Again for the 6th time in only a few weeks the PC Government has shut down debate on different bills the most recent… the budget.  And in today economic situation you would think a good debate would be in order.  But no, the majority government thought different and NDP leader Pat Martin decided (who is known for not being quiet) to take it to Twitter …

CTV News thought at first his account had been hacked but then realized after some of his responses to tweets…

Even CBC News ran an article… MP Pat Martin unapologetic for F-bomb tweets

Pat Martin said. "People don't realize that that was the budget that they moved closure on. The single most important thing we do is give oversight to government spending and we're denied even that,"

Over night Pat Martin’s twitter account has doubled in followers and has sparked a new way of debate for Canadian Government.  Leaders in the Social Media community are calling this a HUGE step forward for Social Media in Canadian government and giving the people a true voice.

Will @PatMartinMP spark a new debate?   Ashton Kutcher made a tweet about Joe Paterno before he new all the facts and later tried to fix it.  His tweets have now been taken off of Twitter but with millions of followers Ashton has realized the effect of not having proper monitoring of his account before tweets are sent. He has now hired a manager of his twitter account.  After years of stating he would never do that and that all his tweets are his own.

Is this type of change going to happen to our members of Parliament? They have the power to reach the entire country and get direct results on different debates.

We have Canadian solders dying around the world giving people rights and freedoms; including the freedom of speech.  I personally think Pat Martin is exactly who we need in government and if he was in my riding I was definitely vote for him!

What do you think?

Lynne Conrad…. Excited about where twitter takes us!!

@activ8business

Students have always been big customers for many businesses. However, with the rise of the technological era, getting sales from these students is becoming harder and harder. Young people from high school to master's degree programs know exactly what they want, and with the Internet at their fingertips they're more willing to reach companies online than go out of the way to do business with anyone else. Unless you want to exclude students from your customer base (which few businesses can afford) you have to learn how to use the Internet to your advantage, and nothing does that better than social media.

Since the advent of services like MySpace, FaceBook, and Twitter, the majority of students have become a deluge of socially networked users. Social media give them ways to keep with the second-to-second and minute-to-minute dealings of friends, family, and even businesses. Many students connect with businesses online through these services, if only just to know when they are having sales or updating their product lists.

If this sounds like an opt-in mailing list, it should, because it basically is. Few marketing materials have the same power as a simple social networking page. Students can find these pages very easily, so you don’t have to worry about search engines mucking up your rankings. Failing to take advantage of this marketing method is like pulling all your commercials, stopping the mailed postcards, refusing to send e-mail, and erasing all your newspaper and radio ads. Doesn’t sound very smart, does it?

When you use social media to reach students, you can't be timid. That doesn't mean you have to be brazen about everything, but have some confidence in what you're saying. Speaking of which, what should you be saying? This is the problem many businesses have at first, because they aren't used to reaching out to students as a particular class of customers. Talk about what's going on inside the business, share a funny story, mention discounts, or talk about that new product launching in a few days.

Also, always reach out to the students and ask them to comment back. Nothing is worse than a post with absolutely no comments. Even if other readers think the post is interesting, they may dismiss it because no one is saying anything. It’s like having a commercial that everyone watches but no one responds to. Of course the number of comments your business' posts receive depends a lot on how many customers have connected with your social media presence. On the other hand, keep in mind that more comments may lead to more followers as other users see what their friends are commenting on.

Always add a small something at the bottom of your post to invite comment or interaction. Oftentimes opinionated students are more likely to take you up on this invitation than other kinds of customers.

Building up a social media page to help your image and connect with students is a great idea sure to help you build a list of loyal customers. The time investment to maintain a social media presence is quite minimal, but the payoff for businesses is immense. The investment is most worth the effort when you target your social media use, and in doing so it's critical to keep in mind that students are the prime users of social media and your most receptive audience.

