Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’
Engaging the Public…Through Pins?
Thursday, July 12th, 2012
You’ve most likely heard about Pinterest, the latest major player at the social media table. What is the point of this popular new tool, you ask? Well, think back to your pre-teen days: If you were anything like me, you were sitting on your bedroom floor, covered in cut up pieces of magazine paper, picking out pictures of your favourite artists, fashion accessories and inspirational quotes, and strategically gluing them to a piece of bristol board, that would soon adorn your bedroom wall. Now fast-forward back to today and enter Pinterest: it’s basically the same concept. It’s your own virtual bulletin board. It’s iconographic self-expression of the digital age. Only now, your Bristol board extends much farther beyond the boundaries of your bedroom walls.
With over 13 million users (and counting), it’s no doubt that the particular appeal of this tool is its swift simplicity; the ability to easily pin images, add relevant descriptions and comments, as well as post links to draw traffic to different sites. Pinterest is the online scrapbook; documenting everything from current events and recipes to runway fashion. It engages people through the universal love of imagery. The question we are all asking ourselves now is: How can I conquer this new tool, and gain from it?
As a public involvement firm that regularly uses social media to engage people in decision-making processes, we’ve been following the uptake of the tool with avid interest. Thus far, we are cautiously optimistic that Pinterest could be used to engage the public.
As public sector blogger Michael Bernard points out; governments can use Pinterest to share visual content that people love to see. National Parks, for example, have the opportunity to post pictures featuring changes to nearby parks, whether it’s a new picnic shelter, trail or the budding of leaves in the spring. Cities, on the other hand, can keep their citizens updated visually on new buildings, summer recreational sport leagues, or the progress of a new bridge being built.
There is also an opportunity to engage citizens by asking them to share their ideas through visual content. Whether it’s designing new buildings, greening their city, decorating public spaces or integrating new school programs, cities can seek input from their citizens in a completely new form. It’s a new kind of dialogue: one that is based on images rather than words.
The City of Edmonton has picked up this idea in their “Designing New Neighborhoods” strategy, asking Edmontonions to share their ideas with the city and each other about what they thought characterized a sustainable neighborhood. Citizens were invited to pin pictures to the City of Edmonton Pinterest page of what they thought portrayed the fundamental building blocks of great communities.
Our team at Ascentum has also been conjuring up ways to put our tool to use. We decided it would be interesting to ask people what engagement meant to them; the quintessential image that defines this broad reaching concept. Something clearly not as easy as it sounds; but therein lays the challenge, the intrigue, and our desired outcome: better decisions by including a diversity of voices.
If you haven’t already created a Pinterest page, give it a try. See why it’s become so popular. In the meantime, we suggest you check out the Ascentum Pinterest Page, and use your pictorial imagination to tell us what engagement means to you.
Send your images, with a brief description (optional) to pinterest@ascentum.com.
Happy pinning!
-Holly Clark-
Resources:
Tags: Pinterest, public engagement, Public Involvement, Social Media, trends
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | 1 Comment »
Twitter: The Medium Doesn’t Have to be the Message….
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
This week, New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Charlie Angus, an inveterate tweeter, bid adieu to the Twitterverse. He acknowledges being a big fan/user of social media but fears that Twitter is “morphing into a bully pulpit for trolls. It is a technology that favours the flash mob.” He goes on to say “that the digital mob is no different from a street mob. It can be excitable, good-natured or vicious, but don’t ever mistake the mob for democracy.”
Angus laments receiving hate filled and ignorant tweets about Attawapiskat, and fears that Twitter is undermining “fact finding and verification.” Commenting on recent tweet attacks on his singing ability and other mindless ad hominem volleys, he expresses his disenchantment – “Being on Twitter is like being badgered by a drunk on a 24-hour bus ride.’ (and as a northern Ontario boy he knows of what he speaks!).
While Angus raises valid and serious concerns, the object of his criticism is off. There is no doubt that social media in general and Twitter in particular, are influencing how we engage with each other and how we process information and we all should be more mindful about how we use this powerful technology. However, it is erroneous to place the blame on the technology itself. The technology is neutral –it is all about how we use that technology – for good (and as Angus himself notes that during the Attawapiskat crisis the positive tweets far outnumbered the negative), for evil or simply for inane purposes. Human behaviour and motivation is the real culprit, not the technology. On Twitter, you’ll find the good, the bad, the useful, the useless, the beautiful and the ugly!
The poverty of political talk, trivial and banal remarks, uninformed and mindless commentary, knee-jerk responses, deliberately misleading quotes etc in Twitterverse are not a reflection of Twitter but rather symptoms of our impoverished public discourse. As Pogo says ……”We have met the enemy… and he is us”. If we want a better Twitterverse, we need to create it. Come on back Charlie Angus.
