Here at the Tannery, we are huge boosters for the planned LRT. Leading up to the Regional Council¹s vote to approve the project back in June 15, 2011, we volunteered our space for several pro LRT meetings and many of us made presentations before Kitchener, Waterloo and Regional Council urging our elected officials to vote yes.

On Thursday evening, January 17, 2013 about 25 of us met again at Machteld Faas Xander to hear from Regional Administrators about their progress on the LRT project. This was followed by lively discussions. All-in-all, it was a very productive meeting where everyone shared, learned and gained a greater understanding of nature and complexity of the process.

I caught some of the meeting guests off guard during introductions when I confessed that I had already ridden on the LRT! My experience was unique to the assembled, younger audience, some of whom had rather incredulous looks on their faces until I explained.

My mother loved shopping in downtown Kitchener and, as a boy, I was always in tow. I seem to recall that Goudie’s department store was a regular destination and, after her shop, she would always take me to their restaurant for a plain chicken sandwich with the bread crusts removed (yes, I was spoiled).

This was the late 1940s, before mother owned a car. We lived in Galt. Getting around wasn¹t a problem however, since there was an electric train service through Galt, Hespeler, Preston, Kitchener and Waterloo. The service was called the Grand River Railway and there were 6 trains joining these communities each day.

I can¹t remember much about those trips except that the train-cars seemed awfully big and they were wine coloured with gold lettering. Apparently, I was always excited for a chance to ride.

Trains have always fascinated me and I think these first experiences are what started it all. It also helps explain my interest and enthusiasm for the new LRT service; and the positive contribution it will make to the many ‘parallel’ initiatives that are happening now and are slated for the future in this vibrant, dynamic Region of ours.

‘Here’s a picture of what I’m told the new, Regional LRT trains will look like (sample only)–colours and graphics will probably change somewhat.’

Looking forward to getting back to LRT riding.

Congratulations to Tracey DeVille for winning our November Storytelling Contest. Tracey’s name was drawn from the list of Twitter followers who submitted a tweet to continue the ongoing saga of Machteld’s story. Thank you to everyone who participated in this month’s contest.

The story continues! The December Storytelling Contest will continue Machteld’s story as she embarks on a quest with Faas and a yet unmentioned third member. Follow the @MachStory Twitter handle for updates of the story. To join the contest, submit what you think should happen next. Don’t forget to @mention @MachStory in your tweet!

See the November Storytelling Contest blog for more information.

It should be no surprise to any of you that, again this year, the social animals here at Machteld Faas Xander are looking forward to sharing good food and cheer with you in celebration of the Christmas Season. Please note that this year, we are collecting for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region so please bring a non-perishable food contribution if you can.

FESTIVE FOOD FRIDAYS- December 7, 14 and 21, 2012
Please join us, and our space-mates Mad Hatter, on any one, or all of the above dates to share the goodies we have prepared just for you. Visit any time between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm. No RSVP required but please, don’t forget to bring a Food Bank contribution, if you can.

We are looking forward to seeing you here:
121 Charles Street West, Suite 230,
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 1H6

Machteld Faas Xander wants to see your MO! Tweet or e-mail us a picture of your mustache before the end of Movember.
We will show off our three favourites in a blog at the end of the month, along with the winners’ teams so that you can donate and support the cause.

We also want to shout for the Mo Bros right here in our office. Way to go Mike, Neil, and Robert on the Movember midway mark.

We will be tweeting out some midway pictures of Neil, Robert and Mike, our Mo-friend from MadHatter, to show the progress that the guys have made in the past fifteen days.

Not involved in Movember? It’s not too late! Join our team, Stitchy Moes, and start growing your MO.
For more information go to ca.movember.com. or tweet/e-mail us.

Twitter:@MachFaasXan
E-mail: Jessica@MachteldFaasXander.com

Donate!

Step 1: Go to ca.movember.com/donate.
Step 2: Enter any of the following into the search field or click ‘General Donation’ to make your donation!

Neil Lippert
Robert Minou
Mike Sage
Skitchy Moes (our team)

We are back with a new storytelling contest for November.

