Group items tagged

Instagram has been around for two years but it's really only taken off since the beginning of 2012. Since this is the first calendar year in which it's been a major social media player it is interesting to see the records it keeps breaking in terms of most popular day yet on Insta. In the past month both Hurricane Sandy and now Thanksgiving have broken the record. I can only imagine that X-mas next month will keep the records going - people love to Instagram food pictures.

Facebook is thinking of getting rid of its policy of allowing users to vote on changes to major governance policy. It also notes that a vote is only binding if 30% of users participate - a number they didn't reached in their last two votes.

Article that discusses how social media sites like Facebook and Twitter may not be effective for certain businesses that are more successful with traditional marketing tools.

Interesting article on the increasing trend of live-blogging in mainstream news coverage - specifically refers to two Toronto-based start up companies: ScribbleLive and CoveritLive.  The Globe and Mail for instance used ScribbleLive to cover Hurricane Sandy. 

Our previous VisCom class on typography and composition got me thinking about the rise of lyric videos on YouTube. Music and typography come together in an expected way. Compare the use of typography to convey the song in this and Adele's Skyfall.

An interesting read on how organization's can take an emotional approach to marketing on LinkedIn (and other social media platforms).

Mr. Ignatieff is so smart and eloquent about the continuing political decline in North America. Interesting in this article is the stress placed on dialogue and compromise between elected officials (regardless of party associations) as essential to the democratic process.

Definitely an interesting new way of using Twitter: to storytell. "The first Twitter Fiction Festival, a five-day event starting November 28 that will showcase "creative experiments in storytelling from authors around the world." Twitter to announce the authors on November 19.

A very interesting movie that deals with anonymity on the internet. 2 filmakers look at a friendship formed online between an artist and a small-town family. I really liked the documentary!

The filmmakers of this documentary have come under a lot of fire as to whether or not the film was staged. After reflecting it does seem coincidental that so much of this key points of the storyline are caught on tape. However, staged or not it really makes you question who you might be talking to on the internet.

Twitter posted this "Best Practices for journalists" on their blog. Twitter wasn't 'meant' or built to be a tool for professional communicators but has obviously been used as such since its creation. I just found it really interesting that the tool is telling the storyteller how to do his/her job. I wonder why Twitter as an organization felt the need to post this best practices for journalists. What is the communication strategy here? Do they hope to change Twitter practices? Bring in more would-be journalists on the site? They even include quantitative research and examples to support their recommendations!

This is an interesting article about wireless regulation (or the lack of regulation) in Canada. I thought this was especially interesting considering we were just talking about the mobile revolution and the effect it has on work.

Wow, such an interesting direction that online/distance learning is taking through MOOCS (Massive Open Online Course). There is a lot more I can say on this topic, and I will! ____________________ Among the tens of thousands of people signed up for the University of Toronto's online computer science course Learn to Program: The Fundamentals, there are a lot of unconventional students.Of late, MOOCs have dominated the conversation around online learning. They drastically change distance learning, breaking down the barriers of geography and fees, while connecting students across the globe with each other and with some of the world's top teaching talents.

Ten social media marketing experts weigh on best practices for social marketing and the future of the growing industry.

This an interesting article to follow up my groups presentation this morning on Communication and Organization. We addressed so barriers for remote workers and this piece brings up some interesting advantages to being a remote worker. The use of tools section is particularly relevant to our in-class activity as well.

As more people turn to brands on Facebook, it's important to know why they do-or don't-click "like." Consider these new findings. I find this surprising. Maybe because I don't "like" brands on Facebook to avoid a cluttered page and newsfeed. Personally, seeing a brand's post all the time would turn me away from the brand. I'm not sure why, but I still seem to have this mentality that Facebook brand pages aren't as "legit". But that's just me. Check out the infographic.

VenueSeen is a new company that allows companies to use Instagram for advertising campaigns. The tool aggregates photos that have been labeled with  specific hashtag and brings [the Instagram user] to the company's campaign page.  Instagrammers can then claim their photograph and collect prizes, coupons, and other incentives the company may have put in place. Price for a campaign can range from under $1000/month to tens of thousands depending on the scope and reach of the project.

10% of business reviews will be fake by 2014 -- I found this shocking! Sure, don't believe everything you read online but 10 per cent? If you're a communications manager relying on reviews to promote your company or build trust among customers, how do you maintain your integrity if this kind of statistic is floating around?

An interesting article on facebook and privacy - they are asking your friends to make sure you are using your real name.

OTTAWA - Tony Clement may be king of social media in political circles on Parliament Hill, but he didn't get to be mayor of his own Twitter town hall. During an online chat on the subject of open government, the Treasury Board president, who is a prolific tweeter, had a ghostwriter doing most of the work for him.

I thought this was an interesting article connecting the social media platform of twitter with the political world.

Interesting how a public figure's personal preference for a product conflicts with the values of the public.