At Ascentum we strive to use social media and online engagement to elevate not degrade public discourse.
-Mary Pat MacKinnon-
Tags: Charlie Angus, NDP, Online Engagement, Parliament, Public Discourse, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | No Comments »
5 Canadian Public Policy Issues That Could Be Crowdsourced
Friday, March 9th, 2012
On February 13 the Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, spoke at Third Tuesday Ottawa, a monthly gathering of innovators with an aim to “explore new developments in social media and online community building”. Minister Clement, known in Canadian social media circles for being one of the prolific House of Commons Twitter users, spoke about the government’s new Web 2.0 guidelines, open government, and using crowdsourcing to develop public policy.
Based on the success of the government’s first foray into crowdsourcing with Industry Canada’s “Digital Economy Strategy” project (proudly developed and led by Ascentum), Minister Clement shared that the government would like to see more government policy sourced from the crowds. He then challenged those in the audience to suggest public policy issues that could be crowdsourced.
We’d like to take Minister Clement up on his offer, and humbly suggest five topics:
- How can the government help celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation in 2017 (Heritage Canada)
- Which e-services should the federal government be providing, that aren’t yet available? (Service Canada)
- How can the government increase productivity? (Industry Canada, Human Resources & Skills Development Canada)
- How can we improve trade, security and cultural ties with our largest trade partner, the US? (Public Safety, Industry, Foreign Affairs & International Trade, Citizenship)
- How can the federal government make better use of diasporas, including Canadians abroad and those with foreign links in Canada, to improve trade, economic and cultural links? (Foreign Affairs & International Trade, Citizenship)
Here’s hoping Minister Clement is listening!
-Stephan Telka-
Tags: Crowdsourcing, public policy, Social Media, Tony Clement
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | No Comments »
From the Water Cooler to the Web- Embracing Social Media in the Workplace
Friday, March 2nd, 2012
Here at Ascentum, we use social media in a variety of ways. Not only do we help our clients engage their stakeholders through various social media platforms, but we are also constantly tapped into these outlets, publishing weekly blog posts, posting hourly twitter updates and moderating topical Facebook conversations.
Brought up using social media tools to interact with friends and family, I would expect these tools to be put to use in the workplace to engage with colleagues. However, the reality is that many places have ignored the social revolution. This makes me think, how valuable is social media to an organization?
I recently read an interview with Peter Williams, CEO of Deloitte Digital and one of Australia’s leaders in the digital world. As an advocate for social innovation, Williams believes that this Cultural Revolution generates a compelling chance for companies. He says though it may be scary, “if you don’t embrace change, and understand how you can leverage it, you will just fall behind”.
Williams also expresses frustration at the managers who use the clichéd idea that “our staff is our greatest asset” but then block their staff from using social media at work. He says that a truly enlightened leader encourages communication and the wholesale sharing of ideas within their organization.
This concept of social media participation in the workplace has given birth to a handy little tool known as Yammer, a free social network for the workplace. Access to an organization’s Yammer network is determined by a user’s Internet Domain, so only those with the same email addresses may join their respective networks. It’s like moving the conversation from the water cooler to the web – but throwing in the popularly used Facebook “like” function and the option to create fun, informative surveys.
When asked how Yammer got started in his company, Williams recalls kicking ideas around in the innovation team, when someone simply said, ‘why don’t we give this a go.’ “I think that is the first lesson about adoption of social media,” he says. And he’s right. It’s worth a try. Why? Because it’s free, designed to be simple, and you have nothing to lose.
In early February, Ascentum started using Yammer, and it seems to have taken off naturally. Many have commented on how convenient it is to know what others are working on, and to feel “in touch” with colleagues even amidst the busy work hours when chats by the water cooler are infrequent and cut short. It fulfills the same purpose all social media aims to achieve – an extra branch of communication that keeps the conversation going.
While Yammer has been a hit, Williams says that companies who use these tools are still in a minority. He noticed that the default position of most organizations is to resist the use of social media in the workplace, at the fear of misbalancing hierarchy. But he digresses, “Anyone wanting a highly rigid hierarchy or to be in a controlling position will find himself increasingly under threat from active social networks.”
What’s the bottom line here? Well I can say that it feels good to work in an environment that has not only embraced the social revolution, but has manipulated it into a strategic tool for engagement. I think it’s clear that whatever your organization does, you should be exploring the ways you could leverage these new tools. Social media is not frivolous, and it is not a fad. It’s an opportunity. As Williams so accurately puts it “Leaders either see the light – or feel the heat”.
-Holly Clark-
Tags: Employee Engagement, Peter Williams, Social Media, Yammer
Posted in Announcements, Commentary and Opinion | No Comments »
Top 10 Ascentum Blog Posts of 2011
Friday, January 6th, 2012
It’s been a busy year on the Ascentum blog, a space for us to share interesting developments in public engagement, useful tools and resources, and news on the goings on of our dynamic team. Our top most viewed blogs deal with topics vast and varied, from the history of crowdsourcing to the demise of RIM, from Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi to the use of NVivo to analyze qualitative feedback in engagement processes.
