communicatto

Facebook: 500 million strong and no IPO in sight

Doug Lacombe — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:45:54 +0000

Credit: TheSportsJuke.com

Social networking site Facebook hit a benchmark 500 million users this week, complete with much fanfare and celebration. But some folks weren’t celebrating, either because they are no longer enamoured of Facebook or they don’t have a profile at all.

It’s pretty easy for people like me to generalize our own experiences and habits and apply them to the entire population – always a wrong-headed move to extrapolate to the general populace from a sample of one. Just because I’m on Facebook (admittedly less and less) doesn’t mean you are.

In a socialmediatoday.com post entitled “93 per cent of the world is not on Facebook,” Matt Rhodes writes … continued on TheStarPhoenix.com.

Blogging key to healthy democracy

Doug Lacombe — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 14:05:46 +0000

It is said if you don’t vote, you get the government you deserve. In other words, exercise your democratic right or suffer the consequences.

The same can now be said for having a voice in social media, particularly blogging. If you don’t create content, you have willingly issued your own gag order. Rest assured, in the cacophony of “citizen journalism,” someone more shrill and with lesser intellect will take your spot.

I’ve decided my paternal grandfather, Douglas Vincent Lacombe, was the original blogger. Why do I engage in such revisionist history? Because I see blogging as an ideology as much as an activity.

Continued on TheStarPhoenix.com

Social media measures up to other media

Doug Lacombe — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:55:31 +0000

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

This phrase, popularized by Mark Twain, gets to the heart of a current trend that is troubling — holding social media to greater account than any other medium past or present.

Business people talk a lot about the “Return on Investment” (ROI) that social media does or does not offer. While businesses absolutely should ensure time is not wasted on trivial or unproductive matters, it is possible to strangle an initiative by holding it to impossibly high standards … continued on TheStarPhoenix.com

Social media marketing can’t stand alone

Doug Lacombe — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 16:30:20 +0000

War, huh, yeah

What is it good for

Absolutely nothing

Uh-huh

There’s an increasing chorus of voices that, somewhat like the lyric from the ’60s hit protest song War, wonders whether social media may be good for “absolutely nothing” when it comes to business.

Oddly enough, for a fellow who runs a Calgary social media agency, I agree with a lot of the naysayers … continued at TheStarPhoenix.com

Alberta Venture asks “What does a career in social media mean?”

Doug Lacombe — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:19:52 +0000

Even for those executives whose organizations live and breathe on the weird, wide web every day, it can be difficult to make sense of the muddled opportunities of social media. For example, what’s the benefit of marketing online if you don’t understand the potential return on investment (ROI)? Will tapping tools such as Twitter and Facebook drive your PR strategy to new heights, or does such uncontrollable exposure risk brand suicide? Not everybody who claims to be a ‘social media expert’ can be, can they? Full article on AlbertaVenture.com

News Talk 650 interview on social media and age

Doug Lacombe — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:18:39 +0000

Richard Brown (sitting in for John Gormley) of News Talk 650 CKOM interviews Doug Lacombe of Calgary social media agency communicatto on the topic of social media, age, adoption rates, and its impact on journalism.

Listen now to the roughly 15 minute interview:

A little grey distinguishes social media

Doug Lacombe — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:17:42 +0000

Photo credit: well.ca

There’s a pervasive myth that social media is only for young people — the “college kids in the basement” stereotype. Not true.

Ongoing surveys by Zinc Research (ZincResearch.com) and partner Dufferin Research show nearly 80 per cent of Canadians are on some social network and more than two-thirds of Canadians are on Facebook.

From their October 2009 news release: “Over the past year, there has been a surge in Canadians joining Facebook. And most of the growth has come from adults 35 years or older …” continued on TheStarPhoenix.com.

Provocation from @mitchjoel, excitation from @garyvee at #TAOM

Doug Lacombe — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 12:10:10 +0000

@CassieStrom, @GaryVee and @SBKelsick at TAOM Calgary

This week started with a bang for me — I got to spend Monday listening to marketing brainiacs at The Art of Marketing conference in Calgary, including two social media rock stars, Mitch Joel and Gary Vaynerchuk.

Joel is the president of Montreal-based Twist Image, a digital marketing agency, as well as author of the bestselling book Six Pixels of Separation. Vaynerchuk is a much sought-after speaker, co-founder of social media consultancy Vayner Media and author of the bestselling book Crush it.

The day was a phenomenal opportunity to “get out of the weeds” and really think about the macro trends that are happening in marketing, specifically digital media … continued on TheStarPhoenix.com

communicatto chatto: Interview with “Fascinate” author Sally Hogshead #TAOM @sallyhogshead

Doug Lacombe — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:24:27 +0000

In anticipation of the upcoming “The Art of Marketing” conference that’s coming to Calgary June 14, 2010, Sally Hogshead, internationally renowned speaker and author of the marketing best-seller ‘Fascinate” regaled me with tales of marketing triggers, the F-bomb, Jagermeister, and Tim Horton’s. Grab a Timmy’s and take thirty minutes to listen in:

Interview with Sally Hogshead

You can see Sally and an incredible lineup of marketers at “The Art of Marketing” on June 14, here’s what to expect:

The case for less in social media

Doug Lacombe — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:01:46 +0000

Credit: Ludwig Gatzke

Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Passwords, for example, or information about someone’s every move, or social networks.

Numerous info-graphics have appeared on flickr and other image-sharing sites showing the plethora of social media brands that exist. With names like Plurk and Orkut, they sound more like bathroom noises than brands (although Orkut is the Google employee’s name who developed that service, so there’s some charm in that).

Overabundance, of course, is standard operating practice at the birth of any industry … continued on TheStarPhoenix.com