Reminder: apply for my job! Posting closes March 8, 2011

Me, continuing to cycle towards a sparkling future!

Just a reminder that I’m starting maternity leave at the end of April! If you’re interested in taking over Buzzer duties and TransLink social media work, apply soon, as the posting closes tomorrow, March 8, 2011.

Check out the job posting (it’s the one that says “Online Communications Advisor”) and get your application in.

And here’s the original post where I announced the job posting, in case you’re interested in revisiting it.

Apply to be the Buzzer editor & blogger: I’m on maternity leave as of April 29, 2011!

Me, cycling towards a sparkling future!

A pretty big announcement for me today: I’m going on maternity leave starting April 29, 2011!

Yes, I’m expecting a baby in late May, so I’ll be temporarily away from my post as Buzzer editor and blogger for a year.

But that means, of course, we’ll need a replacement to take over the print and online Buzzer work, plus the other online communications advisory work I do for TransLink!

So: if you love the Buzzer, transportation issues, public transit, and you care about the future of our region—and you have extensive experience working in communications, print production and social media—please do apply!

Quite honestly, I think this is an incredible job, and I’d love to see someone take on this opportunity and build the Buzzer and TransLink’s social media work into something even grander than it is today.

Check out the job posting (it’s the one that says “Online Communications Advisor”) and get your application in. The posting closes on March 8, 2011, so make sure you do it soon!

Whoever will be hired will start earlier than April 29 and work with me for a while to get up to speed and learn how things work. And I’ll keep you all posted as we fill the job and move to a new Buzzer editor for 2011-2012 :)

Edit: Someone has mentioned having problems uploading their resume to the website. The web team has told me this is a known issue. Two things to try:
1. Check out the careers page System Requirements and FAQ to see if another browser etc might help.
2. And then if nothing works, email jobs@translink.ca – this is in the last FAQ.

Quick note: Buzzer blog outage for upgrades, Wed Jan 26, 2011, 9-10am

Just a quick note to let you know the Buzzer blog will be down for an hour tomorrow morning: that’s Wednesday, January 26, 2011, from 9-10 a.m. Scheduled upgrades to WordPress will be taking place! So don’t freak out if you see the blog’s gone: it will be back :)

Buzzer blogger away Mon Dec 20, back Tue Jan 4

Just a note to say I will be away on holiday starting Monday December 20, 2010! A few scheduled posts will go up in my absence, and I’ll be back to answer your comments and e-mails on Tuesday, January 4, 2011. (Can you believe it’ll be next year by the time we greet each other again? How time flies!)

Here’s some handy links in case you need info/help while I’m off:

• Follow the TransLink Twitter account for key service updates, plus breaking news!
• Subscribe to e-mail or text message alerts for your bus routes and train trips here
• Our transit alerts can also be found at the TransLink alerts page
• Complaints, commendations, lost property questions, and other inquiries can be directed to TransLink customer service
• You can also reach our transit information line at 604-953-3333
• And if you are helping out your beloved family members with their computers over the holidays, this site will probably be very helpful :) (And this comic is a funny take on the same issue!)

Recaptcha!

A screenshot of our new Recaptcha spam catcher, now installed on the blog!

When the blog got its redesign in June 2010, it included a captcha, or a short challenge commenters would answer to prove they were submitting a real comment, not spam.

However, it was recently brought to my attention that the captcha didn’t provide an audio option for those with visual impairments! So we’ve switched to a new captcha plugin called Recaptcha, which provides an audio option. At the same time, the words you decipher to pass the new Recaptcha test are actually words from old books, newspapers, and radio shows that are being digitized! So you’re killing spam AND helping digitize books and radio. Double win.

Anyway, amid all this excitement, if you find you are encountering problems with the new Recaptcha plugin, please don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail or leave a comment here if possible. If we need to roll back to the old captcha standard or try a different one because this is not working, we will!

Away Nov 19 and 22, back Tuesday

Just a note to say I will be away on Friday Nov 19 and Monday Nov 22! A few scheduled posts will go up in my absence, and I’ll be back to answer your comments and e-mails on Tuesday, November 23.

