Five years ago most of us probably didn’t even know about Twitter. Heck, some of us might not have known about Facebook yet. But Mack was one of the first people – in the world – to be on Twitter.

From the use of #yeg as an Edmonton identifier to talking up all of our technology, a lot of the Twitter conversation has been shaped by Mack. That he helps raise money through events like Twestival and organized What The Truck?! are just two more feathers for his digital cap.

So, today, we tip our Internet hats to Mr. Male, and will include the hashtag #MackAttack in all of our tweets in the hope of making him a nation-wide trending topic. It’s the least we can do. (It really is, we didn’t even get him a cake.)

While we’re talking about Mack’s accomplishments, you might be interested to know:

Mack was a world-class bodybuilder until he and Chuck Norris teamed up to invent social media.

Mack carries each fail whale to safety. With his mind.

Mack invented sleeping.

In some parts of Eastern Europe, the Internet is known simply as “Mack.”

Good morning, Edmonton. How’s the return to cold been for you?

Just because it isn’t snowing doesn’t mean your work is done. You’ve got make sure sidewalks at your home or business are ice-free. If you get a ticket, maybe just tell the City you’re dealing with a once-every-two-decade winter and will need a little longer.

The Mayor has launched his neighbourhood revitalization task force. The group has the rest of the year to look at how to keep our older, core neighbourhoods in the best shape possible and make them places people continually live in. The biggest challenge, after you look at the basics like streets and sidewalks, is going to be dealing with a public school board that is closing schools in the same communities.

Alright, enough about snow and streets…

Friends and family are identifying the young man shot dead by police over the weekend. Edmonton police say the 17-year-old wielded a baseball bat and a knife and charged at an officer.

This woman says she can’t send her grand-daughter to school because the snowy sidewalks are keeping her from being able to use her wheelchair. I’m curious to see if the story, which is popping up in most newsrooms, will force the school board to give in.

An Edmonton publisher has caught the ire of Child Find Manitoba for publishing an unaffiliated Child Find magazine.

*****

There are no recommendations for police after an inquiry into the car crash that killed a woman and her three daughters. That doesn’t mean things don’t change. It’s just that RCMP have since made adjustments to how they react to stolen vehicles.

The Alberta government has started its own video webcast. While some see it as a PR move to circumvent the traditional news media, I bet it’s really in preparation for the departure of Lynda Steele. Edmonton TV just ain’t gonna cut it anymore.

Oil back at $100. Put your boom pants on.

*****

A couple of new things for you to surf over to, or watch for links from…

Mack’s already one of Edmonton’s longest-serving bloggers, and he recently added a Tumblr to his online arsenal (he updates it more than most people even tweet), and he’s going to start looking at “media.” That’s an ever-evolving term so I threw it in brackets.

And students of MacEwan’s journalism program are testing their skills with some realtime publishing with a west Edmonton website (as opposed to just assignments and projects). The program sits in that giant orange MacEwan building on 156 Street, between Stony Plain Road and 100 Avenue, so west Edmonton is their hub.

Did you buy a toque this morning? What about this afternoon?

Tonight is Twestival Local!

Don’t have any idea of the gibberish I’m talking about? Check this.

Now that you’ve got some idea of what it is (a get together of Twitter folk, to raise money for a local cause) you’ll know tonight’s event is a fundraiser for the Youth Emergency Shelter Society, as voted by Edmonton tweeters. This is a local version of Twitter’s fundraiser for charity: water from earlier this year, which was a world-wide effort.

Buy your tickets in advance here. You can also get in at the door, and you can also donate more money if you’d like.

For all of Edmonton’s Tweetups, follow the edmontontweetup account on Twitter.

G’morning, team. If you were up at the crack of dawn like I was (I went to the Starbucks on Whyte at 6 a.m. and I’m pretty sure the barista was trying to kill me, but that’s a story for another day), then you may have caught our man Jeff and Twitter-hero Mack D. Male on CBC Radio, discussing the phased closure of the City Centre airport, and the role that social networking played in the debate.

If you didn’t, GUESS WHAT?! I have an audio recording of TERRIBLE quality that you can listen to right here. I’m deeply sorry that it’s stupid quiet, but I hope you’ll understand that I have been up since 5 a.m. and have second degree coffee burns all over my hands so I was a little ALL OVER THE PLACE.

**Thanks to @Derjis for cleaning up the original god-awful mp3 we had.

F.Y.I.: Edmonton’s king o’ twitter, Mack D. Male (@mastermaq, for all you twatters), has graciously broken down the province’s new report on the potential for high speed rail between Edmonton and Calgary so that we can all enjoy it. Very much worth reading. Go read it.

…it’s okay; I’ll wait.