Here are the top 10 blog posts (by page views) of 2011:
- Gmail and GSA – one giant step forward for government (Friday June 17) – Joseph Peters 402 views
- Why RIM Fails – The Kindle Fire (Thursday September 29) – Joseph Peters 289 views
- Shaw’s Customer Conversations on Data Use. Great, but what about online tools…? (Tuesday March 1) – Ellis Westwood 246 views
- Using NVivo to Truly Understand Participants’ Views and Ideas (Monday June 13) – Stephan Telka 98 views
- Announcement – Mary Pat is becoming a Partner at Ascentum! (Monday September 19) – Holly Clark 82 views
- A Short History of Crowdsourcing (Friday June 24) – Ellis Westwood 68 views
- Social Media tackling obesity one picture at a time (Thursday April 14) – Cassandra Tavares 64 views
- Inspiration and Iron Fists (Thursday September 22) – Joseph Peters 63 views
- In Conversation with Ellis Westwood, Ascentum’s new Director of Project Innovation (Monday December 5) – Holly Clark 63 views
- Kathleen Petty and Fostering Dialogue in Canadian Media (Tuesday July 12) – Stephan Telka 61 views
Looking forward to more great posts and conversations throughout 2012!
-Stephan Telka-
Tags: Ascentum, Blogs, Public Participation, Social Media, Web 2.0
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | 1 Comment »
In Conversation with Ellis Westwood, Ascentum’s new Director of Project Innovation
Monday, December 5th, 2011
Holly Clark recently had a chance to sit down with Ellis Westwood, Ascentum’s new Director of Project Innovation, to explore his new role, and learn more about his views on the future of public engagement.
1. You have recently been promoted to “Director, Project Innovation”, with Ascentum. Can you give us some context on what this title entails? How is this new position different from your last? What new responsibilities/duties do you have?
The first thing people say when they hear my title is that they’ve never heard anything like it before! For me the new role is about always trying to be creative. It’s about building on tried and tested engagement approaches, but not being afraid to try new techniques or tools. I think the new role reflects my growth at Ascentum over the last five years. It’s an amazing place to learn, work, and have fun. As a Director, I’ll be working directly with clients and delivering projects, while coaching and supporting our really talented staff at Ascentum.
2. What are the highlights of your year, and what do you hope to accomplish in the next year with Ascentum’s clients?
Over the last year, I’ve been involved in some very interesting projects, working with adventurous, creative and smart clients.
One of our recent engagement projects was “Our Health Our Future”, Canada’s first national dialogue on childhood obesity. We used a blend of in-person, online and social media tools to foster conversations across Canada on healthy weights and about how we can all work together to address the growing health problem of childhood obesity. As part of our creative approach, I used social media to foster conversations on Facebook and Twitter about childhood obesity. We engaged hundreds of caregivers, youth and stakeholders across Canada and to hear how childhood obesity affected them and their ideas for making our kids healthier.
So that’s where I’ve come from over the last year. Where do I want to go? Well, I’d like to continue to use social media, to complement the engagement work that we do through in-person and online channels.
3. Why do you think public engagement is important?
I think public engagement is important because it helps organizations make more “sustainable decisions”. These are decisions that are durable and sustainable into the future, developed by involving the people and perspectives that are affected and need to be involved.
At the beginning of my career, when I worked for the federal government, I worked alongside people that were smart and passionate, but at the same time they didn’t have all the answers. For me, engaging the public means providing government and decision makers with those additional perspectives, ideas and experiences from those outside government. It’s these additional sources of evidence that organizations need to make more sustainable decisions on important public policy challenges.
4. You are well known at Ascentum for being very well-versed in social media and new technologies. How do you think we can continue to capitalize on these tools to perform better public engagement?
For me, social media is all a conversation. It’s about people sharing points of view, information and ideas. It’s tools that people can use to co-collaborate and co-create.
So, social media is a natural addition to many public engagement projects. Depending on the project objectives and target communities, social media may not always be suitable for every engagement project. But when it is, we tap into and join the conversations that are already happening or foster new ones aligned with the topics we’re engaging on. These can act as natural complements to other streams of communications we might be doing, such as online deliberation or dialogues.
Social media also allows us to broaden the scope of our engagement. By using social networking tools like Facebook, which has 17 million Canadian subscribers, we can help our clients reach more people, hear more stories, gather more ideas, and ultimately make more sustainable decisions.
5. Based on your experience of social media and its progress thus far, what do you see for the future of public engagement in relation to these new technologies?
