Synchronized performance is the latest development for professionals who regularly use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc., to provide friends, family and other readers or customers with news. HootSuite is an online service for individuals and businesses who want to synchronize their marketing campaigns over multiple social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google +.

With the new click.to desktop tool, users can now share news, links and distribute any text directly from the desktop, via the Social Media Manager HootSuite, to the most popular social networks.

For those who are not familiar with it, HootSuite is a cross-linker, an online service that allows social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and WordPress to work on a single platform. click.to is an app that links all applications for the desktop and skips intermediary steps between several different actions–essentially, a cross-linker for the desktop.

“With HootSuite click.to, we have two ideas that complement each other perfectly, said Peter Oehler, Axonic COO. “HootSuite allows social networks to operate simultaneously, and now click.to makes this possible with just a single click.”

“With over three million SME users and estimated six million by end of year, our goal is to provide a directory of applications that expand the functionality of the HootSuite platform. Developers and partners will highly benefit from the functional and promotional exposure to our influential users with the apps they develop. Brands and businesses want to meet their audiences where they are, and that means engaging across multiple channels and networks; our partner programs and integrations like click.to in the HootSuite App Directory allow us to steadily launch new purpose-specific tools into the dashboard to satisfy these needs,” states HootSuite’s CEO, Ryan Holmes.

click.to expands the Copy & Paste principle by providing logical links between all applications on the desktop and the Web “with one click;” the beginning of an action and the target application are linked with a single step, whilst dead ends that usually inevitably happen when using programs or websites are simply skipped.

Instead of manually opening programs every time, or typing website addresses, re-entering login information, and clicking login, click.to users need only select the action from the click.to menu. click.to creates a series of processes that allow it to skip the usual barriers that arise as a user navigates through multiple programs and the internet.

e-Value™ is a software as a service tool designed to calculate the cost-efficiency of corporate social media campaigns by comparing natural (earned) engagement behavior of online communities against the paid promotion and management efforts deployed by companies to build these followings. All performance results are measured against a growing list of benchmarked social media accounts from global brands with a strong social media presence. As of today, over 1500 brands have their e-Value™ benchmarked.

According to Parta Dialogue, e-Value™ is a critical starting point that will allow brand managers to establish ROI for social media spending – a major request from top marketing management in 2012.

“We welcome the brands that have joined us as early adopters of our e-Value™ service. With their help, we are on the way to creating a new industry benchmark that will answer brand managers most pressing questions,” states Parta’s CEO, Paul Allard.

]]> http://www.villagegamer.net/2012/02/07/rona-and-air-transat-to-evaluate-parta-dialogue-e-value-analytics-tool/feed/ 0 http://www.villagegamer.net/2012/02/07/uniiverse-launches-platform-for-collaborative-living/ http://www.villagegamer.net/2012/02/07/uniiverse-launches-platform-for-collaborative-living/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:25:41 +0000 Tami http://www.villagegamer.net/?p=23951 Uniiverse, the platform for collaborative living, was launched worldwide today. Stating that it is not a social network, the company is the first online platform to take an offline approach for its users.  Doing-away with status updates and virtual friends, Uniiverse is all about trust, the sharing economy, and face-to-face interactions. “Uniiverse is the only platform that allows anyone to share any kind of real-life activity or service,” says Ben Raffi, CEO & president of Toronto-based Uniiverse. “And it’s free to post.”

Users can specify what they’re offering, the price they charge (could be free), and when it is happening. People can instantly discover, book, and pay for the listing through the website.  Uniiverse enables anyone to become an entrepreneur, meet like-minded people, share their passions – and live a smarter, happier, more sustainable lifestyle.

The opportunities Uniiverse brings to people are endless:

• Organize a jogging group, tapas party, or yoga session
• Offer a service such as a photography workshop, language lesson, or a sushi-making class
• Use your extra time by posting your availability for errand running, babysitting, or pet walking
• Share your stuff that is rarely used such as a drill, a bike, or a guitar
• Rent out your space when you’re away, or offer your unused parking spot
• Organize a ride-share to save money on gas, and help the environment

Users are encouraged to rate and review each others’ shared experiences.  Uniiverse enables people to get a full understanding of each other’s trustworthiness by showing social proximity, ratings, reviews, and participation across categories.

“Uniiverse is building the sharing economy, where access and experiences are more important than ownership. This movement will help the environment, global financial issues, and build stronger communities,” says Craig Follett, CEO & chairman of Uniiverse.

Through this platform, Uniiverse is resurrecting old marketplace behaviors, such as sharing, on a scale that was never before possible.  The company aims to kick-start the sharing revolution.

The iStock e-card App can be accessed via its own page or any existing iStockphoto Facebook page. In a matter of seconds, a user can create, customize and personalize a card that can be posted to a friend’s wall or sent privately via Facebook message. With over 50 free images, illustrations and videos representing major holidays, celebrations and milestones, iStock’s e-card app makes it easy to customize an electronic greeting for virtually any occasion.

“One of the greatest things about Facebook is that it lets you stay in touch with a wide range of people simultaneously,” said Rebecca Rockafellar, general manager of iStockphoto. “If you’re one of the more than 800 million people who frequent Facebook, chances are on any given day at least one of your friends is celebrating something special. The iStock e-card app makes it easy to mark the occasion with something more meaningful than a simple comment or wall post.”

iStock also announced the results of a survey it recently conducted on Facebook, which revealed the following:

• Environmentally conscious women are OK with e-cards over paper cards (even on Valentine’s Day)*
• Most women prefer Valentine’s Day gifts to e-cards *
• Most men find Valentine’s Day e-cards a fine substitute for paper cards, but say a naughty outfit can negate the need for either (shocker)
• For recipients aged 50-years and up, a handwritten card is more meaningful than an e-card in most cases*

* Above survey replies according to a panel of iStock relationship advisors, an e-card on Facebook is rarely an acceptable substitute for a traditional card when it comes to mothers or anyone over the age of 60. They also caution that the inappropriate use of an e-card with a sensitive spouse or significant other – particularly for birthdays, anniversaries or Valentine’s Day – can result in spending the night alone on the couch. In cases where a physical card is necessary, advisors recommend creating something unique using images procured from the iStockphoto website.

The iStock e-card App is available immediately. International versions of the Facebook app have been created in German, Italian, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and English. The application is free and available to anyone with a Facebook profile.

According to data from the third party traffic monitoring portal, Alexa.com, after only six months NextSportStar.com is ranked 26,800 among all global websites, 5,443 in the U.S., and 10,524 in Canada.  With online visits from the world – including 74.2% from the U.S. – NextSportStar.com has persistently demonstrated a pace of growth that is virtually unrivaled. Now, with a ranking among the top 1% of worldwide websites, NextSportStar.com is in the enviable position of consistent upward momentum.

Combining the best of Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist and Kijiji in one site, NextSportStar.com delivers a unique social experience and sense of community rich in online content. Unlike other websites where messages are sent only to “followers”, one of the most popular features is the option for NextSportStar.com fans to send a message to all the millions of NextSportStar.com fans simultaneously.

Other popular features with NextSportStar.com fans include:

• uploading videos and photos within their personal profiles;
• online buying and selling with each other; and
• playing online sports-related games.

Committed to an aggressive strategy of on-going user-centric growth and expansion, NextSportStar.com is looking forward to soon introducing television and radio components to the site, plus exciting new content from additional sources are in the works.

NextSportStar.com is unswerving in its desire to provide over-and-above involvement to its members, thereby continuing its pace of rapid growth. As the one-stop portal for social communications and entertainment on the web, NextSportStar.com fans worldwide can continue to expect the best social experience and sense of community available.

LinkedIn ranked second with 37 per cent of the response. Regardless of which social media site someone is using for business, staying active is essential, the survey confirmed: More than one-third (34 per cent) of executives said not keeping content fresh is the most common mistake creatives make in their professional online profiles.

The Canadian survey was developed by The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service for interactive, design, marketing, advertising and public relations professionals, and conducted by an independent research firm.

Advertising and marketing executives were asked, “If you had to limit yourself to only one social media platform, which of the following would it be?” Their responses:

• Facebook …………….. 44%
• LinkedIn …………….. 37%
• Google+ ……………… 7%
• Twitter ……………… 6%
• Other ……………….. 2%
• Don’t know/no answer ….. 6%

*Responses do not total 100 per cent due to rounding.

Executives also were asked, “In your experience, what is the most common mistake creative professionals make when creating online profiles that they use for professional purposes?” Their responses:

• Not updating it often enough …………….. 34%
• Including inappropriate information ………. 23%
• Providing too much information …………… 19%
• Providing too little information …………. 12%
• Other …………………………………. 1%
• Don’t know/no answer ……………………. 11%

“Online profiles can be effective marketing and branding tools for creative professionals, so it’s crucial that they paint an accurate and favourable picture of you,” said Lara Dodo, a regional vice-president of The Creative Group in Canada. “It remains especially critical for job seekers to be mindful of what information they are sharing and with whom, as well as what others may be saying about them.”

