It is almost Halloween and the sheer anticipation of dressing up and collecting candy is enough to keep us good and cheerful for the whole of October.  Enjoy our new media reasons to be cheerful for the month and Happy Halloween to you all! And thanks to Stuck In the Metal’s Photostream on Flickr for the great pic! WeWe Monitor – is not what you might think but actually a tool to measure how customer centric your website it (so no visits to the loo required!). Google Wave – ... Read Full Story

This post is in follow up to our post last week about the risks of social media, this time we are looking at how to avoid them. 1. Litigation – to avoid the threat of litigation put HR processes in place so that your staff knows what can be said and what can’t.  Never spout off in social media in the heat of the moment and always stop to ask if what you are posting is professional, fair and representative of your brand. 2. Brand Killer – Avoid diluting your brand by using th... Read Full Story

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 netwo... Read Full Story

This week I was reminded of how important research is when defining your brand. Your brand isn’t just your logo, its your company name, what you stand for, how you are perceived and how you do business. When considering your brand name you should always look to come up with something unique, something that differentiates your offering. Always check to find out if another company uses the name you have intended for your product or service and this is especially so online. If you come u... Read Full Story

In our post earlier this week we talked about social media moving through the hype curve as we begin to see some disillusionment and dissent. With social media, as with any marketing or business development, it is extremely important to know what you are doing, to identify the risks involved and build a strategy that mitigates these. Today I want to highlight some of the risks that should be taken into account when considering your approach to social media. Too many companies and indivi... Read Full Story

A few months ago the buzz around social media was at its fanatical height. Everyone was talking about the new way to connect.  Why, even Oprah was Twittering.  Fast forward a few short months and now, thanks to media escapades like Balloon Boy, the news about social media is not so rosy.  Just this weekend, the Vancouver Sun ran an article warning that Twitter can be a legal minefield (and they are right). Is social media losing its lustre as people begin to realize that its not the miracl... Read Full Story

Today is blog action day and all around the world bloggers are coming together to raise awareness about an important issue. This year’s issue is climate change and we are taking part. There’s no escaping the fact that we take our world for granted. You just have to look around you to see examples of our complacency when it comes to the world we live in. We drive every where, we leave lights on, we love the convenience of plastic and we do these things without giving a thought ... Read Full Story

This fantastic blog post from Calgary’s Mud Creative is a must read for anyone with a blog. Thanks for allowing me to share it Louise! A blog can be an endless sea of words or an alluring spot where readers want to lose themselves for a little while. In my own efforts to turn my blog into something of a guilty pleasure for visitors (not that I’m there yet!), I’ve found some fun toys that I’d like to share: 1. Have “Bruce” read to you – slowly Proofreading is great – and absolutely nece... Read Full Story

This weekend I came across a LinkedIn company profile with “Biatch” among its employee titles. Sigh. Educating employees on the basics of social networking is very simple, and very important. Social networking is not rocket science, but every one of us goes through a learning curve in which mistakes are easy to make. Today, these mistakes, as innocent and naive as they may be, can do significant damage to a brand. Take this case for example; I’m sure this Biatch is not aware her personal Llin... Read Full Story

">Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will be the largest-ever social change event on the web. One day. One issue. Thousands of voices. Will you blog for climate change on October 15th? Read Full Story