Jump start your knowledge with Vancouver interactive workshops designed to help you leverage your web skills or attend the 2-day Interlink conference for more hands-on workshops.

Interlink Workshops offer a series of six hour hands-on workshops on the first Wednesday of each month. These interactive workshops are taught by industry leaders and are designed to teach participants digital-based skills — web design, WordPress, etc. The workshops are at the W2 Media Cafe on E. Hastings and run from April to June. Tickets go on sale beginning in February and cost $395 (early bird) or $495 (regular). Register early in order to reserve your spot. Lunch is included, a laptop is strongly encouraged for all workshops.

1. How to build and customize WordPress themes

When: Wednesday April 4, 2012 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Tickets available starting: Feb. 8, 2012

The first workshop, by web developer Jeff Starr, teaches participants how to create a WordPress theme from the ground up including building & customizing your own theme, integrating e-commerce, support systems and chat forums. Additionally, he will explore social-media functionality through the use of widgets, advanced loops and more. Participants will be left with a flexible and scalable WordPress theme that is functional and SEO ready.

2. Adaptive web design 

When: Wednesday May 9, 2012 (9:00a.m. – 5:00p.m.)

Tickets available starting March 7, 2012

With the explosion of new devices–phones, tablets, media players and video game systems, web developer Aaron Gustafson will teach participants how to deal with an increasingly fragmented browser landscape through modern web design. Get a better understanding of Progressive Enhancement, CSS, HTML5 and JavaScript.

3. Responsive enhancement

When: Wednesday June 5, 2012 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Tickets available starting April 4, 2012

In the third workshop, technical director Jeremy Keith teaches how to construct websites that are intuitive on a wide range of devices. Learn how to prioritize content, size images for different environments, apply fluid layouts based on percentages and more. This workshop is aimed at designers and developers.

4. 2012 Interlink web design conference

When: Wednesday June 6-7, 2012

Tickets available Feb. 1 at 8 a.m.

The Interlink conference is a 2-day event of  curated talks and hands-on workshops created for web professionals led by a mix of designers, developers, creative directors and more. Lots of extra free events are offered for connecting and lunch is included for attendees.

“Invoke has grown substantially this year,” said David Tedman, the co-CEO of Invoke. “Acquiring Thirdi reinforces our growth strategy both in US markets as well as here in Vancouver.”

Invoke has rapidly been adding staff in the past 12 months to handle a growing client list, which includes brands like VH1, 7-Eleven Canada, Los Angeles Newspaper Group, AG Hair, F-Cancer and Men’s Health. Invoke’s services — including social media and digital strategy, web and mobile app development, Facebook development and website design and development — position it to smoothly take over Thirdi’s services which include social apps and online tools. Invoke is now handling all of Thirdi’s existing accounts and providing ongoing support for clients and their apps. Web, mobile development and social media support will be done out of Invoke’s Vancouver office.

“Our team is thrilled to bring our award winning strategy and products to a host of exciting new clients,” Tedman said.

“This is a great move for everyone involved, and I’m excited it’s Invoke taking over,” said Matt Friesen, Thirdi’s founder. “There’s no doubt our clients will love their new agency. I spent the past five years growing Thirdi to what it is today and I’m proud to pass the ball to Invoke.”

Invoke’s in house products include HootSuite, memelabs, Eat St. and Food.ee.

During the next 90 days, Invoke will be transitioning Thirdi’s social media channels and redirecting business inquiries to Invoke.

Thirdi clients with questions about their accounts can contact Invoke at 604-398-6030 or by emailing info@invokemedia.com.

Please direct press inquiries to Allison Vail at allison.vail@invokemedia.com.

Ashish Gurung teaches an undergraduate social media course at SFU Beedie School of Business. He is also involved with a bunch of other stuff ‚ some startups, some consulting and lots of non-profits. Find him @ashishgurung and http://www.ashishgurung.ca

Tell us a bit about the social media course you created. What motivated you to create an entire course about social media at SFU’s Beedie School of Business?

Jan Kietzmann, a SFU professor, had the idea to bring social media to the business school. We noticed students were entering the work force with little or no formal education in social media. So, we paired up to teach this course. This is the first course dedicated to social media at the SFU Beedie School of Business. It just makes sense — students need to be educated about social media, especially from a business-driven context. It’s a natural and needed extension to our undergraduate program. Plus our class reached the waiting list within a few days of registration.

Why do you think it’s important for students to learn about and familiarize themselves with social media?

It’s important for our students to not only learn about current trends in social media, but to understand social media as a whole – from learning about behavioural economics, to virality and building communities. We’re bringing the gap between the classroom and industry. We’re skyping in awesome startups like Summify and Launchrock, and the students get a chance to meet leaders from Invoke, HootSuite and EA. It’s a great balance between theory and practical applications. Students will be leaving our class with a greater understanding of social media and its impact on both society and businesses.

Why do you think it’s important to incorporate social media in universities and lecture halls?

