The More Things Change…
I’ve been around this online game for a long, long time. I started designing web sites back in 1996, for fun, then decided to make a career of it. 10 years later I was neck deep in the early days of blogging and Twitter and a plethora of other fledgling social networks (Plurk, anyone?). I’ve […]
Improve Your Social Media Strategy With This
Strategy. It’s the fundamental piece of your desire to do social media well. Everywhere you look, consultants of all shapes and sizes are telling you that you need a strategy or you won’t succeed. I mostly believe that. However, I also believe that a lot of strategies are misguided. It’s about much more than just […]
How Social Media Has Evolved
I’ve been using social media since 2006 when I started this blog. I got on Twitter in 2007 and was one of the first million users of the platform. For 11 years I’ve been fascinated by social media, and I’ve managed to integrate it into my work with Algonquin College as a professor, as well as Jester Creative, as a […]
A Springtime Social Media Reboot
It’s the first day of Spring here in the northern hemisphere, and with that comes the happy thoughts of renewal, rejuvenation and new growth. What better time to take a fresh look at your online presence, and see where there might be some opportunities to liven things up a bit. If you’re like me, you […]
The Dark Days of Social Media
It’s 5am and I just had a conversation with a friend who, like me, can’t sleep. We talked briefly about how all of the things going on in the world these past days are worrisome…so worrisome that slumber escapes us. This is intensely troubling to me. Not only are we living in a world that is […]
Getting Tired of Social Media? Here’s What You Can Do About It
I hear it time and again these days…people are getting social media fatigue. Twitter has become a selling platform. Facebook is full of ads. We are drowning in content. More and more, people are starting to change their habits when it comes to social, and for some pretty good reasons. But it was inevitable. The […]
On Being Helpful
One of the first things I learned about social media I got from my friend Chris. He’s a smarty pants, as you know. He said it time and again in the early days, and still does. If you want to succeed online, be helpful. The words resonated with me in 2007, and they resonate today. […]
Are We Too Focused on the Next Big Thing?
I swear it was within 24 hours of Periscope launching a few weeks ago that I saw the first post “15 Ways Brands Can Get the Most out of Periscope” (or something to that effect). While it’s all fine and well to have an eye to the future, I firmly believe that we are still […]
What Happened to the Conversation of Twitter?
Twitter is my favourite social network, or at least it used to be. In the past six months or so, my Twitter usage has taken a huge nose dive. At first I wasn’t really sure why, but as I’ve really started to analyze it, I’m starting to figure it out. Nobody’s having conversations anymore. There was […]
Social Media’s Coming of Age
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post asking if I was over social media. In a sense, I am. The “shiny object” of social media has taken a back seat for me now. It’s just something I do as a normal part of my day now, like brushing my teeth or checking my email. […]