I’m really excited about the possible application of social games in public engagement. Imagine if you could use an interactive tool to actually re-design your community park or your neighborhood services on an engagement website? You could choose the design and size of your local community centre. You could redesign the public transit routes that serve your neighborhood.
This idea reminds me of that popular computer game from the 1990s, Sim City. In the future, online engagement could take a similar form. The only difference is that it would be more interactive, more social and you could collaborate with others to co-design solutions to the problems we face in our communities, cities or our country.
6. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your experiences? How do you think this will see you through your future?
I’ve learned a lot over the past five years! But the most important thing is that, to help my clients get the insights they’re looking for, it’s my job to help them ask the right questions.
In planning projects, I always like to start working backwards from the end. I ask my clients, what would success look like? What do you want to know from the people you are engaging? And also, what information do we need to give to participants to make it deliberative, so that they can give you their informed perspectives?
If organizations don’t ask the right questions of the people they are trying to engage, they won’t be able to gather the experiences or ideas they’re looking for, as well as their broader engagement objectives.
Some final thoughts…
It has been and continues to be an amazing experience at Ascentum. Every day, I get to work with really smart people who are passionate about public involvement. I get to work with all kinds of neat clients on interesting and important issues. All of that makes it easy to get up in the mornings and come to work, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming year and the future beyond that.
-Holly Clark-
Tags: Ascentum, Informed Participation, Our Health Our Future, Project Innovation, Public Involvement, SIM City, Social Games, Social Media, Sustainable Decisions
Posted in Announcements, Commentary and Opinion, Staff | 1 Comment »
@ascentum tweets of the week
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
Here are some of the Twitter posts and links that we’d like to pass on from this week. You can find us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ascentum
-Stephan Telka-
Tags: Civic Engagement, e-engagement, Google+, GooglePlus, Government 2.0, Measuring engagement, Social Media, Society 2.0, Twitter, Youth engagement
Posted in MicroPost | No Comments »
Engaging with Google Plus: An Introduction
Friday, November 11th, 2011
Earlier this week, Google announced support for business and organization pages on Google+, the latest social network from Google. We’ve been following Google+ for several months and we thought it would be a good idea to review opportunities to get engaged on Google+.
Google+ is the latest social network from Google and offers the tightest integration with other Google services like Gmail and Search. Google combines the functionality of popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter into its own unique experience.
The first thing you’ll notice on Google is the very clean interface and the following + things. This is a combination of the Facebook “like” button and the Twitter re-tweet. Users can + links or photos that they like in their feed or on external websites. The + can also be used to address a user like +Ascentum, which is similar to Twitter’s @Ascentum system.
Adding the Plus
The easiest option for businesses and websites is to add the Google+ button to their site content. The integration is very similar to the Facebook Like button and allows users to quickly + content they find interesting on your website, many users also use this as a bookmarking system that they can refer to later.
The other major importance of adding the Google+ is impact on search. Google has indicated that the content with more pluses will receive higher search ranking. It would be a good opportunity to add this functionality now to help building your site’s prominence in the future.
Joining the Plus
Now that Google has added business pages it’s a great opportunity to add your business . Unlike Facebook or Twitter, Google+ doesn’t currently have the ability for multiple people to update an organization page. This functionality may be available soon but until then, we recommend creating a new Google User account specifically for your business page. Use this account exclusively to manage your Google+ Page.
Once you have your Google Account created, you can create your Google+ organization page here: https://plus.google.com/pages/create
The page setup is very simple but you’ll need a square image with your organization’s logo and some details to describe it concisely. Most of the Google+ Page fields will accept HTML links so you can link to your website for more information.
You will probably need to promote your new Google+ organization page on your webpage and other social networks to connect with users. One interesting benefit that Google has added to search is you can use +Ascentum to quickly find your companies Google+ Page.
As more users add your organization page you may want to develop some “Circles” of users to help group them into different categories. You can use these circles to communicate different information. For example, employees, volunteers and regular users can all get their own circle and receive different communication. Whenever you post something to your page you can choose which circle(s) should see the update.
Hanging Out…
One thing that makes Google+ unique is the the Hangout functionality. This lets you have a live video/chat with a fairly small number of users. This could be a great way to engage employees or volunteers without the time or expense of organizing personal meetings.
While Google+ is still fairly new it does offer some unique possibilities for engaging users and like all the networks before, it’s free to setup and experiment with.
-Colin Smilie-
Tags: Google+, GooglePlus, Social Media, Web 2.0
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | No Comments »
Simple Facts About Information Privacy Online
Friday, October 7th, 2011
I had the good fortune of attending MESH 2011 in Toronto back in May this year. Since Information privacy is something we take very seriously at Ascentum, one of the presentations that I chose to attend was on Information Privacy by Dominic Jaar where he highlighted some key facts about online privacy. Below I’ve summarized his key messages, and wrote how we try to overcome some of these challenges at Ascentum.