The Creative Group offers five tips for maintaining a polished and engaging presence on social media sites:

1. Don’t play the name game. While sites like Facebook and Google+ have guidelines that discourage the use of symbols, numbers or profanities in your username, that doesn’t stop people from coming up with unusual aliases. However, it’s best to stick to your first and last name and select a similar vanity URL that supports your personal brand.
2. Choose your interests wisely. Just because you’re a fan of reality TV doesn’t mean you have to list every show you watch. No matter how talented you are, a profile that goes into too much personal detail, particularly if those details are unflattering, will work against you.
3. Share quality content. The average Facebook user has 130 friends, according to Facebook Statistics. You can increase the likelihood others will see your posts by sharing rich content (like photos and videos) as well as information that will elicit comments, likes and shares.
4. Proof your posts. Always review your status updates and comments before hitting “Enter.” Posts strewn with typos or text shorthand detract from your credibility.
5. Be a regular. In addition to pushing out interesting content, engage with your online contacts consistently. By commenting on and sharing others’ posts, you’ll build a stronger sense of community.

For additional tips on using social and professional networking sites effectively, download Business Etiquette: The New Rules in a Digital Age. The guide was developed by Robert Half, The Creative Group’s parent company, and contains insights from industry experts on a wide range of topics.

The Canadian study was developed by The Creative Group and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on more than 250 telephone interviews — approximately 200 with marketing executives randomly selected from companies with 100 or more employees and 50 with advertising executives randomly selected from agencies with 20 or more employees.

• Digg – With the Digg app for HootSuite, HootSuite users can view current Top News stories, search stories, Digg stories, discover and share content from the web using the dashboard, and more.
• Trendspottr – The TrendSpottr app for HootSuite allows users to search for trending content by topic, keyword or phrase, select from a list of popular searches, share trending stories, videos and more via the social networks they’ve added to the HootSuite dashboard.
• InboxQ – With the InboxQ app for HootSuite, users can find questions on Twitter based on keyword and phrase searches, fine tune search results, and engage directly with those asking questions, all from within the HootSuite dashboard.

“With over three million SME users and estimated six million by end of year, our goal is to provide a directory of applications that expand the functionality of the HootSuite platform. Developers and partners will highly benefit from the functional and promotional exposure to our influential users with the apps they develop. Brands and businesses want to meet their audiences where they are, and that means engaging across multiple channels and networks; our partner programs and integrations in the HootSuite App Directory allow us to steadily launch new purpose-specific tools into the dashboard to satisfy these needs”, states HootSuite’s CEO, Ryan Holmes.

HootSuite launched the App Directory in late 2011, providing the opportunity for third-party developers to build extensions into the platform. Applications to date include Constant Contact, Digg, Flickr, Get Satisfaction, InboxQ, Trendspottr, Tumblr, and YouTube. Each app release further enhances HootSuite’s SaaS model by expanding the ecosystem of partner integrations. With this release, users have the opportunity to grow their business and build more relationships with new audiences alongside existing social network profiles including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ Pages, and more. This increasingly successful platform attracts the attention of developers because of its availability to expand the network ecosystem, while optimizing the distinction between social networks and marketing actions.

By opening up the Engagement API, HootSuite also exposes the core social network management, message publishing and scheduling functionality into third party platforms and applications, expanding these capabilities to the developer and partner community. The API is already load tested and proven since HootSuite is the first and major user of the API for the mobile applications across the various mobile platforms. Additional Engagement API enhancements and the publication of additional APIs are scheduled in the near future. To receive news and updates on the Engagement API, follow @hootsuite_api.

In addition to this latest App Directory and Engagement API release, HootSuite also announces an external integration of the dashboard with the click .to application offering. With the click .to integration, users will be able to quickly and easily share news, links, and text with one simple click, from click .to to the multiple social media profiles added to their HootSuite account.

Stacy Parker, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Randstad Canada says, “Social media is fun, but it’s also a powerful tool to have in your arsenal when it comes to finding a job, connecting with key people in your industry or for establishing yourself as a thought leader in your field,” she adds. “Having a social media presence can positively impact your face-to-face networking activities, and can also help you tap into the hidden job market of positions that are not advertised.”

Parker provides a few tips that will help job seekers incorporate social media effectively into the job search process.

Optimize your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is the largest professional social networking site in the world and over 5 million Canadians are a part of it. By making sure your profile is 100% complete, you will appear more often in search results. You can also target keywords people are searching for to increase your visibility.

Get some LinkedIn recommendations. LinkedIn wants you to have at least three. The best way to get them? Write one for someone else, people more often than not, obey the law of reciprocity, give them something and they’ll want to give you something in return (LinkedIn even helps you out by asking them if they would like to return the favour).

Setup your privacy settings correctly on Facebook. With the new timeline option, it’s easy to become confused regarding who is seeing what. Can friends tag you in photos before you approve them? Maybe you’ve thought of that but can they check you into places without your approval? Make sure a prospective employer doesn’t see anything they shouldn’t!

Have an online presence. Are you a ghost online? The other extreme of sharing too much information, is nothing at all. If a potential employer Googles you and absolutely nothing comes up… you won’t appear to be relevant and you may be passed over for more savvy applicants that have online visibility.

Refine your brand. You might have a great reputation at work, but what does your online reputation look like? In fact, when was the last time your Googled yourself? Your brand reputation can make or break your chance at getting that job. Yes, maybe your fellow bloggers enjoyed that rant about your old boss, but a new boss might not like the idea. If you are using any inappropriate language or are commenting on controversial issues or blog posts, you may want to consider a blog pseudonym.

For more tips on how to incorporate social media with your job search, follow @RandstadCanada.

This full day dual workshop will take place on Friday March 23rd at the World Arts Centre Room, SFU Woodwards GoldCorp Centre for the Arts. These highly practical workshops will examine successful Case studies, viable social media and game platforms, new business models & sustained revenue streams to add to your online business strategy.

Be a part of this special workshop presented by Social Media expert Rochelle Grayson and Gamification specialist from Seattle Scott Dodson, who spoke at the recent Merging Media 2011 Conference and impressed the audience with his topic: “Sustained Engagement through Gamification.”

The key takeaways from Rochelle’s session on how to increase your ROI using Social Media include:

• Differentiate between advertising and transactional online monetization models
• Understand which models best suit the behaviours of specific customers and business metrics
• Describe monetization best practices and their broader applications
• Understand “Return on Involvement” (ROI) considerations

The key takeaways from Scott’s session on increasing your ROI using Gamification include:

• Gain an actionable definition for gamification
• Understand the distinction between Intrinsic and Extrinsic rewards and their role in the lifecycle and motivation of a user
• Learn to draw connections between business problems and engagement strategies.
• Develop a familiarity with a basic tool set of game mechanics, how they may be applied to the needs of an organization, and which are most effective against specific metrics
• Walk away with options for implementation

The day’s events include a networking lunch as well as a an end-of-day combined Q & A session with Rochelle and Scott.

Tickets for this event are $100.00 + tax for CMPA members, or $145.00 + tax for non-members.

Businesses still complaining about having to adopt yet another social network better listen up – the way Google displays organic search results has forever changed and will now incorporate Google+ social data in the top few organic spots in search results. The change, called Search Your World, will have a major impact on businesses that rely on sales through their website and displays social data from Google+ members above the regular search results returned when someone performs a search query. This change will ultimately make it harder for people to find the information they are looking for, and for businesses, it will mean a decrease in their organic search engine traffic and sales.

So what can businesses do to minimize the impact of Search Your World on their bottom line? For starters creating a Google+ business page is now an essential part of a search engine optimization strategy as the targeted key phrases used within posts on the page will help to increase the number of social mentions that are displayed above the regular search results.

Along with the incorporation of social data from Google+ into the search results, the exponential growth of the social network is also another reason why businesses need to take notice and start integrating Google+ into their search engine strategy.

Currently growing at a rate of 625,000 subscribers per day, it took just 16 days for Google+ to obtain 10 million users; a subscriber base that took both Twitter and Facebook over 700 days to reach. This growth pattern has set Google+ on the path to be the most widely used social network of all, even more so than Twitter and Facebook.

Version 7 is the world’s first automated application that allows customers to broadcast their message over as many as 13 channels (whether it’s email, fax, SMS, Twitter or others), all from a single solution. The convenience and efficiency of SimplyCast’s existing software has already won it thousands of customers in 175 countries. In releasing the most extensive software upgrade in its history, SimplyCast now offers both beginners and experienced marketers more tools on a single platform and greater pricing flexibility than any other automated marketing service.

“Marketing automation is changing rapidly and with the launch of SimplyCast Version 7.0, businesses can finally have every tool they need in one user account,” said Saeed El-Darahali, president and CEO of SimplyCast. “By enhancing and adding key features to every part of the application, clients can now use the power of 13 different marketing channels using one user subscription.”

The numerous upgrades include SimplyCast’s new Epic Free 5,000 credits plan. This feature allows every registered user to send up to 5,000 emails, 50 faxes, 5 SMS messages and use a Twitter automation tool and signup form creation tool free each month. It was created not only to introduce automated marketing to small companies looking to get noticed, but also to help struggling businesses hit by the global downturn. The Epic Free plan is also ideal for non-profit organizations as they can spread their message via multiple forms of communication at no cost.

The other upgrades featured in Version 7.0 include a press release submission tool, A/B split testing, the option to create custom packages, and a social media bar to easily share campaigns. When users need to upgrade their plan, they have the choice to select the extras they want to pay for. There is also a managed service option that provides a hands free approach to marketing, where everything is done on behalf of the client by the SimplyCast team for $99/month.

The tablet-ready application also includes feature upgrades to the Twitter marketing service to improve follower growth, the option to sign into a user account through Twitter or Facebook and integration with PayPal for International clients.

