Earlier this month, I had the chance to attend the inaugural “CAMP Festival”:http://campfestival.ca/ at Theatre Junction GRAND in my home town of Calgary. In conjunction with “FITC”:http://fitc.ca/, this conference was an intense two-day sprint session revolving around the fusion of art, technology, creativity and new media.

Throughout the two days, attendees were bombarded with traditional sessions and intimate studios conversations revolving around the emergence of art within the technology and creative sectors. Talks touched upon topics such as _Design and Happiness_, _Big Redesigns, Tough Clients and a Lot of Work!_, _Designing the Future of Augmented Reality_, _Rich Web Experiences and the Future of the Web_.

Really enjoying the chat from @repponen at #CAMPFEST14 on the design, pitch and UX process. Fantastic information. Lots of takeaways.

— Armadillo Studios (@armadillostudio) September 8, 2014

It was a mind melting two days of uplifting discussion and idea generating conversations about the direction of Web Design and the Internet. Artists such as _GMUNK_, _James White_, and _Sarah Blake_ delved in to their own personal style influences and how they create unique work for clients and their own personal pet projects that have driven their artistic voice. While creative agency veterans such as _Anton Repponen_, _Irene Pereyena_, and _Kim Alpert_ shared their collective experiences dealing with the business side of the creative industry; discussion such topics as client relations, project budgeting, the art of the pitch and team planning and resource management.

signalnoise getting raw & real. #campfest14 #vscocam http://t.co/kWnH5UN1CY

— Jason⚡Dorn (@jaydorn) September 9, 2014

CAMP Festival was a fantastic two days and a breath of fresh air into an otherwise stagnant local conference scene. The fusion of internationally renowned speakers and industry shakers with some of Calgary’s own local success stories, really created a unique experience. As an event it was fantastic opportunity to catch-up with every single one of our local friends from the the Calgary design community, meet some new friends and to hang out and discuss the topics that were shown throughout the day.

If CAMP Festival’s goals were to challenge and inspire the growing Calgary tech and creative industry, then mission accomplished. It goes without saying that pretty much all of the 330 people who attended this conference left with something inspiring or challenging to incorporate into their own business models or creative endeavours. For a first run conference of this magnitude, it was a pleasant and energizing surprise. So a massive thank you to all who was involved in the planning and organizing of CAMP Fest.

The big take always from #CAMPFEST14 are: 1) follow your side passions and heart. Just create. Don't fear the rest.

— Armadillo Studios (@armadillostudio) September 9, 2014

Plus they had S’Mores. Nothing beats a conference with Beer and S’Mores.

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It is with great pleasure I get announce that after a year long courtship, Armadillo Studios Inc., is an approved member of the NationBuilder Architect program.

For those unfamiliar, NationBuilder is one of the fastest growing and most popular Content Management Systems to hit the market in the past few years. Developed off the backs of members of Obama’s highly touted technical team, NationBuilder is an incredibly powerful web site platform for political and non-profits looking to raise money, connect with volunteers and actively engage with their user base.

NationBuilder is a software platform that combines your people database, website, and communication tools like email, text messaging, and social media—all in one. Accessible and affordable, NationBuilder helps people all over the world create more meaningful relationships. Whether you’re an author, activist, small business owner, or politician, we provide the tools to build a community around whatever it is you were meant to do.

As you can imagine the NaitonBuilder platform is a powerful tool to help candidates and organizations connect beyond the typical methods found on a normal CMS. As one can see from the work with did with Alberta MLA Steve Young, our first NationBuilder web site, the system is a powerful way to transform your site into something other than a one-way broadcasting tool.

I’m excited to add NationBuilder to the growing list of services that Armadillo Studios provides for our Business, Not-For-Profit and Political customers. If you feel that NationBuilder is a tool that might interest, send me a note at cturner@armadillostudios.ca and I’d love to chat with you about the pros and cons.

Also, I would like to give a shout out to Brendan Mulvihill of EDAHelp for his guidance with working with the NationBuilder System.

