It seems that of late, the Old Spice Guy has become somewhat of a “go-to-guy” when it comes to online citizens needing honest and straightforward answers to life’s pressing questions. And as of this morning via Old Spice’s YouTube channel, the Old Spice Guy began to disperse his infinite manly wisdoms in a barrage of personalised messages that quickly went viral and prompted thousands of questions to be hurtled into cyberspace his way.

If you’re the studious worker type and missed, or ignored the show as it unfolded today, here’s a selection of the better response videos that were doing the rounds…

• Multiple accounts
• Multiple social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare etc)
• Scheduled Tweets
• Built in link shortening
• Customisable interface (easily change column orders)
• Tabbed layout to maximise usable columns
• Analytics & link stats tracking
• Ability to view user info in a neat way
• Message Drafts
• Visual and audible update notifications

It’s a fairly large shopping list, but one that is easily covered by what I now believe to be the “best app on the block” – Hootsuite.

Why Hootsuite as opposed to the various alternatives?

I’ll give you a couple of examples of why I’m sold on using Hootsuite as my primary Twitter application, but first make sure you check out a great blog post titled, “10 Reasons I’m Switching from Tweetdeck to Hootsuite” from the guys over at “Web App Storm”.

For me, two of the best features of the Hootsuite service are the ability to track statistical information regarding your Tweets and the specific links that you post within (using Hootsuite’s default URL shortening service options), and also the user profile information panels that appear (shown below) each time you click on a user name.

Setting up Hootsuite as a Mac Twitter desktop application

You’re probably wondering how you can make a web-based service into a desktop application without some kind of installer or application environment like Adobe AIR (used by applications like Tweetdeck)? Well it’s actually quite simple using a neat, free program for the Mac called “Fluid”. The following is a quick step-by-step look at how you can be up and running with Hootsuite as your primary Mac desktop accessed by a neat customised dock icon, in no time.

Step 1 – Find a suitable dock icon for your application

It’s hard to go past a more suitable icon than that adorable little Hootsuite Owl we see all around the place these days.

Finding suitable dock icons for all the applications I have set up in the past using Fluid has been a cinch when using “Deviantart” as my search engine. Simply navigate to the “Dock Icons” category section of the site and search for the web application in question – in this case “Hootsuite”. The icon I found for this project you can download from here.

Unzip the icon resource file and place it somewhere where Fluid will be able to find it every time you open your new “Hootsuite” application.

Step 2 – Download and install Fluid for Mac

As long as you are running OSX 10.5 or greater, jump over to http://fluidapp.com/ and download the free Fluid installer.

Note: A similar program called Mozilla Prism is available for those of you on a Windows PC or Linux that will help you achieve a similar result.

Install the application on your Mac and crank it up.

Step 3 – Create your application

Once Fluid starts up, you’ll be presented with a window prompting you to “Create a Site Specific Browser”. Simply fill out the requested details as shown below. When it comes to the “Icon” field, select “Other…” (as shown) and navigate to wherever you ended up placing your Hootsuite Owl icon.

Once you have your icon selected, hit the create button to create your new Hootsuite desktop application.

Step 4 – Add the new Hootsuite application to the dock

You will now be presented with a success message and a few options for progressing. We want to add the new application to the dock, so select the “Reveal in Finder” option.

Find the Hootsuite application you just created by looking for the distinctive Owl icon, and drag the icon to your dock. Drop it in the appropriate spot on your dock and click the icon to open Hootsuite!

If you are asked to log in to your Hootsuite account the first time you start up the application, and when you do you get kicked out to your default browser (Firefox etc):

1. Close the Hootsuite application
2. Open Safari
3. Log into Hootsuite selecting the “Remember Me” option
4. Close Safari
5. Open your Hootsuite application from your dock once again.

This time you should be taken directly into your Hootsuite account screen.

From there it’s just a matter of setting up your accounts and columns the way you want them and exploring the Hootsuite service to find all the amazing features and options that you have for managing your Twitter account(s).