“Facebook has become a part of Canadians’ lives. We are excited to bring it directly to the largest screen in the home – giving our customers a truly interactive and social TV experience,” says Andre LeBlanc, Vice President Residential Product, Bell Aliant. “Our future-proof FibreOP network was built to allow us to innovate and develop new services that will meet the communication needs of our customers today and tomorrow. Social trends are shaping where and how consumers want to connect, and Bell Aliant is responding.”

There are more than 800 million active Facebook users around the world and 87.5 per cent of Internet users in Atlantic Canada are on Facebook. This is higher than the national average of 83.3 percent, according to comScore MediaMetrix, November 2011.  Social media is changing the way television is made, watched, and broadcast, and the rise of social TV is expected to increase in 2012.

“Social TV is going to continue to grow as broadcasters and content providers find new ways to engage with their audience,” says Dr. Anatoliy Gruzd, Assistant Professor, School of Information Management and Social Media Lab, Dalhousie University. ”TV technology and social media are merging; according to a survey by Ovum, about 74 per cent of TV viewers with broadband use the Internet at the same time and 38 per cent discuss TV shows while using social media. In the future, this trend will likely accelerate as social TV technology becomes more ubiquitous and easier to use.”

Atlantic Canadians will be able to access six of the most popular Facebook features on their FibreOP TV including:

1. Viewing news feeds on their wall;
2. Viewing profile details including names, profile pictures and status messages;
3. Posting status messages and notes to their walls;
4. Rating the TV show they’re currently watching;
5. Viewing photo albums in both a thumbnail view and full screen slideshow;
6. Viewing friends’ profiles, photos and wall updates.

To access the Facebook app on FibreOP TV customers need an active Facebook account and a Bell Aliant Internet connection. Customers can press Menu, go to Apps and press Facebook to launch the app on their TV. A step-by-step guide on how to set up and use the new app is available online. The app supports up to 10 unique Facebook accounts per household.

“My new Pholiofy page shows my personality. It’s fun, colorful and it showcases my latest songs and videos,” said Rosette. “As a musician, it’s important for me to have a strong online image and Pholiofy allows me to do it easily.”

“When we designed the Pholiofy Facebook app we envisioned everyone from small to large businesses and brands to entertainers like Rosette using it,” said David Miller, Principal, Pholiofy. “Pholiofy is the first of its kind in Canada to use WordPress to design Facebook pages. It fills a huge need out there for customized pages to share cool content, like Rosette’s new single.”

Pholiofy also allows page owners to have a fan gate – only letting people who have “liked” their page see additional content, coupons and promotional information. For Rossette, this means that each of her fans can like her Facebook page and be the first to see her new video.

“I want at least half a million fans on Facebook and Twitter. With services like Pholiofy, I feel like I can do it without a label,” added Rosette. “With my new official Facebook page, I have a lot more control. I’m so grateful that Pholiofy can get me that much closer to my goals.”

“Using Pholiofy for Facebook is a wonderful way for recording artists like Rosette to connect with fans and share exclusive content with those who like her page,” said Miller.

HootSuite University’s Higher Education Program provides professors and students free access to HootSuite Pro and HootSuite University’s online courseware in an effort to help increase student’s digital awareness and build their social media skills.

WANTED Analytics, an agency that provides real-time business intelligence for the talent marketplace, states, “Social media as a skill set, has reached new levels.” The agency claims that over the past year, the hiring demand for various social media skills has almost doubled.  Although there is an increase of available jobs, a 2011 study from ManpowerGroup found that 52% of US employers had difficulties filling jobs because candidates lacked the ‘hard’ technical skills required of today’s jobs.

Ryan Holmes, HootSuite CEO, chalks this phenomena up to the rapid changes taking place in the job market. “Three years ago, the job titles of social media manager and community manager were nonexistent, today they are the hottest, high growth roles in business,” he notes. “In preparing for the massive demand by enterprise, HootSuite is excited to be working with Newhouse School at Syracuse University, allowing each student the opportunity to receive certification through HootSuite University.”

Participation in HootSuite University’s Higher Education Program allows Newhouse students to complement the theory learned in their Newhouse social media classes with the hands-on experience of managing their own social media dashboard. “The value that Hootsuite University courseware provides to students is the opportunity to engage with the material at their own pace combined with the hands-on experience and technical skills of integrating and managing multiple social media accounts in one place,” said Dr. William J. Ward, the social media professor at Newhouse responsible for integrating the courseware into his classes.

During the 90-day program, students will have access to HootSuite University’s online courseware, which will walk them through the fundamentals of creating and managing social profiles for businesses. After completion of the course, students will have the opportunity to earn their HootSuite Certification, which publicly highlights their proficiency and provides them with recognized credentials to carry beyond their graduation.

Courseware is made available to S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University through HootSuite University’s Higher Education Program, which is currently in closed beta. For professors interested in participating, please find more information on the HootSuite web page .

The aggregated online service, presented by KPMG International exclusively for the WEF, will distill in real-time the conversations from delegates who are using Twitter to share their views. Anyone with internet access via their computer, tablet or smart phone can follow the conversations. Users can filter the conversation based on the annual meeting’s themes, speakers, delegates and other filters.

“This is an incredibly useful tool that will help WEF followers by providing an efficient point of entry to all conversations being held in Davos,” said Charlie Sharman, KPMG Head of Global Marketing.

“KPMG’s own research clearly shows that social media has become a strategic imperative with more than 70 percent of organizations around the world actively using social media as a business tool. Not only is it used to enhance relationships with customers but is also increasingly a tool to further dialogue on such issues as innovation, sustainability, economic growth and employment, and new social models – the very same themes that participants this year are here to explore, examine and bring to the forefront.”

“There is sure to be more use of social media at this year’s Davos than ever before,” added KPMG Global Head of Innovation and a partner in the UK firm, Adam Bates (@AdamBates_KPMG). “This site will enable anyone, wherever they are, to have a window into the thoughts of key business and political leaders as they tweet about the real issues of the moment.”

“With roughly 100,000 brand pages on Facebook currently collectively boasting over 1 Billion followers, it is clear that companies large and small have learnt how to build a following online. Now, the questions top managers are asking are ‘Is social media working for us? Is it making us money?’ Tools that can answer these questions will be hot stuff in 2012,” said Tom Liacas, M.A., Parta Dialogue’s VP Social Media.

Market activity directly reflects the rising value accorded to social media analytics solutions, according to Liacas. Parta Dialogue is actively working on the rollout of a suite of campaign analytics solutions for 2012, beginning with a social media cost-efficiency calculator named “e-Value™.”

“Two recent milestones in this area are the acquisition of analytics company Omniture, by Adobe, for $1.8 billion in 2009 and the recent 2011 buyout of Radian 6′s social media monitoring software by Salesforce. Both of these transactions demonstrate that large online solutions providers are eagerly looking to acquire analytics tools to answer client demand,” states Liacas. “This tool is the first building block for credible ROI calculation. Companies that use it to measure their social media campaign efficiency will quickly learn whether their efforts on social media are reaching full potential and also how they compare to thousands of other brands doing the same.”

“This year’s event is the largest one we’ve ever held,” says Eli Singer, president and founder of Entrinsic, the agency producing SMWTO for the past three years. The number of events offered through SMWTO 2012 has grown by 40 percent since the previous festival ran just a year ago.

The week-long distributed conference held in different venues throughout Toronto has evolved in several additional ways this year: sponsorship support for the event has more than doubled since 2011; key media partnerships have been established for SMWTO; and each day of the festival has a unique theme.

“Social media and the digital screens of our lives are changing our world in fundamental ways. Be it collaborative or disruptive, our web world is affecting politics, business models, marketing, the family and our co-existence as a species,” says Eli Singer, president and founder of Entrinsic, the digital culture and communications agency producing SMWTO. “We are very excited to be one of 13 international cities participating in what has grown to be the world’s largest simultaneous multi-city conference,” notes Singer.

Doubling in size, this year’s sponsors include a wide range of participation from some of Canada’s most digital-savvy companies.

At the theme sponsor level:

• Bank of Montreal – A Social Society
• LinkedIn – Business and Information at Light Speed
• General Motors – Innovative Minds and technology

At the event sponsor level:

• ComScore
• Marketwire-Sysomos
• VIA Rail

The festival’s media sponsors are:

• The Globe and Mail
• Marketing Magazine
• Green Rabbit Media

To celebrate this newest milestone, HootSuite recognizes each of their millionth milestone signups:

• 1 Millionth User: Cristina of A Coruña, Spain
• 2 Millionth User: Amox of Berlin, Germany
• 3 Millionth User: Alan of Sao Paulo, Brazil

HootSuite enhances the the way people communicate using social media. At present, over 700 million messages have been sent through over 6 million unique social profiles. Brands and individuals use the dashboard to securely collaborate with teams and engage across multiple networks and accounts. Since HootSuite’s two millionth user milestone announcement, the company has added additional social networks including: Facebook Groups, Google+ Pages, LinkedIn Company Pages, and LinkedIn Groups. These social networks join the existing offering of Facebook, Facebook Pages, FourSquare, LinkedIn, mixi, MySpace, Ping.fm, Twitter, and WordPress. HootSuite’s recent launch of the App Directory also allows for integration with Constant Contact, Flickr, Formulists, Get Satisfaction, Summify, Tumblr, and YouTube – with plans to add additional integrations in the near future.

To illustrate trends and patterns, HootSuite releases an infographic highlighting signup milestones and revenue (run rate), the top ten signups by country, daily usage percentages via web and mobile devices, newly added social networks, and effective reach of messages sent daily. The infographic can be viewed and downloaded on HootSuite’s blog.

