2010.03.17

Tie optional

Nearly two thousand Canadians submitted questions to Stephen Harper as part of Your Interview with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an online initiative by the Prime Minister’s office to engage with citizens using social media (YouTube in this case).

The questions were recorded using hand held video cameras, cell phones and web cams in the living rooms, kitchens and home offices of our country. People wore t-shirts, sweaters and house coats. Some might not have been wearing pants. That’s the nature of social media. People can do it anywhere with any dress code.

While the format was loose and we got to see the PM reach for his glass of water between each answer (and he even looked relaxed a good part of the time) I believe Stephen Harper would have fit better in the living rooms, kitchens and home offices of our country if he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt for his video response. He missed an opportunity to be the ghost in the machine — the element that gives social media its charm.

This was an interesting digital step for the PMO; some say a novelty. I believe Canadians will be more impressed if it becomes the norm.

2009.10.29

Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant

Terry O'ReillyThose who think radio is lifeless and uninteresting, probably haven’t heard the voice of Terry O’Reilly. He’s an advertising guy in Toronto, Canada and we won’t hold either of those facts against him. He’s also the co-creator and host of an insightful and entertaining radio show that explores the history and evolution of marketing and advertising (The Age of Persuasion). Together, he and Mike Tennant tell the stories of people and events that have shaped advertising and consumerism.

Where books used to lead to radio shows, Terry and Mike went the other way. On October 27th, they released their book The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Just days earlier, Terry, knowing me to be a fan of his radio show, left a message on my blog, making himself and Mike Tennant available for cross-examination.

Little ol’ me. I guess it’s true what they say: “bloggers and podcasters really do have influence…”

Subjects covered:

  • marketing
  • advertising
  • collaborating
  • creativity
  • curiosity
  • Do This Or Die
2009.10.27

A good day

Ahhhh. October, 26, 2009. I’d been looking forward to it for 13 days and it lived up to my expectations, and some.

Out, damned lump! Out, I say!

Andrea’s lumpectomy went very well. We had planned on it being a mastectomy and when we learned that the surgical date would be pushed out two weeks because of the extra time required, we decided on the lumpectomy. We wanted to get the cancer out without delay. And out it is. We’re looking forward to a good pathology report that confirms the surgeon got everything. After Andrea’s recovery from surgery, we’ll prepare for chemo.

… in The Age of Persuasion

I’ve written a few posts about The Age of Persuasion, a brilliant radio program produced by Pirate Toronto for CBC. Terry O’Reilly (host and co-creator) left a comment on one such post last week to notify me that The Age of Persuasion book (by Terry and producer/co-creator Mike Tennant) is being released today (October 27) and offering to be available for an online Q&A with me. I’ll be interviewing Terry and Mike this Thursday morning and will publish the audio shortly after.

Social media and the workplace

CHQR (Calgary) has invited me to talk about social media and the workplace later today. The discussion stems from reports that a growing number of businesses, sports organizations and entertainment companies are preventing the use of social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter as communications channels by employees, athletes and movie stars (respectively). In some cases, companies are blocking access to these tools from internal networks using technology such as firewalls. In the case of sports and entertainment organizations, the prevention is being written into contracts.

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