Dating Confidential (5)

View All Tags Move Close 10 Year Anniversary 65_RedRoses Aboriginal Activism & Protests Ada Lovelace Day Adbusters Alternative Economics Arts and Culture Avi Lewis Be The Media Bevel Up Big Picture Blogging Blue Gold Buy Nothing Day Campaign 4 Corporate Harm Reduction Cervical Cancer Screening Program Campaign Chee Mamuk Citizens United Ruling Climate Change Contests Corporate Personhood Dating Confidential David Suzuki Distribution Downtown Eastside Dream Machine Drink Spiking Drug Policy DVD Environment Fair Trade Fair Trade DVD Distribution Federal Election Feminism Film Launch First Nations Focus Testing Freedom for Palestine G8 G20 Summit Gaza Gender Gentrification geopolitics Get Up Off The Couch! GMOs & Food Safety Graphic Design Harm Reduction health promotion Health/Health Advocacy Hello Cool Workshops Hello Cool World Hello Cool World store HIV AIDS HPV I Have Immunity ideaBOOST Insite Inter Pares Iran Iranelection Katherine Dodds LACE campaign Language and Culture Local Events and Parties Mark Achbar Marketing Media Activism Media and Democracy Day Media Democracy Day Middle East Naomi Klein nursing Occupy Movement Occupy Your Future Olympics Olympics Resistance Movement open source OpenGovWest Options for Sexual Health Pax Americana Peace and Justice Issues Picturing Transformation Nexwáyantsut Pleasure Management Podcasting Poverty and Economic Justice Projecting Change Film Festival prostitution Protest Raw Opium Reform the corporation Rights Management SACY SafeVibe Campaign Sexual Health Sexuality Rights Social Justice Social Marketing Strategy Surviving Progress Technology Teens and Dating That's So Sexy The Corporation The Corporation Film The Water Front TIFF protest Toward the Heart TPP Trouble the Water Uts'am Witness Van2010 Video Video Workshops Violence Against Women and Girls Water Waterlife WAVAW websites Women Entrepreneurs Workshops World AIDS Day World Water Day Youth Subscribe to RSS Feed

Growing Hello Cool World

The sun is finally out in Vancouver! And here at Hello Cool World we are preparing (we hope) for a growth spurt. So far we've spent the spring recovering from the extreme sport that was our end of fiscal year, and it's been nice to have a few minutes to reflect on where we want to go next. 

When the office space of our Mad Men dreams fell through (we like to think of

ourselves, as having an affinity for the MM aesthetic but with more girls, queers, and food), I moved things back to my Chinatown warehouse, where I now find myself organizing the future from the inside out. Both literally (boxes of stuff) and figuratively, with some head space to envision my business future.

As I write this, I am embarking on the new adventure that is the Vancity and Status of Women Canada project formerly known as "WE-FOG" and now rebranded as the WE-Communty, and I am being afforded the luxury of being able to focus on my vision for business growth, while being part of a supportive community with access to the tools of business that have hitherto been a mystery to me.

You see, I have two art degrees, once was a practicing artist and poet, and I am now 'in recovery'. ; ) 

So to be more specific, the 'Women Entrepreneurs, Financing Opportunities for Growth' program is a pilot project by Vancity Community Foundation with funding from the Status of Women Canada and I am honoured to be among the first 10 women-run businesses chosen to participate. I'm in excellent and exciting company! 

What I have to do to be part of this is produce a business growth plan over the next six months, and the support of my assigned business coach Jill Earthy I couldn't be more excited to do this. At the end of it all we are expected and to present our plan for growth, and given the opportuntiy to pitch it to financiers. 

Admittedly it's a recent dream but nevertheless it has come true and it couldn't be at a better time.

What I am asking of you, my readers of this blog, who I hope include friends, colleagues, clients, fans of Hello Cool World who I do not yet know, newly found mentors and advisors, and yes, also critics - is to join me on this journey and give me your feedback. 

• Move
• Close

Katherine Dodds AKA "Kat" is the founder of Good Company Communications and HelloCoolWorld.com. Trained in renegade advertising & branding through her work with Adbusters in the '90s, Kat's early induction into the possibilities of the web-world was inspired by the term hypertext, which she immediately found comforting. She is dedicated to cause-related communication and to the development and use of tools that promote democratic processes.

#SMWhealth Wrap Up!

What a great party! Thank you to everyone who came to eat, drink, learn, and discuss with us! We had a wonderful time. Besides the worldwide livestreaming audience, more than sixty people RSVPed to our event (and a few extra dropped in to say hello!)

We heard from four of our wonderful campaign partners: Ian Roe of I Have Immunity; Nimisha Mukerji of 65_RedRoses; Lisa Despins of the LACE Campaign; and Cindy Masaro of Dating Confidential. Each of them spoke about the value of social media in their work, whether it's supporting advocates, telling stories, or sharing information.

We are fortunate at Hello Cool World to have such an amazing team with diverse talents and backgrounds, but connecting at #SMWhealth with such an array of innovative, dedicated people who are all integrating social media into their health promotion activities was truly inspiring. I feel a passion energy for the work that Hello Cool World does because for the first time I was face-to-face with the members of the growing community of tech-savvy health advocates. I'm glad to know that there are so many of us, and that the nature of our work with social media allows us to communicate and share with an ever-expanding network.

• Move
• Close

Michelle is a freelance writer and anthropologist with a Master of Public Health from UBC. Her passions are promoting health and building community. She's worked in grassroots community organizations in Vancouver, Victoria and Oceania.

#SMWhealth @HelloCoolWorld

It's been busy as usual at Hello Cool World headquarters, but today we get to end the week with the event we've all been looking forward to: Health Promotion & Social Media! We'll be showcasing our work with LACE Campaign, I Have Immunity, Dating Confidential, and 65_RedRoses.

Hello Cool World has been at the forefront of grassroots health campaigns for a decade, and we can't tell you how excited we are for this afternoon. Download the program to see exactly what you have to look forward to, and if you can't catch us in person, join us through our livestream.

No lazy summer days for us at HCW! But our afternoon topics do turn to pleasure

PLEASURE ON OUR MINDS!

Yesterday afternoon we had another informal salon as David Ng is heading back to Cape Town today. It was a smaller less flamboyant send off, as we had the actual going away party (fondue-b-q) at Bella's on Friday night. (pictured above!)  But a couple of our cohorts who missed the 'do' on Friday came to say their good-byes. And of course it turned into an informal theory salon as we discussed one of favorite themes, pleasure and sexual health!