Tactical outreach to international markets has resulted in significant growth of accounts across the globe. HootSuite now offers access to their dashboard in five languages, including English, French, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. When ranking HootSuite user signups by country, the top ranking countries include: (1) USA, (2) Japan, (3) UK, (4) Canada, (5) Brazil, (6) Indonesia, (7) Netherlands, (8) Spain, (9) Mexico, and (10) Australia.

Currently 80% of HootSuite users access the dashboard from the web platforms, while the other 20% choose to access through mobile devices. Usage on mobile devices show that 57% of users log onto the HootSuite dashboard using iPhones, 26% using Android smartphones, 3% using Blackberry smartphones, and 14% using iPads. At the three millionth milestone, the newly added social networks include 45% Facebook (Facebook features, pages, groups), 42% Twitter, 8% LinkedIn and 5% other. Regardless of platform used, HootSuite’s users spread messages with the possibility of significant reach. When multiplying the 1.5 million users on the dashboard per day by the number of average followers on each social media account, the effective reach of each message send can spread to 1.7 billion people.

HootSuite’s current dashboard reflects a pattern of rapid iterations and significant release announcements since their two millionth user milestone, including:

• Integration of Facebook tools including search, groups, events, photos and geo-location
• Becoming a LinkedIn Certified Developer and adding deeper LinkedIn integration
• 3 million in financing, plus acquisition of TwapperKeeper
• Acquiring location-based marketing tool, Geotoko, to social media management system
• Acquiring web service, What The Trend, which shares user-defined explanations of trending topics on Twitter
• Addition of YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr, and Get Satisfaction to the HootSuite App Directory
• Addition of Google+ Pages integration in dashboard
• Series of infographics from What the Trend: Top Trending Topics on Twitter for 2011
• Addition of Constant Contact, Summify and Formulists to the HootSuite App Directory
• Continued enhancement and new feature development for Android, Blackberry, and iOS including iPad and iPhone optimizations

HootSuite has also seen significant growth of users graduating from their Social Media Certification program offered through HootSuite University. On HootSuite’s one millionth user milestone, there were 211 certified professionals. At the two millionth user mark, 480 were certified. In the past six months, the number of HootSuite University graduates rose to 1343 certified professionals on the day they celebrate their three millionth user milestone.

HootSuite’s next steps include additional social media networks and App Directory integrations, new strategic partnerships, further mobile development, new courseware through HootSuite University, and continued expansion of our Enterprise offering.

“Razorbill is a foundation for a lasting love of reading, a place to share fictional crushes, challenge villainous deeds, and visit the past, present and future, taking on the real issues of the day,” said Lynne Missen, Penguin’s Publishing Director for Young Readers.

Razorbill.ca is all about creating a unique experience for book enthusiasts. With exclusive access, members will be exposed to anticipated titles before they launch, be invited to live chats with critically acclaimed authors including Joseph Boyden, Hiromi Goto, Charles de Lint and Carrie Mac but most importantly, be part of an evolving community and conversation.

As recently reported in the Los Angeles Times, “Young adult continues to be the literary world’s fastest-growing genre” with middle grade fiction also experiencing a renaissance, thanks in large measure to Harry Potter and the Twilight saga, which have ushered in an era of more adults reading young adult fiction than ever before. Further, the traditional demographic boundaries of the category have widened so extremely they are almost irrelevant.

“Young adult fiction hits a unique sweet spot,” says Missen, “offering authentic entertainment for both teens and adults, as well as the opportunity to engage on real-life issues like bullying, suicide, love and relationships and mistakes.”

The young-adult fiction category now includes some of the world’s most popular names and authors. In the past year alone, writers including John Grisham, Kathy Reichs and Harlan Coben have crossed the genre line to write critically acclaimed books for young readers. Razorbill titles include Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why, John Green’s The Fault in our Stars and Playground, by 50 Cent. The first Canadian title to be published by Razorbill will be Hiromi Goto’s Darkest Light , on-sale January 31^st.

“The category is extremely diverse, concludes Missen. “There is quite literally a young adult fiction book for every reader.”

Like all of her fellow M&M’S® spokescandies, Ms. Brown has her own distinct personality, which is rooted in her wisdom, high intelligence and sharp wit.  Her unmatched knowledge of milk chocolate vaulted her to the position of Chief Chocolate Officer at Mars Inc. – a position she’s excelled in for seventy years – helping make M&M’S® brand one of the most popular chocolate candies in the world.

Following the successful launch of products like M&M’S® Pretzel Chocolate Candies, as well as witnessing the admiration her fellow characters enjoy from fans around the world, Ms. Brown decided now was the time to come out from behind-the-scenes and remind the world that M&M’S® candies are absolutely irresistible.

“We are extremely excited to be introducing Ms. Brown to Canada,” says Chantal Templeton, Brand Director, M&M’S®, Mars Canada Inc. “Her experience and knowledge of M&M’S® milk chocolate candies is unparalleled and Canadians will have the chance to enjoy her as much as we do once she is revealed to the Great White North.”

Canadian fans will have the unique opportunity to watch Ms. Brown be revealed for the first time during live events streamed on Facebook. The makers of M&M’S® will unveil her first-ever images during special events being held at The Grove in Los Angeles, as well as M&M’S® World in New York City on Monday, January 30, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Following the live reveal event, Ms. Brown plans to stay in the national spotlight and will kick things off when she is featured in an exciting new television ad that showcases her character. Canadians will be given an exclusive sneak peak of this ad on the M&M’s Facebook page and will see it when it officially hits airwaves on February 6. Throughout 2012, Ms. Brown will continue to make appearances in a series of television, print and digital ads, in-store displays, promotions, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Part of OpenText’s online marketing solution set, the new offering allows marketing teams to set goals and generate reports that deliver an uninterrupted view of web activity, including activity on social networks like Facebook or Twitter, and show when anonymous visitors transition to recognized, valued customers. OpenText Web and Social Analytics is flexible, cost effective and helps ensure that proprietary usage data and competitive analysis remains in house and safely within corporate control.

For any online marketing or internal communication effort, the ability to measure, monitor, react and respond to user activity in real time is vital to delivering a consistently positive experience. With OpenText Web and Social Analytics, marketers are not restricted to a set of canned reports, limited to a few data elements or forced to wait hours to see how well a campaign is performing — access is real-time, the reports are flexible and raw data is instantly accessible which is critical for online marketing campaigns today.

“Communities have always been a part of OpenText’s collaboration offerings and we extended these capabilities to the Web so our customers can better engage with their customers,” said James Latham, OpenText Chief Marketing Officer. “Our customers have been telling us they need better tools to understand the quality of engagement across their proprietary and community websites, as well as popular social networks. We designed OpenText Web and Social Analytics to provide deeper insights, more control and greater security than what’s possible with consumer-grade analytics tools. We’re confident this will give our customers a distinct competitive advantage and provide greater return from online investments.”

From a marketing perspective, organizations are increasingly adopting social technologies to boost brand sentiment and improve productivity. An important way to measure the return on investment is by monitoring audience engagement. OpenText Web and Social Analytics provides a window into many important metrics such as the most popular content on a site, the number and tone of blog comments, and the most influential people in a community.

Compared to consumer-oriented analytic tools that only monitor web site traffic, OpenText Web and Social Analytics features multiple-dimension reporting that can drill into activity at different levels within a social community website. This information is presented in reports containing multiple panels to provide an activity summary of the different levels or dimensions all on a single screen. Advanced sentiment analysis makes it easy to understand and respond to the tone or sentiment of member contributions within various communities. Another advantage is consistent pricing that doesn’t vary by the amount of traffic or number of sites monitored.

OpenText Live Insights

The version 2.0 release of OpenText Web and Social Analytics includes the new OpenText Live Insights analytics console that gives business managers the ability to access analytics information in real time as overlays within the context of a live site. These include:

• Page Heat Map – Instant insight into which links within pages are the most important and followed by the most site users.
• Page and Element Level Indicators – Insight on the usage of a particular page, such as the number of times that the page has been viewed, the average time users spend on that page or where the users who viewed the page came from.
• Site Level Indicators – Insight on the global site usage, such as the number of users (new and returning), the number of visits and the average time users spend on the site.
• Social Indicators – Provides insight of the social activity within a website, such as the number of online users, the number of member visits vs. anonymous visits, the number of user contributions, the average rating and average tone of those user contributions.
• Custom KPIs – Establish custom key performance indicators (KPI) within the context of the live site.

The latest release of OpenText Web and Social Analytics also offers improved integration with OpenText customer experience management, online marketing and social business solutions. Once installed, the analytics data is immediately available to OpenText Web Experience Management, OpenText Portal and OpenText Social Communities eliminating the need to manually set up sites as often required by other analytics solutions.

TNS’s Digital Life study is the most comprehensive insight into how 72,000 consumers – including 1,000 Canadians – behave online and why they do what they do. The study shows businesses across Canada and around the world are failing to develop social network profiles that speak directly to customers quickly and cheaply.

The study reveals that 54 per cent of Canadians do not want to engage with brands via social media – rising to 60 per cent in the US and 61 per cent in the UK. Canadians also engage less with brands online with only 28 per cent of digital consumers in Canada commenting on brands online compared to the global average of 47 per cent.

Although only 44 per cent of Canadians see social networks as a good place to learn about brands, this goes up considerably – to 81 per cent – when a friend recommends or endorses at brand.