Privacy statements are usually hidden and are changed frequently
Almost all sites insist on making their registration process quick and simple. Therefore, they prefer to keep users from spending time on privacy statements. Here at Ascentum, we try to find a balance – between simplicity and ensuring that engagement website users take the time to read through and understand the fine print. Exposing users to our privacy statements is one of the key steps during registration.
What most sites also mention in their privacy statement is that they reserve the right to change their privacy statement without prior notice. And with all social media sites releasing new features almost every other day to keep up with the competition, it becomes a necessity to revisit privacy and settings as frequently as possible to keep your information safe.
It is among Ascentum’s best practices to not modify privacy statements after a website has been launch. In rare cases where we do need to make any changes to our privacy statement, we either follow it up with a clear and visible message on our home page and/or send out an email to our participants notifying them of the recent change.
Most mainstream users typically ignore privacy settings
In his book Simple and Usable, Giles Colborne outlined 3 main types of internet users. Experts, who are willing to spend time on a new product and its features and love to customize their products; Willing Adopters, who are tempted to use something sophisticated but uncomfortable with something entirely new; and finally Mainstreamers, who just use a product to get their job done.
Since there aren’t too many people who fall in to the first two groups, most sites are designed with Mainstreamers in mind. What that means is that site registration fields have been simplified and reduced to bare minimum. And newly registered accounts start off with preset privacy settings. Proper use of privacy settings is dependent on user skill set.
Ascentum approaches its website designs with all three users in mind and ensures no one is left in the dark based on their online skill sets. Along with our registration process presenting privacy statements clearly, our submission form feature further allows users to choose whether they would like to make their entries public or keep them private and only for analysis.
Privacy policies of a site are compelled by law of the country the site is hosted in
Back in 2009, Facebook had to readdress their privacy settings after they were found to be in conflict with the Canadian Privacy Law. Similarly, LinkedIn privacy policies are bound by California Government Law which may not necessarily agree with information privacy laws in other countries.
Ascentum counters these privacy conflicts by hosting all web sites locally. Our servers reside in Canada and come equipped with SSL encryption by default to ensure maximum data privacy.
So why share your information at all?
Answer: Return on Investment (ROI), i.e. visibility, contacts, connections, better product deals, etc..
- In the case of Facebook, your ROI could be connection with friends, coworkers or family.
- In the case of LinkedIn, your ROI could be professional contacts, following your favourite brands and companies, career advancement.
- By participating online for Ascentum, your ROI could be ability to enable change and make a difference in the field you care about most. Whether it is a change in the workplace, schools, healthcare or your own community.
Conclusion
Here at Ascentum, we ensure that our process of dealing with user-related information abides with Canadian legislation. However, when it comes to popular social media, the best practice in order to ensure your information privacy is to use common sense. At the end of the day, users control what they share on the web regardless of privacy policies set by social media platforms.
-Salman Shakeel-
Tags: Facebook, MESH, Privacy Policy, Social Media
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | No Comments »
Why RIM Fails – The Kindle Fire
Thursday, September 29th, 2011
I remember how excited I was when I got my first blackberry. It was thick, black with a monochrome screen, but it was beautiful. Finally I could get emails, contacts, and a phone all in one. Goodbye abandoned and gently used palm pilots, and hello thumbs.
The first few blackberries I had were fantastic. They did what they were supposed to do really well. The other bells and whistles were slightly useful, like mobile web browsing or the music player, but they could be ignored. Then something happened that changed mobile phones, arguably forever – the iPhone. It did a lot of things really well. It did the basics (phone, email, calendar), and it also made mobile browsing functional. What changed it all was consolidation of media (songs, videos) that people already had and the already legendary app store.
It was around this time that RIM, in an attempt to compete with Apple, decided to push products to the market too early. The Storm was the worst and last blackberry I ever had. The touch was flawed, the clickety screen was a rate-limiting factor, and the thing rebooted like a 386 running windows 95 (aka constantly). It was an embarrassment. Instead of learning from that mistake in 2008, fast forward to 2011 and the release of the Playbook. Once again trying to compete with an Apple game changer, RIM releases a product that just wasn’t ready. Shortcomings were a camera with no camera app, and no native mail app. Let’s put that together with a wasteland for an app store and the fact that the arcane process for creating an app is a barrier (and affront) to developers.
Now Amazon just released the Kindle Fire. I will bet today that it is a game changer in the tablet market at a price point of $199. It doesn’t do everything at that price, but it does many things well. It provides access to movies and music, e-reader excellence, and an enhanced web browser that leverages Amazon’s server capacity. Why didn’t Bezos et al release this six months ago? Because it wasn’t ready! Why will it work? It will hum because there is access to a breadth of content that Amazon already has. The Fire is just another channel to the diversity of Amazon’s content.
