A while back I posted about how ePost had got together with Canada’s banks and credit unions to make bills received through ePost available within online banking.  I commented how it was unfortunate, from a convenience and waste perspective, that many of companies I receive bills from (e.g. Home Depot, Hydro Ottawa, Enbridge, Sears, Best Buy, Future Shop) don’t give me the option to stop receiving paper bills.

This morning I signed on to online banking and got another pleasant, paperless surprise.

I can now view images of my cleared cheques online.

Not that I use cheques that often anymore.  In fact, with being able to email money around (which incidentally is what I signed on to do), I use cheques very rarely, and had opted out of receiving cleared cheques in the mail some time ago.  However, there have been a few occaisions in the last couple of years where I had used a cheque (small amounts) and when it cleared my account I didn’t know / couldn’t remember what it was for.  It would have been nice to have been able to see it online.  Now I can!

In terms of convenience and waste reduction, this is a good move by CIBC.

In my role on the Board of CPRS Ottawa, I have organized a panel discussion on how social media and online networking are changing the communications landscape for next Tuesday, November 13th (all board members organize professional development events for our members throughout the year).

This event sold out a couple of days ago and unfortunately we’ve had to turn several people away, granted the venue can only accomodate 50 people.  However, we’re always in rooms about this size for our professional development events and this is the first time we’ve sold one out, and well in advance, since I’ve been on the board (2 years).  And its a first for several years according to colleagues that have been on the board longer than I.

This is a testiment to the growing interest in the area amongst PR and communications professionals in the national capital region and also to the great moderator and panellists I was able to line up for this session – thanks again gentlemen for agreeing to participate.

Rob Henderson, President of CNW, will moderate panellists John Blackmore, Joe Thornley and Colin McKay in free-ranging discussion on blogs, podcasts, wikis, Facebook, online communities, etc and the impact they are having on traditional media, public policy and communications with customers and citizens.

John Blackmore is leader of the Internet Marketing and Content team at Cognos, Canada’s largest software company. His team’s responsibilities include content creation and navigation, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, eNewsletters, a regular iTunes podcast Radio Cognos, and a non-media blog outreach.  John and his team have directed the evolution of cognos.com from educational “brochure-ware” to its current role as demand-generation engine that delivers tens of millions of dollars in marketing pipeline.

Joe Thornley is President and CEO of Thornley Fallis & 76design, the company he established in 1995 to provide senior executives with communications counsel and programs aimed at achieving business and organizational objectives.  Mr. Thornley developed the company’s blog strategy to establish thought leadership through active participation in the blogosphere and early adoption of new methodologies and technologies. His blog, ProPR.ca, is dedicated to best business practices, practitioners and building the ideal PR firm.

Colin McKay, aka CanuckFlack, is Director of Public Education and Communications at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. In addition to his two personal blogs, he is responsible for the recently launched Office of the Privacy Commissioner blog. He has been dabbling in social media and online communications for more than four years. 

I do all my banking online (like most people, other than my parents).

In terms of bills, I have a pretty good handle on how much I owe to who and by when.  So most of the paper bills I receive in the mail go directly into the recycle bin without being opened.  Therefore, I could do without receiving them in the mail, but I don’t always have that option.

I’ve been using Canada Post’s ePost service for several years now, basically since it was launched, although I don’t remember when that was.

ePost works pretty well.  I add my billers by company name and account number, then instead of receiving monthly paper bills in the mail, an electronic copy goes into my ePost inbox.  If I wish, ePost will send me an email notification when I have received a new bill.

No fuss, no muss, and BTW, no unnecessary waste.

Recently, ePost got together with Canada’s banks (Montreal, CIBC, Citizens, Laurentian, National, RBC, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust) and numerous credit unions to make bills received through ePost available within online banking.  I bank with CIBC who calls this service ‘E-Bills’ – my E-Bills inbox is shown below.

The unfortunate thing is that many of companies I receive bills from (e.g. Home Depot, Hydro Ottawa, Enbridge, Sears, Best Buy, Future Shop) don’t give me the option to stop receiving paper bills and only receive electronic bills through ePost.  Rogers, MasterCard and the City of Ottawa are some of the billers that do let me receive my bills only through ePost and have for some time now.

It’s really time for companies to provide customers with the option to only receive their bills electronically whether through ePost or another system. 

If you’re like me and use Facebook a little, but haven’t really taken the time to go through the various settings and applications, check out this post on Internet Duct Tape.

This video by DraftFCB is pretty funny/accurate if you’ve tried SecondLife.

I remain skeptical about my ability to cheer for the Indianapolis Colts, but if ever there was a coach who lived the very core of the word, it’s Tony Dungy.

Rick Reilly’s piece from Sports Illustrated is a marvel of efficient writing, but most important is the notion of community it represents.

To quote:

“And this is only one stranger whom Tony Dungy has befriended. There’s the former high school coach in Wisconsin whose son committed suicide. There’s the young kid in Indianapolis who lost his mother and brother in a car wreck. Heartbroken people all over are suddenly getting a hand up from a man who himself should be a puddle but is instead a river of strength.

Yet Dungy refuses to talk to the media about these good deeds, which only makes them better.”

“Tony Dungy stands as a reminder to every parent who’s grieving right now that there is a way through the pain. And that way is through each other.”

Dundy lost his own son in 2005, just before Christmas, and he has been reaching out to others ever since.  I can only hope I would be one-tenth as strong, in similar circumstances, but I can promise two boys will get a big hug tonight from their dad. 

… like one of my good friends has a blog he doesn’t update, but I still found something cool on it.

This is the result of the “What Does Your Birthdate Mean” quiz:

Your Birthdate: December 18

You are a cohesive force – able to bring many people together for a common cause.  You tend to excel in work situations, but you also facilitate a lot of social gatherings too. Beyond being a good leader, you are good at inspiring others. You also keep your powerful emotions in check – you know when to emote and when to repress.Your strength: Emotional maturity beyond your years Your weakness: Wearing yourself down with too many responsibilities Your power color: Crimson red Your power symbol: Snowflake Your power month: September

So I don’t know if that’s me or not, but still …

Who hasn’t had to send a file yesterday that was too large for email?

Next time you find yourself in this situation, try YouSendIt.com.

I’ve used it a few times.

Not only can you get it there in a few minutes, eliminate the hassle of over-sized email attachments and avoid clogged inboxes, but you save the overnight courier cost of sending a CD/DVD.  Plus its really easy to use.

The Ottawa Chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society has launched a new website.

The site was designed, built (on WordPress) and will be maintained (all in-kind) by Thornley Fallis and 76design.

The new site is built around a blog that board members of the local chapter will contribute to.  There are already a few posts to check out.

Note: Keelan Green & Stephen Heckbert of Thornley Fallis and contributors to this blog are CPRS Ottawa Board Members.

Back in January, I did a post about FPinfomart adding blogs to their media monitoring service.

In it, I also commented that FPinfomart and Canwest papers should get with the program and begin offering RSS, which was long overdue.

I am pleased to report that both are now with the RSS program.

FPinfomart subscribers are now able to receive their personal profiles, current events and industry news via RSS.

And several (if not all, I haven’t checked) Canwest papers, including the National Post, Ottawa Citizen and Montreal Gazette, have added RSS feeds to their websites.

This will make my life and the lives of many others in the Canadian PR sector much easier.  Props where props are due.