Alphablogs

Heeeeere it comes!

The February edition of Canada 9-5. Canada 9-5 presents the crème de la crème of Canadian business bloggers, people who use the power of blogging to showcase their professional and business expertise and to better get to know their customers and clients. We’re concentrating on non-IT bloggers; for IT people, blogging is second nature - it’s people whose business isn’t in IT already who, we think, need some help seeing the magic of blogging.

Today we have a virtual assistant, an expressive arts facilitator, a blog that helps with bankruptcy issues, a foodie blog, a small business blogger, and a personal coach right here from Vancouver.

Take it away!

Virtual Assistant Looks At Iceberg
I like the 30 Days of Resources project by Business Services Etc., a company of virtual assistants. In this project, BSETC features 30 products that will make the life of any business person easier. This one is about Icebrrg

Have you ever been wanting to add custom forms to your website or blog but weren’t sure where to find one or how to program them just so? Fear no more. I have found you a service that resonates well with me because (a) it’s easy and (b) it’s name reminds me of the snowy part of the planet I currently live on.

Introducing Icebrrg… The instant (and easy) form creator. It’s a wonderful little web-based program that you sign up for (they have a free account) and once registered, you just follow the prompts to create your web form. It also generates the HTML code for you to place on your blog or site.

I like it! I think I’ll try it out. This blog is a great example of showcasing expertise and paying it forward by providing the reader with valuable information.

Bankruptcy In Canada – What’s A Consumer Proposal?

Are you:
· Having trouble paying all your bills, even though you have a good job?
· Thinking about filing bankruptcy, but not really wanting to?
· Simply looking for more information about ways to deal with your debt?

That’s where a consumer proposal might be a good solution. What’s a consumer proposal? Bankruptcy Canada explains it in this three-part discussion. Part 1 is entitled How a consumer proposal might be right for you. There’s also a video you can watch.

A Foodie Blog – Buying Local
As an avid CBC radio listener, I’m quite familiar with Don Genova, a journalist and broadcaster who used to regale West Coast listeners with yummy tidbits of BC food stories. I remember once he listed all the goat cheeses to be had from Saltspring Island. So this here is his blog. (The things you can learn from a blog: Apparently, until the end of last year he was in Parma – yes, the home of Parmesan cheese – where he studied for a Masters of Food Culture at the University of Gastronomic Sciences. What an intriguing field of studies!)

The entry we’re sampling here is about buying local food

a visit to a Culinary Tourism Conference yielded some interesting info on companies and individuals trying to make it easier for consumers, chefs and other food service operators to get access to local produce and value-added products. … Most of these programs match you up with a farmer who will deliver a box of goods from their gardens throughout their growing season. … Don’t forget farmers markets. Some run year round, others will start in the spring.
You can listen to the 6 minute documentary by going to Don’s blog.

Dancing, Drumming and Children
Barbara Karmazyn’s site is a repository of information and images about the expressive arts. Dancing, drumming, storytelling, singing, crafts – all these are things Barbara brings to children, teachers, parents, seniors as she draws them together in magical circles of joy and creativity.

Barbara Karmazyn uses blogging mostly as a content management system; it looks more like a “normal” web site than a blog. Most of her material is on static pages, like this one about personal development playshops.

Small Business – Email and Customer Service
Selling to Small Business is a blog by Torontonian Evan Carmichael. This post here reminds us that we ignore email at our own peril. Love the title: Killing Your Brand Softly.

Personal Development – What Happens When we Get Sick?
One Man Can is the blog of a personal coach here in Vancouver. I like his open, honest voice; he’s not one of those coaches who continually tell people what to do. Example:

periods of stress that affect the physical body often lead to short bursts of illness. So, watching the signals from the body sooner can allow corrective action sooner. Myself, I like to think I’m invulnerable sometimes and let things get the better of me. Just took a temperature of 102…. oops.

Back to bed.

That’s from his post, Illness of the Body.

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And that’s it for this edition of Canada 9-5. If you have or know of any interesting Canadian blogs that talk about work or business, send them in – you can use this form.

The next edition will come out April 8, 2008.

Good night and good luck!