Dear RIM, it’s time to wake up. I loved you once. You are Canadian. We should be proud of you, but now we are not. Stop putting products on the market when they aren’t ready. Learn! Pretty please, learn!!
PS – this really isn’t a public participation post, but a social media hardware post. Couldn’t help myself.
-Joseph Peters-
Tags: Kindle Fire, new technogies, RIM, Social Media, Usability
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | No Comments »
Twitter, Dialogue and #elxn41
Friday, May 13th, 2011
Here at Ascentum, we’re really interested in how people are using social media to connect, get involved, and engage in dialogue on issues that matter to them.
That’s why I volunteered to be part of a small team led by digital guru Mark Blevis (@MarkBlevis) that looked at how people were using Twitter on the night of Canada’s 2011 federal election.
In space provided by The Canadian Press (thanks @CdnPress_Ott!) we spent a fun evening together following the posts, unfolding events and the stream on Twitter related to the election.
We used a Canadian social media monitoring tool called Sysomos to find and follow the traffic. Using a powerful and customized search, we were able to pinpoint and track posts that mentioned any one of over 100 keywords or criteria. For a detailed analysis of results, I’d recommend visiting Mark’s ongoing research at http://www.markblevis.com.
Lots of traffic, but less dialogue
That night, I was excited to see the high level of interest, buzz and traffic about the election on Twitter. At the end of the night, we measured a total of 90,150 election tweets, from 45,075 users. There was a community of Twitter users across Canada, and beyond, sharing the same real-time experience of democracy in action. There was genuine engagement in the process.
What I didn’t see as much of, however, was real dialogue. By dialogue, I don’t just mean people talking to each other. As practitioners have observed, dialogue is to “honestly expressing perspectives, clarifying viewpoints, and developing solutions. The goal of dialogue is to deepen understanding and judgment, and to think about ways to make a difference on an issue.”
Understandably, on election night, people were more focused on news and results than policy issues. However, even during the campaign, though, the twitter traffic on #elxn41 seemed to be more partisan than “transpartisan” – people looking beyond party politics to engage in dialogue on bigger issues of public concern.
It will definitely be interesting to see how the Twitter community continues to evolve in the future and whether members can shift the interaction to facilitate more dialogic exchange.
Mark, Stephanie and Nygel: same place next time?
- Ellis Westwood -
Tags: elected officials, Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0, Youth engagement
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | 2 Comments »
Hear the Stories, Change the Practice, Change Patient Experiences…
Friday, November 26th, 2010
The best way to improve services is to listen to people’s experiences and their ideas, then use these as inputs for change….
We’re really pleased to be working with The Change Foundation on a new public engagement initiative.
If you’ve never heard of the Foundation before, I’d encourage you to learn more about them. They are an Ontario think tank whose mission is to improve the health-care experience of individuals and caregivers as they move in, out of, and across the health-care system. They do great work and are staffed by a dedicated and creative team.
Making the case for public engagement can be hard. Sometimes, people have trouble seeing the benefits or understanding the need to talk to stakeholders the public directly. From our perspective, though, it’s the people who use or even deliver programs or services who are best situated to identify problems and potential solutions.
We’re working with The Change Foundation to design new ways to help them engage caregivers and individual patients using social media and other involvement tools or techniques.
The reason we are partnering with them in this effort comes straight from their new strategic plan, and offers one of the clearest and most powerful cases for public engagement I think I’ve ever read:
We’ve set our sights on improving people’s experiences as they move through Ontario’s health-care system. Instead of being shuffled back and forth, people need to be connected to quality care and support wherever they are, clear about whom to turn to and talk to, assured of what comes next.
We will listen to the lived realities of caregivers and their loved ones who need help and health care. We’ll hear–and heed–what their experience tells us must be done. We’ll engage with the stewards, stakeholders and users of our health-care system, sharing what we’ve learned on the ground, using evidence, analysis and argument to incite change.
And it won’t come at all if we don’t change the debate, change the practice, change the experience.
The basic message is this. You can’t make a change unless you understand people’s experiences and their ideas for improvement.
- Ellis Westwood -
Tags: Business Case, Case Study, Public Involvement, Social Media
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | No Comments »
Ascentum is hiring a Social Media Developer! Does this sound like you?
Thursday, November 4th, 2010
Ascentum is an innovative professional services firm, recognized as a Canadian leader in the field of public involvement, and we are recruiting for a full-time Social Media Developer.
Ascentum employs a variety of integrated online, social media and in-person tools, techniques and technologies to apply their philosophy of informed participation to public involvement. Through our flexible, comprehensive approach to knowledge-gathering, we aim to enrich public involvement and reveal the ideas, perspectives and values that empower our clients to make sustainable decisions on complex issues.
