I am working on an article about social media and the Canadian campaign for 24hrs this week. I’ve been hitting up some of the best SocMed minds in the country, this afternoon I got to grab 5 minutes out of Amber Mac’s day and we chatted about how Obama is using social media vs the Canadian parties.
Our conclusion - nice try Canada, but it’s too little and waaaaay too late.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Stephen Harper got the memo on social media and got his people to sign up for each and every network they could find. Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, MySpace, Flickr .. they’re all there right on the front page (be warned, they kick open as popups on the Conservative site, not here).
Harper also has 2 Twitter accounts, @pmharper and @premierministre (which will become totally useless if he happens to lose an election).
Harper got the memo, yes, but he’s missing the point.
Compare his tweets this weekend to those of Barack Obama.
@pmharper; “ PM visits Quebec City, takes on Bloc Quebecois“
@barackobama: In Flint, MI. Holding a discussion on the economy. Watch it live at http://my.barackobama.com/livestream
Harper is using social media to bark out his message in 3rd person, while ignoring the very tools that have made Obama’s so successful. Social media is about spreading the word, yes. But it’s about spreading it via conversation and dialogue.
Today Harper will have press events in a backyard in Richmond, BC and on a farm in Saskatchewan - neither have been tweeted.
There is also anecdotal evidence that candidates not previously elected are being muzzled in the presence of national media. Unless you have “re-elect” on your sign, you are foreboden from speaking on a national level. This sort of muzzling of the party falls in line with last year’s banning of personal Facebook accounts for anyone in the PMO. Harper is all about controlling the message, but that’s counter intuitive to the ideals of social media.
One does not preach the gospel and hope it is shared. One must give a copy of the gospel to the congregation so they can copy it and spread it and distribute it.
Even his use of MyCampaign looks good on the surface, but doesn’t fully reach out and empower bloggers with tools the same way the NDP’s blogging tools do. The section simply offers tips to write Letters to the Editor, encourages you to call Talk Radio, and do some fundraising. Nothing new and groundbreaking or empowering here.
Social media is a two way street. Harper’s got all the cool icons on his home page, but he’s still missing the point.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
The Liberals are in last place when it comes to understanding the new media reality and how it can be incorporated into an election campaign.
On Sunday they hit “refresh” on their website and relaunched an ajax-y site that is slow to load and doesn’t feature much, despite having a dedicated “social networking” button on the side.
There is a link to Facebook, and a link to YouTube. That’s it.
Dion’s Facebook page is the usual, and with Canada having one of the highest adoption rates of Facebook in the world, something that could prove effective - but Facebook is easy and, honestly, lazy.
The link to the Liberal YouTube Channel is more troubling - the most recent video was posted 2 months ago.
There is no presence on Twitter, although I have been encouraged by Liblogs.ca moderator, Jason Cherniak that one will be forthcoming. Cherniak also promises the Liberals, in fact, do understand social media, despite their lack of attention to it in the campaign thus far.
The Liberal Party has been very supportive of online activists. Only two weeks ago, the party organized an open conference call with Stéphane Dion himself. He answered all the questions from bloggers, at least one of whom is not even a Liberal. To my knowledge, this is the first time a party leader has ever done such a thing.
I am personally both a blogger and an active Liberal volunteer. The Liberal Party understands that the younger generation is using the Internet to express themselves and they are being supportive of people like me.
There are sections on the Liberal site where you’re encouraged to share the message. I was expecting to find blogging tools here, similar to what the NDP are offering, but it’s a simple request for email addresses to forward a form letter.
Dear [ Friend's Name ],
I want to tell you about Stéphane Dion and the Liberal team’s generous vision for the future of our country.
The Liberal Party has a plan to move Canada forward in the 21st century, a plan where economic prosperity goes hand in hand with social development and where a healthy sustainable environment is driven by leading edge research and innovation.
These are exciting times for the Liberal Party of Canada. Please take a moment to check out their website.
