A podcast featuring discussions about the role of digital in the NDP Leadership Campaigns, the future of the NDP and Canadian politics with:

• Evan Solomon (CBC Power and Politics)
• Joe Cressy (Paul Dewar)
• Mike Fancee (Thomas Mulcair)
• Dave Scrivener (Peggy Nash)
• Coree Tull (Nathan Cullen)
• Brian Topp

I hope to speak with Niki Ashton and Martin Singh, today.

Podcast: Digital, #ndpldr, #ndp and Canadian politics is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Franklin Holtforster of MHPM (Many Happy Projects Managed) delivered a fantastic keynote at #2012Leap. While his thoughts on leadership were interesting, I was particularly intrigued by how he crafted elevator pitches. In fact, his focus on the importance of effective communication skills as the foundation of effective leadership goes against the common view of engineers as dry technical folk. I suggested he should brand himself a Communication and Leadership Engineer.

Franklin, Lea Werthman and I connected at the post-conference reception and talked about elevator pitches. Our conversation addressed the fact that some elevator pitches might be directed at people whom we hold in esteem, or may be full-fledged celebrities.

Have a listen to the attached file to hear what we talked about.

Photo: Elevator Shaft, New York, NY uploaded to Flickr by Grufnik

Going up: effective elevator pitches is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Brad has been instrumental in the transformation of the NDP party. I spoke with him earlier today about the role digital played in last year’s federal election, how he sees digital impacting the party’s ongoing communications and outreach activities, and marketing political parties through their leaders.

Listen to the podcast to hear excerpts of our conversation.

I’ve included the videos mentioned in the conversation here. Brad’s official bio appears below.

Brad was the New Democratic National Campaign Director for the May 2011 federal general election that resulted in the Party’s best election result in its 50 year history, gaining over 4.5 million votes and 103 seats, making the New Democratic Party Canada’s Official Opposition. Between 2008 and 2011 Brad served as National Director of the NDP, overseeing the political and administrative operations of the federal party. From 2006 to 2009 Brad served as Director of Strategic Communications for the Hon. Jack Layton and from 2003 to 2006 Director of Communications for the Party. For years Brad has been a regular columnist for the Hill Times Newspaper and a regular panelist on both CBC Newsworld and CTV News Channel. Prior to his assignments with the federal party, Brad worked for the New Democrat government in British Columbia. Between 1998 and 2001 Brad worked as an advisor in the Premier’s Office as well as an Assistant to the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Advanced Education, Training & Technology.

Brad Lavigne on transforming political communication and outreach is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I mixed in clips of podcasting friends, daycare community friends and my daughters reading excerpts of In Flanders Fields and was able to secure permission to use songs by Bryan Adams and The Duhks.

The resulting podcast is attached to this post.

Remembrance Day from the CD Into The Fire by Bryan Adams and The Bantry Girls Lament / The Ol’ Yellow House from the CD Your Daughters and Your Sons by The Duhks (The Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion) used with permission.

Photo: Remembrance Day Poppies Laying on a Soldier’s Kit in Afghanistan uploaded to Flickr by UK Ministry of Defence.

Lest we forget is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I followed up with each respondent, inviting them to individual non-partisan conversations about digital in the election campaign; conversations I’d release as podcasts.

Dalton McGuinty’s team responded very quickly saying they’d get back to me. I never heard back. Tim Hudak’s people called and offered me an interview with a representative from Lisa MacLeod’s campaign. I politely declined saying I’m most interested in the leaders’ views. The woman said she’d get back to me. I never heard back. Mike Schreiner’s campaign manager patiently negotiated two very busy calendars to arrange a conversation which finally took place earlier this evening.

I really enjoy that each conversation I have on the subject of digital channels and political engagement is so vastly different for the others. Mr. Schreiner and I spoke about some of the opportunities social media presents (which traditional campaigning don’t). We also explored some of the challenges of managing social media engagement, particularly those faced by a leader tasked who wants to allow freedom of engagement while still bringing some sense of cohesion to his field of candidates.

Conversation with Mike Schreiner is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

By the way, I’ll be looking to engage local voters as part of my role on the election coverage team with Rogers Television. Keep following my blog and Twitter stream (@markblevis) for opportunities to provide input on the upcoming debates.