Ron Caughlin, Vice President, Marketing and Digital at TNS Canada, said: “It’s a ‘Digital Wasteland’ out there – winning and maintaining brand loyalty is now harder than ever. Misguided digital strategies are generating mountains of digital waste, from friendless Facebook accounts to blogs no one reads, which is polluting the digital world and making it harder for brands to be heard. While the online world presents massive opportunity for brands, this requires tailored marketing strategies to realise this potential.”

TNS’s Digital Life study shows 39 per cent of Canadians who post comments on companies do so for the simple desire to share advice – with Romanians the most helpful online communicators (55 per cent).

Findings show that more Canadians like to praise than complain online (16 per cent vs 12 per cent), compared to Spaniards, who are the least likely to praise online, with just one in ten people saying that they would do so.  Although Canadians are positive a lot they are still one of the most likely to complain about brands online (12 per cent) compared to 12 per cent in the US or 11 per cent in the UK.

Interestingly, motivations of online commentators can be self-serving as 59 per cent of Canadians are driven to engage with brands online by a promotion or special offer.

The study also reveals big geographic contrasts which highlight the risks of brands employing a catch-all approach that doesn’t take the needs of different consumers into consideration.

When examining global contrasts, TNS found that consumers in fast growth markets are incredibly keen to spend more time and money online than they currently do – presenting major growth opportunities for brands. Nonetheless, infrastructure challenges need to be overcome in these countries before businesses can really tap into the enthusiasm for the digital world.

48 per cent of people already online in fast growth markets would use the internet more if it was less expensive – rising sharply in Africa, to 81 per cent of people in Ghana, 71 per cent in Nigeria and 68 per cent in Kenya.

Likewise, while just a quarter (25 per cent) of Canadians see social networks as a place to buy products, this rises to 48 per cent across fast growth markets. Some of the most eager online consumers are found in India, where 59 per cent see social networks as a good place to buy products from brands.

And when it comes to online shopping habits, Asian consumers are leading the adoption of group buying and purchase via mobile. Almost half (46 per cent) of digital consumers in China already use group buying tools – in stark contrast to Canada where adoption rates are as low as 13 per cent.

Ron Caughlin added: “The key is to understand your local target audience and what they want from your brand – it could be that social networks aren’t always the right approach. If consumers in one market don’t want to be talked to, businesses should consider an alternative online method – e.g. creating owned digital media platforms, targeted sponsorship or search campaigns – to engage in an appropriate way that will achieve business results.”

The adoption of shopping via mobile is also on rise in the Canada – 13 per cent of mobile internet users in Canada shop on their phone compared to just two per cent in Egypt.  However, Canada lags behind China and South Korea at 34 per cent. Interestingly, 10 per cent of mobile users also visit pre-purchase and browsing sites daily to research products

“There is a huge appetite for increased internet access and mobile services among consumers in fast growth markets. Digital Life shows that as online communities mature, brands that cut through the digital noise have fantastic potential to drive rapid growth from this nascent consumer base,” Ron Caughlin added.

TNS has made some of the key findings from this study available to the public via an interactive data visualisation developed in partnership with Digit London (UK).

“Zwonks is a new kind of social game,” said Palle Hoffstein, Producer at Rude Boy Games. “There’s a layer of social play where you help your friends advance in the game, and another layer that’s about expressing and sharing.”

Rude Boy Games recently partnered with Kik Messenger for the launch of the Kik API. When Kik Messenger launched in October 2010, it saw amazing viral growth, hitting over two million users in just three weeks.

“Part of what has made Kik Messenger such a success has been connecting people anywhere while keeping the app experience very fast and easy to use,” said Ted Livingston, CEO of Kik Interactive. “The launch of the API and the addition of the Apps That Kik discovery service provide an insanely simple solution to drive app adoption for developers.”

The Zwonks game, a featured platform app for the Kik Messenger API, is now available as a free download on iTunes. Zwonks is rated 4+ and is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad devices running iOS 4.0 or later.

“Whether we’re trying to exercise more, eat a bit less, or stop drunk texting our exes, going cold turkey is way less fun than eating cold turkey,” says Andrew Bridge, Managing Director, Virgin Mobile Canada. “Some people say that rules are made to be broken, and Canadians are a lot more adventurous than people think!”

• No willpower. 15% of Canadians admit breaking their resolutions by the first week and 19% can’t even make it past the first 24 hours.
• Avoiding temptation or playing it smart? 49% of Canadians don’t even bother with New Year’s resolutions! Albertans are the least likely to make resolutions with 56% of them avoiding the New Year’s tradition altogether.
• Must… not… break… Only one in five Canadians (19%) can last all year without breaking their pledges. We don’t know who they are, but we idolize them.

When asked to share their resolution, the top pick was to better keep in touch with friends and family (15%) -  while some of the other top resolution picks include:

• Quit smoking (8%)
• Fall in love (7%)
• Get better grades/get promoted (6%)
• Drink less alcohol (5%)

We asked, you told us, and here are some of your verbatim individual answers . From having more sex to having less, here are our favourite picks for the craziest resolutions Canadians have ever made¹!

“With texting, tweeting and Facebook right at our fingertips, we’ve never had such close contact to our friends and family to provide some moral support,” says Bridge. “And, of course, our Members are never alone. If you feel your willpower slipping away, just tweet at @virginmobilecan and we’ll give you the boost you need with some inspirational love or even an e-hug!”

As the members have discovered, the uniqueness of NextSportStar.com is that the site combines the best of Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist and Kijiji all in one site. So now members can use one site for all their social media.

Members can:

• Upload videos and photos within their personal profiles
• Send messages (of more than 140 characters in length)
• Buy and sell products with each other online

It’s a one stop social network for all their social communications. And people are rapidly adopting the portal everyday as new visitors from all over the world sign-in and make NextSportStar.com their social hub of choice.

NextSportStar.com is committed to continued growth by providing over-and-above value to its members. To attract new members, NextSportStar.com offers prizes to be won by its members. Currently available is a chance to win $50,000 in cash prizes plus a Kawasaki Ninja 250R motorcycle and a Bvlgari Diagono watch worth approximately $4,000.

This free service helps listen for “mentions” of search terms (usually a brand) on popular social media platforms. Mention “alerts” can be set up to be delivered daily. MentionBox helps brands and social marketers find conversations about their brand online and lets them make actionable decisions based on their social media activities.

In honor of the new product release, SWIX is running a holiday themed contest urging their followers to tweet about #swixmas, including a giveaway for a Deckster watch loaded with the 8GB iPod Nano.

MentionBox is the third product released by SWIX since 2009. Its first product, SWIX Analytics, is a community management tool that allows customers to track over 70 different audience and engagement metrics in one unified dashboard. Its second product, Campaign Manager, is an application that allows social marketers and community managers to track the sales and ROI of social media marketing campaigns.

“We know that tweens and teens are aspirational by nature, so what we are offering them with WoozIn is their own social network where they can communicate with like-minded and -aged people,” said Eric Brassard, CEO of Woozworld. “This is what truly makes WoozIn different than any other social network, as we provide life and personality to each Woozworld avatar. Basically, we are melding a virtual world and social network — it’s like Facebook meets Second Life.”

Woozworld users access WoozIn in a completely safe environment; in fact, Woozworld grants the first true online and COPPA-compliant virtual identity for teen and tweens. With this new social network, Woozens can:

• Connect with their real and online friends
• Feed a now incredibly complete virtual identity
• Share, comment and like their friends’ updates, pictures, videos and more
• Follow their favorite Stars and get in touch with them
• Show their achievements and virtual spaces

Woozworld is an online place where tweens and teens build entire worlds to creatively engage with their peers, build businesses or set up restaurants, hotels and games as they choose, with their imaginations being their only limit.

Woozworld users continue to rise to the challenge:

• Woozworld users play an average of 50 minutes per day
• There are more than 8 million avatars created in Woozworld
• Woozworld has over 16 million user-generated virtual spaces
• Woozworld’s user-base has tripled in the last 10 months

Woozworld, recently named one of the top-20 most innovative companies in Canada by the Canadian Innovation Exchange, continues to dedicate itself to creating a safe gaming environment that tweens can enjoy and parents can trust. Targeted for children ages nine to 14, Woozworld provides an engaging and interactive experience by allowing members to create their own world where they can fashion their own characters, make new Woozworld friends, and conduct virtual businesses. All personal information is protected, and Woozworld strictly conforms to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

“We aim to summarize what’s important and relevant from a user’s social streams wherever they are consuming them,” said Mircea Pasoi, Co-Founder of Summify. “HootSuite is an ideal venue to integrate Summify since it’s users tend to be heavy consumers of social media, and especially value the benefits we deliver.”
The App Directory integrations are:

• Constant Contact - The Constant Contact app allows HootSuite users to view results of recent email campaigns, and share these across social networks, extending the reach of their marketing initiatives.
• Summify - Summify users can take control of the large amount of news on social networks and filter important updates into personalized digest summaries within HootSuite’s user-created streams.
• Formulists - Managing Twitter lists is now easier for Formulists users to view dynamic, personalized list streams within the HootSuite dashboard.

“We’re always looking for ways to help our customers effectively engage with their customers and see the results, quickly and easily,” said Rick Jensen, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Constant Contact. “With the Constant Contact App for HootSuite, we’re making it easy for small businesses to monitor the success of their email campaigns and to share these campaigns throughout their social media channels to extend their reach and ultimately drive new sales.”