If you are the ideal candidate, you have a structured approach to problem solving and creative mind. You are also able to work with Web-based technology, interpret technical documentation, develop creative client solutions, and consistently deliver exceptionally high quality work. You are a strong team player, but are also a results-oriented self-starter, capable of demonstrating initiative and working independently. You enjoy the variety and the opportunity to continuously expand your skill and knowledge base offered by project-oriented work. Finally, you passionately believe in the importance of giving people a voice in decisions that affect them.
The full job description is available here.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you…!
Tags: Jobs at Ascentum, Social Media
Posted in Announcements | No Comments »
How governments are using social media to join conversations, not just ‘broadcast’
Friday, October 8th, 2010
Federal, provincial and municipal governments across Canada are taking steps to use social media to communicate with and engage their publics.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), for example, uses social networking, microblogging, widgets and video sharing to provide information and participate in a dialogue on living healthily. The City of Guelph is using social media to help local residents commute during an especially busy summer construction period, and give personalize help when users posted difficult experiences with roads or bus routes.
What do these examples have in common? They are based on an understanding that the public expects that government will join and participate in conversations taking place in social media spaces – not just use them simply as channels to broadcast.
In practical terms, this means that government organizations should have develop the following tools and processes to ensure that they are ready to engage in two-way communications on social media:
- Social Media Strategy: developed through internal dialogue and engagement, this blueprint will outline objective, desired relationships and target audiences, appropriate social media presences to meet these objectives, and performance measurement approach to assess ROI (return on investment)
- Monitoring Approaches: “monitoring” sounds sinister, but in the social media context is about finding and following relevant dialogues where government contribution would help participants and add value.
- Processes to Govern Interventions: Government organizations need to bring together traditional media and social media monitoring services, and ensure that the right tools and processes are in place to find conversations, assess whether to take part, and how. This could include “triggers” such as incorrect factual information, or when government could help participants find services they are looking. And, finally, bring able to post timely government contributions requires the right flexible approvals processes.
For me, this part of an exciting shift from Government 2.0, where information was made public through passive posting on websites, to Government 3.0 where governments bring personalized help and advice to people where they are on social media.
- Ellis Westwood -
Tags: Objectives, Social Media, Strategy, Tools, Web 2.0
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | No Comments »
Ascentum presenting at the next Social Media for Government conference
Friday, September 17th, 2010
Ascentum’s delighted to be speaking at the next Advanced Learning Institute (ALI) Social Media for Government conference in Ottawa, September 27-30.
We’ll be presenting on a recent high profile public engagement project we were involved with – the online consultation on a Digital Economy Strategy for Canada. We’ll be describing the process design, launch, the challenges we encountered along the way, and our principal learnings, alongside the great team from Industry Canada.
Our slot is on September 29. We’d love to see you there!
You can read more about the conference here, including how to register.
Tags: Digital Economy Strategy, Social Media, Social Media for Government Conference
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | No Comments »
How to use Smartphones to make your next in-person dialogue awesome!
Friday, September 3rd, 2010
Smartphones bring the world into users’ hands. Web access, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and apps allow people to access, share and co-create knowledge in real time.
They are also powerful tools that can make in-person dialogues awesome – both in terms of generating shared information and giving participants a more engaging experience.
And, researchers estimate that there are over 5 million Canadians with Smartphones. They are becoming more common as tools for business and/or personal use.
Earlier this week, we read a great blog by Dwayne at LearningCycle.ca called “35 Ways to Use an iPhone in a Workshop”. Some are there for fun but there are quite a few thoughtful ways to use iPhones or other Smartphones in workshop.
Here are our favourite 5:
Camera: Use it to snap pictures of group activities, flip charts, and other knowledge products participants create during small group breakouts. These can be analyzed and included in reports, as well as shared online.
Video: Use it to capture the “story” of the day – the opening, group interactions, individual conversations, and even personal “what I learned” or reflections interviews at the end of the event. This could be easily edited and kept as a time capsule, shared with participants only or posted online for the broader community experience the event as well.
Twitter: With an LCD display and active search enabled, use it to ask participants questions and have them @message or DM replies. 140 characters isn’t much, but it can help participants express their ideas concisely! (You can read an earlier blog with more tips for using Twitter at in-person events here)
Wikipedia app or Google search: Use them to check facts, conduct quick research and bring additional knowledge to play to inform deliberations and make they are truly evidence-informed.
Networking: Use it to help participants build professional networks or stay in touch. On the free Bump App for iPhones, participants can “bump” fists with their devices and exchange contact information wirelessly. It’s as easy as shaking hands… only more fun.
