Posts Tagged: Social Computing
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, February 01st, 2010
Vancouver 2010
With only 11 days to go before the Vancouver Olympics begin, the excitement is building here and I thought this would be a good time to update on our last post about the Olympics and Social Media.
Since posting over a year ago, it would appear that the Olympic organisation has embraced social media somewhat and had some hick-ups on the way.
The Olympics on Twitter
In November VANOC was chastised for their poor response on Twitter when thousands were left waiting and eventually dissed because of a glitch in their ticket ordering system: rather than using Twitter as a customer service tool to let customers know exactly what was going on, their Tweets were ambiguous and erratic.
You can enjoy “timely Tweets from the VANOC communications team” at 2010 Tweets, where the organisation continues to push out information about itself with little interaction or true community building. The same can be said for their other feeds: @followthe flame, @code2010.
The Olympics on Facebook
They do rather better on Facebook, it has to be said. Both Vancouver 2010 and The Cultural Olympics are well represented there.
Again, fans cannot contribute to posts on the site but they can and do comment – most of them being positive.
The less publicised Canada Code page though is centred around community and collaboration. The Canada Code website encourages everyone to upload photos and text sharing their Olympic experiences. If you do, you could win a pair of those red mittens everyone is trying to get their hands on (or on their hands as the case may be!) and if you are really lucky your content may be shared on public screens across Vancouver during the event. Now that is more like it VANOC! From their Facebook page:
The Olympics and Citizen Journalism
As for the Olympics embracing social media journalism, according to VANCOUVER ACCESS 2010, a collection of multi-media content; blog posts, pictures and videos covering the various winter/summer sports and cultural events, despite numerous attempts by prominent social media commentators VANOC seems to still be ignoring this vehicle:
“Over the past few years, as a group, we have spoken at various conferences and events about the impact of citizen journalism, social media and the internet on the various Olympics, IOC and “ANYâ€OC brands. We sent VANOC several letters over the past 18 months requesting to meet with them, and have a discussion about this change in culture… Without any replies.”
Seems a shame to ignore such valuable contributions.
Watch out for more on social media and the Olympics over the next month.
Written by Jan, January 08th, 2010
This is a guest post from Jan Littler-Finseth.
Last night – driving home – I heard a discussion on the CBC’s ‘The Current’ about a Facebook page that has grown exponentially this week (it was set up last weekend and has grown from zero to over a hundred thousand members in a few short days). Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament is a page that provides a conduit to protest the decision by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to initiate prorogation and it is gathering steam.
Whether you supported the Conservatives or the Marijuana party in the last election or think that is wrong or okay for Parliament to be temporarily discontinued, the fact that a Facebook page is national news says something about the lengthening tentacles of Social Media.
In my car – windshield wipers working overtime – I was bemused at the number of ‘serious’ people out there who are convinced that Facebook is mostly a vacuous portal only frequented by teenagers when on the contrary, the over 35 age group is the fastest growing.
Can Social Media sites bring about democratic reformation or real-world change of any kind? That remains to be seen but the truth is, Facebook, Twitter, and the likes are ‘little’ things that can make big change happen.
Grass roots politics has long been a facet of the Canadian political landscape but now tools like Facebook allow for communication and networking, bringing geographically diverse (but likeminded) communities together to join forces, communicate their message and have more impact.
Let’s face it, however, if your group, your idea, or protest is poorly focused and unsupported – no one thing will help. Social Media is only a part of a program – changes come when we act and believe that what we do makes a difference.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, October 26th, 2009
1. Be yourself – don’t try to create a persona that doesn’t reflect the real you. It will come back to haunt you.
2. Be selective about who you add. You don’t need to add each and every person who asks.
3. Don’t try to network on every online forum. Instead choose those that fit your audience or goals and work to build those.
4. Build your network online as you grow your real world network. When you meet someone new in the real world add them on social networks.
5. If you do plan to have a presence in as many networks as you can then consider using a tool to mass submit status updates to all.
6. If you interact with others on blogs or forums look for them and add them to your network.
7. You are in control of how much or as little info you want to post. Don’t feel pressured to add stuff that you’re not comfortable with.
8. Do the “Granny Test” before you post – ask yourself if your grandmother would approve, if the answer is yes then get posting.
9. Get to know and use the privacy controls if this is a concern for you.
10. Remember to link back to your site, blog or other profiles at every opportunity to give friends the chance to find you in other forums.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, October 07th, 2009
Jose was on the ball as usual this morning with his blog post about Google Street View here in Vancouver. Here’s his post:
Ive spent some time this morning like many others who have heard the news, looking for places I frequent on Google Maps and looking out for a glimpse of myself, my friends, overall craziness or Waldo.
I have still yet to find anything, but heres a place where I spend a lot of time, can you tell what it is?
For those who are unfamiliar with Google Street View, check it out.
In a few minutes theyll probably make an official announcement. William Baker (@wilhelmus) from Tourism BC just posted hes getting ready for Google Streets View press conference – heres the Tweet.
Ill update this post with later with that information, but Im going to go with this for now, otherwise Ill be on Google Street View all morning.
Follow @googlecanada on Twitter to be on top of this news.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, September 25th, 2009
This week one of my favorite tech cartoons was highlighted in PC World. To celebrate locally based Noise the Signal posted the cartoon’s greatest hits (so far) on their blog. These are all really funny but this is the one that resonated most with me. Enjoy and thanks to Rob for entertaining us with his doodles!
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, July 20th, 2009
In the last post I talked about how to stay safe on Twitter in the face of the wave of spammy, scammy users out there who are looking to sell, or worse, to harm you online and whilst there does seem to be more people using these technologies for malicious reasons, there is also a growing trend in the opposite direction. In fact I think more people online want to do good that otherwise.
