If you appreciate Tall Ships, then I want to share a link with you to collections of photos of these beautiful vessels from around the world.

I was introduced to them by a guy dated a few years ago. His passions lie in boat-building, sailing, sail training, education and owning a number of ships. It’s nice to see a number of pictures of one of his ships, Tall Ship Silva. This is an excellent example of viral marketing - your customers and strangers posting pictures of your product on a social media networking site.

I consider there not to be too many things more remarkable than these incredible vessels built by craft, skill, labour, tradition, toil and mystery. Built to sail and battle the seas and waters of the world.

Image of a tall ship on the Halifax waterfront from the flickr.com site.

More of my boat-building friends include: Eli Simmonds, my former room-mate who is attending a design school in Newfoundland. James McConnell who owned and ran the Georgetown Ship Yard before he sold it to Irving. Chef Stephen Hunter, is a passionate sailor and if I’m not mistaken, has had his hand in building and is the only one I haven’t sailed with. James and I went on the Harbour Hopper this summer.

Okay, maybe just to women although I’ve told guys and they’ve been very impressed.

I had been searching for a long, down filled winter jacket for some time. Ever since I was in Ottawa recently and these types of coats are what everyone is wearing. Very fashionable not to mention the obvious - warm. Read more »

Congratulations to Halifax’s Sports Direct Inc. for being named the number 1 top small business to work for in Canada by the Globe and Mail. Read about the criteria and Sports Direct’s story here.

“Great employees, working in a great environment guarantee amazing products for our customers,” said SportsDirect Inc. CEO Paul Lavers. “The award recognizes the hard work the staff puts in every single day to build the amazing culture at SDI. This is what makes us successful in all aspects of our business”

How rewarding is that to be acknowledged as being great bosses? It’s not easy to retain qualified employees in Atlantic Canada, never mind to be recognized as THE best small business to work for in Canada. That’s quite an honour.

I’d like a nod for providing two of their great staff with experience before they went to Sports Direct: Lauren “Duper” MacDonald and Luke Evans. Two ambitious, sports fanatical Cape Bretoners who did a fantastic job for me when they worked at Island Tee Times, trying to save a sinking ship.

Back to Sports Direct Inc. It’s against great odds to rise successfully to the level that they have in the small business community in Atlantic Canada. By being innovative and finding a niche as they have, paired with a dynamic business and revenue model - there’s been no stopping them.

Check out their site for more information and a glimpse into a great Atlantic Canada company.

I am nursing my second cup of coffee this morning.

Thursday night I went to my favorite local pub, the Merchantman Pub. Ten years ago I used to live across the street, above the Root Cellar health food store in a beautiful old apartment with part of an exposed grain elevator in it. Many Thursdays I would wander over to see my friend Chrissy who was a waitress at the Merchantman and hang out with Dave Connolly at the bar until closing time. I don’t go out very often so it was nice to see Dave who, in another past life, had chauffeured some of my golf clients around as their “guide” and showed them an awesome time. Dave is a fanatical golfer and last year golfed up until February. Read more »

This is possibly contentious to some however it’s hard to avoid the glaringly obvious trend that even 10 years ago probably wasn’t a glimmer in the mind of any mother or father on the face of Earth. That is - the amount of interaction children have with the internet. It’s a relatively new phenomenon that cannot be denied in North America and more and more around the world. Read more »

Okay - this is just something I have to talk about because it is remarkable. She is remarkable. Victoria, a virtual assistant I know in Florida, offered to do a telecommunication assessment for me as I am looking for options. When I decided to get a toll-free number I called her.

What Victoria put together for me after our half hour assessment was extraordinary Read more »

www.YourMarketingMavens.com

You think I could get a bit more excited than that but I’m tired and am heading to bed.

One client I have been working with has, as part of our deal, allowed me to use him as a case study.

Over the past two months I have set Chef Stephen Hunter up with: Read more »

Seth Godin throws out a challenge to see who is using the “new politics”.

My 64 year old dad is. Sandy Kerr lives in rural Prince Edward Island - Canada’s smallest province - and has gained national attention (Blog dogs P.E.I. government on doctor promise) after I set him up with a blog and gave him the domain name HealthPEI.com for his issue with over 5000 Islanders not having access to a family doctor. The shortage of doctors on Prince Edward Island and the state of health care on PEI is nothing short of a crisis. Read more »

I was cruising the Coast website today and came across this page and think that what they’ve done by creating a forum where people can talk about their experiences with violence on the streets of Halifax is remarkable.

My memories of living in downtown Halifax are a wee bit blurred as it was during a time when I was in university, living on Vernon St close to my school, King’s college, and partying my ass off at the ages of 18 thru 20.

It was a lot of fun and because my parents owned a beautiful old house so close to the school we often hosted parties, especially for occasions when some of my Ontario friends couldn’t get home. Turkey dinners, Easter egg roll-offs and celebratory cold ones were enjoyed by friends and family together.

I recall violence to be very prevalent during that time. I was fortunate to live close by and to have an 110 pound dog that I would often take to school with me. He was even known to frequent the Wardroom, King’s tiny pub in the basement of the main hall. A friend of mine however, was not so lucky, and was attacked in the parking lot of her apartment building and it was traumatic.

Well done Christine and Kyle (the founders of the Coast magazine). The Coast website is one of the most creative and innovative online media sites that I have come across.