Good luck!

The petition that EFA are seeking signatures and support for right now relates to the current Australian Labour Government’s plan to implement a mandatory Internet filtering policy which, when all is said and done, equates to an attempt to censor Internet usage throughout the country. As summarised on the EFA website:

The Australian Federal Government has announced that it will introduce “mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) rated content.” What this means is that Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will now have to filter the Internet to block access to websites that would be “Refused Classification” under Australia’s classification laws.

The filter will be based on blocking a list of between 1,000 and 10,000 web page addresses (“URLs”). That list is called a ‘blacklist’.

Ummm… did I miss something here?

What ever happened to parents and individuals taking responsibility for the censorship of Internet usage by the kids and minors in their own care? Surely giving the Government the authority to implement a “one-size-fits-all” solution is both impractical and also sets a dangerous precedent. I mean, where will the “big brother” censorship end? The Western World, including Australia, criticize countries like China, North Korea and Burma for the excessive censorship measures forced upon their citizens. So how does one justify the current proposal which tiptoes dangerously down a similar path?

I could go on and on with a number of reasons why the proposed plan won’t work and will be a wicked waste of tax-payer money which could be better utilised in other programs and initiatives aimed at protecting our kids online, but the EFA website already does a damn good job at that, so check it out if you’re interested.

Alternatively, check out this segment from Australia’s “6:30 Report” which looks at arguments from both sides.

Take action NOW!

The important thing is that if you value your independent right to choose what online content you and your family view and access, then the time to act and make yourself heard is RIGHT NOW.

Again, the EFA website provides a great reference list of ways that you can support the “Open Internet” movement through writing to newspapers and other media sources, calling into talk-back radio programs, writing about it in Blogs like this, talking to family and friends about the proposal, or taking your fight to the source by writing directly to Senator Conroy, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

A good place to start is to sign the EFA Petition by clicking on the button above (and on all my Blog entries) or by clicking this link:

Sign the EFA Petition »

For those of you outside Australia

While this really has no consequence or immediate effect on any of my readers outside of Australia, it’s a subject that should still be of interest and concern to each and every one of you.

To this end, I urge you to raise awareness about the situation in Australia amongst your online community. Share this Blog entry link, or the EFA website, on Facebook, Twitter, your own Blog or simply email the information to anyone you know who would have an opinion on Internet censorship. Your cousins “Down Under” need all the support they can muster!

This being said, it’s always brings a smile to one’s face when you come across a genuinely happy and uplifting article or website that celebrates even the smallest of awesome things that life has to offer. Enter a website called “1,000 Awesome Things” put together by a bloke from Toronto named Neil Pasricha.

In an interview with Canada’s CTV network, Pasrica explained:

“For two or three minutes a day we can sit around, cover our heads with a blanket and talk about how fun it is to take that first shower when you get home from camping for a week; or talk about getting that popcorn kernel out of your teeth; or wearing underwear just out of the dryer; or having a whole row to yourself on an airplane.”

The “1,000 Awesome Things” Blog releases a new “awesome thing” each and every day which gives everyone something to look forward to reading and smiling about every 24 hours – an element that most almost certainly adds to the overnight popularity of the site.

In perusing the site today, here’s some of the gems that I came across:

• #873 Finding a mix tape given to you by an old boyfriend or girlfriend
• #822 When there’s still time left in the parking meter when you pull up
• #748 That feeling in your stomach when you go really high on the swings
• #538 Laughing so hard you start crying
• #529 Finally peeing after holding it forever

There’s obviously tonnes more to feast your eyes on, and the countdown is also well and truly still on so adding the site to your daily news feed reader, or subscribing to the “1,000 Awesome Things” Twitter feed is highly advisable.

If something more tangible, like a book, is more your thing, then you’re also catered for. Neil Pasricha, on the back of the success of his website, has launched a book titled “The Book of Awesome” which explores the same kind of, “…universal little pleasures we all share.”