If you’re ready to make a positive change in your community, join the Liberal family.
We are stronger together.
Sincerely,
[ Your Name ]
Even at thegreenshift.ca, a website dedicated to the main platform Dion will be pushing, the only way to share the plan is to whore out your friend’s email address and have a form letter land in their inbox.
There is nothing inspiring here at all. A huge disappointment.
Then again, when you look at the website for my MP, Don Bell, which is nothing more than an endless loop of “enter here” to go nowhere, you begin to understand expectations were perhaps too high.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Canada’s major political parties hit “refresh” on their websites this weekend and they went from a dark world of boring statements and policy papers to a full throttle attempt to win over the blogosphere.
Barack Obama has stirred the political activist passion in the states, and Stephen Harper, Jack Layton and Stephane Dion would like to hope some of that enthusiasm will spread north and get you blogging about all the good things they’re up to.
Here’s the first in a multi-part series breaking down the political parties and the social media fanciness they’ve got up their modem.
NDP leader Jack Layton is on Twitter (@jacklayton) and using a friendly style with his tweets.
“The campaign is on - a great start. Great to see so many people out.”(September 07, 2008) and “Packing for Calgary.” (September 06, 2008) are his first two entries.
His tweets are also prominently displayed, right on the front page of the NDP website.
There you’ll find official logos, official photos from the NDP Flickr account, some banner ads, and a pretty nifty video widget that won’t embed in blog posts, but you can put in your sidebar.
The NDP have all the major bases covered. They’re on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and they offer blogging tools which proves they understand the point of social media is to take your message and trust that your disciples will share your vision.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Some pretty big events in Canadian politics happened this week. Our Prime Minister and one of the opposition leaders fired up their Twitter accounts. Yes, social media has come to Canadian Politics. Sort of.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has TWO twitter accounts. One for the francophones, @premierministre, while English Canada gets a more active update @pmharper:
Here’s what NDP Leader Jack Layton is twittering @jacklayton:
Stephane Dion and Gilles Duceppe? Well, I guess Twitter hasn’t caught on in Quebec yet.
I’m working on a piece about electioneering and social media for 24hrs this week, and I’ve contacted many of the best socmed experts in the country and many are embarassed, aghast, and .. well .. unimpressed by the lack of vision seen by our current crop of politicians.
In the US, Obama’s use of Twitter and SMS has inspired an entirely new generation to become politically active and spread the word.
Here .. well .. if Canadians aren’t whining “Do we have to vote?”, then we’ll be closing our eyes and randomly scribbling an X on the ballot, or just finding a spot and writing in Obama.
If you have any thoughts on how the parties could be better reaching out to people, or if you know of some ways they’re using new media successfully, please feel free to add comments below.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
It was the worst kept secret in the city. The fact that Trevor Linden’s #16 jersey would be retired was inevitable. The only question was when.
That will be December 17, 2008 vs the Edmonton Oilers.
“Retiring a player’s sweater is one of the highest honours a club can pay to its most elite players and ambassadors,” said Chris Zimmerman, President and CEO, Canucks Sports & Entertainment. “Trevor embodies the qualities we strive for as an organization; character, hard working, commitment, generous and loyal. We are proud that his sweater will hang beside Stan Smyl’s at General Motors Place.” [press release]
As one would expect, Trevor has been humble about the entire event.
“This is a tremendous honour and I am very grateful to the club,” said Linden. “To be drafted by the Canucks organization 20 years ago as an 18 year old and to now have my sweater retired is very humbling and rewarding.”[press release]
But we all knew it was going to happen. And it’s the right thing to do.
