Learning the iPad SDK

Never Mind the Valley: Here’s Toronto

While not the political capital of Canada, Toronto is certainly the cultural and financial capital of the country. With over 5 million residents, Toronto is the largest city in Canada, sitting in a densely populated part of Southern Ontario. With over 200 ethnic groups speaking over 130 languages, Toronto’s cosmopolitan population makes it one of the world’s most diverse cities. Toronto also boasts a clean environment, low crime rates, a high standard of living, and incredibly nice folks who live there, all helping make it one of the world’s most livable cities and according to a recent Huffington Post article, “the capital of cool.” Sponsor It’s also by all accounts a thriving startup hub, with both strong investor presence – the National Angel Capital Organization and Extreme Venture Partners are headquartered there, for example – and with a lot of entrepreneurial talent and activities. Events and Education for Entrepreneurs “Obviously it’s no Silicon Valley,” says Sprouter Community Manager Erin Bury, “but it’s definitely a thriving community with a ton of tech entrepreneurs, some great funding opportunities, and a hopping event scene.” A Toronto-based startup itself, Sprouter helps facilitate networking and collaboration between entrepreneurs globally, but also sponsors regular meetup events. RWW’s Never Mind the Valley series: MaRS , located in Toronto’s Discovery District also holds numerous events as part of its mission to help early stage science and technology ventures grow in the Greater Toronto area. MaRS offers entrepreneurs a variety of services, including mentorship and strategic planning guidance. MaRS also has an Investment Accelerator Fund, a fund with an investment strategy to provide early stage seed capital for emerging science and technology companies. A Culture of Entrepreneurship Communitech , located in the neighboring city of Waterloo, in another organization helping to promote regional entrepreneurship through mentorship, training, networking and promotion. And while there are multiple universities in the area and strong government support for startup endeavors, Communitech CEO Iain Klugman attributes the vibrancy of the region to a “culture of entrepreneurship.” The region has a long, long history of fostering entrepreneurs (the Seagrams distillery was founded there in 1857, for example), and encouraging entrepreneurship happens not just at the business level, but with targeted school programs as well. Joseph Puopolo, Director of Marketing and Community for the Toronto-based startup, OPENapps points to the important role that this supportive culture has played in helping OPENapps move forward. According to Puopolo, company has “benefited greatly from the technology community in Toronto and surrounding areas like Waterloo, due to the access to regular technology networking events and strong talent pool. Toronto and Waterloo truly foster a climate of innovation.” Discuss

Google Adds Maps to Mobile Ads

Earlier this year, Google added clickable phone numbers to its mobile ad offerings, making it easier for smartphone owners to connect with businesses when performing local searches. Today, the company has extended this feature by adding inline maps to business listings on mobile websites and apps in the Google Display Network . So now, when you’re looking for the nearest pizza place and you don’t feel like waiting for delivery, you’re just one click away from getting directions from your current location in Google Maps . Sponsor According to Dai Pham, a member of the Google Mobile Ads marketing team, a benefit of this feature for advertisers is that it’s value added without costing anything more for the advertiser. Advertising with location extensions on mobile devices is also great value because you’re only charged when a user clicks to call the business or clicks to visit your website. You are not charged when users click to expand the map or gets directions. The cost of a click to call your business will be the same as the cost of a click to visit your website. Enrolling in the programming involves a simple three-step process for advertisers, which is detailed in the blog post . Now that a phone call or driving directions are only a click away, there’s just one thing left to consider – who’s going to go pick up the pizza. Discuss

Find the Best Daily Deals in Your City in One Place

Mashable’s Spark of Genius series highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, see details here . The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. Name: Urban Spoils Quick Pitch: Urban Spoils aggregates and recommends fantastic daily deals from 100+ social buying websites. Genius Idea: If you’re Internet-savvy and love a good bargain, you’ve probably already subscribed to a number of daily deal newsletters, like Groupon and LivingSocial , and/or signed up for rush buying sites like Gilt , which posts deep discounts on designer clothing at noon ET every day. Consequently, your inbox is likely flooded with e-mails promoting all of these deals every morning, which can be difficult and time-consuming to navigate. Urban Spoils is a 20-person, Seattle-based startup that aggregates all of the group deals from sites like Groupon, Gilt, LivingSocial, BuyWithMe, Ideeli, Tippr and more. You can log on to their site or sign up for their newsletter to easily view the day’s best deals at once. The site serves more than 60 U.S. cities and is preparing to go global. The selections are both human-curated and based on your preferences (similar to the Personalized Deals option Groupon rolled out today), features that should prove increasingly useful as more sites and businesses move into the group buying space. What do you think of the service? Would you prefer to get deals from select sites, or use Urban Spoils’s aggregator? [ img credit: alancleaver_2000 ] Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today . More About: bizspark , gilt , gilt groupe , group buying , groupon , LivingSocial , spark-of-genius For more Social Media coverage: Follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Social Media channel Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

