Last week we asked how would you increase RSS readership on a blog and 64% said by writing good content. This weeks question is…

We only have one Planet Earth, so we should take good care of it. There are countless “green” initiatives out there that are aimed at protecting our planet, conserving our resources, and minimizing our carbon footprints, but did you know that “going green” can also present a very valid (and potentially lucrative) business proposition?

Take a look at some of the “green” moves that companies have already taken and the possible impact that these initiatives may have on both the level of pollution exerted by the company and the bottom line. When you go into a grocery store these days, you may be presented with the opportunity to purchase a reusable shopping bag rather than a regular plastic bag. There is a small up-front cost to you, but you may be offered some sort of discount for every future visit where you use the reusable bag.

The grocery store may or may not make a direct profit from the sale of these reusable bags, but think about the secondary benefits. First, every customer that reuses the bag does not make use of disposable plastic bags; this reduces costs for the store. Furthermore, as the customer makes his way back to the car or back home, your bag is being proudly displayed, offering all sorts of advertising and marketing potential.

A similar system has been devised by many coffee shops where you can bring in your refillable Thermos container or coffee mug for your daily cuppa joe. Again, the coffee shop may make a small profit on the sale of the reusable mug, but they gain the additional benefits of not having to use a disposable cup and the secondary benefit of passive advertising. That, and customers may be more inclined to get their coffee from you, because you offer a discount for using reusable containers.

Be creative! Various green initiatives can not only do a lot of good for the environment, but they may also help your company become even more profitable!

Do you own a .ca domain name? If so then you are most likely a CIRA member. As a member you can attend the 2008 CIRA Annual General Meeting in Vancouver. All members are eligiable to vote at the meeting. You can view the full agenda and other relative documents at the CIRA AGM website. This meeting will also include speaker and Web 2.0 evangelist Amber MacArthur. This event includes lunch, prizes and free parking. If you plan to attend this event you will need to preregister before September 9th.

When is the event happening?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 11:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Where is it happening?
Pan Pacific Hotel – 999 Canada Place - Vancouver

Registration
To register for this event you need to sign-up here.

“WordPress would work so much better if it just had this one plugin…”

We have built several WordPress plugins either by scratch, modifying another plugin or with the help of other designers. As we have a large community of WordPress users on this blog I thought it might be interesting to create a weekly call out for WordPress Plugin Requests.

Do you have any WordPress plugin requests?

Last weeks plugin requests were…

• RSS Digest to Post plugin.

Broken Plugins that needs to be fixed…

• The recurring post plugin does not work for 2.6 and higher versions of WordPress.

Plugins still in the queue to be built…

• A single sign on between WordPress and laconica.
• A plugin to change the background of each post based on the author.
• A summary above the content so readers can scan plugin.
• A compare 2 blogs plugins plugin.

I am still working on the background for each post based on the author. If you would like to build or fix a plugin then leave a comment so we know you are working on it.

While a lot of attention is currently being paid to the BlackBerry Bold for being possibly the best BlackBerry device to date, there is another Research in Motion-sourced smartphone making its way to Rogers Wireless in Canada in a very short while. Exact dates have not been officially announced, but we’re hearing that the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 could launch within the next month or two.

If you have been following the technology blogs this past little while, you may recognize the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 under its unofficial codename, the BlackBerry Kickstart. Research in Motion, the Canadian makers of the BlackBerry line, have reportedly nixed the “Kickstart” moniker in favor of adding its first ever clamshell smartphone to the existing Pearl series. This is because the Pearl 8220 is largely targeting the consumer market rather than the business market.

That’s not to say that it won’t satisfy the needs of a small business owner! You still get all the usual BlackBerry goodies, like push email, a good organizer, and a plethora of productivity applications. As you can see through the supposedly leaked flyer ad above, the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 could cost about $150 with a three-year contract with Rogers.