This year is a year of change for me, perhaps a middle age crisis as I just had my 40th birthday in May, however cliché it maybe. I realize the stereotype is to get a younger woman and a fast car but I am simply not that type of guy. I decided instead to focus my internet energy that I have been tolling around on newsgroups and forums and start using my energy for a positive change for my community. I have always been interested in retail and restaurants and anyone who knows me have always been known as the guy with the inside scoop. When people pick up The Coast you always see them going to back first to read Savage Love I was headed to ShopTalk. I also want this city to live up to the potential it can be, we should be both historical and modern, exciting and reliable, we have the advantage of being the greatest city in large chunk of land and there is no reason that we should not be the urban gem of Eastern Canada.
So I decided that it was time to blog, and in turn the micro blogging of Twitter. Now I have no great political aspirations but I know a lively downtown and the businesses scattered throughout the Municipality are a reflection of what we are as a community, so I enjoy sharing what is going on. Big Box stores are unfortunately a realism of our society so I report on them, but I love the unique so that is what I like to express. Even in the mess of Bayers Lake there are independents like Dhaba Express. So I tweet what is opening and what is closing, I blog about my opinions and archives of business gone past, those who are doing things well and not shying away from those who are not.
The response so far to my idea has been way higher than I had hoped for, when I posted my first tweet in February I was hoping for modest results by the end of the year, a success to me would have been 200 followers and 250 unique hits on the blog, but it isn’t even July yet and I am approaching 500 followers and 1000 unique hits a month. I am so pleased that people are interested in what I have to say and wonder why I haven’t done this sooner. There are folks that have helped @haligonia who very early on got what I was doing and added me to their site http://live.haligonia.ca/, @ILoveLocalHFX who also was on board with the idea and I felt comfortable taking my idea of a Local Tourist event to Gordon Stevens, and Gordon took my idea combined it with some he already had and in 8 short weeks, Gord turned it into the new Halifax tradition of OpenCity which is already transforming into this falls CityHarvest. Krista Spurr @krisp131 and I share similar passions for the local and travel and I have guessed blogged over @ http://bitesizedtravel.wordpress.com/@bitesizedtravel and @HalifaxTweeters who spread my word. Also thanks to every one of my followers who interact and contribute, and those of you who just like to watch.
I will continue on this path and for the upcoming municipal election I will have my sister identity http://ArtCanning.ca@ArtCanning where hopefully I can get people engaged in voting to help facilitate what we need our leaders to do to help further my simple vision of HRM greatness.
I have no more set milestones, I will continue doing what I do and I trust it will just grow on it’s own.
Yours Appreciatively
Arthur Gaudreau
