Many of you know this already, but I got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to the USA – Canada Gold Medal Hockey Game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Words really can’t describe it. I wish I had taken more photos and videos, but it’s hard to do that and really soak it all in. Plus, the battery on my iPhone was dying. But I saw some incredible things. One of the funniest was outside Canada Hockey Place where cops (with guns) were playing street hockey with fans. Presumably they were doing their security duty, but it looked hilarious — and really spoke to the community spirit in Vancouver.

So, I did manage to snap a few photos and a couple of videos. The videos are all essentially the same – scattered, bumpy and loud. Yes, you’ll hear me screaming like a lunatic (and singing Oh Canada horribly out of tune). But you’ll get a glimpse at what it was like on the inside…

Here’s a picture of me, my mother-in-law (who got us the tickets!) and my friend (who is an American fan):

And here are the videos (unfortunately I think the last two are super-huge files and seem to be very slow to display):

On February 18th, 2010 I’ll be speaking at Internet Marketing Conference in Montreal.

My talk is at the end of the day. I’ll be expanding on my previous presentation on social media and inbound recruiting. Actually, since I know that the speakers before me will spend a good chunk of their time focused on social media marketing to drive sales, brand awareness and customer service, I can probably get on stage and say, “Do what they said, but for recruiting people. Thank you.” Maybe I’ll toss in a few examples too.

The Internet Marketing Conference (IMC) is a 2-day event. On February 17th they do a full day of training. The conference day with speakers is on the 18th. Please note: IMC does cost money ($395 for the conference, $295 for the training, with a discount if you pay for both days.)

I’m looking forward to presenting and expanding on my ideas around social recruiting.

As well, I have 1 free ticket (for the conference day) to give away. I have a super-secret code that I can give you to register with, and they’ll comp your conference day ticket. Without making things overly complex, I’d like to run a simple contest.

1. Please comment on this blog or tweet out a message with this hashtag (#benimc) to enter the contest.
2. Ideally it would be great if you shared with me (and others) why you’d like to attend.
3. Let’s stick with 1 comment and 1 tweet per person (so you can leave a comment and tweet if you’d like).
4. On Friday, September 12th, I’ll randomly select a winner.

See you there!

The next Montreal Tech Entrepreneur Breakfast is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9th at 8am.

Remember: The location is Boccacinos on McGill St.

And for the first time ever we have 2 sponsors! Both Nestor System and Sun Microsystems are sponsoring this event. (Both have sponsored previous breakfasts too!)

As a result of our sponsors combined generosity, breakfast is free. The menu will have a handful of items on it; the cost of breakfast (including tip) is covered by the sponsors.

Here are the important details:

• Who should attend? Anyone that’s into the tech and entrepreneur scenes in Montreal. That includes entrepreneurs, startup employees, angel investors, venture investors, service providers, students, etc. Every event sees new people, and hopefully the connections made turn into real value in the long-term.
• When and where? Tuesday, June 9th at Boccacinos on McGill St. (downtown) at 8am-10am.
• How do we connect? Stay connected using our Facebook Group.
• How do we RSVP? It would be great if you RSVP’d so we have a sense of how many people are coming. You can do so using the Facebook Event listing.
• Who is sponsoring? Nestor System and Sun Microsystems!

NOTE: The last event had far more people RSVP than showed up. This isn’t the end of the world, but please make an effort to attend if you RSVP (or update us before the event that you won’t be coming.) It helps us manage the seating arrangements, restaurant expectations, etc. Thank you!