Tag Archives: Social media

digital media, social media

2013: A Look Back

karim kanji
karim kanji

As we approach the last day of 2013 I thought I would take a moment to reflect back on the year.

2013 started off on a high with my start-up, thirdocean. However, it became clear after a few months that the company would either have to undergo some dramatic changes in what we offered or we would have to shut down and move on (which is what eventually has happened). A little bittersweet but a move that has turned out for the best.

My co-founder, Carolyn Van will be starting graduate studies in 2014 and is currently doing some interesting work as a consultant.

In September 2013 I started as the Digital Content Manager with Catalyst. It’s an industry-leading company with some amazing people working here. I can’t wait to tackle 2014 and do some really innovative and interesting things in content marketing. I was also approached by George Brown college. I will start teaching part-time in their Social Media Marketing Certificate program in 2014. That should be fun!

In 2013 I travelled to Orlando to cover BlackBerry’s annual (last?) BlackBerry World Conference. I also went to Bogota, Colombia to check out that South American country’s digital and start-up community.

Top Videos from 2013:

Alicia Keyes at BlackBerry Live 2013

Walk Off The Earth at ING Cafe Toronto

City of Vaughan Twitter Fail

In conversation with Laurie Dillon-Schalk

Royal Ontario Museum – Social Media Coordinator

In conversation with Andrew Jenkins

Community Manager of Real Sports

MADE Clothing

HOVR.IT with Adam Jarczyn

Top Blog Posts from 2013:

HootSuite vs Buffer

the (in)complete list of coworking spaces in Canada

a look back at Syncapse

Think Like Zuck

Beware Bullshit from Conferences

I also continue to contribute to the itbusiness website and community.

Thanks to all my good friends and family who helped support me in 2013. A special shout out to the lovely boys and girls from The Work Republic family, all the Karim’s at big time design and communication, and the smart folks from The Cat’s Pyjamas.

digital media, social media

Maersk Line and Social Media

A few months ago I had the opportunity to chat with Jonathan Wichmann. Who is Jonathan? Among other things he used to be the head of social media for the world’s oldest and largest shipping company: Maersk Line.

maersk line social media
maersk line social media

What is a 100+ year old boring shipping company doing playing in the social space – a space many believe is reserved for sexy and young consumer brands? Well, I hope you take the time to listen to my conversation with Jonathan.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXAQAJGfavM&w=560&h=315]

Now, more than ever, it is important for companies of all sizes and types to understand the value of social media and content marketing. We are all playing in a crowded space. We are not just competing with other brands in our space. We are competing for the attention (heart and minds) with our friends, family, other companies and finally our competitors.

Creating content (social or otherwise) that our consumers and potential consumers want is paramount if we want to rise above the noise and capture the hearts and minds of people and businesses.

social media

What we should learn from Buffer

This past weekend, Buffer suffered an unusual hacking incident that saw many people’s Facebook (and some Twitter) accounts post spam. You can read about the incident (and the updates including the solution) on the Buffer blog here.

There are many security and privacy lessons that can be learned from this incident.

However, the number 1 lesson that I hope every single brand that is active on social media gleans from this is:  Be open, honest and transparent. That’s exactly what Buffer did. And guess what? No one is shitting on them this morning.

buffer hack
buffer hack

The screenshot above shows the top results for a search on “buffer weekend hack”. Most focus on the tactical response from Buffer rather than any security issues.

Throughout the weekend, Buffer updated their social media accounts, blog and even sent out email updates. their goal was to let their community of users know what had happened, what they were doing to resolve the issue and what steps their users could take in the meantime.

buffer response
buffer response

One of the things they were also not afraid of doing was apologizing. They actually said sorry: Which is something everyone needs to do a little bit more of because none of us are perfect.

digital media, social media

#FollowFriday: Laurie Dillon-Schalk

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Laurie’s. And not because she’s a lover (of coffee, like me!). Or a leader in her industry. I am a fan because, like most people I feature here, she shares her time. She takes time away from her family and work to share her wisdom and insights with others. She doesn’t do it because she sees something in it for herself. She does it because, for her, its the right thing to do.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7l-SfiAzh0&w=560&h=315]

social media

The dichotomy of social media

Last week, Facebook Canada released data on how people and brands are using its platform and interacting with one another.  When we think of people using Facebook we tend to think that people are connecting to their friends and family. And most brands tend to use Facebook to market/sell their wares.

However, there are those people who use Facebook for motives that are not as simple. And the same goes for brands. How people use Facebook (and social media in general) is a topic for another blog post in the not too distant future.

Personally, I “follow” brands to learn. I want to learn how they talk to their audience. I want to learn how they market to potential customers. I want to learn what they say during times of crisis as well as when things are looking great.

