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Canadian Startup Mobovivo Gets Reckless on the iPad with Adrian Grenier

Actor and indie producer Adrian Grenier is working with Mobovivo to launch Reckless Adrian Grenier, an actor-branded social television app for mobile. Mobovivo, which has offices in Calgary and Toronto, is utilzing its social TV and video app technology to deliver interactive features on the app, such as social sharing and scenes from the red carpet.

"Television can be an incredibly stimulating medium, but that doesn’t seem to be enough,” says Adrian. “By engaging and interacting with fans on any screen, artists and producers can create a great movie, and share it with fans, sooner.”

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Facebook Not Coming to Kitchener-Waterloo After All, Inside Source Says

Back in November, Techvibes reported that Facebook may expand its Canadian operations to Kitchener, where competitor Google already operates out of.

Facebook, which has its Canadian headquarters in Toronto, is reportedly planning a major presence in the nearby Waterloo region. The social networking giant is looking at space in a former auto-parts factory on King Street West […] in The Breithaupt Block, a collection of old industrial buildings at King and Breithaupt streets, adjacent to the railway tracks in downtown Kitchener.

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Montreal Startup Nexalogy Environics Beta-Launches NexaMe at SXSW

Nexalogy Environics is a social media analytics startup. Founded in Montreal in 2008, Nexalogy this year took to technology conference South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas to beta-launch NexaMe, a free new online social media visualizer.

Partnered with North of 41, Nexalogy unveiled its patent-pending technology during SoKap's Crowdfunding 2.0 event held on Friday at SXSW. Built around an interest map, NexaMe allows people "to see the most important themes, trends, and major players at a glance."

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SXSW: Toronto's yapAgame is the World's 'First Mobile Social Media Platform for Sports Fans'

Launched at the infamous South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas this past week was yapAgame, a new web startup. The Toronto-born company claims to be the "world’s first mobile social media platform dedicated to sports fans."

Through smartphones and tablets, yapAgame connects fans, teams, and leagues with conversations, gossip, and inside scoops. The startup says that sports fans "always have something to say"—a point we certainly wouldn't argue—which makes a social-based app logical.

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Halifax Startup Equals6 Helps Students Network with Future Employers

The Chronicle HeraldEquals6 is a new Halifax-based social network designed to connect students with future employers. We recently covered their startup presentation at DemoCamp Halifax. It is essentially a recruiting site—but one invested in making the right connections long before the hiring phase.

“Equals6 is a social network for students,” says Andy Osburn, one of the site’s creators. “Our ultimate goal is to help them build a professional network while in school and then help them leverage that network to find their first entry-level position.”

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Social Media’s Influence on Film and TV Audiences: An Interview with Alexandra Samuel

Photo of Alexandra Samuel

Alexandra Samuel is the Director of the Social + Interactive Media Centre at Emily Carr University and co-founder of Social Signal, one of the world's first social media agencies. Earlier this week, she spoke at the Women in Film and Television (WIFT) luncheon in Toronto about strategies and tools for online branding, and reaching broadcasting audiences through social media.

Samuel explained to the WIFT luncheon attendees that “the audience dictates the success of a film or television show—even before it is made.” She gave the example of a Finnish-German-Australian sci-fi comedy called Iron Sky, which raised roughly one million Euros via crowd funding from internet audiences. Because the film was promoted heavily online to seek audience funding, it generated so much buzz that it sold out at the Berlin International Film Festival premiere.

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How Twitter has Changed and Grown in Edmonton Since 2009

Mack Male, known online as Mastermaq, loves two things: Twitter and Edmonton. (I'm sure he loves other things. Just not enough to list them on his Twitter bio.)

With more than 11,500 followers on Twitter, Mack is one of the more connected Edmontonians on the microblogging platform—but you might be surprised to learn that he doesn't even come close to cracking the top 25. And this is according to his own data: Mack's been tracking the state of the Twittersphere in various Canadian cities, particularly Edmonton, for years. (Fun fact: Mack joined Twitter way, way, way before it was cool. He was one of the very first users.)

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Edmonton's Empire Avenue Revamps Platform

Empire Avenue has announced a major relaunch. The Edmonton startup, originally a somewhat crude, online social media stock market, is taking big steps toward becoming a truly refined and polished web platform for social networkers.

AT SXSW, the company revealed "its biggest update since launch," revamping its user interface and adding new functionality. For example, Empire Avenue will utilize a new tile-based visual interface that will enable users to use social networks such as Twitter and YouTube without leaving EA's platform.

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