By working with external developers, HootSuite is rapidly launching purpose-specific tools into the platform which allow users to take advantage of the engagement, collaboration, security and metric reporting tools available in the dashboard.

Last month, HootSuite launched the App Directory, allowing the opportunity for third-party developers to build extensions into the HootSuite platform. Current applications include YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr and Get Satisfaction. This release further enhances HootSuite’s SaaS model by expanding the ecosystem of network integrations and partners. HootSuite invites interested developers to apply for access to the SDK if they are interested in building applications for the App Directory. To get started, request developer access using this online form.

FuseTalk’s discussion forum software is a great platform for embedding Adjoy campaigns for a wide variety of users and interests. With Adjoy you are able to tie video views with direct donations from a sponsor to a charity. The GiveGauge™ runs while the video is being viewed. The sponsoring company pays for viewership and the majority of the payment makes its way to the charity that is named in the video campaign. Videos can be whatever you want them to be but they are typically based on the charitable organization and cause, headlined by the supporting business with links to the business and the charity on completion. It can also effectively be used to show informative product or corporate videos, which viewers will be motivated to watch because they can see the GiveGauge is rewarding a charity for their time.

“Beyond the obvious, I love how a forum can be properly used to get the attention of it’s membership on an important topic,” says Greg Waite, President of FuseTalk. “With Adjoy I can link in a video that I believe is important to a forum community and have people motivated to actually watch it and share it because viewership raises money for a charity. We see many applications for every forum which run on FuseTalk. Both internal and external forums are always looking for ways to encourage participation and stickiness.”

Over the last decade, the effectiveness of traditional advertising on forums has diminished. Forums behind the corporate firewall do not generally provide advertising.

“A CEO that wants to get a message out to 100 or 50,000 employees can do that far more successfully on a forum by tying in a commitment to a cause. With Adjoy, the full-viewership rate can be as high as 93%, by simply tying viewership to the right cause,” says Brad Stewart, President of Adjoy. “What CEO would not want to guarantee employee attentiveness and at the same time increase morale with a sense of pride that the organization is funding a cause?”

“Imagine the forum you have now and how you could make it that much more interesting and more highly adopted if you inserted meaningful cause-based video that supports your message, your community, and a cause that your company or community can relate to. It just makes sense,” said Waite.

Twitter Trends offer a unique overview of world events in an unprecedented, real-time stream of unfiltered information. Along with major world events, celebrity culture and politics, trends include company promotions and #hashtag memes – which can be difficult to understand. It’s also noteworthy to see the variety of topics coming from beyond North America, including Japan, Korea and Brazil where Twitter is a common part of everyday online conversation.

Trends rarely appear on Twitter’s trending topic list for more than a day, as such, What the Trend’s results differ from Twitter’s Year In Review: Hot Topics list. What the Trend’s research methodology examines all topics regardless of whether or not a topic has had long-standing popularity – including this year’s champion, Justin Bieber who is the topic of much discussion about Twitter’s trend tracking algorithm. What the Trend also awards ‘points’ for both duration and rank on the top 10 trending topics on Twitter.com to take the intensity of trends into consideration.

RocketOwl’s GreenSpace is a high-quality, interactive social game that combines continuous simulation play with fast-paced mini games. Sophisticated graphics and an engaging storyline make it the ultimate game for both frequent and casual gamers.

Set in the distant future, GreenSpace presents a world full of exploration and discovery, where players cleanup long forgotten trash heaps and junk piles to unlock a beautiful, green utopia. Rewarding tasks such as cleaning garbage and building renewable energy resources gives players a sense of accomplishment as they move through the game. The most notable features in GreenSpace are the incredible art and animation, the addictive cleaning actions and customization of the surrounding environment.

GreenSpace was released to the public in beta on August 1st, 2011. “We’ve been working with players over the past few months to fine-tune the game,” said Barlow. “Now that GreenSpace is coming out of beta, the entire team is really excited to see the public reception of the launch. We could not be happier with the final product and hope that you enjoy playing it as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together.”

“It’s a really powerful way to communicate to clients the importance of IT in their businesses, and to help them develop rational plans for getting the most out of their IT investment,” says Mike Turczyniak of Mico Systems. “Our first client experience with the assessment process was remarkable. Right on screen, in real time, we engaged the client, assessed the issues, set priorities and discussed solutions and rough budgets. When we left the client site, we further developed solutions and budgets and reaffirmed priorities. It’s just the right way to do it!”

One hosted instance of FuseTalk’s FuseDiligence for IT provides IT firms with the ability to provide private and secure IT assessment and management forums for each of their clients. Access is limited to employees and contractors of the IT service provider and then, in turn, to the employees of their clients.

“The client felt empowered. Getting a balance sheet in time for all of their IT risks and opportunities was what they needed to make informed decisions. IT spending can be irrational in some organizations, defined by hardware and software, and not good practices,” adds Turczyniak.

FuseDiligence for IT runs independently of IT asset management systems but can import employee and IT asset information from Excel. The bulk of the assessment is not around hardware and software but around business risks and opportunities, though knowing what is in use now certainly helps in the evaluation. Partner plans are inexpensive and the revenue upside is, minimally, in the order of a 10 to 1 ratio of revenue to cost. In addition, policies and procedures can be placed on a client forum for all employees to access and discuss. FuseDiligence can be used by the client for literally hundreds of other applications at no additional cost.

“We have an exceptional offering with an ‘everyone wins’ attitude. Customers make informed decisions, partners provide customers with improvement plans, and we provide the starting point expertise and a world-class platform,” says Lesley Huppert of FuseTalk.

FuseDiligence leverages all of the capabilities of FuseTalk and provides powerful, patent and patent pending traits that make FuseDiligence “business essential” Collaborative Business Improvement Software(TM). Coupled with subject matter expert content, FuseDiligence can greatly assist consultants and channel partners realize benefits in terms of time, money and effectiveness.

In a just-released white paper entitled ‘Engagement IS Efficiency,’ Parta CEO Paul Allard and VP Tom Liacas explain the mechanical relationship between campaign engagement levels and the ultimate cost-efficiency of social media projects. With ‘engagement’ identified as the key variable for any future efficiency and ROI calculations, Allard and Liacas are proposing nothing less than a new industry standard for social media performance evaluation. “Having worked with large-scale corporate social media projects since 2007, we knew that engagement was the magic ingredient of a cost-effective campaign. Now, we have the math to prove it,” states Allard.

Building on the research presented in this white paper, Parta Dialogue is rapidly moving to deploy a cloud computing application that will calculate the relative efficiency of corporate social media campaigns by processing client data directly from social media accounts via customized APIs and applying Parta’s proprietary algorithms. BETA release for this application is slated for early 2012.

Google+ Pages in the HootSuite dashboard allow social media managers to tailor messaging to specific audience segments and post updates to selected circles. Newly created HootSuite privacy features let team members select whether a post will appear public, or whether it will post to a specific circle. This unique functionality provides more nuanced audience communication capabilities, giving brands more control over the ways they connect with and build relationships with customers.

Teams can invite multiple page administrators to manage Google+ Pages securely and effectively thanks to HootSuite’s advanced team permission levels, which provide multiple levels of control for team members publishing to social profiles.

The advanced circle management integrations built into HootSuite allow social media managers to create, edit, and remove circles without leaving the dashboard. The new functionality also allows for custom searches of keywords or phrases within public posts, and specific content streams for easy monitoring. By simplifying the monitoring of comments and posts from audience members, teams can streamline +Pages management easily through the HootSuite dashboard.

Brands can now collaboratively build out their Google+ Page presence using HootSuite’s advanced team workflow functionality — such as message assignments and follow ups — optimizing the unique engagement benefits of Google+ circles.

Google+ Page Analytics are also integrated into HootSuite, providing teams with five analytic modules to directly measure results, such as daily growth, growth per day of people added to circles, +1 shares, and posts per day.

Teams can create and schedule customized reports to share the results most relevant to organizational objectives, providing a more granular look at Google+ Page elements or a bird’s eye view of overall social channel success.

Google+ Pages are for anyone who to wants build lasting relationships with customers, and are the centrepiece for brands, businesses and celebrities who want to build a presence on Google+. HootSuite Enterprise clients will have exclusive access to Google+ Pages functionality in the HootSuite dashboard for this release.

HootSuite will continue to expand the dashboard’s functionality as a robust and comprehensive tool for social savvy businesses. This release follows other major business focused integrations for LinkedIn and Facebook.

Specifically, these integrations allow users to upload, search and comment on YouTube videos, Flickr photos, publish blog posts and comment or re-blog on Tumblr blog posts, and participate in Get Satisfaction support conversations – all within the HootSuite platform.

By using these apps in conjunction with HootSuite’s existing social network integrations (including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and more), content publishers can broadcast and amplify their messages across social channels. Further, brands can track audience sentiment in real-time to prevent possible public relations conundrums and customer service issues.

The new HootSuite App Directory opens up opportunities for third party developers to build extensions into the HootSuite platform. Further, by working with external developers, HootSuite can rapidly offer purpose-specific tools to extend the capabilities of the social media management system.

In the coming weeks, the company will roll out additional integrations to all users based on market needs and requests collected on the feedback channel. HootSuite invites interested developers to apply for access to the SDK if they are interested in building applications.