Two brands I follow are The YMCA and Flight Centre. And for very different reasons. Flight Centre has a strong team here in Toronto led by the very capable Gregg Tilston. YMCA does an amazing job on social media. Their content is very engaging.  And, of course, they are accomplishing two very different things.

Today, their posts found themselves together, one on top of the other.

Screen Shot 2013-08-19 at 11.31.26 AM

And these two message could not be any more different. YMCA highlighted the fact that many people in Ontario face: how to make ends meet.  Flight Centre posted an aspirational message.

Two very different, yet effective, uses of social media.

social media

#FollowFriday: Head of Magic – Saul Colt

I won’t pretend to speak for Saul but I’ve considered him a good friend and mentor since before rocks were soft. Or 2009.

I was first introduced to Saul via a blog post by another good friend, Sameer Vasta. Sameer wrote a post about job titles in 2008 which referred to Saul’s title, Head of Magic. I was intrigued. Who has the audacity to insist on a title (especially with his employer at the time: FreshBooks) like that? Saul!

When he began working at Zoocasa, I was in the same industry. So I took it upon myself to grab a drink/lunch with him whenever I could. And guess what? Saul gave me his time. He didn’t ask for anything in return except to introduce him to cute women and never c@#k block him.

For those that don’t know Saul check him out. He is a word of mouth marketing genius who transcends technology and trends to focus on results.

social media strategy

For his friendship, time and wisdom, Saul is my #FollowFriday for this week.

social media

#FollowFriday: Jaime Stein – Campaign For All Canadians

I have had the privilege of knowing Jaime Stein for more than 3 years now. In “internet” years, that’s a lifetime. Although I consider him a friend he is also someone whom I’ve learned so much from.

I consider him a thought leader in the social media space. However, more than that he is passionate about people. This came to life especially over the past six months as he has prepared for his fundraising climb of Mt Kilimanjaro.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hySLe6tMisY&w=560&h=315]

I have “interviewed” Jaime a number of times over the years. Here’s the first time when Jaime was with the CFL:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6yKE0qzI5I&w=420&h=315]

digital media, social media

Getting Started on Social Media

Recently, I’ve been asked a number of times how to help brands and companies get started on social media. Sometimes, these questions are being asked by companies not using social media. However, sometimes it also includes brands that have social media accounts, but are just not using them.

Here is my three-step approach to using social media effectively.  Note: For these three steps, I would highly recommend using HootSuite. Read my posts on HootSuite here.

Listening

What are people saying about your company, brand and industry. Learn what the conversations are like and who the people are. You will find influencers, thought leaders, friends and even enemies.  Like GI Joe used to say, “Knowing is half the battle!”

Get Involved

After you know who these people are and what they are saying, you are now prepared to say hello and enter the conversation. Be there to answer questions. And do not be afraid to let people know that you’re new to the social media game and are here to help in any way that you can. You will find that most people on social media embrace and appreciate honesty and authenticity. Don’t try to be someone you’re not.

Lead The Conversation

After a few weeks of listening and getting involved, you should now be ready to lead the conversation. It’s your turn (as a brand, company or independent business owner/professional) to be the thought leader and influencer. You ask the questions and provide guidance. Remember that you are the expert. Social media is just a tool to help engage with people to tell them your story as well as to listen how you can help others.

Try these three steps and let me know how things turn out.

digital media, social media

#FollowFriday: Karim Awad of big time design and communications

Karim Awad is the founder and principal of Toronto-based creative agency big time design and communications. I have had the pleasure of knowing Karim since 2009 when he and I met for him to demo his (at the time) new product called Radar. His vision for a communications system that focused on consumer relevancy was clear. It is still a problem he continues to solve with products such as Qlouds, Pro.ps and others (I’m under a friend-NDA – but it will be WELL WORTH THE WAIT!)

Besides making the web a better place, Karim can be found playing soccer, supporting the Toronto FC and being taunted by teenagers playing Ultimate.

Here is a conversation I had with him in 2011. Yes, it was a while ago. I hope you enjoy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE70GqaYIGU&w=560&h=315]

digital media, social media

A look back at Syncapse

Just over 3 years ago I was the Toronto Community Manager for Techvibes.com. During that time I was fortunate to interview the (then new) COO of Syncapse, Kerry Munroe. He was one of hundreds of people I interviewed during my time with Techvibes. Some I captured on camera. Others became part of articles I wrote.

Syncapse was in the news yesterday as it announced a massive wave of layoffs in the midst of a restructuring move aimed at improving their financial state. With this in mind let’s take a look back as Kerry discusses the future of Syncapse.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFn3v8toXFI&w=560&h=315]

Note: Syncapse builds and delivers social media marketing software for enterprises.