It is amazing how quickly the news media has leaped into social media – while may businesses and corporations still lag behind in hesitation . I read most of my newspapers online now – 3 to be exact and tend to go to several of the sites – where I used to subscribe to magazines. I do admit that there is something great about a beautiful print magazine. My favorites continue to be Vogue, home decor magazines and of course food. Some magazines have been extremely successful in integration of offline and online, Bon Appetite is one that has a robust site and Facebook fan club. Read the rest of this entry »

I was at lunch last week with a new friend and he asked me what is social media? I said to him it is a form of networking that is leveraged using social media tools online such at Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Linkedin and so on. Yes—all things that most of us know!
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The advantage of using online video is huge! Canada leads in online video reach compared to other countries. In January 09 the total videos viewed per viewer in Canada was 147.1. Total time spent on video went from 8:00 minutes to 12:00 minutes in Jan 09 and went slightly down as of Feb. 09 to 11.00 minutes. Those are some big numbers—streaming video +60% in the year according to Comscore media stats. Behind Canada in leading video viewership were the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the United States.
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Hi everyone. I apologize for the lack of posts. I have had a series of technical challenges that has made it difficult for me to post for the last two weeks. I hope to get everything rectified in the next few days and get back on track.
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Here you go people! Today’s post is a great example of how Social Media can help you build your brand. Josh Bernoff, VP at Forrester Research and Co-author of the book Groundswell, provides a quick case study that shows you that the “proof is in the pudding” when customers are engaged about something they are passionate about. The book, by the way, should be required reading for everyone. If you have not yet read Groundswell, I urge you to go out and get it.
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I received an email from my friend Anne Ream’s foundation The Voices and Faces Project—a documentary initiative created to bring the testimony of sexual violence survivors to the attention of the public:

“we have seen first hand how difficult it is for women to come forward with their testimony”.

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In 1995 I was returning to Toronto from New York on a routine, almost commuter flight. Just as the plane landed upon our arrival at Pearson Int’l airport, the tires blew and caught fire. The plane skidded across the runway and abruptly stopped amid ambulances, fire trucks, police cars etc. You could see the flames outside the window, which appeared to be close to the engines. Suddenly, the chutes came out and the flurry of fleeing passengers began. People were trying to grab their bags from the upper baggage compartments, stewardesses were screaming for everyone to take off their shoes and get onto the shoot. As you took your turn and entered the door you saw that the drop looked like you were jumping from the CN Tower. With no time to think, you slid down at warp speed to be greeted by someone on the ground shouting for you to run…we ran towards a grassed section well away from the plane that still had flames coming from the tires that had blown and waited for a bus to taking us to a holding terminal. In those days most people did not have a cell phone or laptop—let alone the ability to provide a real-time account of what had happened. Lines formed with people on payphones trying to call their loved ones while sitting there for several hours. Not being in contact with anyone except for those that shared this experience kept this frightening event extremely insular.
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In the spirit of sharing at this time of year I wrote about viral marketing in my last post. 2009 is now just around the corner and the premier focus will definitely be answering the question—how will you engage your consumer with the goal of building brand evangelists one person at a time? Read the rest of this entry »

Maybe it’s the snow coming down like rain or the aspartame rotting out my brain, but I’ve really been having a hard time focusing lately (Simpson’s nod for those who might be wondering). For the past couple of days, I’ve found myself flitting from one post subject to the next—everything from the suicidal Pepsi Max campaign to how men and women respond to social media. But I’ve been unable to settle on a topic. However, there’s an issue (of sorts) that I haven’t been able to shake. I don’t know why. Perhaps there’s something in it that speaks to my own fears for someone I love very deeply (long story for another day). So permit me to state my case and then I’ll gladly swerve back to discussing the fun side of social media and the new Marketing Democracy.
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