Today I want to talk about the groundswell of philanthropic people using social media. Social media, by its very nature facilitates social action because it allows people in distinct communities all over the world to connect, to join forces to do good and to have an impact.
Here are some great examples of new media being used to make the world a better place:
- Kiva – this online systems connects people who want to donate with entreprenuers in the developing world who need a leg up.
- Social media is quickly becoming the go to communication channel in the face of adversity. Witness the wildfires raging in BC this week and the use of Twitter to communicate updates.
- Another example of Twitter being put to good use was the Twestival earlier this year which used Twitter to bring people from all over the world together to raise money for Charity:Water and to spread awareness of the world water crisis. Twestival is organising another event on Sept 12th.
- Blogathons – a bloggathon is a fundrasing event where bloggers post regularly (usually every half hour over a 24 hour period) with the goal of raising awareness and donations for a specified cause. This weekend local blogger Miss604 will be hosting Blogathon Vancouver the local Blogathon contingent along with other prominent local bloggers like Hummingbird604.
- Awareness Hubs – these are sights that spread awareness of causes and allow people to congregrate and share examples include, Treehugger (sustainability), Facebook causes like or own Hippo Roller one and Change.org.
- Join a campaign. This summer Mashable is organising the Summer of Social Good aimed at using Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc to raise money for charity.
- Looking to volunteer in your community – then try searching a local sites like Volunteer Canada or All for Good that connect volunteers with opportunities.
- Got too much stuff already? Get the gift you want and contribute to a good cause simultaneously. Dreambank lets you do this.
Technology is making it easier for people to connect with those interested in similar causes and together they can have more impact than they would individually. Thanks to social media doing your good deed a day just got easier. What good have you done today? Share your stories here please.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, July 03rd, 2009
Last night I went back to school, summer school that is. What dragged me off to school of all places on a fine summer’s night? The prospect of learning more about social media from a non profit perspective, because the session was hosted by one of my favorite branding houses in Vancouver: Kontent Creative and also as social media strategist for Hippo Water Roller I was keen to find out some new tricks and tactics specific to the non profit arena.
The presenter was Doug van Spronsen a fresh faced twenty something who is a co-founder of Water Drop: a non profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness of the world water crisis. Doug’s presentation entitled “Why Social Media is Essential and How Non Profits Should Embrace It” introduced social media for non profits (what it is and what its not), he talked about why you should bother (you have to; fostering transparency;to gain a new audience;to control your brand), and how to be effective.
There’s something invigorating about watching a younger presenter. Its almost as if you are seeing things all over again for the first time through their eyes. You can’t fail to be infected by their enthusiasm. The presentation itself, whilst falling slightly short of my expectations (I had hoped to get some really specific non profit tactics and to learn more about off the wall strategies to build an audience of donors in these forums), was ideal for its intended audience (which I am decidedly not given my social media experience). It gave a great introduction to social media from a general perspective and touched on most of the points that a not for profit organisation should consider when building their soc med presence, I also came away with some blog and tool gems to explore.
At the time of posting I am not sure what is next for Kontent Creative’s summer school (I will update this post as the information becomes available). I would highly encourage you to keep and eye open for these events especially if you are new to social media and considering your approach.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, June 26th, 2009
This week at a Fashion West Event, I participated on a panel alongside Liz Gaige of Market Navigators and Barbara Breuner of Blue Citrus Design. We had assembled in order to provide our different perspectives on marketing and to answer questions from the audience.
During the intro Liz reminded us of the core considerations you should take into account when taking your product or service to market: the 4 P’s: Product, Price, Promotion and Placement.
Products are the products or service you intend to offer, who they are intended for and how they will impact your intended audience;
Price is how much you will charge for your offering;
Placement is how you will take your product to market (ie bricks and mortar store, online, distribution etc);
Promotion is how you will spread awareness of your product.
Social media is a means to promote your offering but it is only one of many tools that you can use. Before you embark on promotion you should always take time to research and plan for the first three.
Always use a mix of marketing tools to promote your offering, in addition to your social media efforts, for added impact. Which you choose will depend on your audience and goals and could include online advertising, search engine marketing, direct marketing and so on. The message should be consistent and complementary across each of these so that your brand becomes more recognizable.
By taking marketing fundamentals into account your social media and overall marketing efforts are more likely to succeed.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, May 31st, 2009
Lots of new media reasons to be cheerful this month.
Microsoft has a new offering the promises to change the way we search the Internet. Its called Bing and is still under wraps so we’ll have to wait and see if it will better the mighty Google.
Not to be outdone, Google also has a new offering in beta. Google Wave promises to change the way we communicate and collaborate on the web.
Make your own book with Blurb and BookSmart.
Have fun with your desktop at Bump Top.
Twitter tools: Untweeps (get rid of anactive users), Twilert (Twitter keyword listening tool) and Just Tweet It (another Twitter directory).
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, May 25th, 2009
This year Twitter has grown from 6 million users at the start of the year to over 16 million today. Given its phenomenal growth (also know as the Oprah effect), I thought it would be a good idea to do a podcast with some local business people, talking to them about their experiences using Twitter. The initial idea was to have one podcast but this has morphed and I’ve decided to post a podcast a day all week. It has turned into a podcast marathon (our first and maybe our last – we’ll see how it goes!).
The first podcast is with Marc Smith from Amuse Consulting an entrepreneur I met at a recent BNI event. Marc’s company helps people and businesses organize events of all kinds and from what I hear they do an amazing job. He’s been using Twitter for a few months and is obviously getting a lot out of the experience.
Listen and enjoy!
[audio:http://www.out-smarts.com/podcast25.mp3]
Podcast: Download
