There’s a danger for audiences attending panel discussions which feature creative minds with strong leadership skills. Because of the finite amount of time available, the discussion never gets too detailed and you end up going home with an itch you can’t reach. With so many hanging ideas and unanswered questions, you might find yourself lying [...]
It’s a common refrain. Each time a public figure broadcasts their opinion in the moment over a social network, the media and communications folk call out the channel as being dangerous. The latest in this trend landed in today’s print editions. Ontario Liberal MPP Glen Murray crossed a line when he used Twitter to publicly [...]
Next Wednesday (November 3) I’ll be speaking on the digital landscape in Canadian federal politics for Social Media Breakfast Ottawa. I’ve been following the use of digital channels and social media by MPs for quite some time and have built up a catalog of uses and “events” that have informed my research and found their [...]
According to a CTV News report released last night, only 45% of eligible voters in Ottawa went to the polls in yesterday’s municipal election (see Jim Watson declared mayor; 10 new councillors elected). That number is down from 54% in the 2006 election. That’s a disappointing number perhaps more reflective of apathy than fatigue. In [...]
The Globe and Mail ran Ryan Caligiuri’s ep-ed piece The sad truth about social media in last Thursday’s edition. Ryan’s core argument is social media is a relationship building tool rather than a lead or revenue generating tool. He debunks the notion of tactics meant to generate instant sales using examples of restaurants and golf [...]
I was a 12 year-old foot soldier for Jacquelin Holzman during her first run for Alderman of Ottawa’s Richmond Ward. It was 1982. Her headquarters in a strip mall at Carling and Woodroffe were abuzz on election night (Nov. 8). A large wall was prepared to hang election results; a row for each of the [...]
If you can get past the adjective-heavy writing, Stewart Copeland‘s book Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo and Pygmies has a couple of core messages making it worth the read. CREATIVITY’S A BUFFET Copeland is known first and foremost as the drummer and founder of The Police. His drumming style was innovative [...]
I believe in constantly exploring new ideas, new ways of telling stories and new ways of producing content. It’s a belief that can be challenging at times though always inspiring. You just need to be patient and willing to experiment beyond your comfort zone and look beyond the genres with which you’re most familiar. There’s [...]
Fleishman-Hillard1, together with Harris Interactive, published the Digital Influence Index this past June. The DII was a study of online behaviours and digital influence in seven countries which collectively account for about 50% of the world’s Internet population. I was part of a team that analyzed the Canadian findings. We learned the greatest portion of [...]
A brief Twitter conversation took place yesterday following my post Media integration strategy missing from current election campaigns. The upshot of my post is candidates in the current municipal election are generally thinking of traditional and digital as discrete channels rather than treating them as part of the same integrated strategy. That led to @BrianMFoster [...]
There’s been a noticeable absence of lawn signs during the current Ottawa municipal election. I remember lawn signs being a significant part of elections when I was growing up. Even as recently as 2006 there seemed to be more lawn signs than there are now. We’re discovering a new trend in politics. Candidates are replacing [...]
I’m honoured to be the speaker at the next Social Media Breakfast Ottawa (register now), taking place November 3 at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (1227 Wellington Street, Ottawa). I’ll be speaking on the digital landscape in Canadian Federal Politics. In February, Mark published a report on the use of Twitter by Canadian Members of [...]
A lot of books have predicted technological advancements that have occurred in our lifetime. In fact, technology is moving at such a rate that each time it catches up with a thirty year-old book, it’s hard to get too excited. Regardless, it’s pretty amazing when you consider the way these ideas were originally conceived, written [...]
We’re not all guitar players or songwriters. However, there’s a lot to be learned from them. The film It Might Get Loud, a “guitar-player round table” featuring Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White, appeals to three passions of mine: creativity and the creative process music movie production (particularly documentary) These interests might not be [...]
Steve and Jeff, the Glebe’s political Lennon and McCartney, perform (Capital) Ward Won’t You Send Me a Good Candidate, a song they wrote about the current municipal election in Ottawa. The song features mentions of candidates Bob Brocklebank, Isabel Metcalfe, Ron Leblanc, Eugene Haslam, Dominic Santaguida and David Chernushenko. I have no doubt I’ll get [...]
Democratized media has made it possible for nearly anyone to lead change. All you need is an issue, social skills and the talent to apply them to the online world, and the time and patience to cultivate community. Besides being a collaborator in building some hobby-based communities over the last six years, I’ve advised clients [...]
As evidenced by the increase in posts about the use of digital by Canadian politicians, my work in public affairs has reignited my interest in politics. I follow political journalists, politicians and online political junkies. My RSS subscriptions and Hootsuite dashboard are my primary tools for staying on top of activities on my computer, iPhone [...]
We’re emerging from the Mesozoic era of digital-political engagement. Through their use of websites, blogs, Facebook groups and profiles, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn and YouTube, Canadian politicians are demonstrating an interest in digital which will help it evolve into an increasingly important channel for raising awareness and participation in Canadian politics. Of course, some digital tactics [...]
Back in the day when television signals were overtaken by static, we’d immediately run to play with the rabbit ears. Cable addressed that problem for the most part. Digital radio tuners helped us tune in to the true radio signal. USA Today showed how newspapers can accent information and Apple made us realize the important [...]
The real value in iPhones and iPads lies in the apps which allow us to be productive, creative, informed and entertained. Of the 94 apps I have installed on my iPhone and/or iPad, here are the 16 apps that make up the core of my mobile experience. APPS I RELY ON EACH DAY NewsRack – [...]
There are many projects we have in mind that rarely come to fruition. We each have our own reasons for the delays; the common I’ve heard is lack of money or time. My most frequent reason to delay (or procrastinate) is the pursuit of perfection. I always want the result to come with a high [...]
Two voice mail spam messages I received over the last seven days teach a lot about engagement — even if I only listened to enough of each to have that educational experience and then (sadly) deleted them. I realize they would have made great case studies in a presentation. The first voice mail message came [...]