With this in mind, I thought it might be cool to have a decent Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket graphic on my desktop at work so I can keep an eye on what’s going on around the west and the east. I wasn’t able to find anything decent online this evening, so I thought I’d throw one together myself. The first of the brackets I’ve laid out is listed below. If you click on it, it will link you to a large (1920 x 1200) wallpaper-sized version you can throw on your PC or Mac desktops.

I’ll update the brackets below as the playoffs pan out, so come back and download the new versions at the end of each round if you would like – and tell your friends about this post. Tweets, Facebook Shares, Stumbles, Buzz’s & Diggs are all welcome and are as easy as clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the post!

To wrap things up, I’ll leave you with this little ditty that my good mate Ryan (@rwashton), over in Toronto, threw down on Twitter this evening. It’s pure GOLD!

“Twas the night before playoffs and all through the city, Canucks fans were dreaming of Kings playing shitty…”

Amen. Believe in Blue!

2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket – Round 1

Click the image above to download the 1920 x 1200 wallpaper

2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket – Round 2

Click the image above to download the 1920 x 1200 wallpaper

2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket – Conference Finals

Click the image above to download the 1920 x 1200 wallpaper

2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket – Stanley Cup Finals

Click the image above to download the 1920 x 1200 wallpaper

2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket – Stanley Cup Champions

Click the image above to download the 1920 x 1200 wallpaper

An hour or so ago, Pictory’s latest showcase, “Portrait of a Place: London” was released and I’m stoked to say that my first submission to the website was chosen as one of the images featured!

*Places feather in cap*

Some of the images submitted by other photographers this time around are truly fantastic. I’ve included a couple of my favourites below, but I encourage you to visit the Pictory website to check out the full compliment of shots and the interesting stories behind them.

I’ve recently submitted a second image to the site – this time for the “Portrait of a Place: New York” showcase. Submissions close on May 26th, so we’ll wait and see what happens after that date!

The blend of new music discovery through a kind of “game” is lethal! Combine that with the fact that it’s absolutely free to use and you can even, in some instances, download free new tracks that you find while exploring… oh God… I need therapy…

The site is presented using a stunning and free-flowing combination of AJAX and Flash (geek terms for “cool technology”), and while there is plenty of options and features to get your head around when you first get in there, navigation is intelligently done and it doesn’t take much effort to get to just about any part of the site that you want/need to go.

Before you jump in head first (and I highly suggest that you do), let me try and dissect some of the more common components that help you explore your way through the music, participate in the gaming aspect and reward the talented acts that bring you the continual, streaming entertainment.

I’m not going to cover EVERYTHING because that would take the fun out of exploring for you, but I will cover the basics – here we go:

Sign up for an account

In order to participate and get the full TheSixtyOne experience, you need to sign up for a free account. By signing up, you’ll be able to help vote music into positions of better exposure on the site, develop a reputation as a music guru with good taste, and unlock a wealth of other features throughout the site.

Go here to get started: www.thesixtyone.com

Explore the music

Exploring through the tunes is dead easy to do with little effort, but there are also some options available for you to hone in on the kind of tunes that you like!

The easiest way to find what’s hot is by simply going to TheSixtyOne’s home page where a playlist of random, top rated tracks that you can sift through using the green navigation arrows on each side of the screen.

If you’d rather stick to the really popular stuff, the really new stuff, the currently hot tracks, or even a particular genre or mood of music, you can get to your desired playlists using the easy navigational options at the top right of the site.

Band information

While listening to each song you come across, you have the option of viewing all sorts of information relating to the track such as bio information about the band or artist, song lyrics, tour dates, tweets from the band or artist, and view lists of other songs from the same artist or similar tracks from other artists. There’s plenty to see and do while listening – that’s for sure.

Make it fun – complete a quest!