Provided by Guest Blogger Cyndi Laurenti - While she figures out her next career move, Cyndi Laurenti works as an online writer and editor. Her primary interests are education, technology, and how to combine them. She enjoys the trees and beaches of the pacific northwest, and looking things up on other people's iPhones.

We know social media has taken off like wildfire. Ten years ago if you’d even said the phrase “social media” you would have gotten funny looks. But today’s it’s a fundamental part of our everyday lives. Why is that? Here are six reasons why social media has become so huge:

1. Social media is fast. The internet gives us a means to exchange information more quickly than we ever thought imaginable before. Social media combines fast information exchange with human influence. There’s no longer a need to wait for news reporters to gather and prepare information. Everyone with a smart phone and a Twitter account can become the “eyes on the ground” providing minute-by-minute updates when news is breaking.
2. Cultures are shifting. In the world, there is good and there is bad. As our access to the knowledge of both increases, so does our desire to be aware of the very best and the very worst—and to give our opinion of both. Sharing of opinion is something mankind has done since cave man days, but never has it been so easy to share with so many, so fast.
3. Driven by Generations X and Y. The baby boomers’ kids, and their kids. If you were born after 1975 in a civilized environment, there’s a pretty good chance you use the internet. And if you’re an internet user in that age range, there’s a really big chance you use social media. And social media is built in such a way that using it drives it to grow. Sharing pictures of a party, posting to your blog, making a statement through a video or just gossiping in your Facebook status all drive social media and fuel its ongoing success.
4. Create a new you. Call it a benefit or call it a drawback, but social media gives everyone the ability to define themselves and to promote that identity widespread. Create your own “place” in life. What’s “class” when even the poorest people can be trendsetters and tastemakers thanks to social media. On the flip side, those who are famous, rich and powerful can suddenly and safely interact with those perched on less tall pedestals.
5. Social media makes money. Facebook generated $2 billion in revenue last year.  Twitter made $45 million.  LinkedIn netted $4.5 million in profit in its last quarter alone.
6. Social media is new. We like to try new things, and as a society we were ready for social media. The timing was right you might say. Television was getting old, and books… what are those? The bar scene’s bland and three-way calling never really caught on. We were ready for something new. Social media means mass interaction that’s super-fast and far-reaching.

Have I missed something? Are there other factors? Or, do you disagree with some of my rationale? Please share your comments!

Daniel Mark Wheaton is an Internet and Mobile Marketing Consultant with Flipside Marketing. He is a self-taught internet guru with a background in journalism who’s been dabbling in web design and online marketing since 2000. He enjoys showing small businesses ways they can reach out to new customers and build relationships with their existing customers using the internet and mobile technology.

Thanks

by Daniel Mark Wheaton, Flipside Marketing

I just had my 20th High school reunion and looking back at high school it's amazing what people ended up doing.  

I"m curious to know what the Class of Social Media will end up doing. Thanks @flowtown

Monday night was the Canadian Election and a country witness history being made. Not because we made history and now have a totally different country but because of the use of social media during the election. Primarily Twitter.

Because of time zones Atlantic Canada (Where I’m from) closes it’s polls 4 hours before Alberta and British Columbia. So what they do is a media blackout for the west. They don’t want to influence the vote in any way.

But what they forgot was social media in their media blackout, mainly Twitter. It became a huge deal during the first hour of closing the polls in Atlantic Canada. The media black out on TV didn’t stop people from posting the results.

Twitter had no choice but to take action. They censored posts…

And the website/hashtag tweetertheresults shut down until the polls closed in BC.

What does this mean?

It means that there are enough people on twitter to effect the election of an entire Country. Twitter is being viewed as a viable media source and if you’re not on it… you should be.

I know I sound like I’m just pushing my product. But the reality is you have to keep up with where your customers are… and they are on twitter. You can effectively use twitter to gain more clients. It's not just about where you are and what you're doing, it can effectively be used to build your brand and gain new clients. If you need any help please let us know. You should also check out oneforty.com for small business toolkits and other apps for twitter.

