Village Gamer

BlueBat Games, an independent Vancouver studio that helps game developers and casino brands socialize their games on browser-based and mobile platforms, today officially announced its BlueBox Engine. BlueBox is a developer-centric social gamification engine that increases player engagement via proven social gamification strategies and mechanics. Designed from the ground up with online casinos in mind, it enables casino operators to leverage the social network effect and hook players into real life rewards. Read the rest of this entry »

In keeping with an impressive groundbreaking track record, MyEventApps by FaveQuest is set to deliver an interactive and engaging mobile experience like no other. MyEventApps is delighted to partner with Wham City Lights in the creation of a unique Mobile Event App for the National Capital Commission Canada Day celebrations taking place in Canada’s capital region. Parliament Hill will be ablaze with a dynamic and user-driven light show as countless phones, held aloft, will provide a user experience and spectacle like no other. Read the rest of this entry »

Toronto’s Keek has announced the release of its app for Microsoft’s mobile platform. Those who have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Keek on Windows Phone 8 can now create and share videos worldwide with the popular social video network. Keek is the first official social video app available in the Windows Phone Store. The app provides users with many of the features found in its iOS, Android and BlackBerry counterparts, although it delivers a user experience that is unique to the Windows Mobile OS. Earlier this month Keek also announced the release of its developer portal, which provides several tools and resources to help third-party developers integrate Keek with their applications. Read the rest of this entry »

Google Reader may be shutting down, but don’t count RSS out of the game just yet.  As the video below explains, the smartest social media practitioners are using RSS in totally new ways. When you’re under pressure to push content through your social channels, the number one challenge is producing high quality, relevant content. The HootSuite Syndicator can help by providing you with a library of content that you can selectively choose to share. Discovering new content with RSS is easier than ever before, with the latest version of the Hootlet, which now supports adding RSS feeds from your favorite websites as streams in the HootSuite dash. Read the rest of this entry »

Market-leading social media management system developer HootSuite plugs even more into its App Directory today with the introduction of SurveyMonkey, the leading online survey and questionnaire platform, Chartbeat, the real-time web and analytics tool for publishers, and ContentGems content marketing software. Built for business, the App Directory now features 55 popular tools and apps, including Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, Evernote, MailChimp, Zendesk, Yammer, Statigram and more. Social media practitioners from the world’s largest brands, including marketers, publishers, community managers, market researchers, customer support teams, and agencies no longer have to leave the HootSuite dashboard to access these popular tools, increasing productivity and efficiency and avoiding having to switch back and forth between browser tabs. Instead users can manage their social media profiles, marketing campaigns, surveys and more within HootSuite. Read the rest of this entry »

Facebook has become a powerhouse marketing tool for businesses worldwide. There are more than 1.1 billion active Facebook users all over the world – this is a 23% increase from one year ago. If a small business owner has been doubting the viability of Facebook – these stats are too great to ignore. If utilized properly, Facebook can be a valuable asset in generating new leads – which could turn into paying customers. However many business owners are afraid of social media and have not learned how to use it to their advantage. Read the rest of this entry »

Social media management system developer HootSuite has announced a new integration with Attensity, a California-based leader in multichannel contact center solutions for enterprise customer care groups, including customer service teams, contact centers, community managers and customer intelligence teams. HootSuite Enterprise enables global organizations to launch social campaigns, identify and grow audiences, and distribute targeted messages across multiple social channels. By integrating with Attensity’s automated workflows and reporting capabilities, HootSuite Enterprise clients can streamline workflows including: Read the rest of this entry »

I also tweeted from the Banff World Media Festival session yesterday where the Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced the official launch of a new website dedicated to information on crowdfunding. Read the rest of this entry »

Sosign, a Montreal-based e-commerce solution provider for brands, has launched Brandicted, a unique shopping discovery and social network site, in private beta. With Brandicted, people looking at user-posted pictures can act on their love-that-thing feeling and buy it quickly and easily. They can also share the image, or one they’ve taken, at Instagram speed, and talk about it using Brandicted’s social tools. Friends as well as Brandicted’s algorithms will suggest other products just like it, which shoppers can buy and comment on. Read the rest of this entry »

In recent months, some of the biggest houses in the social media realm have quietly butted heads and blocked access between one another. Unfortunately these walls aren’t built to protect the citizens. While wars rage on behind the scenes, the users of these paths are beginning to find their favorite networks a lot less accessible, and a lot less social.  Inspired by Game of Thrones (because the team at HootSuite is a mass of fans waiting impatiently for the season finale – and that goes for the Village Gamer office as well), the following infographic breaks down some of the significant “social media blockades” we’ve seen from the biggest Houses in the realm. Read the rest of this entry »