Thanks to Simon Chen of Ramius, Ottawa now has its own franchise of Social Media Breakfast, an event started by Bryan Person (a blogger and podcaster Simon and I had the privilege of meeting during this month’s Community 2.0 Conference).

According to Bryan, Social Media Breakfast (SMB) is “an almost-monthly event where social media experts and newbie’s alike come together to eat, meet, share, and learn. Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend.”

Cities that host SMB include Boston, New York City, the Twin Cities, Austin, Memphis, Phoenix, San Francisco, Singapore, and Cincinnati. And now Ottawa!

SMB Ottawa 1 takes place Tuesday, June 10th.

The inaugural speaker is Adrian Salamunovic, Co-Founder of DNA11. DNA11 is a company that pioneered the creation of personalized artwork from the DNA of its customers. Much of DNA11’s success has derived from social media exposure.

To find out more and register to attend SMB Ottawa 1, visit at http://smbottawa.eventbrite.com. You won’t want to miss it!

Melany Gallant | Women 2.0 Canada | Ottawa Co-founder

Come join Women 2.0 Ottawa at the next Ottawa DemoCamp - scheduled May 26th at The Velvet Room in The Market.

For those of you not in the know, DemoCamp is a variation of the un-conference style event. PowerPoint is not allowed - presenters must give an actual demonstration of the product or service they are presenting.

Demonstrations are 15 minutes in length: 2 minute introduction, 8 minute demo, 5 minutes for Q&A and discussion.

It’s a fun event that brings together a wide range of people from Ottawa’s high tech sector. And it would be great to see more women from the high tech sector attending DemoCamp.

So we encourage you to come watch demonstrations of some cool products and technologies either already created or in the midst of development. Give feedback to the presenters, ask questions and learn about the cool technologies and products being developed right here in the Nation’s Capital.

To register, add your name to the registration list on the Ottawa DemoCamp wiki at http://barcamp.pbwiki.com/DemoCampOttawa9

The companies presenting at this month’s DemoCamp:

• - dD dot tv - beta preview
• - Stockify - Investing Software
• - SIMtone - Virtual PC, http://www.simtonecdu.com
• - picsphere - complete workflow solution for event and studio photographers
• - Ramius Corporation - Sixent.com (psst…Ramius is the company I work for - Sixent is our newest product)
• - myChoiceBot - Web app for shoppers researching any type of purchase decision.

Date and Time: Monday, May 26 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Location: The Velvet Room, 62 1/2 York Street, in The Market (b/w William and Dalhousie)

Melany Gallant | Women 2.0  Canada | Ottawa Co-founder

Good time tracking is key to any successful project. Throughout the years  I have used many different tools to help me keep track of time spent on any given task or project. Here are some of the best tools I’ve come across in my time-tracking travels. 

Lightweight (and free): If you’re you’re a part-time entrepreneur simple is best.

ClockingIT is a hosted application for tracking all your tasks, issues, projects and time spent, with a focus on software development and handling large amounts of tasks.

Heavyweight: When the basics just won’t do.

Tickspot.com  is a simple and friendly time tracking application focused on helping you hit your budgets, by accenting the ‘time left’ on a particular job. - Includes both mac and pc widgets. 

Harvest is designed and built so you can quickly and easily track time, log expenses, run reports, and bill your clients. - Includes both mac and pc widgets.