Village Gamer

The board of directors of Rainmaker Entertainment Inc. have announced that Warren Franklin has left the Vancouver studio. Rainmaker Entertainment will be recognizing a charge to operations in the fourth quarter of approximately $1 million related to Franklin’s departure. Read the rest of this entry »

The governments of Canada and British Columbia have released the Small Business Profile 2011 (PDF), a report that highlights the major role that small businesses play in BC’s economic success, through job creation, wage increases, exports and contributions to the province’s gross domestic product. Read the rest of this entry »

There will be a hands-on, classroom based training session for businesses or organizations wanting to learn about and how to effectively use Social Media to tell their story and help grow their business being held in North Langley on October 26th.

By the end of the day, you’ll be fully set up on Google Places, have your own Facebook Business page, Twitter account, YouTube Channel, LinkedIn profile and learn how to manage it. Over 60 local businesses are now seeing their business grow through Social Media.

The seminar will be taught by Jonathan Christian of WeMakeStuffHappen.com, and costs $397.00 per person plus HST. Your seminar fee includes great snacks, beverages, lunch, a detailed workbook and a certificate of graduation. Attendees will need to bring their laptop or tablet, power cord and an open mind. Please see the event web page for full details on location and registration.

When you retire, are you thinking of leaving your business to a family member or third party?  Are you planning on selling it? Closing it? Have you decided? According to the TD Waterhouse Business Succession Poll, Canadian small business owners haven’t fully prepared for the day when they will no longer be running their business: 76% of small business owners polled admitted they don’t have a succession plan, which may cause major complications down the line. Read the rest of this entry »

From coast-to-coast, Canadians believe it is important to support their local small businesses and many are willing to take action to do so. According to Scotiabank’s Small Business poll conducted by Harris/Decima, 85% of Canadians are willing to tell others about their local small businesses. Respondents said that they will walk or drive further (63 %), and 43% are willing to pay more in order to support small businesses in their community. Read the rest of this entry »

For many, “innovation” evokes notions of “radical change” or “transformation,” but Canada’s 2.4 million small business owners have a different definition. For them, innovation is less about disrupting markets and more about changes that generate the greatest impact for them and their livelihood. Read the rest of this entry »

UNIT4 Business Software,  provider of business software for Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC™), has signed a significant deal with the City of Surrey in British Columbia. The contract, worth $1,633,800 in software and services, will see the City of Surrey replace its numerous disparate systems and implement Agresso Business World Route 66, the next generation of fast, flexible and user-friendly enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. The second largest city and the fastest growing in British Columbia, the City of Surrey selected Agresso Business World’s Financials, Procurement, PCB and Reporting modules ahead of ERP heavyweights SAP and Oracle. Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations to the 8 finalists for this year’s Pitch 360, which will take place during Merging Media 2011 on October 28th at SFU Woodwards in Vancouver. The organizers received 3 times more entries than they did last year for the Merging Media 2011Pitch 360 and Masterclass when the deadline rolled in last week.

Cross-media development in our community has grown substantially across multiple media platforms, and they are pleased to present the eight projects chosen to battle it out for the Pitch 360 BC Film + Media $10,000 Award:

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The Harper Government has announced support for a documentary and educational web site, along with several localized legacy projects and events, to commemorate the 200^thanniversary of the War of 1812. This War helped establish our path toward becoming an independent and free country, united under the Crown with a respect for linguistic and ethnic diversity. Details on planned activities and funding opportunities will be made available on the 200^th anniversary of the War of 1812 website. Read the rest of this entry »

From the MEIC blog: The Mobile Experience Innovation Centre (MEIC), a trade organization promoting job creation and economic prosperity in Ontario’s mobile media ecosystem, is calling upon content producers and technology companies with mobile offerings to complete the 2011 Mobile Innovation Survey.

It is widely believed that Ontario is a powerhouse for mobile development, but there is little research publically available to support that claim.  MEIC, through the 2011 Mobile Innovation Survey, intends to produce a profile of Ontario’s mobile content, services, and application companies. Your participation in this effort will help quantify Ontario’s mobile media industry.