It goes without saying that I’m a huge fan of WordPress. Not only is WordPress Armadillo’s core speciality and go to Content Management System (CMS), but it is also one of the easiest to use, intuitive and powerful tools out there for creating robust web sites. So it is with great pleasure that I get to announce that not only is Armadillo Studios a sponsor of WordCamp Calgary 2014 on June 14th, but I am also one of the core co-organizers of this year’s edition.

If you’re unfamiliar with WordCamp Calgary, here’s a bit of an intro into the event.

WordCamp Calgary 2014 is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. This year’s edition is planned for June 14th at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

This year’s conference is not only dedicated to celebrating the growing WordPress community in Calgary, but looking at how we can push WordPress to being more than just a “blogging tool”. Through a series of sessions, panels, hands-on workshops and events we are aiming to help grow the WordPress community in the city. This year’s one-day conference is jam-packed with great content for a wide spectrum of WordPress users – from content editors all the way to hard-core coders.

There is something for everyone at WordCamp Calgary 2014.

So if you interested in attending WordCamp Calgary and helping to build the great WordPress community in the city, make sure you register today!

Before I start, please read this:

As a web designer and e-mail marketer, these comments and thoughts are based on my interpretation of Canada’s new Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) based on my research and conversations. Since key components of CASL kick in on July 1st of this year it is best to consult professional legal consul for clarifications on the various elements of this legislation and how it will affect your marketing operations.

For the past month I have been attending a variety of talks and having conversations with legal acquaintances on “The Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)”:http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/home. Since this legislation posses to severely disrupt the marketing plans of many businesses and non-profit organizations, I felt it was time to jot down a few thoughts regarding the legislation and why people should pay attention.

1. What is CASL

You can read about CASL on “the government’s web site”:http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/home, but as with any legal document and government document for the average citizen the information within isn’t as clear as could be. So if you’re looking for resources in a more plain language you may want to check out these resource:

* “MillerThompson’s CASL information”:http://www.millerthomson.com/en/our-services/anti-spam-casl and “one-pager”:http://millerthomson.com/assets/files/article_attachments3/CASL-on-a-page.pdf.
* “Stephen King’s Blog Post”:http://stephdokin.com/10-tips-to-prepare-for-canadas-new-anti-spam-law-casl-starting-july-1-2014/?utm_content=buffer08bda&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
* “Elite Email’s guide to CASL”:http://www.eliteemail.com/learning-center/casl/page6.html and “CASL in plain language”:http://blog.eliteemail.com/2013/05/16/all-about-casl-canadas-anti-spam-legislation/.

There are elements of CASL that make a tonne of sense, such as rules about subscribe buttons, adding physical mailing addresses and properly representing your organization in e-mail communications. Where CASL really gets confusing is in the definition of expressed and implied consent.

2. I’ve Heard a Lot of People Talking About It, But Is CASL Really That Bad?

From an e-mail marketing and small business owner perspective, my interpretation is that CASL is bad. Really bad.

One of the most confusing elements of CASL is that by *July 1st, 2014* all senders of commercial emails (i.e. email newsletters, advertising emails, anything to do with E-Mail Marketing lists) must have received expressed consent from receivers *and* be able to prove that they received “expressed consent”:http://www.eliteemail.com/learning-center/casl/page5.html to continue sending out e-mail messages to existing subscribers. _After_ July 1st, they will not be able to ask for expressed consent for existing e-mail marketing lists.

In laman’s terms, what this means is that businesses and organizations who have spent year’s building an e-mail marketing list *need* to sent a note out to all their users and request them to send an email back of written consent saying that they agree to receive e-mails from the business or non-profit moving forward. And this has to be done by *July 1st, 2014*. After that you’re not allowed to ask for expressed consent from those lists.

Now, as any e-mail marketer knows, the average good open rate for emails is about 20-30% for a single email blast, with a click through rate between 10-15%. So knowing those numbers the likely hood of 100% of your current e-mail marketing list replying back with expressed consent will be far less. In my opinion, this will be the biggest damage that CASL imposes on to organizations, by essentially making their existing marketing lists useless.