The gaming aspect of the website, which I mentioned earlier, can be found when you check out the “Quests”

Each quest challenges you to listen to and discover new music in different ways by exploring different genres, listening to your favourite discovered tracks multiple times, listening to newly released songs, or by simply to use the service at a given time of day (eg. “The Night Owl” quest).

Currently, as at the time of writing this post, I have the following quests that I am attempting to complete:

• Pour Your Hearts Out
  Max out your hearts on five or more of your favorite songs. (Level 5 required).
• Night Owl
  Listen to the first five songs of posted between 10PM to 4AM (your local time). Why? Because songs that get posted at the weirdest hours deserve a little extra help.
• Creative Commons
  Listen to seven or more songs with the creative commons license.
• In The Mood
  Listen to four different moods on the home page. (At least five minutes for each mood.)
• Caution – Very Hot!!
  Listen to seven songs on the first pages of the hot tab of the home page under popular.

Completing a quest

So what happens when you complete a quest? Well first of all your quest list is where you’ll find out about whether or not you have reached the allocated level of participation, before the quest is considered to be complete. Take for instance the “A Reputable Listener” quest below. I completed this quest this afternoon as evidenced by the “20/20 reputation earned” indicator in green. Now all you have to do is click the “Finish” button at the bottom right of the panel and your “two hearts” (in this case) and reputation points are added to your profile.

Completing quests also unlocks new quests… hence the super addictive nature of the whole concept. And your reward during all of this? At the very least you’re getting the opportunity to listen to great new music from bands and artists you more than likely haven’t heard of before… for free!

What are “hearts”?

Hearts are like “votes” in TheSixtyOne world. You can use your awarded hearts to vote for songs in a bid to move them up the charts and closer to the top play position on the front page of the site.

What are “reputation points”?

Successful quests also earn you experience or “reputation” points. These reputation points, as they build in your profile, help you move up TheSixtyOne “levels”. The higher your level, the more powerful your votes through “hearts” become.

Achievements

So what is this all working towards? Well if you click on your profile link (bottom left of screen) and check out the “Achievements” panel in the information box (bottom right), you will get an idea of what you need to do to unlock new levels and get a sense of just how far you’ve made it in the total TheSixtyOne experience.

The screen shot on the right shows my “Achievements” panel as it stands right now and also indicates that I’ve so far unlocked 4% of the site. GO ME!

Share & get social

Like any modern website worth its salt these days, there’s a selection of tools available to help you let all of your friends know about the great tracks that you are discovering. Connect with Facebook, Twitter or simply email song links to your family and friends.

Finally, since you get your own profile when you sign up, there’s also the opportunity for you to start socially connecting with other TheSixtyOne users. The search feature isn’t all that useful for finding other users to communicate with, but reading through the comments left on songs you like by other users, helps you find new people to “follow”.

So there you have it, there should be enough introductory information there for you to get started. Make sure you come find me if you do sign-up. Not surprisingly, my user name is “masey” and you can find me here:

www.thesixtyone.com/listener/masey

I’m off to watch the rest of the Canucks game right now… then I’m going to have a crack at the “Night Owl” quest! Come join me and let’s start uncovering some great new music together!

See you in TheSixtyOne!

Now I’m not too fussed with the tune myself, but I love the fun these fellas have in their clips. Check out the new “incredible machine” in the video below.

Update: Well, as it turns out there’s another equally impressive clip out there for this same song… this time the boys are out marching around a field with camouflaged brass sections… weird.

In case you have missed their entertaining musings until now, here’s a quick list of 5 of the best entries so far from each of my fellow bloggers:

Miss 604 – www.miss604.com

• Vancouver 2010 Spectator Tips
• Vancouver 2010 Day 7 Trip to Whistler
• The Olympics From a Kid’s Perspective
• Vancouver 2010 Canadian Pride
• Open During the Paralympics and Beyond

Red Mittens – 2010redmittens.blogspot.com

• Uniform & Accreditation!
• Day 5: Pinch me, k?
• Day 7: Another Canada Game, Another Sweet Seat
• Day 8: DEADUMAU5!
• Day 10: Cowboys Fringants

