Blogroll – 15 February 2008

This week, branding is the name of the game. more...

Performing a PESTEL on B.C.

A PESTEL is a survey the business landscape – a look at where things have gone and where they're going. Officially, it stands for a study of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal trends, but really it's a kind of free-form look at the world around you.

A PESTEL on B.C. at the beginning of 2008 tells you that we are (in Vancouver anyway) a city undergoing a major transition from a small town with a lot of people to an urban centre with more people than we know how to handle. more...

Is Hollywood North going south?

The B.C. film industry, which usually generates nothing but hyped up everything-is-just-wonderful kind of news, is struggling with some bad news it would really rather not talk about. That's simply that the industry is in serious trouble. more...

Power to the people (who need it)

The appointment of Mossadiq Umedaly to the position of chairman of BC Hydro signals – at last -- a significant shift in economic thinking in this province. more...

Feeling kind of fluish

I was shocked to learn of a survey that showed BC businesses aren't prepared for the repercussions of a flu pandemic hitting the province. more...

2008 B.C. business trends (maybe)

Tony dusts off his crystal ball and takes some stabs at predicting what 2008 will hold for businesses in B.C. more...

Getting Smarter

Apparently, Vancouver has been listed as one of the world's top 21 “smart” cities. The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a nonprofit think tank that focuses on job creation and economic development in the broadband economy, decided that B.C.'s largest city belonged on the list because its technology industry is heavily weighted to small businesses. more...

Immigration Bonanza

The recently released Census figures that showed an astonishing 40 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents were born outside Canada seems to have spurred a few people in the region to actually start thinking we might somehow use this fact to boost our economic fortunes. more...

Age-Related Stock Disease

No doubt there's much weeping in the biotech community today after BC's most iconic biotech, QLT, announced that it might be put on the auction block as one of several options being considered by the company's management in an effort to boost its value. But it was inevitable. more...

Invasion of the Bedrooms

Is Vancouver in danger of becoming a 'bedroom community'? Tony Wanless takes a look. more...