Here’s some handy links in case you need info/help while I’m off:

• Follow the TransLink Twitter account for updates on our service, plus breaking news
• Transit alerts can also be found at the TransLink alerts page
• Complaints, commendations, or other informational inquiries can be directed to TransLink customer service
• For our transit information line, call 604-953-3333
• And if you want to try your hand at fixing the U.S. national budget, try this tool here.

The Buzzer wins Best Blog at the 2010 APTA AdWheel awards!

The Buzzer's APTA AdWheel award certificate!

Some lovely news: the Buzzer blog was named Best Blog at the 2010 American Public Transportation Association (APTA) AdWheel Awards!

To be specific, the Buzzer blog took the Best Blog prize among “public transportation systems with more than 20 million passenger trips annually,” which means we’re the top blog among the largest public transit systems in North America. The AdWheel Awards celebrate the best in marketing and communications from APTA members, so it truly is a wonderful honour to win!

I should mention that it’s not TransLink’s first time winning an AdWheel Award. In 2009, we won Best Internet Homepage for translink.ca, and Best Public Relations/Awareness or Educational Campaign for our Transit Secure ads. And in 2007 we won Best Campaign for a series of lovely recruitment ads.

But yes, this year is the blog’s chance to shine—so thanks so much to APTA, and thanks to everyone who makes this blog a part of your reading! The blog would not be so successful without you!

(PS: Here’s the full list of 2010 AdWheel winners, in case you’re curious :)

The Buzzer blog turns two!

Happy birthday to the Buzzer blog!

Can you believe the blog is two years old today?

It seems like just yesterday that I was anxiously drafting a first post—but it was really October 6, 2008 that the Buzzer blog put its very first dispatch out into the cosmos.

I’m happy to report that the blog now has 940 posts, over 9,500 comments, and one fantastic community of amazing, intelligent commenters and contributors. And together, we’ve seen our way through so many regional transportation developments: the Olympics, the opening of the Canada Line (and a sneak peek tour!), new West Coast Express cars, a second I Love Transit Week, and so much more!

Check out the Buzzer blog’s first anniversary post to see a list of many more golden oldies from the blog’s vast archives.

And really, a big, big thanks to everyone who makes the Buzzer blog part of their day—you are so much appreciated!

Buzzer blogger named one of the Top 40 Under 40 by Mass Transit magazine!

The cover of the September 2010 Mass Transit issue, and my photo from the inside article!

Crazy news—I’ve been named one of the Top 40 Under 40 by Mass Transit Magazine!

What an honour! It’s tremendous to be selected, and I’m truly in some fine company. You should all have a look at the full 40 Under 40 article to see the many younger folks involved in transit in North America.

Thanks to Mass Transit for the kind words, and congratulations to everyone on the list!

Away for two weeks: back Mon Sept 13

Just a note to say I will be away on holiday for the next two weeks! A few posts are scheduled go up while I’m away, and I’ll be back to answer your comments and e-mails on Monday, September 13.

Here’s some handy links in case you need info/help while I’m off:

• Follow the TransLink Twitter account for updates on our service, plus breaking news
• Transit alerts can also be found at the TransLink alerts page
• Complaints, commendations, or other informational inquiries can be directed to TransLink customer service
• For our transit information line, call 604-953-3333
• And for an instant time machine to 1996, try this website! :D

A bit about the new comment rating system

Thumbs up or down?

With the Buzzer blog’s redesign on Monday, you may have noticed a new comment rating system on the blog. It’s a blog plugin called Comment Rating, and it now gives you the ability to go “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on other comments.

We put this in just so more people can quietly participate in discussions—however, I’ve discovered that Comment Rating actually changes the way comments are presented based on the ratings received! Well-liked, poorly rated, and hotly debated comments show up differently.

I wasn’t quite aware that this functionality was part of the plugin, so I think we should all just test it out to see if we like it. But for now, here’s an explanation of how the comments are shown with the new rating system.

Note, Mon June 28: After discussion below, I’ve decided to remove the “Dislike” function on the comment ratings. Ergo you can’t have “hotly debated” or “poorly liked” comments anymore, but you can be “highly rated” still. I’ve left the rest up below for posterity’s sake.

Highly rated comments

A highly rated comment.

Highly-rated comments get a pink background, and are determined by the following formula: (Likes – Dislikes) are greater than or equal to 4.

