of TED coming to Vancouver? Is this going to help events like CyborgCamp flourish, or does it pose a threat?

I think it’s a great marketing coup. It’s great for Vancouver and Canada to say it is hosting such a world-renowned conference. Beyond that, I feel it will deliver little beyond interesting talk videos for everyone else. I am not a fan of the price tag and that you have to be selected based on your credentials to get in. It feels a little too elitist.

CyborgCamp YVR is different. We are not exclusive. We are focused and are bringing in the best speakers on the impact of technology on humanity. We want people that are interested to attend, so as long as they have that interest and $75 then they are in (they’d also better be quick as we have sold over 60% of our tickets).

We have people coming from near, far and wide – Vancouver, Toronto, London (UK), Portland, Seattle, San Diego and Denver so far.

You didn’t think we’d let you go without getting a little personal, did you? If you were a Cyborg (my definition being part human, part machine), what would your name be and what special “Cyborg” ability would you possess?

Name? Ha ha. That sounds very sci-fi. I think I’d just be Nikolas Xavier Badminton (I’ve always liked the idea od an ‘X’ initial in my name).

I’d actually create a family of drones and machines that do some of the more mundane things for me – shopping, PowerPoint writing, social media updates, cooking, driving etc. I would have a central control pad tattooed into my arm sending instructions and spend more time on thinking, writing and having fun. Probably away from civilization, in a futuristic cabin by a lake.

Invoke CEO Michael Smit is included in the impressive roster of speakers and will be discussing “Medium,  Message, and Mutation”. Like Nik  said, the event is over 60% sold out and tickets are flying, so be sure to get your CyborgCampYVR tickets now. 

Nik is an experienced creative strategist, with 17 years of experience in technology and digital, that moved to Vancouver from the UK in 2008. He thinks differently about social, digital and mobile and the human culture it affects. He runs a think tank on technology and culture – The Holon Group, speaks at conferences, judges international awards shows, works for TAXI, and blogs for the Huffington Post .

A few days ago, we all received an email call for help from the newest front-end developer at Invoke – and recent Vancouver transplant by way of Paris, France – Stéphane Guigné. The subject line, immediately intriguing: “[webby awards] I need your help”.

Turns out, Stéphane’s been up to some very interesting work with former colleague Thibault Jorge, project director and designer extraordinaire at Uzik, a stellar Parisian digital communications agency.

“I’m a project manager”

Together, Thibault and Stéphane brought to life I’m a project manager, essentially Thibault’s digital portfolio currently nominated for a Webby People’s Voice Award. The site’s already received quite a bit of acclaim from the design community; in the past few months “I’m a project manager” has been nominated by Awwwards, featured as Mobile of the Day by FWA Mobile, received a CSS Design Award, and featured on siteInspire. No big deal, right?

While Thibault took care of the design over in Paris, Stéphane developed the site (in only 6 days!) from his new home in Vancouver. How’d the overseas collaboration work? “Skype. A lot of Skype,” says Stéphane, “I would work when he was asleep and he would work when I was asleep, but we tried to talk on Skype two times a day to make sure everything was working.”

Stéphane’s contribution was in developing the site using responsive design (if you need a refresher on what that means and what it entails, check out our blog post: What are clients asking for when they ask for responsive design?). Since his start here at Invoke, Stéphane’s already exhibited a mild obsession with “clean code” that he clearly translated into his work for “I’m a project manager”.

“Often, the problem with developing with responsive design means that developers will load a lot of unnecessary assets in the process of trying to make the images fit the device’s screen,” explained Stéphane (in his heavy Parisian accent that I really wish I could replicate in text). “This slows down the loading time and does not make for a good user experience. With this project, I developed responsive for jquery and optimized the images in a way that won’t load extra assets and won’t compromise bandwidth. The site is also compatible with retina display, by the way”.

Vote for “I’m a project manager” in the Webby Awards 

The simple, grid-style responsive site speaks for itself, which is why we decided to feature Thibault and Stéphane’s work in this post and why we’re now going to ask for YOUR help in voting it to the top! “I’m a project manager” is nominated in the “Best Personal Blog or Website” category.

You can also …

Give kudos on Twitter: @madebytj, @guin_s

Let us (@invoke) know when you’ve voted!