“We look forward to seeing the unique extensions, mash-ups and integrations savvy developers create for the HootSuite App Directory. Our rapidly growing customer base is eager for more tools to spark their social media powered campaigns and build their brand online to drive leads and awareness. If you have an idea, I encourage you to apply for access.”
Ryan Holmes, CEO HootSuite

This news follows a number of other recent HootSuite announcements, including: raising three million in funding, joining the LinkedIn Preferred Developer Program, and acquisition of Geotoko, TwapperKeeper and What the Trend.

The survey, conducted by Leger Marketing, found that those who think social media can increase their profit believe it can do so through:

• Promoting their company’s brand or reputation (64 per cent)
• Providing broader access to consumers (63 per cent)
• Encouraging word of mouth endorsements and referrals (62 per cent)
• Selling products or services (46 per cent)
• Gathering ideas/suggestions (42 per cent)

The top reasons business owners cited for not using social media are:

• They don’t think it is a valuable tool (29 per cent)
• They lack knowledge about social media (19 per cent)

“Social media, while still a relatively new communication and marketing channel, is definitely here to stay. We anticipate it playing an increasingly important role for Canadian businesses, as they look for cost effective ways to open new markets and broaden and deepen their connection with customers,” said Cathy Pin, Vice President, Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. “Our customers are also telling us they value opportunities to interact with other businesses, network online and share insights and experiences. That’s why we recently launched a new online community for business owners,” added Ms. Pin.

The BMO SmartSteps for Business Online Community is a virtual hub with social media features and tools, including a blog, live Twitter feed, and hot topic polls, for small businesses to get engaged online. Business owners access over 100 podcasts that provide advice from top industry experts on topics including developing a business plan, managing cash flow, and the importance of social media.

For those businesses that use social media tools, Facebook is the most popular choice at 70 per cent, followed by LinkedIn (32 per cent), and Twitter (31 per cent).

Pritesh Gandhi, Senior Manager, Digital Marketing & Strategy, BMO Bank of Montreal, notes that social media tools have become more advanced over the past five years, and offer various benefits to business owners. “While the most popular application is Facebook, there are other networks and tools that can offer benefits to businesses. For instance, LinkedIn is very effective in building and maintaining contacts for recruitment and knowledge sharing purposes, while the effective use of Twitter can help to keep the dialogue open with your customers and respond to queries in real time.” Mr. Gandhi adds that “BMO has increased their social media presence over the past year by actively using Twitter for everything from customer feedback and service issues to generating awareness of the new product or service launches.”

The challenge is that a social media presence takes time to build, and the impact on the bottom line is more difficult to measure than some more traditional forms of marketing. On average, Canadian businesses owners surveyed say that 28 per cent of their marketing efforts are focused online as opposed to traditional media channels. Those who believe social media can increase their profitability are also more likely to devote a higher percentage of their marketing efforts online on average, compared to those who do not believe it will help the bottom line (34 per cent vs. 22 per cent).

The survey was completed between August 30 and September 16, 2011, with a sample of 509 small, medium and large business owners in Canada. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of ±4.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

“Facebook is a natural medium for socially influenced commerce. It’s your address book and platform for rich media communication,” indicated Kevin Kimsa, CEO of AudienceView Ticketing. “If we can embrace and leverage this as an industry, we can finally add real value to the consumer buying experience”.

The initial launch of AudienceView Tiki also includes the ability to reserve tickets for friends. The ‘buy & reserve’ feature is a true example of social ticketing, allowing a user to directly offer value to a friend, in this case, by reserving seats directly next to purchased seats.

“Consumers gravitate to value,” noted Will Quekett, General Manager of The Ticket Factory. “With the AudienceView Tiki service, we put ourselves in a tremendous position of differentiation in the vanilla world of online ticketing. Not only can we bring the buy button to where the consumer lives (Facebook) but in the process, we significantly increase our knowledge of the customers.”

The Tiki service allows AudienceView’s clients to make the most of the incredible breadth of information associated with consumer opt-in behaviours that exists inside of Facebook. Knowing that the ‘buy & reserve’ feature alone can significantly reduce the ratio of number of tickets per transaction, directly translates into the growth of a richer consumer database.

AudienceView Tiki will be initially launched in November with The Ticket Factory in the United Kingdom, with a planned global roll out in January 2012.

Genius Crowds operates one of the leading crowdsourcing co-creation communities where anyone can participate in conceptualizing next generation consumer products. Genius Crowds lets everyday people get their product ideas out of their heads and onto the shelves. With a highly engaged and robust community, members submit product ideas that can be voted as crowd favorites. Genius Crowds then partners with retailers, manufacturers and marketers to bring these products to retail, and members share in the proceeds.

“Larger enterprises have diverse needs for consumer insight and contribution,” said Shelley Kuipers, CEO of Chaordix. “Through this new alliance we can offer enterprises the ability to have their own dedicated crowd or co-create with the on-demand product development community at Genius Crowds.”

“Chaordix enables us to work at a highly scalable level across multiple product categories. This partnership will open up the ability for us to work with retailers, marketers and manufacturers on an enterprise level,” said CJ Kettler, Founder and CEO of Genius Crowds.

This new service effectively combines social media with traditional media monitoring for a complete and integrated view of all media channels and enables organizations to act upon what’s being said online in social media in the most strategic and efficient way.

“Conversations are happening in the social media universe at a rapid pace and companies need to understand what all of the data means,” said Jonathan Harris, Managing Director, FPinfomart. “By combining our industry-leading media monitoring service with Social Media Group’s social media experience, we can offer clients a suite of social media analysis and consulting services, allowing companies to compete across the entire media landscape.”

Social networking has become a business driver – Twitter now has over 100 million active users, half of which log in each day to follow their interests and share their thoughts (Source: Twitter “One Hundred Million Voices”, September 2011), so knowing who’s saying what about a company’s brand and business is imperative. FPinfomart and Social Media Group give clients insight into what is being said about them in social media and the impact of these conversations. Clients gain an insider’s view of the perceptions emerging in social media, looking specifically at:

• Who is the topic of conversation?
• Where and when is the conversation happening?
• What is the conversation about?
• Are the conversations positive or negative?
• Who are the key advocates and detractors?
• How do these conversations affect business?

“Social and traditional media are now deeply intertwined,” said Maggie Fox, CEO, Social Media Group. “Together, we now can provide clients a more holistic view of the new communications landscape that is unmatched in the marketplace, enabling clients to understand and act upon what’s being said in any channel.”

Offered free of charge via the Apple App Store, this new service connects companies seeking information on the performance of their products and services in the community with “experts” prepared to answer questions and complete tasks in real-time. Field Agent Canada was officially launched yesterday, on October 17th. The Field Agent US app already boasts over 120,000 users throughout the United States.

Once a company (referred to as a Client) submits a request for information – such as a specific photo of a retail display, or information on sales prices – via the Field Agent website, the request is sent to iPhone users (aka “Agents”) who have installed the app. Agents are asked to respond to the request by collecting and inputting the information directly into the iPhone App. Agents are paid cash for their work. Payments typically range from $3 to $8, in accordance with the degree of difficulty involved, and are credited to Agents via PayPal.

“Ultimately, this new iPhone app pays people while they shop. By having their iPhones handy, they can share information about what they see in stores and in the process earn extra money, ” says Jeff Doucette, General Manager of Field Agent Canada.

“More than ever, the idea of generating a second income is attractive to stay-at-home parents or individuals responsible for the domestic side of a household. This iPhone app is also simple and easy to use which is another advantage for people who are busy and on-the-go.”

Field Agent uses the iPhone’s on-board coordinate tracking tools to ensure Agents are automatically matched to information requests in their communities.

By the end of the day, you’ll be fully set up on Google Places, have your own Facebook Business page, Twitter account, YouTube Channel, LinkedIn profile and learn how to manage it. Over 60 local businesses are now seeing their business grow through Social Media.

The seminar will be taught by Jonathan Christian of WeMakeStuffHappen.com, and costs $397.00 per person plus HST. Your seminar fee includes great snacks, beverages, lunch, a detailed workbook and a certificate of graduation. Attendees will need to bring their laptop or tablet, power cord and an open mind. Please see the event web page for full details on location and registration.

The Geotoko technology reports on geo-based social media interactions like key influencers, customer sentiment, and demographic patterns to help businesses draw conclusions about audience behavior, as well as help brands reward customers for checking-in via Foursquare and Facebook Places.

With the new tools, businesses can gather competitive intelligence to see how their reviews and traffic compare trends across locations. Companies can view reports from hundreds of chain locations to see opportunities or identify shortcomings early. Then, by understanding the unique needs of user segments – whether by demographic or location data – they can create effective, targeted campaigns.

Whether you market for a chain of a thousand movie theaters or a single coffee shop, customers are sharing their experiences with their audience. What are they saying about you, your brand, your service and your business? With HootSuite’s Geotoko tools, you’ll be able to know exactly who is checking-in, what their comments are, and even the assets (like photos) they publish from their visit.

“Geo-location will be the hotpoint addition to every savvy marketer’s mix in 2012 and beyond. Geotoko is our most material acquisition to date and we are ecstatic to welcome the talented team on board,” said Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes. “As past TechCrunch Disrupt winners, the team will be harnessing their expertise by integrating the Geotoko engine into the HootSuite Platform.”

Geotoko launched in May 2010 at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York as part of the Startup Battlefield competition. The founders will join HootSuite with CTO Rasheed Akhtar coming on as Director of Local and CEO Adarsh Pallian serving as Director of Apps and Integrations.