Hotly debated comments

A hotly debated comment.

Hotly-debated comments get an orange background, and are determined by the following formula: (Likes + Dislikes) are greater than or equal to 8.

Poorly-rated comments

A poorly-liked comment.

Poorly-rated comments get hidden! They are determined by the following formula: (Dislikes – Likes) are greater than or equal to 3.

I’m not totally sure whether these comments should be hidden… however, this has amazing possibilities for community spam moderation!

Update: After hearing from several people in the comments, I’m in agreement that these comments should NOT be hidden. So the threshold is now set to (Dislikes – Likes) is greater than or equal to 20, which hopefully should not be reached in common use.

For the future…

Feel free to keep me in the loop on how you think the comment rating system is going. Also, I am able to adjust the thresholds that govern which is a highly-rated, hotly debated, and poorly-liked comment, so we could do some fine tuning there as we see how things progress.

Redesigned Buzzer blog launches Monday: watch out for some downtime!

A mockup of the new Buzzer blog design!

Get ready to see a bright new Buzzer blog look on Monday!

We’re launching the redesigned Buzzer blog, which I must say is very pretty and much more functional.

The changeover will mean blog downtime on Monday starting at 9 a.m., and that might take a few hours depending on how things go.

As you all suggested, the new blog design is wider, incorporates the illustration and colours of the Buzzer print issue, and has more useful navigation tools, like related posts, next/previous post links, and a promo box in the right side.

And omg, we finally have a captcha to help fight spam!!!! Feel free to post links to your heart’s content now: I won’t have to approve them!!

Sadly, the ability to edit comments was too big for the scope of this redesign—it would require registration, which I’m loath to make you do—but the demand is duly noted, and should there be any more improvements scheduled in the future, I’ll certainly see what we can make happen!

Update, Mon June 21, 2:33 p.m..

For those interested, here’s a list of all the changes made to the Buzzer blog, besides the obvious overall redesign.

- Share/print/font size widget added (as suggested by Sean T)
- Captcha (to help stop spam)
- Next and previous items added to each post
- Related posts added to each post
- Free-form content box in the right rail (lets me suggest articles!)
- Weekly poll in the right rail (a suggestion from Rubai)
- Like/dislike function added to comments (more ways to interact!)
- When you click my name below a post, it goes to the About section

Away the rest of the week: back Monday, May 17

Just a note to say I will be away on holiday for the rest of the week. A few posts are scheduled go up while I’m away, and I’ll be back to answer your comments and e-mails on Monday, May 17.

Here’s some handy links in case you need info/help while I’m off:

• Follow the TransLink Twitter account for updates on our service, plus breaking news
• Transit alerts can also be found at the TransLink alerts page
• Complaints, commendations, or other informational inquiries can be directed to our customer service contacts and addresses, found at the main TransLink site
• For our transit information line, call 604-953-3333
• And for an instant sound effect, try this website! :D

The Buzzer blog named one of 8 essential transit agency blogs!

L.A. Metro's The Source blog has named the Buzzer blog one of its top 8 essential transit agency blogs! (Also: recursion!)

Wow — the Source, which is the blog from L.A. Metro, has named the Buzzer blog as one of its eight essential transit agency blogs!

Thanks to Fred Camino at the Source for putting us on the list — you should make sure to check out all the other blogs he’s listed, as they’re very interesting too. The Source is no slouch either, with tons of great posts on transit news, history and more!

Away today and Monday: back Tuesday, March 16

Just a note to say I will be away on Friday and Monday!

Sadly, this means I will be missing the beginning of the Paralympics — but I will definitely be back to cover the rest of it. If anyone catches any great photos of transportation around the Paralympic opening ceremonies or over the weekend, please do e-mail them to me: I would love to share them on the blog!

A few posts are scheduled go up while I’m away, and I’ll be back to answer your comments and e-mails on Tuesday, March 16.

And here’s some handy links in case you need info/help while I’m off:

• Follow the TransLink Twitter account for updates on our service, plus breaking news
• Transit alerts can also be found at the TransLink alerts page
• For any complaints, commendations, or other informational inquiries, please check out our customer service contacts and addresses from the main TransLink site

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• For our transit information line, call 604-953-3333.