Gary Vaynerchuk “Superstar:” Retailer & Entrepreneur Walks the Social Media Walk

If you don’t know who Gary Vaynerchuk is as yet, you will soon. On April 10th, HarperStudio announced that they have signed a “seven figure, ten book” deal with Gary Vaynerchuk. That deal culminates this week with the release of the first book: Crush-It – Why Now Is the Time to Cash In On Your [...]

Canadians & Social Media: Almost 80% of Canadians use social networking sites (October 2, 2009)

Survey shows almost 7 in 10 of online Canadians are members of Facebook, while Twitter gains momentum
Calgary, AB – Over the past year, there has been a surge in Canadians joining Facebook. And most of the growth has come from adults 35 years or older. In fact, almost 7 in 10 (68%) online Canadians [...]

The Science of Social Media

This month, my article “The Science of Social Media” was published in Marketing Magazine (August 31, 2009 issue).
To download a copy (scanned) click on this link:
The Science of Social Media (Aug 31 2009).pdf
The article explores some of the scientific processes (within the bounds of one page!) that have helped drive the growth of social media [...]

Social Media Strategy: “Dirt Cheap Labour” meet Game Theory

In the social media stampede, how long would free be truly “free?”
I just read the article “Dirt cheap labour – How businesses are getting the public to work for them for free” by Stephanie Findlay in the Business section of Macleans’ online magazine, published last week. Check it out.
OK. Let’s repeat the question: How long [...]

Social Media Strategy: Digital Trust – The Case of Facebook

What can social media strategists learn from Facebook? Lots. Especially when corporations are keen to approach the altar of authenticity. Like any sustainable relationship, corporations need to invest the time in getting into the minds of their target markets, and the dynamics of brand trust (and the evolution of “digital trust”). And as they have [...]

Tim Hortons & Social Media: Learning about the power of the crowd

Today, Tim Hortons learned about the power of social media.
In a release from Change.org, “Urge Tim Hortons to Stop Supporting Anti-LGBT Group” they indicate:
Oh, don’t you hate it when doughnuts decide to go homophobic? The Canadian mega-giant Tim Hortons (which in Canada is the largest coffee chain in the country), has decided to co-sponsor [...]

Social Media Strategy: Does Social Media Offer Legitimate “Research?”

Some may say that social media is a “game changer” when it comes to marketing research. I offer a qualified “yes.” Yes, it is a new way of conducting research and intelligence gathering. However, it is my sense that, beyond building communities, there are those who maybe putting their faith in monitoring more so than [...]

Does Facebook make you dumber?

So I awoke this morning to this story being plastered on the news feeds:
STUDY FINDS LINK BETWEEN FACEBOOK USE, LOWER GRADES IN COLLEGE
This is the original news release from Ohio State University.
I have found the tone of the various pick-ups by news organizations entertaining. From “Facebook use linked to less textbook time” on USA [...]

The Power of Web 2.0: Jian Ghomeshi… this is your moment.

It’s time to soak up the gravy!
We all hear the stories of musicians, writers, politicians and other bon vivants slugging it out on the interview junkets. While it is often not glamorous shuffled off from one interview to another, convened at odd times and with diverse bunch of interviewers (including the proverbial “wild and crazy [...]

Facebook’s Popularity Soars on Cell Phones: Survey shows over one-third of Canadians on social networking sites have the Facebook application on their cell phones

Tuesday March 17, 2009
News Release
Calgary, AB – Almost half of Canadians (47%) with cell phones can access the Internet from their mobile unit. This trend [...]