HootSuite’s Geotoko tool is ready for you to use – this geo-location data to increase your marketing results by signing up for a demo from a member of the HootSuite Enterprise team

By adding friends, increasing reputation and solving cases, the plot slowly unravels, providing a glimpse into the Masters of Mystery Online  glamorous (and hazardous) fashion world.  New and perhaps familiar faces aid in the quest for justice.

Features:

·         Daily rewards and weekly quests
·         Build a growing private investigations firm
·         C. S. I.- inspired storyline
·         Customizable private investigator office
·         Higher-scoring premium items and scenes
·         Achievements
·         Players help friends through giving and receiving gifts for bonuses

This announcement means that HootSuite will offer a deeper LinkedIn® integration with the addition of LinkedIn Company Pages and Groups – along with Profiles – to the market-leading social media management system. The new tools will allow brands to easily and securely share company messaging on the popular social media network for business.The new LinkedIn tools will allow HootSuite users to search and post updates to LinkedIn Profiles and Groups and set up Job Searches by keyword. Enterprise users are invited to apply for the HootSuite Enterprise LinkedIn beta program for priority access to the Company Pages status update integration.

By using HootSuite to manage LinkedIn, companies will have the ability to pre-schedule updates, customize search columns, assign messages to colleagues for followup, plus invite team members to participate in the conversation without sharing passwords. These features can help companies enhance sales lead generation and HR recruiting efforts by sharing professional expertise, publishing company status updates, and promoting job opportunities  from the centralized and secure HootSuite communications hub.

At Holland Bloorview, Upopolis will be championed by Child Life Specialists, who work with clients, their family and other caregivers to help manage stress, pain and anxiety associated with hospitalization. Holland Bloorview is the only children’s rehabilitation hospital in Canada to offer this innovative site to their patients. This program comes just in time for Thanksgiving, a vital time for kids in care to connect with their loved ones.

Created by KHLF and powered by TELUS, Upopolis.com is the only private, secure and trusted online social network designed just for kids in hospital. Upopolis provides the best features of social networking, such as personal profiles, personal blogs, instant chat and child-friendly games. The site also provides unique features to kids in hospital, such as a homework site to stay up-to-date with their schoolwork, links to kid-friendly health and wellness information, and connections to other children with the same condition.

“The average hospital stay at Holland Bloorview is 61 days. For a young person, a stay that long can feel like a lifetime and can lead to feelings of isolation,” says Sheila Jarvis, president and CEO Holland Bloorview. “Upopolis allows kids to stay connected to their friends and families which is extremely important for their healing.”

Through a unique partnership with KHLF, TELUS provides the technology to develop and build Upopolis. TELUS continues to provide site expansion, ongoing access to Upopolis, managed web hosting, application support and maintenance services.

“At TELUS we take pride in finding new and innovative health care solutions for Canadians through the use of technology,” said Paul Lepage, senior vice-president, TELUS Health Solutions. “Upopolis is a terrific example of technology that empowers children in care. It is often difficult for patients to travel outside hospital walls, but with this unique program patients can connect with their friends and families at anytime. We are proud to partner with Holland Bloorview, which will provide growth and expansion within this network to more young patients.”

The generous donation KHLF received from Sheridan Nurseries has allowed them to bring Upopolis to Holland Bloorview. In turn, this donation will help with its initial implementation, oversight and also continue the program development for all connected hospitals across Canada.

“Working with Upopolis has given us the opportunity to keep children connected to their family and friends, during a time they often feel isolated and needing extra support,” said Karl Stensson, president of Sheridan Nurseries. “We are proud to be involved with this innovative concept in children’s health care.”

The online support network was inspired by the hospital experiences of two teenaged friends, Christina Papaevangelou and Katy McDonald. In February 2002, Christina was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at McMaster Children’s Hospital with a life-threatening illness. Shortly after, Katy was diagnosed with cancer and had to be hospitalized for a long period of time at SickKids. Sadly, Katy lost her battle with cancer. However, their friendship and common experiences inspired Christina to explore ways to help kids in care stay connected.

“Ten years ago Upopolis was only a dream, today it has connected many children in care across Canada, with each other and with their friends and loved ones,” said Basile Papaevangelou, chairman and founder of Kids Health Links Foundation. “On behalf of Kids’ Health Links and our partners, we are thrilled to launch Upopolis at yet another hospital in Canada and for the first time at a children’s rehabilitation facility. Today’s launch at Holland Bloorview means we are one step closer to bringing this program to every Canadian children’s hospital.”

KHLF and TELUS launched the first Upopolis program in 2007 at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton and since then it has expanded to other hospitals and health organizations across Canada, including B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver; IWK Health Centre in Halifax; CHEO in Ottawa; SickKids in Toronto, Ste. Justine in Montreal and Lutherwood in Waterloo. By adapting the TELUS technology, the Upopolis team has been able to meet the specific needs of each hospital, whether adding French language capabilities or information specific to mental health.

As evidenced in articles in AdAge, Mashable, NY Times, TechCrunch and more, trends are an important part of the Twitter eco-system. Trending topics generally highlight major news, events and topics such as major sporting events and TV programs, or disaster relief or political actions. Other times, trends are questions, jokes or promotional memes which can be difficult to understand without the explanations from What the Trend.

Trends have also become a heavily weighted metric in marketing – when a campaign #hashtag or phrase is trending, it means more eyeballs will be drawn to it, multiplying the trending effect. Overall, journalists seeking breaking news, PR teams following hot topics, and brand managers who want to see their campaigns go viral will find the tool particularly useful.

What the Trend’s key services are already included in HootSuite’s web and mobile versions and, in coming weeks, HootSuite and WTT developers will work to more closely integrate the services. Paul Colton, co-founder and lead developer will work with HootSuite as a consultant during the transition and the WTT also has an active developer community and app directory loaded with extensions, mash-ups, and client apps. To try What the Trend in HootSuite, simply start a search on web or mobile and choose a topic to learn the reason behind the trend.

What you will learn at the Social Media Bootcamp:

•Why Social Networking should be a strategic component of your business plan
•How to create robust profiles that showcase you and your organization
•How to identify and connect with prospective networking partners, business alliances and clients
•Methods of communicating with large numbers of people that result in greater visibility for you and your company
•How to increase the visibility of your credibility and add value to your network
•The art of building relationships that lead to long term success, client acquisition/retention and revenue growth

“Kobo will soon launch a revolutionary advancement in social eReading, and this news will change the nature of how and what we read,” said Dan Leibu, chief technology officer, Kobo.  “Our extremely popular Kobo Reading Life app was the first social platform to deliver interaction to eReading.  Kobo is committed to staying on the cutting-edge of social eReading to realize our mission of inspiring more people to read by allowing them to share thoughts, insights and experiences.”

Kobo Reading Life, one of the industry’s first comprehensive social reading experiences, is available on all of the company’s apps and devices including the innovative Kobo eReader Touch Edition and apps for iPad, iPhone and Android.   Reading Life allows people to connect with their friends on Facebook and see what books they are reading, see books in common, ask for recommendations, compare awards and reading stats, and share their favorite quotes and passages, notes and thoughts with followers. Kobo offers free eReading apps for most computers, smart phones and tablets on the market today.

Through Facebook Platform, people can share the experience of the social reading app with their friends, and discover new books through friends, making their online experience more personal and relevant.

Recently, Lori was part of the core Nenshi strategy team and helped build the brand that is Naheed Nenshi. Following the election she went with Naheed to City Hall as acting Chief of Staff and built out the Mayor’s new team. Lori is also the founder of Awesome Foundation, Calgary providing micro-financing for micro-brilliance – “1 great idea + 90 second pitch = $1000″.

Topic this month is:

Using Social Media to Engage People in Bringing Ideas to Life.

• Brief history from my startup in Ottawa to going to California to build eBay and then to Calgary
• How we laid the “social media” pavement with eBay communities
• Social media and the Nenshi campaign
• Using social media for connecting people, ideas and money for a better city with Awesome
• How social media is not distinct from media any more – it IS media.

Seating for this free event is limited and fills up quickly so register soon. Seats will be released in increments to give everyone fair access to the event. 50 seats will be available immediately and 50 more will be released on Friday, September 16th at 12:00 PM. Registration will be taken at the event beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Stay after the discussion to network and share ideas in the realm of social media. Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new-media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend. The Breakfast will take place on Friday, September 23rd at the Loose Moose Theatre, 2nd Floor of the Crossroads Market – South West Entrance, 1235 – 26th Ave. S.E. Calgary. Please note that the entrance to Loose Moose is found on the West side of the Crossroads Market at the South end of the parking lot. If the parking lot on the West side of the market it full, there is another lot on the East side.

The youth presentation package – Protecting Your Online Rep – comes right in time for back-to-school. It offers people who work with youth the information necessary to offer an engaging and effective presentation in their own schools and communities.

“We hope that the presentation package will help encourage young people to think about how they use social networks and other online services,” said Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart in unveiling the new tool. “Our goal is to provide information to young people to allow them to take advantage of all of the benefits that the online world has to offer – without having regrets later.”

The package includes a PowerPoint presentation with detailed speaking notes for each slide, along with class discussion topics, targeted at Grades 9 to 12 (Secondary III to V in Quebec). Educators and others interested in delivering the presentation can find the package online.

Presentations suitable for Grades 4 to 6 and Grades 7 and 8 (Secondary I and II in Quebec) will be available later in the fall.

Canadian teens are increasingly using online tools to stay in touch with friends, but communicating online can pose risks to their privacy. The new tool will help show them how to build a secure online identity and keep their personal information safe.