In the past, everyone has submitted a story of his or her own for the contest. This month, however, we wanted to try something different and creative; we are going to write a story together.

“How will this work?” you may ask.

Well, let us tell you.

We have set up a Twitter account with the handle @MachStory. This account will tell the story of Machteld. We will begin this story with a 140-character reference to part of the inspiration behind our name.

Where it goes from there is up to you. Contribute to the story with your tweet that adds to the tale and includes the @MachStory handle. We will select our favourite tweet to retweet and add to the story. Every day we will also contribute to the plot with a tweet from @MachStory. This process will continue for the month of November.

If your tweet is selected, your name will go into a draw to win $100.00 at the end of the month. Every time that one of your tweets is retweeted by the @MachStory account during November, your name will be entered an extra time into the draw. You will, however, not be retweeted twice in a row.

“What will the story be about?”

That is up to you. The plot is yours to create and mold. Machteld will be the main character but you can add other characters, decide where they go and what they do. For inspiration, you can read more about the personage behind the Machteld name here. In summary, Machteld is all about creativity. “Machteld […] values imagination, beauty and designs that are both aesthetic and functional.” Keep this in mind and you’ll do great.

For any questions or comments tweet @MachFaasXan, since the @MachStory account will only be used to tell the story.

We look forward to your submissions!

As the social media specialist for MFX, I spend most of my day interacting with people online and also examining other people’s interactions with each other on the web. You can likely guess, that because of this ‘medium submersion’, I have witnessed both the best and the worst of social media. Many of the best practices are up for debate and change depending on the industry. However, there is one truth that everyone should follow: your social media accounts are a reflection of you (or your company) and WILL affect your ‘real-world’ life.

In the past few weeks, especially, I became increasingly annoyed having found people attempting to lead social media “double lives”. Their accounts were public, their names were listed, their picture was even posted, and yet they were posting content and opinions that they would never dare to say in public or in a face-to-face conversation.

People become more brazen on the Internet—when you can’t see the person’s face or reaction, its easy to be bold. This is especially true when it comes to posting rude, mean and inappropriate comments about others.

My aggravation reached a new high last Wednesday. In a moment of frustration, I grabbed my phone and tweeted: “If you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying it into a megaphone at a crowded mall, then you shouldn’t post it on social media. #therules.”

Having vented, I continued on with my day. A few hours later, I noticed an overwhelming amount of interactions coming in on my Twitter account. Confused, I scrolled down to find that the Fast Company Twitter account had retweeted me!

The tweet became an example of its own message. My tweet was now being broadcast to their 500 000 followers along with my name and picture. After 24 hours, my tweet had 241 retweets and had been favourited 49 times. Over the next few days, it reached 462 retweets and 108 favourites. These numbers continue to grow, and my tweet has now been translated into Spanish, Swedish and Slovak. I AM on the megaphone…and proud of it.

Many people commented that they agreed, and some even thanked me for this illustration. I also received a lot of criticism from ones stating it isn’t a good comparison, social media isn’t a “big deal”, and no one would be comfortable saying anything into a megaphone anyhow.

I’m not bothered by the criticism because I want that message to be associated with me and can confidently stand behind it. Ironically, these ones just further prove the message that they are criticizing. Because of something that I posted on social media, strangers from all over the world were picking fights—with me. ,

But that is the power of social media—the power to reach people like never before. This was a great experience and opportunity for me because it spread a message in which I strongly believe, to thousands of people— an accomplishment that I would never have been able to do had I not had the ‘power of social media’.

Here is the tweet.

Many people comment about how they love joining in on our morning Stand-Up. Each morning at 9:30, everyone gets together around the kitchen counter and shares something that inspired, interested or impressed them during the previous 24 hours.

And now you can participate too! To get involved and share something, check out The Stand-Up.

We post the contributions that are shared that morning but we strongly encourage you to submit your own stories, especially if it involves one of our seven core values.

We love when you join the conversation. So, agree, challenge, add, think, disagree, reblog or react how you wish. Your voice matters and we want to hear it.