Alex Reid

Cute video by the guys at Hot 103, following the ‘Shit people say’ trend.

It’s been exactly 137 months (11 years and 5 months) since I started up newwinnipeg.com but now it’s time to move on to bigger and brighter things as the goodbye and thank you note, here, states.

I’ve learned a lot about public engagement, and the problems with anonymity in this type of forum, and I believe the moderators did too (who shall remain anonymous along with the rest of the community).

The timing to close the web site has been way overdue, partly due to branding confusion between the business (.net) and the community (.com), partly a liability concern but mostly because it was too time consuming; the moderators and myself are entering our mid-thirties and forties. We have other projects that we would rather spend our time on.

I know some people will be sad, maybe even disappointed but it should go without saying that they are free to take on the torch and maintain a web site for the next decade. Much like being a politician, it’s a thankless job, but the stories told and the experiences we had were well worth it.

Thank you Winnipeg!

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has announced an investment of nearly $17 million in 51 new innovative interactive projects in the first round of its 2011-2012 Experimental Stream.

The CMF offers financial assistance to support projects at various stages of their completion: production, development or marketing.

In production, the CMF is investing $11.6 million in 22 new projects: 11 games, 5 interactive contents, 4 mobile applications, 1 interactive webseries and 1 application software. The average commitment to each project is $525,000. One project is being carried out in Alberta, 4 in British Columbia, 1 in Prince Edward Island, 1 in Nova Scotia, 11 in Ontario and 4 in Quebec.

In development, the CMF is investing $4.3 million in 25 projects. The average amount offered for each project is $171,000. Five will be developed in British Columbia, 1 in Prince Edward Island, 1 in New-Brunswick, 2 in Ontario, 15 in Quebec and 1 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Finally, in terms of marketing assistance, the CMF is investing $1 million in 4 projects, with an average contribution of $262,000. One project is from British Columbia, 1 is from Ontario and 2 are from Quebec.

Projects were evaluated using the following criteria: innovation, production team, business plan and distribution strategy. Those criteria are detailed in the Evaluation Matrix included in the Experimental Stream’s Guidelines (PDF).

Four bands and four filmmakers.

Support the infamous Cinematheque at the West End Cultural Centre this Thursday, June 2nd (tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door). Music by John K Samson, Nathan, The Jaxon 3 & The Shallow End. Images by Mike Maryniuk, Heidi Phillips, Clint Enns & Aaron Zeghers.

Winnipeg lost another great talent; rest in peace, Marley.