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.

16th photo contest on Lenzr launched May 3rd 2010 has already become a busy space with a couple dozen photos, several hundred votes and sixteen comments.

Crowded Places has become a rich media repository for images relating to really popular recreational activities. Here’s an inside look at unpleasant traffic jams, and pedestrian bottlenecks in rush hour.  There are many geographic variables and circumstances that make popular places that spawn crowded spaces.

Like all photo contests on Lenzr this web challenge is specifically designed for Canadians.  Yes of course anyone may upload photos and participate, but the prize may only be won, and will indeed only be shipped to residents of Canada.

Just as the name Crowded Places implies traffic and commerce, so too has the odour and intensity of competition become manifest in this online photography event. Behold photos of Olympic torch athletes and fish ponds, raves and transit problems.

Everyday the whistle blows and you hear the alarming sound of the municipal rooster in the morning – just watch the people start moving forward on sidewalks, streetcars and subway cars. The same whistle blows all through our history, at meat packing plants and on factory floors. It issues forth from the subway cars and the whistle also sits in the dry mouths of the brave captains who urge their men over the top.

Innate Media Group is a full service web, media design, application development and internet marketing company that consistently provides effective solutions for global business. They make websites that perform well in search engines and this makes crowded places on the internet.

PS everyone at Lenzr just loves the photo of Smojoe submitted by Ampfoto.  The picture was taken at the IABC conference on May 12th at Ryerson in Toronto. The image captures the moment when Rob Campbell announces to the audience that Smojoe stands for ‘social media optimzation’ joe. You can read all about the seminar in Smojoe blog. There was a crowd of at least forty people in the room, and so it does indeed qualify as a crowded place.  The Toronto web developer that sponsored the Crowded Places photo contest is sitting at the laptop with his back to the window.

Tuesday March 9th 2010 dawned sunny and bright, and was a truly beautiful spring morning, spoiling Toronto with unseasonably warm weather.  This put everyone in a good mood, and it was especially pleasant inside the medical center at 600 Sherbourne St, opposite the subway, on the south west corner of  Bloor and Sherbourne St in the heart of the city.

It was particularly cheery in unit #808, the dental office of Dr Natalie Archer DDS, the Toronto dentist that sponsored the Kids in Action photo contest on Lenzr.

At 1 pm that afternoon, when the sun was at its zenith, the girl that won the photo challenge  entered the office.  The girl is from York University in her last year of sociology studies, but she dreams of being a working professional.   The girl’s name is seattledredge, and she’s a soft spoken, sly and precocious amateur photographer with professional aspirations.  Seattle wears black nail polish, and someday she will be a world famous something – a photo journalist, marketing poet or cereal box designer, she will be famous.  Her image ‘Soccer Stand’ can still be viewed in her profile – the picture won the match with a high score of 116 points,  an amalgam of votes, views and comments.

Seattle took lots of pictures on Tuesday March 9th, and these images can be found here on seattledredge Flickr photostream.

Although the NiteWhite teeth whitening kit was positioned as the grand prize of the challenge, this reward requires a dental office to make custom molds for form fitting trays that are filled with the bleaching agent and left on your teeth overnight. These trays are made from impressions taken of her teeth and mouth.  Dr Archer’s dental technicans used a special pink gel that hardens in about thirty seconds.

Seattle was interested in every detail and the citizen journalist was alive in her – she has a friend writing a story on teeth whitening in an online university publication.  I love the picture above in which Dr Archer is just standing back and taking it all in. Its clear that even though she didn’t expect this, she finds it all very amusing.

Downtown Toronto, its winter time and Absolute Tent and Event Services is stuffed to the rafters with everything required to make a party.  This place is a bonafide party bomb waiting to explode with tents and staging, folding chairs and tables, event lighting and so many other luxuries waiting to be delivered and assembled in backyards all over the Greater Toronto Area.  Kaboom its party time!

Just because its winter time is no excuse not to throw a party. This building is filled with heaters and insulated tents, snow blowers, troughs and buckets. Maybe we should have a made their photo contest a ‘winter parties’ theme?

Their building is huge and multi-faceted and worth visiting if you live in Toronto and you’re organizing an event. Tell them you’ve entered a photo on Lenzr and you may get 10% off…  maybe.

Here’s Laura, the Absolute blogger who is our eyes and ears inside this busy Toronto tent and party rentals house. She gives us the skinny on upcoming events, Hollywood film shoots, parades and even Toronto waterfront conditions from the perspective of a rentals house employee, which is kind of fascinating. The company does movies and big City of Toronto public occasions too, like Canada Day,  Woofstock and Gay Pride Parade  and so its possible she will have celebrity pictures and details about the assembly and clean-up of big urban bashes. Another interesting thing about Laura are the little glimpses we get into her daily life at the business, and how she struggles to improve her skills driving forklifts and

Backyard Party Events is for the little people who host their own good times at home. Every photographer worth his salt has party pictures and the ones we want to see will hopefully show off some residential geography and show off backyard BBQs, games and dancing under shady trees. Already there are shots of some rowdy kids and a whole of beer cans, but I think we can do better than that.

The prize for the Lenzr member that uploads the highest ranked picture is a spiffy new 10×10 Popup Tent, and $500 Gift Certificate * that must be spent at Absolute Tent and Event Services obviously. Laura is actually building the tent prize in the photo above and the Absolute blog will detail its specifics.

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!