Vancity Buzz – vancitybuzz.blogspot.com

• Protesters Smash Bay Windows
• Vancouver 2010 Cauldron will be Permanent
• Stephen Colbert in Vancouver Photos
• Evildoers Beware, Batman is Here!
• Memo to Team Canada: Time to Put Luongo in Net

Vancity Allie – www.vancityallie.com

• First Look: Preview of the Holland Heineken House Pavilion
• Let the Games Begin: An Olympic Weekend
• Team Canada Wins Over Norway!
• I’m the New Club Bud Party Crasher! and photos from Can-Swe Hockey!
• Club Bud Private NHL Party

Aleks (My 2010 Adventure) – www.my2010adventure.com

• Vancouver 2010 here I come!
• We saw the torch!
• Olympic Day 1
• LiveCity
• Video Post

Mostly Lisa – www.mostlylisa.com

• How will the 2010 Olympics change my city?
• What does the internet think of the 2010 Olympics?
• Gaston & Lisa: Skating for Gold in 2012
• Becoming a 2010 Team Canada Hockey Fan
• Ignite the Dream 2010 at Robson Square

Nordica Photography’s “Faces of the Games”

• Faces of the Games – Robson Street Karate Kid
• Faces of the Games – Wally Buono
• Faces of the Games – Anti/Pro Games
• Faces of the Games – Swedes at the Olympics
• Faces of the Games – Canadian Family

There’s more than enough reading and great photography amongst that lot to keep you busy for a morning at least!

Now before I sign off for now, let me just clear something up. The 7 Blogs I have singled out for the Olympics are by no means an exhaustive list. There’s tonnes of other quality Vancouver-based Blogs out there that are pumping out awesome content. Sorry if I have offended anyone by leaving you out this time around, I just don’t have the time in my days to cover you all!

So in an attempt to set you on the straight and narrow with all things “2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics”, I’d like to present to you a list of Blogs that I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on, and suggest that you should to.

This is by no means an exhausted list. I’ll no doubt be adding to the following collection myself over the coming weeks, and I’m willing to add to it with any suggested Blogs (let me know about them in the comments section below) if I think them worthy of a mention.

Obviously the easiest way to track any of the Blogs mentioned is by adding their RSS feeds to your chosen news reader, or by following them on Twitter. I’ll be providing the addresses for both at the end of each introduction.

So here goes. In no particular order:

Miss 604 – www.miss604.com

Very few would argue with me if I suggested that Rebecca (Miss 604) is practically Royalty when it comes to the Vancouver blogging scene. If there’s any kind of significant event scheduled in and around Vancouver, I can almost guarantee that Rebecca will have it covered and will probably be there herself!

While I’ve never met Rebecca in person (that I recall), I see her around town a lot and am always eager to read what she has to say about what’s coming up in Vancouver.

If you need further proof of the reliability and quality of the “Miss 604″ blog, I can tell you it was awarded 2009’s best “Local Blog” (Vancouver) by “straight.com”, the online version of Vancouver’s lifestyle and entertainment weekly, The Georgia Straight, which has something like 693,000 readers.

With all that said, I’m sure you don’t need any further motivation.

• Blog: http://www.miss604.com
• RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/miss604rss
• Twitter: @Miss604

Red Mittens – 2010redmittens.blogspot.com

Not that long ago, I started searching for a Blog to keep my eye on that was being written from the perspective of an “out-of-towner” coming in to volunteer at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. I stumbled upon “Red Mittens” which is the work of “Gen” a 5th year student currently at the University of Ottawa.

Gen has made the journey to Vancouver to take in the Olympic experience by volunteering at Canada Hockey Place, the venue for the major Ice Hockey events (talk about a plum position!). Her commentary is refreshing, and her enthusiasm, infectious. Definitely worth checking out.