Hope you have a GREAT week

Lynne

We are currently witnessing history! Whether you think it or not the Egyptian protests are affecting the entire world. Egypt in all aspects has a huge influence over all their surrounding countries. It is the largest populated country in the Middle East and in many aspects has as much influence on the surrounding countries as the United States does on Canada. These protests are currently not limited to Egypt… how is this happening?

Protests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world, for the first time in history. Mir-Hossein Mousavi's supporters used Facebook and Twitter to attack the President. These attaches had such influence over the people that Iran actually shut down all Internet for about 45 minutes during their election results. Upon turning it back on they limited bandwidth in order to limit Facebook, and YouTube access. (Twitter is designed to work on low bandwidth). Now, the Iranian government uses anti-censorship software to control their social media and since the protests have intensified it dramatically.

The powerful use of Twitter during these protests was actually influenced by the US State Department. Twitter was scheduled for an upgrade and was asked to wait so that there wouldn’t be any down time for Iranians. We sometimes forget that not everyone has high speed and access to quality Internet.

It is with this power that the Egyptian protests gain strength. The power to co-ordinate via social media networks. Here is a map of current protests across the Middle East, influenced by Egyptian protests.

Like the Iranian Government the Egyptian Government for a time limited access to the Internet then shut it down completely. But the damage was done and protests continued.

But let me make something clear. It’s HOPE not social media that is driving this movement forward. Social media is just a tool that will help it succeed.

This article is not about politics and what side you are on, but on the power of Social media and how it has literally changed our world and the world our children will grow up in.

Please feel free to comment.

Lynne

Sorry guys I could care less about football!  But the commercials… now they are FUN!

But to say this is a football game… no way.  This has gone way beyond football.  This is a cultural phenomenon that has taken over North America with tail gate parties, chili, pizza and wings.

It’s because of this that business have paid BIG bucks over the years.  But with social media how will this be effective?

My Challenge: During the Super Bowl how is to measure the effective of certain commercials on Twitter.  Are businesses getting their message across?  Does all this BIG Bucks pay off?  And most of all…. What Commercial will come out on top, and earn the title of Super Bowl Ad of All time!

So I’m going to be monitoring just Twitter this year.  I’m going to be doing a report on Monday about the Super Bowl.  Using many different sites to gather my information, not just twitter.

This will be a challenge but one I’m very excited about.  Eminem is reported to be paid 1 Million Dollars for his Lipton Soup Commercial… what kind of buzz is that going to give?

See you all on Monday!

Lynne

This is a very debated question.  And depending on whom you talk to you will may get different answers.

But when you break it down…your friends and family are probably not interested in your business and your business contacts and probably not interested in your personal life.  That being said, yes it is recommended to have more than one account.

Your personal account should be just that personal.  You can use your own name, or a any name you would like your friends to call you.  Here is where you can talk about parties, friends, vacations, or everyday events.  This can be a place to vent or share news.

JUST REMEMBER… it is very hard for social sites to be set up with a security level that can completely protect your privacy.  The whole idea of these sites is that they are “social”.  That being said don’t ever tweet anything you don’t want everyone to see.  NEVER assume only your followers for someone you direct message will read it.

Now people who follow your business account expect you to talk about business.  Yes, you need to make it personal but not about you, personal about the business.  You also need to talk about what you do, share information about your industry and  start conversations.

PLEASE don’t sell, sell, sell on your twitter account. The more you spam the more you’ll loose followers. Few tips, be honest, link back to your website, post about your industry – find videos from other people, find articles leaders in your industry wrote etc.  TWEET  them.  Be a place where people want to go and read and re-tweet.

I’ll be honest it not easy having more than one account but I use Hootsuite.com and it really helps.  You should check it out

I enjoy comments.  Since this is a debated topic, let me know what your answer would be!

Have a GREAT Day
Lynne