Number of candidates’ Facebook fans

Several of them probably represent your view of what you’d like Calgary to be. But how do you decide who has a serious chance at winning – and should get your vote – and to which candidate would your vote be a throw-away?

Polls are one way to find out what other Calgarians are thinking. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been asked to participate in a poll. (I don’t have a home phone, so my opinion is automatically ineligible.) Plus, in these polls you can only pick one candidate, so we can’t really tell who else you are considering.

The good news is we have a freely accessible tool that represents the average Calgarian perfectly: Facebook.

The site’s demographics are almost exactly the same as Calgary’s. (Yes, people over the age of 45 do use the networking site, making up about 35 per cent of its users, while 34.4 per cent of Calgarians fall into this demographic.)

On Facebook you can tell who is considering multiple candidates — they are a “fan” of several. You can also tell who doesn’t care — they haven’t joined any candidate’s page. It takes everyone into account. More importantly, you can gauge each campaign’s momentum.

On Facebook it’s clear that Ric McIver is in the lead, and has been for some time. However, what is also clear is that his support has flatlined.

Naheed Nenshi and Barb Higgins, meanwhile, are gaining a following at a rate no other candidate has come close to sustaining. But will either of them have enough time to overtake McIver’s lead before election day? If the current trend continues, the answer for Nenshi is “yes,” and the answer for Higgins is “no.” Things can change over the next 45 days, however so I wouldn’t count either out.

It is also surprising that there is a very clear fourth candidate in this race. Kent Hehr is plodding along at a growth rate similar to the candidates below him, but he has almost double the “fans.”

However, he’s got a long way to go to catch up with the Big 3.

Everyone else has some soul-searching to do. If you can’t even drum up support on Facebook, I’m not confident you’ll be able to bring citizens together after you’re elected.

Original: http://www.metronews.ca/calgary/local/article/622474–writing-s-on-the-facebook-wall

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Number of candidates’ Facebook fans

We now stand at 17 mayoral candidates. Obviously only one of them will be our next mayor.

Several of them probably represent your view of what you’d like Calgary to be. But how do you decide who has a serious chance at winning – and should get your vote – and to which candidate would your vote be a throw-away?

Polls are one way to find out what other Calgarians are thinking. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been asked to participate in a poll. (I don’t have a home phone, so my opinion is automatically ineligible.) Plus, in these polls you can only pick one candidate, so we can’t really tell who else you are considering.

The good news is we have a freely accessible tool that represents the average Calgarian perfectly: Facebook.

The site’s demographics are almost exactly the same as Calgary’s. (Yes, people over the age of 45 do use the networking site, making up about 35 per cent of its users, while 34.4 per cent of Calgarians fall into this demographic.)

On Facebook you can tell who is considering multiple candidates — they are a “fan” of several. You can also tell who doesn’t care — they haven’t joined any candidate’s page. It takes everyone into account. More importantly, you can gauge each campaign’s momentum.

On Facebook it’s clear that Ric McIver is in the lead, and has been for some time. However, what is also clear is that his support has flatlined.

Naheed Nenshi and Barb Higgins, meanwhile, are gaining a following at a rate no other candidate has come close to sustaining. But will either of them have enough time to overtake McIver’s lead before election day? If the current trend continues, the answer for Nenshi is “yes,” and the answer for Higgins is “no.” Things can change over the next 45 days, however so I wouldn’t count either out.

It is also surprising that there is a very clear fourth candidate in this race. Kent Hehr is plodding along at a growth rate similar to the candidates below him, but he has almost double the “fans.”

However, he’s got a long way to go to catch up with the Big 3.

Everyone else has some soul-searching to do. If you can’t even drum up support on Facebook, I’m not confident you’ll be able to bring citizens together after you’re elected.

Original: http://www.metronews.ca/calgary/local/article/622474–writing-s-on-the-facebook-wall

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Apple has introduced a slew of new products in their annual iPod makeover. This year however, it’s really time for more than just the back to school kids to pay attention.

Here are the four most important reasons why your tourism business should invest in a new iPod and benefit from understanding the possibilities of iPod / iTunes makeover to improve your business.

1. High Definition video is built right into the iPod Touch. Are you kidding me? Go to your favourite big box store and look into buying an HD video camera to shoot video for your business. For $200 you can have an HD video camera that does a heck of a lot more than shoot video!  Your international guests can even make person to person video phone calls over wifi networks – with an iPod!
   
2. Experience how easy it is to make handheld reviews and give recommendations. iPod Touch with it’s inherent wifi and instant access to apps makes it easy guests to review your business.   Another reminder to open up the wifi in your building (and beyond) and invite guests to leave reviews.  Traveler reviews is the currency of social networking.  If you are still charging guests for wifi, get an iPod, and learn how easy it is to post reviews on the likes of TripAdvisor, Yelp! and others.  Maybe once you see how guests use it, you’ll give wifi away (like you do with the towels and napkins) like the cool hotels and restaurants do.
3. Start building your location-based information resource for guests. The introduction of camera on iPod Touch will create a larger uptake in the use of QR (Quick Response) codes and other optical triggers like Microsoft Tags to allow you to provide rich media to your ideal guests.  Consider, what information, photos, video, music, audio can I share with my guests here and now that would enhance their experience.  QR codes let guests with iPhones Touch instantly link to that content.  Serve the family market, put QR codes on garden gnomes and send the kiddies on their way. (thx @nancyarsenault).  Got an amazing piece of art hanging on your wall, link to the artists Wikipedia page.  Got a translated verson of your menu online? Link to it from your existing menu. …. etc.  QR codes is how McDonalds in Japan provides nutritional information on their food products.
   
4. With Ping Apple has made it easy for fans and followers to give music recommendations.  Could Ping be the next social network your guests want to follow you on. You play music at your location right?  Ever had a guest wonder who your favourite musical artists are?  Who is playing in your background music?  I wonder if your guests might want to follow you for your musical tastes?  The future of Apples social network could make it THE location to share photos and video along with music. Is Facebook’s lunch next on Apple’s menu?   Wouldn’t it be easy for Apple to let you share your calendar, status updates, etc. with your iPod or iPhone contacts through such a network as Ping?
   

Got any ideas on a fifth reason your restaurant, hotel or inn should buy a new iPod?