HOW TO: Enhance Your Online Presence with Video

This series is supported by Gillette. Learn more about Gillette and its products at Gillette.com . Video is a tricky spot for most blogs and personal sites, especially when that video is meant to represent you. While everyone likes to watch videos (just look at the exponential growth and popularity of YouTube ), it’s a little more difficult to create, edit and host your own videos. This isn’t to say incorporating a video into your online presence is an impossible feat, but to do it properly requires some digital finesse and forethought. Technically speaking, simply making a video is pretty easy. Hit the record button, stand in front of the camera, turn the lights on and say something. Instant video. Unfortunately, that alone won’t make it a good video. Video is about content and production: What’s in it, and how it’s presented. For most personal blogs, it’s more important to provide great content (some of the most popular viral videos have some of the shoddiest production values), but much depends on what you want your video to accomplish. Is it an online resume? Clips of your work? Or just something funny for your audience to chew on? Below we’ve got some quick tips on how to enhance your online presence with video. Utilize Video Resumes and Introductions Using video resumes and introductions is a great way to make a first impression. It’s also a great way to shoot yourself in the foot. You could be (and probably are) intelligent, charismatic, ambitious, and attractive, and thankfully, a good video will help you stand out. But beware, a bad video could hide your best characteristics. Most sites give general , but useful tips on how to set yourself up for success if you’re going to create a video resume. Be organized, dress professionally, speak clearly — all things your parents told you to do and all things you would do in a real interview. The tips are general because you need to tailor your resume, and video, for each job application. A video introduction, a brief video embedded into your homepage, uses many of the same concepts. It is intended, however, to give a general impression of who you are: Your motivations, passions, and what readers can expect from your site. If someone clicks on your video, it’s because they want to see you, the person behind the site. Some of the most important tips for these personal videos are: Keep your video to no more than two minutes, find a space where you feel comfortable filming, and avoid having too much clutter in the shot — we want to see you. Lastly, know what you’re going to say and what you want your audience to get out of the video. Supply Sample Clips Adding clips of your previous work is perhaps most useful if you have a profession that requires you to be in front of or behind a video camera. Including these clips can be a good way to connect with your readers by showing them real samples of what you do. The biggest obstacle is usually getting over the fear that people will hate your work. It’s a legitimate, but often unwarranted concern. If you’re a pro, odds are you’ve already built out a video section on your site. For amateurs, think of your clips as a great way to get crowdsourced feedback. Add a comments section below your videos, and encourage responses to your work. You’ll find that readers will often give good criticism if you ask for it in a courteous and honest way. Of course, there will always be trolls . But odds are high that you’ll get more useful feedback than people calling you a n00b. Curate Videos from around the Web Aggregating videos can show your expertise or interest in a specific field, in much the same way that aggregating news stories can. Posting a selection of videos from the YouTube Symphony Orchestra , for example, can show readers your interest in classical music, collaborative arts, or the intersection between classic arts and new technologies. However, if those are your interests and you post random fail vids and cute cats, your readers might not get a good sense of who you are. Anything you post on your blog or personal site is a representation of who you are. Video’s can be a great way to show your personality, previous work, or interests, but require the same patience as any other medium (you wouldn’t post a blurry or embarrassing profile pic, right?). Your best bet is to think of video as an extension of your portfolio, a video cover letter where you can share a little bit of who you are. It’s certainly not required, but a video done well can do a lot to enhance your online presence. Let us know how you are using online video to showcase your work or interests in the comments below. Series supported by Gillette This series is supported by Gillette. Learn more about Gillette and its products at Gillette.com . Image courtesy of iStockphoto , kaisersosa67 More About: better profile series , blog , brand , crowdsourcing , feedback , video resume , web video , youtube For more Web Video coverage: Follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Web Video channel Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad