An office party can be a lot of fun. It can be more awesome than a party with friends or a wedding occasion simply because it’s such a departure from the regular daily affairs that happen in the same space.  If you see the boss wheeling in a karaoke machine, or a DJ setting up in the lunchroom, you know what’s about to go down… It’s time to dim the lights, fire up the kitchen and find that stack of red plastic cups in the back of the stockroom closet from last year’s party—we’re looking for pictures of your Best Office Staff Party!

How does your office celebrate the good times? Do you have a dancing mascot pull people up onto a make-shift dance floor? Or perhaps a simple pot luck dinner? Are guests and spouses also invited to your company parties? Show us Christmas schmooze-fests and networking mixers, and Halloween theme parties in big offices are the best. James Bond theme is so cliche, but everyone has the costume.

This is a fun photo contest and we’re expecting to see a lot of humour in the submissions. Show us the perks and pitfalls of partying on the factory floor. Show us mild manner it staff, Javascript junkies, coders, developers, and Flash programmers stepping outside their shells and going crazy on the company’s dime. And remember, no one wants to be the person who had the most drinks at their staff party, but inevitably, someone’s got to do it. Please, just make sure that the subjects in your photo are okay with your entry before you submit it. We are NOT liable for any trouble you cause.

Stafflink IT Staffing Company Specializing in Recruiting, Placing and Staffing Technology Specialists

Stafflink is a Toronto IT staffing agency located right in the heart of downtown core. They are leaders in staffing IT analysts, developers, programmers and technical specialists in the GTA and beyond. Stafflink keeps at the front of the advancements in the technology industry, writing informatively on new tech topics on their interesting it staffing blog. If you’re looking for a job in IT, or hoping to hire technology talent for your company, look no farther than Stafflink.

The prize is a Sony laptop that’s perfect for information age vocational training.

Contest begins  June 1st 2011
Voting begins    July 15th 2011
Voting ends       July 25th 2011          Top Ten advance to Judges
Contest ends     August 1st 2011       Contest open to all Canadians age 13+

Pets in Winter Coats is the 25th photo contest on Lenzr. The challenge asks photographers to take pictures of dogs and cats and gerbils and ponies all wearing some manner of winter coat, besides the fur coat that God gave them. Show us dogs with short hair bundled up in Gortex jackets with four sleeves for their legs, or Poodles in knitwear, or boxers in banana yellow rubber rain coats! Any pet wearing some kind of coat will be acceptable.

Pets wear winter coats with pride.

The challenge launched Oct 1st, and let’s hope some pictures appear in this competition before voting begins on November 20th; the contest ends Dec 1st when the highest ranked image is declared the winner.

Win a snow blower – details -

snow blower technical specs

This is the prize! its a snow blower. There will be a link here to The Snowmen blog that details this prize in minute detail including favourable product reviews and why this make and model of snow blower was selected as the prize in this contest.

Don’t Let Winter Snowstorms Catch You Unprepared

The contest is sponsored by The Snowmen snow removal co that services, Markham, Whitby, Pickering and Ajax with expedient service at reasonable rates. This geographic area of South Eastern Ontario receives over 200 cm (75 in) of snowfall over an average winter. Winters are long and celebrated in Eastern Ontario.  The average temperature in January is -6°C (21 °F).

Ice storms are also relatively common in this part of Ontario, especially on lower terrain, down near the lake. The Great Ice Storm of 1998 caused vast power outages and affected the economy of  southern Ontario. The great storm  started at five pm on January 5 and lasted until 10 am on January 10, 1998.  For more than 80 hours, a steady freezing rain fell over an area of several thousand square miles of Eastern Ontario, centering on Ottawa and Kingston, but moving south and east to cripple southern Quebec, and northern New York, and then eventually northern New England. By the time it was over, and the sun reappeared on Jan 11th, the storm system had blanketed this part of the world with an average of two inches of solid ice. There was ice on everything, and in the resulting chaos thirty three Canadians lost their lives.

Conflict is a photo contest on Lenzr, and story sauce on the internet.

The number one failure of boring public speakers, bad business presentations, and weak online storytelling is the lack of conflict.

Hero driven social media marketing is built on a dynamic relationship between two or more characters, and its most powerful when presented as a protagonist’s struggle against a formidable antagonist. The journey from problem to solution should be a storyful vessel filled with human emotion on a compelling character arc, cause that’s what people remember…

Smojoe Social Media Marketing in Toronto endeavours to do business without conflict, and all case studies proudly showcase positive and productive client relationships. But when composing good brand stories an Online Social Relevance Director, cognizant of his client’s best keywords, campaigns and community managers, should isolate and engineer the most interesting examples of ‘human business’ to achieve a myth making that fuels viral connectivity. And this should include conflict.

Conflict really will occur when voting begins on September 20th 2010;  its then we’ll see professional photographers and contesters line up their social networks to vote for their favourite pictures.  There will be elaborate vote fraud detection systems running right up until the contest ends on Oct 1st 2010. The highest ranked photo wins a Blackberry mobile phone.  Take pictures of conflict and upload them to Lenzr and you could WIN a Blackberry BOLD* 9700

Smojoe social media marketing uses Lenzr photo contests as a tool in their quest to build high quality social capital for their clients. The firm also authors Canada Blog Friends, and does blogger outreach through multiple channels in Canada and the United States.  This company authors compelling stories that intrigue humans and satisfy search engine robots.  Smojoe social media marketing always improves client search engine rankings – each story funnel is a punch of online social relevance.

Located in Toronto, EcoDeckBuilder is an environmentally sustainable deck building company that uses all manner of green building solutions both on and off their job sites. Their energy efficient trucks pull equipment trailers adorned with solar panels. These solar ‘work units’ are fully equipped with emission free, battery powered tools. The sun’s energy propels the team’s battery powered saws and drills, compressors and other construction devices. These guys really are friendly space age builders with great deck designs and powerful imaginations.

People Building Things photo contest is an old idea that stems from a natural fascination humans have watching other people work, especially if they are building something interesting. The contest reminds us of a story about how the final stages of the CN tower assembly used to stop traffic in downtown Toronto as citizens admired the helicopters installing the uppermost sections of this monolithic structure.

Construction sites are even more interesting when they happen at home, in the backyard, or on the driveway in front of the garage. Show us people building parade floats and fishing boats, or doing an interesting home renovation. Perhaps you have pictures of people building a tree house? or putting in a dock, or constructing a veranda or even building new homes and cottages?

Ontario photographers submit your own pictures of People Building Things and tell us the story behind the picture. Be sure and mention what’s being put together. Tell us all where the picture came from and when, and you could Win An iPad courtesy of Eco Deck Builder, an Ontario deck building company. Voting begins September 20th 2010 and the highest ranked photograph automatically wins the prize when the Contest ends October 1st, 2010. Must be 13yrs old or older to enter, open to all Canadians, excluding Quebec.

Eco Deck Builder job sites are quieter than your neighbours’ pool, and their green building techniques let everyone enjoy nature.

Citizens of Planet Earth, stop using gas and diesel generators! Solarline Power strongly objects to anyone mixing oil and gas to make the blue smoke exhaust in dirty two cycle engines.  With very few exceptions, two cycle engines should not be used for any reason! Solarline Power makes and assembles portable solar power generators (PSG’s) that are quiet and deliver clean renewable power. These units charge batteries that can replace small engines as a power source on a great many industrial tools.

SolarLine’s Mobile Solar Work Units deliver remote power for outdoor rock concerts, field hospitals and remote construction sites. This company works diligently to make solar powered battery charging systems for the next generation of power tools and battery powered devices that will replace gas and diesel generators, and banish all two cycle engines to the history books.

Green power is affordable, especially solar power because of the low maintenance costs and lengthy product guarantees – each solar panel on a Solarline Mobile Solar Work Unit is guaranteed for 25 years, and the batteries are guaranteed for 8 years by their manufacturers.  So when consumers factor in the long term costs of fuel and upkeep, solar powered systems and devices are good investments.

Solar powered calculators and wrist watches have been with us for many years.  The future will bring many more such handy solar powered devices to  North American households.

Morning Sunshine photo contest on Lenzr – Ontario photographers are asked to capture people and objects in the early morning sunshine. Voting begins September 20th 2010, the highest ranked photo will automatically Win an Apple iPad prize when the web challenge ends October 1st 2010, must be 13yrs old or older to enter, open to all Canadians, excluding Quebec.

Special thanks to Michael Reichmann, the Ontario photographer who generously allowed us to use his  Sunrise_Barn photo for the primary contest plate, here’s the host Ontario photography gallery where we found this beautiful gem.

Cinematographers call late afternoon the ‘Golden Hour’ and Hollywood movie scenes are sometimes lensed in the hours just before sunset – Thelma and Louise for example, can you remember Sigorney Weaver’s glowing hair in those the driving scenes in their stolen convertible car? That’s a great example of golden hour photography. By contrast the early morning light is called ‘Magic Hour’ and although not as popular, its often even more spectacular because of the beautiful light that first trespasses through the Earth’s cool atmosphere at dawn. Those first rays of light glow the fresh morning mists and ignite the dew drops on the leaves; they celebrate the dawn of a new day.

Portable Luxury is the best kind of luxury – those pocket size, or backpack sized items you can take with you on the run. We expect to see a whole lot of small things, and some big items of course, but mostly hand held conveniences that help separate humans from animals. Things like expensive watches and diamond rings will no doubt be popular entries, but also technological apparatus. And remember its all about the photography; if you have a great photo in the mix, its a lot easier to get your friends and strangers from other social networks to come to Lenzr and vote for it. Some of them will sign up and submit their own pictures no doubt, with the prize being so cool, this contest winner is going to have to engineeer support groups.

The prize is a Las Vegas vacation! And that means airfare and hotel accommodation for two people for three days and two nights in this hedonistic hotspot in Nevada. At the time of this writing, Lenzr admin doesn’t know the exact dates, carrier or hotel specifics. No mention of meals, but from what I understand good food comes cheap in Las Vegas hotels. Finally, please remember, the winner is obligated to send Lenzr admin some pictures and anecdotes for storytelling on this blog.

The sponsor is a portable toilet rentals business that owns and can deploy several dozen luxury units to any location in Southern Ontario. If you ask them what the words  ‘portable luxury’ mean, they’ll open the catalogue and show you what Hollywood movie companies rent for A list stars, and the bathrooms going out for the foriegn dignitaries at the G20 summit.  They have some really fantastic bathrooms on wheels.

Backyard Party Events  – Photo Contest Winners

Here’s Sandra Ausma the 2nd place contestant standing beside John Kenyon the marketing director at Absolute Tent and Event Services who was actually the first place winner of the challenge.  It wasn’t a mistake – his photo was excellent and you can read all about it in the contest summary two posts below this one on the Lenzr blog.

Sandra’s photo was equally storyful and she was rewarded with the 10×10 pop-up tent that you can see big John leaning on, as well as, a $500 gift certificate to be spent on anything and everything this unique Toronto party rentals warehouse stocks.

On behalf of John Kenyon let me thank everyone that participated in this very entertaining Lenzr photo contest.

James Stortz the  C.E.O. and founder of  S.E. Telecommunications really surprised us when he came up with this perfect idea for a photo contest on Lenzr.  He said, why not make a challenge to show ‘tangled messes’ so we can make fun of how wired everyone is these days? And we said, of course.

James you’re a genius. The photo contest Everyday Tangled Web is designed to pinpoint the tangles that we, as a society, create and use everyday.

What does the back of your computer look like? If you run a network with multiple terminals in your home or business it can get really complicated behind the scenes. Add cable TV or fiber optic wires and device wires and audio cables and telephone wires and it becomes a real mess.  But can this mess ever be beautiful?  With or without the dust bunnies?

Its a challenging assignment, finding wired messes is not difficult, but it takes a special kind of artist to transform a natural composition of strings and wires, or steam hoses or even human hair into compelling photographic art.  This kind of out-of-the-box thinking by James will certainly require some innovative photo tactics by Lenzr members.

S.E Telecom would like to remind the public that choosing the correct business telephone system is very important, as that system will be an integral part of your business, helping you to grow and develop closer links with your clients. The wrong system can be expensive and disastrous.

This company is fast becoming the best business telephone systems provider in Toronto, offering consulting, design, implementation and support for small to medium sized businesses. They have integrated services for some of the most successful companies to date, such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Redline Communications, Remedy’s Rx, dineTO, to name a few.  They are distributors of AVAYA and Nortel giving them cutting edge solutions to bring your business to the next level. Located in Markham Ontario,  S.E. Telecommunications are experts at,

1.    Assessing your needs

2.    Mobile integration, including,  a)  Advanced Conference Calling Abilities  b)  Voicemail to Email c)    Call Recording  d)    Call Center  e)    Route-to-fax capability/Fax to E-Mail  f)   Cell phone Integration  g)    Call Detail Recording/Call Tacking

3.    De-mystifying the jargon and making sense of   a) VoiP or IP – Voice over Internet protocol and Internet protocol  b)  KSU – Key system unit  c)  PBX – Private branch exchange  d)  HOSTED PBX – A hosted PBX system delivers PBX functionality as a service  e) IVR – Interactive voice response.

4.    Estimating how many lines or trunks and how many extensions you need

5.    Choosing a supplier

SE Telecom designs phone systems that offer powerful capabilities to help employees communicate more effectively with customers, vendors, and each other. Combining advanced, big business functionality with the ease of use and simplified management that small businesses require.

The prize for the Everyday Tangled Web photo contest is a Plantronics Voyager 510SL+ Bluetooth Headset System with Lifter, retail Value $429.00

Enjoy wireless freedom in the office or on the go with the Plantronics Voyager 510S Bluetooth Headset. Ensuring lightweight, all-day comfort, the Voyager 510S delivers superior sound quality and provides WindSmart technology for clear voice transmission. At the touch of a button you can seamlessly switch between office phone and voice-enabled Bluetooth mobile device. Wherever, Whenever, Wireless
Highlights
•    Bluetooth-Enabled Technology
•    One headset for wireless communication in and out of office
•    Lightweight headset design for all-day wearing comfort
•    Desk phone adapter turns your office phone into a Bluetooth phone
•    Versatile headset for both office and Bluetooth mobile phones
•    Noise-Canceling microphone for clearer conversations
•    WindSmart provides wind-noise reduction technology for optimal sound clarity
•    Headset folds for easy storage
•    One-touch call control buttons
•    Now in silver for a sleek, updated look
•    Included lifter automatically lifts handset and returns it to the cradle
•    Enables remote or one touch call answer/end with your Plantronics headset
•    Included travel kit contains carrying pouch, CLA charger, USB charger, and indicator

“Using cutting edge technology and feature rich products is the corner stone of our business.  We have a team of researchers who are constantly reviewing the latest in telecommunications technology to ensure each of our clients has the latest and best systems out on the market.  That paired with our high level of customer service, and technicians that go the extra mile is what sets us apart from the rest. Whenever you need us wherever you need us, we are there for you”. James Stortz CEO, SE Telecommunications Ltd. www.setelecom.ca

This photo contest ends March 1st 2010 and at that time the member that uploaded the photo with the highest rating will win this prize. Good luck to all participants!

Happy New Year!  What were you doing on January 1st 2010, at 12:01 am?

At that exact moment, three photo contests ended on Lenzr.com and now its time to look at the numbers and celebrate the results.  Congratulations go to members ve3bnw and seguini for uploading the winning pictures!

Medicinal Plants in Nature collected 17 photos that were rated by 484 votes.

This photo contest was sponsored by Wellpath Clinic, a friendly natural medicine clinic located at Avenue Rd and Bloor St in downtown Toronto (and in Port Carling, Muskoka).

The winner of this challenge was a lovely picture of a plant with white blossoms by seguni that was called pretty garden…

Total Votes: 42
Popular rating: 4.6 (21 votes)
Registered rating: 7.0 (21 votes)

This member will receive $330 worth of Neal’s Yard Remedies and I hope to get a picture of this lucky person inspecting the prize in an upcoming post.

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Macro Photos of Life collected the most photos of all three web challenges. This match enjoyed the most votes too.  At the end of sixty days, there were 76 photos submitted in a collection that had accrued 4021 votes.

Sponsored by Shrinkray Mobile, this enterprise specializes in streamlining business websites to make them more effective in mobile browsers.  Shrinkray is a division of Boomboat.com which was established online in 2000. The Shrinkray Mobile website comes complete with a mighty boomblog and slideshare presentation outlining their easy to use innovation.

These people are very interested in developing, streamlining and hosting your mobile business. Smojoe has been taking an offer of free development and even free hosting to mobile discussion forums looking for case studies.

The winning photo was submitted by a prolific member named ve3bnw which sounds like a license plate # and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is, considering he (or she?) describes himself as a truck driver that’s interested in photography. The image is titled Time to BEEHAVE and spotlights a happy honey bee.

Total Votes: 171
Popular rating: 7.3 (132 votes)
Registered rating: 7.9 (39 votes)

The prize is a free wine and breweries tour of Eastern Ontario as described on the Locaboire website, it comes complete with one night’s accomodation at Timberhouse, a Brighton Ontario b&b. Look for a full report on this experience later this month.

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Ontario Tourist Attractions 2 collected 43 photos that enjoyed 2372 votes.