Linden, 38, retired as a Canuck on the 20th anniversary of his Draft day, June 11, 2008. He left the Canucks and the NHL after 19 seasons having recorded 867 career points (375-492-867) in 1382 regular season games with the Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Washington Capitals. In addition, Linden was a proven Playoff performer, in 124 Stanley Cup Playoff games, he recorded 99 points (34-65-99) and 104 penalty minutes. Of his 124 Playoff games, 118 came in a Canucks uniform, highlighted by his 25 points (12-13-25) in 24 games during the Canucks 1994 Stanley Cup run that concluded in a Game 7 versus the New York Rangers. [press release]
Don’t have tickets to the game? Don’t worry. In the next few weeks I’ll be giving you the details on which games I will be selling Vancouver Canucks tickets to this season. I bought a season ticket package with the idea of re-selling the tickets to you in exchange for donations to Team Diabetes.
I will have tickets vs the Toronto Maple Leafs up for grabs, and tickets to the Linden retirement night as well.
I mean, why not give ‘em up? I had tickets to Linden’s final game of his career and handed those over to Meg Fowler. This time I won’t be handing them over .. you’ll have to pay for ‘em
It’s simple, you give me the face value for the tickets, and the premium you will pay in an auction goes directly to Team Diabetes and earns you a tax receipt.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
The Backstreet Boys may be a quartet, not a quintet, but that doesn’t matter… they’re back out on the road and swing in to Vancouver for shows tonight and tomorrow at GM Place.
Back in 2001, I was a co-host of the Z Morning Crew alongside Erin Davis, Darren B Lamb and Tarajean. It was just a few days after 9/11 and we had an interview scheduled with Nick Carter to promote the Boys’ Black and Blue Tour.
The events of September 11 affected everyone deeply, but the BSB were especially touched as one of their crew members was aboard one of the flights from Boston.
Here’s the emotional interview with Nick Carter.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Flipping the page on a new calendar seems as good a reason as any to make life changes and resolutions, but I find this time of year to be even better at making positive changes in life.
Summer has ended, our time of leisure is over and we’re all refocussing on work. The seasons are in flux and our wardrobe is getting spiced up with new fall colours and textures. There is a real sense of change in the air.
New Year’s comes on the end of a rather rambunctious holiday season, the weather is still damp and dreary, and while you’re in party recovery mode, the inspiration for change isn’t all around you.
So I like fall as a time to make resolutions and put positive change in to motion.
LA Weight Loss is part of that change for me. Jennifer and I have been sticking to the plan set out by our personal weight loss coaches. It’s easy, we have a set number of proteins, starches, fruits, veg, dairy and fats to eat each day. Usually it’s a protein at each meal, a fruit at each meal, veg as snacks throughout the day and at dinner. Simple.
It’s all about rethinking the way we eat. We’ve brought our portion sizes back in line, and because we’re grazing every 2 hours or so throughout the day, we’re less hungry. Even though we’re eating more, we’re retraining our body’s metabolism to burn calories all day instead of just churning them up at meal time.
If the bite in the air or flocking leaves is inspiring you to change, call 310-LOSE and try LA Weight Loss. It’s easy, and it works.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Septemeber 1, 1993 is the day I first cracked the mic on 95.3FM in Vancouver and had a dream of being a radio announcer in my home town come true.
It was a long time coming. I started in radio in May 1990 in Vernon, and by January of 1991 I had started sending out tapes and resumes looking for the next gig. My bosses at Z used to joke the program director’s desk drawer was filled to overflowing with tapes from me. When you look at the stack of rejection letters I got from across the country, it would be safe to say many pd’s desks were like that.
I gunned hard for that next job, and finally in August of 1993 I got the letter from Brad Phillips confirming my employment with CKZZ.
“This letter is to confirm your employment status with Z95.3FM.
Your position with us will be a “Regular part-time” announcer. You will be paid $15 per on-air hour. The station will guarantee a mininum of 13 of these “$15 hours” per week.”
I was lucky I could move back in with my parents, and I picked up overnight shifts for $6 an hour to fill in my air time.
It was a big gamble, but 15 years later it’s safe to say it paid off.
Thank you for listening to me for 15 years. That’s a lifetime in radio to be in one market, and without you there, there wouldn’t be a me here.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
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