3. No seriously, is CASL really this Bad?

Yes and in my opinion, it should be taken very seriously. I maybe just an e-mail marketer, but there are two key reactionary signs by other groups to help understand how serious this law _actually_ is.

The first indicator, is the reaction by many legal firms to CASL. For the past few weeks, many people have started receiving emails from Legal firms requesting *expressed consent* for e-mail marketing subscriptions. Given that it’s the job of legal firms to understand and abide by all aspects of the law, their serious reaction is a telltale sign about how important CASL compliance is.

The second indicator, is actually one of the key exemptions of the law. It also has to be the most comical aspect of the legislation. There is actually one group of organizations that is completely exempt from CASL and that’s *political parties*. Not to sound like a conspiracy theory nutjob, but if CASL _wasn’t a big deal and wasn’t disruptive_, I doubt a genre of organizations that rely solely on e-marketing for funding wouldn’t be exempt from CASL’s rule.

4. But I’m Using Constant Contact, Mailchimp, etc., I should be fine with CASL.

Unfortunately not. Since many of the top e-mail marketing tools out there are American based, many of them haven’t taken the proper steps to become CASL compliant. (Although, many of their existing features do cover some elements of CASL) When you factor in how small of a market Canadian subscribers are to their bottom lines and the fact that compliance with CASL rolled out within 6 months, it’s easy to understand why these top companies don’t have the proper tools in place to help Canadian marketers.

In addition, it’s also not the responsibility of Third Party providers to receive consent for e-mail marketers, that responsibility rests solely on the heads of *the sender*. So in the end hiding behind a third party provider won’t be good enough under CASL.

In the two talks I’ve attended, the most fascinating aspect of CASL has been watching the audience reaction upon understanding the key elements of the legislation. Most people’s reaction, and my own included, swayed from intense rage to out right denial.

For a legislation designed to help consumers and prevent SPAM, CASL appears to be doing more harm to business owners and non-profits than good. The fines for “CASL are pretty extensive”:http://www.davis.ca/uploads/files/CASL-Penalties.pdf and it opens the door for private litigation against companies that don’t comply, so it would be wise to make these changes. CASL should be taken seriously by all businesses and non-profits, if you have questions do your research and contact legal consul.

But do it quick, as many of the key elements of this legislation kick in just over a month.

It’s with great pleasure I get announce that SAIT student Cody Thompson will be joining Team Armadillo Studios for the next two months. Cody is a great young and upcoming talent, who will be working with myself on a weekly basis to help complete the Practicum portion of his program. Over the next few weeks Cody will be working along side myself on a handful of projects, but mainly on corporate branding, WordPress theme development and mobile responsive site design.

Here’s Cody’s bio if you are looking to learn about him and his work.

Starting in elementary with basic typing and computer skills, then multimedia in junior high and senior high, and now into post-secondary with NMPD; technology has always been a huge part of my life. What made me want to aspire for a career on computers was simply the fact that I loved being on them so much to begin with. I remember when I was younger I would constantly view web page’s source code trying to decipher what all the mumbo jumbo meant and did. Thus it’s only natural that my chosen path would be a developer or designer of some kind. Coffee filled coding nights keep me happy it seems. And knowing that I am by no means an expert keeps me motivated and eager to learn. My interests don’t only lie within web however, although it will almost always influence what I do. I’m also incredibly fascinated with mobile design, and business, and one day hope to embark on both of those. I have a dream of owning my own business, and constantly find myself writing down ideas, reading articles, etc, all in attempt to achieve that goal. When I was in high school I partook in a leadership camp, and although strange at first, I personally feel it has made me realize what I really desire, and also made me stronger in the process. I am very passionate and dedicated when it comes to what I enjoy and what I want. I’m confident in my skills and what I know, yet am not ashamed to admit when I don’t know something yet. Learning and staying up to date, in this field especially, is essential, and I devote myself to that every day. In the end, I love design, I love developing, I basically just love technology and computers in general, it’s what I’m good at, and it’s what I’m aspiring to specialize in as a profession.

So in addition to welcoming him to the team for the next couple of months, I’d also strongly suggest connecting with Cody on Twitter, LinkedIn and Behance.