Tag Archives: communications

digital media

WireIE Partners with W Dusk Group to Enhance Broadband Services for Underserved Canadians

Toronto, Canada – March 16, 2018 – WireIE, a Canadian wholesale network operator specialized in the deployment of MEF-Certified Carrier Ethernet networks to Canada’s underserved markets, is partnering with W Dusk Group, an Indigenous-owned technology company, to deliver environmentally-friendly, enhanced fiber network solutions to underserved Canadian enterprises and communities.

Underserved communities in Canada often face a situation of poor (or no) Internet coverage, which is exacerbated by a lack of reliable electrical energy. Through this first-of-its-kind partnership in Canada, the two companies will work with these communities, including Indigenous Peoples, to mesh alternative energy technology with WireIE’s high-availability network solutions. The goal is to ensure individuals living and working in underserved areas avoid unplanned, costly downtime.

“For over 10 years, WireIE has been connecting Canada’s underserved markets with high-quality, robust, secure networks,” says Rob Barlow, CEO of WireIE. “By partnering with W Dusk Group, we are ensuring that we can deliver green broadband, increased uptime and enhanced service assurance to our partners in underserved areas. We are proud to be leaders in meeting Canadians’ demands for renewably-powered digital infrastructure.”

“Our core passion is providing our underserved partners with the energy solutions and connectivity they need to take full advantage of our digital age,” says David Isaac, CEO of W Dusk Energy Group. “As a Canadian Indigenous-owned firm, we employ local community resources wherever possible to undertake the last-mile management, planning and technology integration services needed for our clients to enjoy broadband access in a sustainable way.”

Broadband access has been formally recognized by the Canadian Radio and Television Corporation (CRTC) as an important tool for fostering economic development in areas that are not served by Canada’s major telecom carriers. WireIE is strengthening its legacy of providing the low latency and reliability needed to support the socio-economic development of businesses and communities in remote environments.

 

 

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About WireIE:

WireIE is a Canadian telecommunications carrier, specialized in the deployment of MEF Certified Carrier Ethernet 2.0 networks to underserved markets. WireIE’s proven network performance, backed by industry-leading SLAs, has been established as the provider of choice for mission critical network requirements, across all industry verticals. Believing in a strong partnership model allows WireIE to focus on building missing components of broadband network solutions while keeping the costs down and dramatically reducing delivery times.

sales@WireIE.com          WireIE.com           Twitter.com/WireIE            LinkedIn.com/WireIE

About W Dusk Energy Group:

W Dusk Energy Group Inc. is an Indigenous owned firm that has the privilege to work in beautiful communities throughout Canada and soon Internationally.   We are a team of like-minded professionals operating in tandem to strengthen community development initiatives such as planning, local economic growth, policy, food systems and infrastructure development. Our core passion and focus is assisting communities to become self-reliant through renewable energy empowerment with a systems based, community-driven approach. We provide project management, planning and technology integration services. W Dusk can assist in most, if not all stages of projects through its trusted and expansive partnership network. ​W Dusk is actively developing large and small-scale projects throughout Canada involving solar, wind, hydrokinetic and newer, harmonic energy solutions.  We source, design, build and develop our projects with the community. ​We believe that the built environment and physical infrastructure should reflect the values, culture and natural beauty of community. All of our work aligns with an agreement to honour and respect Nature. It is all connected.

 

For media inquiries, please contact:

Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA)
+1.866.6953629
jsa_wireie@jsa.net

social media

Rapportive makes me smarter on email

If you’re like me, you love using social media to connect with family, friends and even strangers. But you probably see huge value in continuing to use email to further solidify personal and business relationships.

Many saw the demise of email as social started creeping into the work force. However, I have (as I’m sure many of you) been using email more. Firstly, it’s hard to convey a message in only 140 characters. Second, attachments are almost impossible to send on social too.

I actually see a symbiotic relationship between social and email. And this relationship is made that much stronger via a cool app called Rapportive (recently purchased by LinkedIn).

Rapportive is an email plugin (I use GMail) that uses people’s emails to connect to that person’s social media accounts (It’s like my very own social media spidey sense.) Here’s a snapshot of what mine looks like:

social media strategy

How do I use Rapportive? To better personalize my emails. Some may call it creeping. I call it being smart. I can check the recipient’s public social status updates to further understand who I’m emailing. And thus can craft a message that is also timely and more effective. If I can see (via Twitter, for example) that the person I’m messaging spent a wonderful day at the beach with her son, then I may use that in the email. For example, “Hello Mary. I hope you had a great weekend at the beach with the family…..”

I do want to point out that I would use this sort of information when I email someone I actually know. But the same process can be used when emailing someone I may not be close to. Social media data can tell me lots of things. I might be able to determine that the recipient likes a certain brand or communicates in a certain way. This sort of information can help me not just send a more relevant email. It will also help me communicate more efficiently and effectively with this individual over time.

And that’s the power not just of Rapportive but of social media. Remember: It’s about being social.

Uncategorized

the problem with Klout (and other online influence measurement tools)

Earlier this summer I wrote a blog post about the importance of influence. And while I still believe in the idea of Klout and what they are trying (or hoping) to achieve they are still a little way off from a perfect product.  

Don’t forget context

I have come across a number of professionals and agencies who use Klout scores in the creation of influencer programs and strategies.  (Full Disclosure: I am a managing partner and co-founder of a social media and community management communications agency. We haven’t used Klout for our clients.)  And it astounds me that brands pay good money on account of a Klout score with no context.

Here’s what I mean.  What does a Klout score of 40, 76, or 29 (pick any number you want) actually mean?  Nothing in my opinion.  What does matter is context.

Market

What market is a brand targeting? For argument’s sake let’s say that the product is a fluoride-free kids toothpaste.  The brand wants to give away 250 tubes of toothpaste to parents of young children.  The hope is to generate valuable word of mouth buzz to help the toothpaste maker (and their agency) earn some online media mentions.  Does it make sense for the agency of record to work with Klout to identify 250 people with high scores? What if Klout could identify which Klout accounts were parents in a specific target geographic area?  Even if Klout could identify parents who love trying toothpaste and want to use a floride-free brand.

Influence doesn’t end (or begin) online

And herein lies the real problem.  Most parents concerned about floride-free toothpaste are not concerned with their Klout scores.  And this is wildly assuming that these parents are even registered on Klout.

Wait Karim! If these floride-free advocates have high Klout scores won’t that help the toothpaste maker generate valuable online mentions? Maybe.

Influencers

There is greater value, I think, in directly engaging in conversations with these people.  Here’s an idea: Connect directly with a dozen or so popular parent or mommy (even daddy) bloggers.  Find out what their needs are.  Find out what their readers (and community) are interested in. Work with them to create a program that benefits all parties involved: The blogger (or influencer), the blogger’s community, and the client.

During this process you may even find out that the influencer and their community you are engaging with are not interested in the fluoride-free toothpaste. Which allows you to move on to another influencer and engage with them.

Moving forward

The simplicity of measurement tools like Klout is that they tend to make people who work with brands’ communications and marketing programs lazy.  It’s too easy to take a bunch of influencer scores and blast them with messaging.  What’s not as easy, and therefore more rewarding in my opinion, is taking the time to properly engage with potential influencers.  Take the time to deliver a quality product and service to your client.  Don’t take the shortcut.

What is your opinion on Klout?

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