This web challenge was sponsored by Kanetix.ca to help get the word out about their car insurance quotes search system that makes shopping for all motor vehicle insurance easy, and rewarding.

The winning photo was also submitted by ve3bnw and titled Hidden Gem

Although I personally cannot see why this photo was selected, I will admit that a marshy stretch of Ontario farmland is a more desirable travel destination than many other more crowded, overpriced and less scenic abodes. The membership decides the winner, and this image won by the numbers.
Total Votes: 123
Popular rating: 7.6 (80 votes)
Registered rating: 7.4 (43 votes)

The prize is a gift/cash certificate for $300 and will be mailed/delivered to ve3bnw

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Regarding the Lenzr voting algorithm and the method by which the membership decides the winning photos: there are changes coming next round that will more effectively level the playing field, and prevent one or two members from dominating the scoring. There will be a Lenzr blog post following this post and before the next round of contests begins that will explain these changes and detail the new formula used to determine winners.

In the months of November and December 2009, Medicinal Plants in Nature celebrates botany and hopes to collect images of natural medicine growing wild in the great outdoors.  Botanical photography is used to depict plants accurately with respect to their form and color. Good examples will provide relevant information to help document plant morphology and function, the environment, plant life histories, diseases, the effects of pollution, and relationships with other lifeforms.

Successful botanical photography is as much art as it is science; it requires a detailed knowledge of plants and their habitats as well as a keen eye for composing balanced pictures.

Here at Lenzr, we’ve always been curious about plants and animals and the history of medicine is a hot topic. We’ve studied the works of early botanists who once walked the woods with Native American guides in the 1800s, sketching and collecting flowers and herbs for the benefit of science. Historical fiction has a fond place for the Benedictine Monks and their apothecaries or the tribal elders that collected herbage for poultices for wounds, and other plants to cure digestive ailments. We want to know, what plants did they collect? and what ailments did they cure, exactly?

Today this practice of herb collecting while hiking is sometimes called wildcrafting and instead of filling burlap bags with leaves and roots and flower blossoms, people are asked to respect the environment and simply photograph the plants. Take only take what you need, when you need it. Its far better to take only pictures and document these medicinal plants growing wild in nature – please help insure a supply remains for anyone and everyone in the future.

Sponsored by Ontario’s premier Natural Medicine Clinic the member that uploads the highest rated photo will take home about $330 worth of Neal’s Yard Remedies.

Wellpath Clinic offers a new approach to health care. Their mission is to empower people to improve the overall quality of their lives.

Their organic approach focuses on understanding and treating each patient’s whole health, rather than just the symptoms. Using state-of-the-art techniques and a scientific approach to natural medicine, Wellpath Clinic provides safe and effective therapies to help patients achieve a sustainable wellness.

At the core of each program is the patient, and this clinic is committed to taking the time to understand the individual, and to formulate a personalized approach to their specific needs. Their goal is to help patients lead healthier lives.

PRIZE – a gift basket of six different Neal’s Yard Remedies, including Orange Flower Facial Wash, Rosewater Toner, Orange Flower Facial Oil, Yarrow & Comfrey Moisturizer, White Tea Eye Gel, Geranium & Orange Body Butter for a Total Retail Value  $330.00

The member that uploaded the highest rated photo when this photo contest ends at 12:01 am EST on the morning January 1st 2009 will win the prize package detailed above.

When people buy goods and services online, that’s considered ecommerce, but when people shop over their phones its mcommerce and this one of the fastest growing sectors of the new economy.

ShrinkRay is a powerful tool used to build mobile applications and web 2.0 widgets. It is a Device Management System (DMS) and an Application Toolkit that can be customized to suit any business and marketing goals. This friendly company will works with their clients to ensure the application delivers all neccessary functionality.  ShrinkRay Mobile is quite possibly the best mobile platform available. Its easy to use and very efficient.

Macro Photos of Life contest hopes to amass a large display of small living things. Photographers are asked to use their camera’s macro lens to capture the freckles, skin pores and whiskers of the tiniest possible subjects. Already we have seen wasps, spiders and even a humming bird!

Prize is a free deluxe Locaboire Ontario Wine Tour Travel Package for two adults, a charter bus, wine and brewery tour in Eastern Ontario. The prize package includes two meals and one night accommodation at a beautiful Brighton Ontario Bed and Breakfast.

Contest ENDS: 12:01 am on the morning of Jan 1st 2010