• Blog: http://2010redmittens.blogspot.com
• RSS Feed: http://2010redmittens.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
• Twitter: @bizon10

Vancity Buzz – vancitybuzz.blogspot.com

Credit where credit is due, the awesome “Vancity Buzz” Blog is largely responsible for me being able to initially put together my “Schedule & Highlights” post.

An awesome source for up-to-the-minute information on Olympic sights and events, I’m also really impressed with their “no-nonsense” stance they have taken against anti-Olympic protestors.

Plenty of great content to check out, especially the comprehensive “Vancouver 2010 Olympic Guide”, so here’s the details you need:

• Blog: http://vancitybuzz.blogspot.com
• RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/VancityBuzz-VancouverBlog
• Twitter: @VancityBuzz

Vancity Allie – www.vancityallie.com

The creative “Vancity Allie” Blog follows the adventures of Allie, “…a 25 year-old Vancouver girl who loves and writes about everything “Vancouver” and West Coast.” A talented photographer and lover of surfing and snowboarding (major brownie points in my books), Allie writes about the kinds of things that I’m generally interested in which is why, I guess, I enjoy her ramblings so much and have therefore included her in this post.

Again, don’t take my word for it (although I guess that’s kind of the point of this whole thing eh?). Use the details below to check out Allie’s Blog.

• Blog: http://www.vancityallie.com
• RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/VancityAllie
• Twitter: @VancityAllie

Aleks (My 2010 Adventure) – www.my2010adventure.com

This Blog is brilliant in it’s simplistic presentation, gorgeous design and most importantly its perspective. Yes, “My 2010 Adventure” is a Blog that chronicles the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic experiences of Aleks, a 5 year old online adventurer who is SUPER excited about the Olympics being in his home town. He asked his Dad if he could have his own website to put “Olympic stuff” on… and hence, “My 2010 Adventure” was born.

They always say that the world is a better place, a more exciting adventure when viewed through the eyes of a child. Well, here’s your chance to experience the excitement and emotion of the world’s greatest Winter sporting competition through the eyes of one cool little fella.

• Blog: http://www.my2010adventure.com
• RSS Feed: http://my2010adventure.com/?feed=rss2
• Twitter: @my2010adventure

Mostly Lisa – www.mostlylisa.com

Cyber celebrity and proud Vancouverite Lisa Bettany or “Mostly Lisa” as she is better known, should definitely be on your watch list. A talented photographer, videographer and roving online reporter for Vancouver’s “The Province” newspaper, Lisa generally tends to get “insider access” to a lot of events making her first-hand, entertaining and sometimes quirky accounts something to keep an eye out for.

I have a feeling that Lisa has quite a bit of content up her sleeve for the coming weeks, so use the details below to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

• Blog: http://www.mostlylisa.com
• RSS Feed: http://mostlylisa.com/feed
• Twitter: @mostlylisa

Nordica Photography’s “Faces of the Games”

Here’s one for fans of great portrait photography. My mates Cole and Jakob over at “Nordica Photography” have initiated a really great project they are calling “Faces of the Games”. Their goal is simple and perhaps a little ambitious – to “…capture 2010 different faces from the start of the project to the end. We are confident that with the diversity of people that will be visiting the city during the games, the portraits captured will make for an interesting and exciting portfolio of faces!”

Personally, I’m really looking forward to following their journey. So far they’ve even managed to snap well-known Canadian MTV presenter “Daryn Jones” on Robson Street. Very cool indeed!

• Blog: http://nordicaphotography.com/facesofthegames
• RSS Feed: http://nordicaphotography.com/facesofthegames/feed
• Twitter: @nordicaphoto

Masey – www.masey.com.au

And finally, I’d love to give my own Blog a bit of a plug… but that would be a little self-indulgent now, wouldn’t it. *wink*

Let me just list my own link details in the hope that someone, somewhere in the world will jump on board!

• Blog: http://www.masey.com.au
• RSS Feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/masey
• Twitter: @masey

Happy reading everyone, and GO, CANADA GO!