I think it’s very important to incorporate social media in our classrooms. I know many instructors who still don’t believe in the power of social media and refuse to integrate it in their classrooms. It’s how the students communicate with each other — it’s how they hear the news. There’s a high probability that students are browsing Facebook while in class. It’s important to now use these tools to enhance the learning experience.

Invoke: Where do you see the future of social media in the classroom?

Our class uses a Facebook group and Twitter chat (#bus495) to communicate with each other and it’s awesome. Students are posting articles, comments and having discussions everyday on our Facebook group and Twitter chat. I’m surprised by how much the students have embraced it — they’re communicating with each other, getting to know each other and are having intelligent conversations over these channels. As the instructors, we’re using Facebook to post online notes, presentations and class updates. I’m hoping to see more classrooms embrace social media. The goal is to create a culture in the classroom where students are learning from each other and from the instructors. I believe we’ll start to see educators adopt web apps that encourage a social learning environment.

What are your top five industry sites that you check out on a regular basis?

Hacker News,  Summify, 
Hootsuite , Social Media Examiner and TechCrunch.

1) What steps did you take to develop your brand as a tech, pop culture, PR, fashion and multimedia all-star and when did you realize that you’re officially “tech savvy”?

My entry to the media landscape was as a news-talk producer, which taught me how to find the right story for the right audience from a wide variety of news topics. I got into the tech scene just over two years ago when I produced a technology-based radio and TV show. The tech and mobile space moves just as fast as the news so I’m used to staying on top of trends. I keep up with the latest and greatest because I love technology so my tech-enthusiasm fuels my passion.

Can you tell us about some current trends you think will strike it big?

Augmented reality has been a buzz-word for some time now, however, it will be explored even more in the next year or so, especially in the world of online shopping. There are a growing number of eCommerce sites that offer deals on fashion and home decor like HauteLook, eBay’s fashion store (Fashion Vault), HomeSav, Gilt, and Amazon’s newly launched MyHabit, that need to find innovative ways to attract more shoppers and encourage more spending. This is where augmented reality will make its grand entrance onto the catwalk. A web cam or front-facing camera allows shoppers to virtually “try on” clothing and accessories from the comfort of their own home.

eBay recently rolled out an AR app to help shoppers try on sunglasses before buying. UK retailer Banana Flame’s AR app, the Social Shopper, lets you try on a bunch of outfit virtually by standing 4-5 feet away from your web cam and moving the pieces onto your body. You can share the pictures with your friends. It’s only a matter of time before your Facebook News Feed page will have status updates like: “Does this outfit make me look hot? Plz comment. I’m taking a poll on whether or not I should buy it at 50 per cent off. Good deal, eh?”

Do you have any favourite sources of tech/media news?

I refer to a lot of sites. Off the top of my head: Engadget, TechCrunch, Mashable, VentureBeat, LA Times Tech, Vancouver Sun, The Verge (formerly This Is My Next), TrendHunter. Another good source is the MediaBistro newsletter which provides a succinct rundown of the top stories in news, pop culture, and tech. I also enjoy listening to Leo LaPorte’s podcast, The Week in Tech as I appreciate his perspective as well as the strong panel of opinionated guests he invites.

Integrating platforms such as TV, film and the web in order to provide a single, transmedia experience for users seems increasingly important — is there anyone in the digital space who’s doing this particularly well?

One brand that immediately comes to mind is Salomon, the makers of sports-specific clothing, footwear, and equipment. They’ve done an impressive job of taking elements of TV and film and applying it to the web and online audience with the launch of its web-series, Freeski TV. The content in each episode is compelling, interesting and leaves viewers hungry for more. Salomon is reliable and consistent on delivering the content for its growing audience; as a result, they’ve earned respect as a strong yet cool brand in the industry. They’ve innovated the advertising model for ski/snowboard from being a logo slapped on an athlete’s helmet to utilizing content to drive brand awareness and loyalty. It worked on me, as I just bought new gear from them.

If you were to coin a term that communicates today’s current media landscape (that isn’t “new media”) what would that term be?

“Distinctively trending media” The current media landscape is hustling to be bigger, broader, and grander. Media players, brands, companies and personalities are experimenting with ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. There is no clear path in the landscape for anyone, it’s like throwing darts at the board until something sticks or better yet hit a bull’s eye. Essentially, players are experimenting in this media playground with the intention of being distinctive and trending. #Innovation

A full list of the winners can be found on the Forrester blog, which is also a great place to flip through some fantastic digital campaigns. We’re also impressed by the other finalists, especially since they are practically neighbours (Blast Radius, DDB Canada, Banyan Branch).

Invoke submitted one of our most successful social campaigns to date on the memelabs platform.

Built for the launch of VH1’s TV show Single and Liking it, a photo contest on Facebook resulted in fans chatting about the show and interacting with the brand’s Facebook page and online entities. We’re so proud of the campaign and believed it was a good fit for Forrester. You can read over Invoke’s submission here.