A big thanks to @learningcycle for a great blog that got us thinking…
Ellis Westwood & Stephan Telka
Tags: Camera, Dialogue, Facebook, In-person, iPhone, Social Media, Technology, Twitter, Video
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | 1 Comment »
Ascentum and Public Participation: Impressions of Our First Co-Op Student
Friday, January 29th, 2010
My name is Tristan Eclarin, and I’m currently working towards my Masters in Public Administration at the University of Victoria. This semester, I’m working here at Ascentum as a co-op student. I’m excited about the opportunity to learn everything I can about public participation and social media, and I’d like to share some of my first impressions:
1. We could be the generation that truly pushes civic engagement into the mainstream. I used to 
struggle with the idea of social media as a means of getting citizens engaged. But when you consider the technology that has emerged over the past few years, how rapidly it develops and evolves, and how it has been integrated into our everyday lives, you can imagine the possibilities. The claim here is not that social media, by itself, can make citizens more engaged. But if we refine the ways we use it, the easier it will be for people to get involved in issues they care about. However, a lot of this depends on my next insight…
2. It’s all about using social media effectively. Social media is an undeniably powerful tool: it is used for a wide range of purposes, and by different kinds of people and organizations. So how do we use social media to truly engage citizens? Although context is a significant factor, the key is developing good strategy and being increasingly innovative. If there is a message you want to convey, remember a few things:
- Use the tools that are appropriate for your purpose. There is no universal approach, and some work better than others,
- Think of ways to make your cause stand out from all the others out there,
- You need to evoke effective meaning to the people you’re trying to reach…don’t just advertise your company or brag about what’s going on in your life…say something important, or at least interesting!
3. Developing and implementing consultation approaches is often a strategically demanding process. Engaging citizens in public policy decisions requires a high level of strategic and technical planning, attention to detail, and long-term commitment by the organizations involved. However, these challenges do not diminish the social importance of conducting public and stakeholder consultations. With the time, energy and knowledge, there is always a way to meaningfully connect with the public.
That’s it for now! I’ll be with Ascentum until the end of April, at which point I return to school in Victoria. I’ll be blogging between now and then and will make sure to post a final blog on what I’ve learned before I leave.
- Tristan Eclarin -
Tags: Asentum, Co-op, Consultation, Social Media, Tristan Eclarin
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | 1 Comment »
This week, New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Charlie Angus, an inveterate tweeter, bid adieu to the Twitterverse. He acknowledges being a big fan/user of social media but fears that Twitter is “morphing into a bully pulpit for trolls. It is a technology that favours the flash mob.” He goes on to say “that the digital mob is no different from a street mob. It can be excitable, good-natured or vicious, but don’t ever mistake the mob for democracy.”
Engaging the Public…Through Pins?
Thursday, July 12th, 2012
With over 13 million users (and counting), it’s no doubt that the particular appeal of this tool is its swift simplicity; the ability to easily pin images, add relevant descriptions and comments, as well as post links to draw traffic to different sites. Pinterest is the online scrapbook; documenting everything from current events and recipes to runway fashion. It engages people through the universal love of imagery. The question we are all asking ourselves now is: How can I conquer this new tool, and gain from it?
As a public involvement firm that regularly uses social media to engage people in decision-making processes, we’ve been following the uptake of the tool with avid interest. Thus far, we are cautiously optimistic that Pinterest could be used to engage the public.
As public sector blogger Michael Bernard points out; governments can use Pinterest to share visual content that people love to see. National Parks, for example, have the opportunity to post pictures featuring changes to nearby parks, whether it’s a new picnic shelter, trail or the budding of leaves in the spring. Cities, on the other hand, can keep their citizens updated visually on new buildings, summer recreational sport leagues, or the progress of a new bridge being built.
There is also an opportunity to engage citizens by asking them to share their ideas through visual content. Whether it’s designing new buildings, greening their city, decorating public spaces or integrating new school programs, cities can seek input from their citizens in a completely new form. It’s a new kind of dialogue: one that is based on images rather than words.
The City of Edmonton has picked up this idea in their “Designing New Neighborhoods” strategy, asking Edmontonions to share their ideas with the city and each other about what they thought characterized a sustainable neighborhood. Citizens were invited to pin pictures to the City of Edmonton Pinterest page of what they thought portrayed the fundamental building blocks of great communities.
Our team at Ascentum has also been conjuring up ways to put our tool to use. We decided it would be interesting to ask people what engagement meant to them; the quintessential image that defines this broad reaching concept. Something clearly not as easy as it sounds; but therein lays the challenge, the intrigue, and our desired outcome: better decisions by including a diversity of voices.
If you haven’t already created a Pinterest page, give it a try. See why it’s become so popular. In the meantime, we suggest you check out the Ascentum Pinterest Page, and use your pictorial imagination to tell us what engagement means to you.
Send your images, with a brief description (optional) to pinterest@ascentum.com.
Happy pinning!
-Holly Clark-
Resources:
Tags: Pinterest, public engagement, Public Involvement, Social Media, trends
Posted in Commentary and Opinion | 1 Comment »