Yasir Naqvi (Liberal)

Mr. Naqvi relates the evolution of constituent communication and some of his experiences helping to get the media folks at Queen’s Park to prepare web-ready clips of Question Period in the legislature.

Robert Dekker (Conservative)

Mr. Dekker shares his enthusiasm for the potential of digital to engage people using content appropriate to the culture of each channel. We are briefly joined by a wasp that wanted to share Robert’s latte.

Anil Naidoo (NDP)

Mr. Naidoo comes across as more skeptical about the potential impact of digital media to an election campaign and engaging with constituents. Rather than “baking digital” into his core campaign strategy, Mr. Naidoo is treating digital as an add-on, self-broadcast medium.

Kevin O’Donnell (Green)

Full disclosure… I’ve known Kevin since we worked together at iSTAR in the mid-90s. At the time, neither of us was involved in politics or political analysis. This conversation digs more into the geekery of digital in politics including analytics. Kevin also offers some insider tips.

Ottawa Centre candidates on the role of digital in the Ontario election is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I spoke with Anthony over Skype last Monday (September 5), just a few days before the writ was dropped to initiate the Ontario provincial election. I was eager to speak to Anthony as someone in-the-know about social media, digital culture, content creation and audience engagement to learn his views on the role of digital in the election and how he plans to use it. Listen to the attached audio file to hear (most) of our conversation. I plan to check in with Anthony and other candidates throughout the election. I’ll post the podcasts on my blog.

Where to find Anthony:

• NDP candidate web page
• Personal website
• Twitter
• Elect Anthony Marco: Niagara West – Glanbrook Facebook Fan Page (with podcast)

Anthony Marco and the role of digital in the Ontario election is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Checking in on the IABC world conference is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Earlier this evening I chatted with my co-panelists: Nygel Weishar (Sysomos) and Gosia Radaczynska (formerly of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition).

Our session takes place tomorrow (June 12) from 12:30pm to 1:45pm as part of the Media & Public Relations track and we’ll be podcasting routinely during the conference.

As part of this podcast discussion, we talk about the following video (watched 187,951 times at the time of this post).

Follow conference chatter online using the #IABC11 hashtag.

Digital Public Affairs Podcast: Social media monitoring and political campaigns at IABC World Conference is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Relevant information and links

• Number of candidates with Twitter accounts during the election (descending order)
  • Liberal: 181
  • NDP: 143
  • Conservative: 135
  • Green: 116
  • Bloc: 35
• A powerful and hopeful pencil mark (Michael’s blog post)

Digital Public Affairs Podcast: social media and public affairs in the new Parliament is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Among the topics:

• Stand out social media moments
• The Velocity Election
• The unexpected shift in polls
• Canada’s seven-year political cycle
• Political system under an NDP government
• Social media after the election
• Digital monitoring on election day
• Canada Elections Act
• Predictions

Digital Public Affairs Podcast: social media, velocity, polls, lobbying and the 7 year cycle is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I’d never recorded a show of my own monologue, especially while doing something like preparing dinner. It was a fun experience during which I talked about a number ideas, people and events.

• Bison Stew recipe from which my Bison/Elk Stoup was adapted
• Sir Ken Robinson’s TEDTalk
• CreatorCamp Ottawa including presenters Christopher Griffin, CC Chapman, Tom Hofstatter, Sue Muphy and Alison Gresik
• Robert Farrell, with whom I’ve been in bands and co-wrote music
• Bob Goyetche, my partner in the Canadian Podcast Buffet, the PAB conference and CreatorCamp
• Bob Ledrew, a fellow PR professional with whom I co-produce PR and Other Deadly Sins
• PodCamp Halifax

BISON/ELK STOUP (most measurements subject to change)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 pound bison or elk meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 cups minced yellow onion
• 2-3 large stalks of celery (chopped)
• 4-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried cloves
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1-2 cups chopped fresh parsley or coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme or basil
• 2 large sweet potatoes (chopped into bite-sized pieces)
• 2-3 large carrots (chopped)

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a stewing pot oven over medium-high heat
2. Brown the bison/elk meat in oil, 2 to 3 minutes per side
3. Remove the bison/elk and set aside
4. Pour 1 tablespoon canola oil into the stewing pot
5. Cook and stir the onion and celery in the oil until soft, about 5 minutes
6. Add the garlic; cook and stir another 2 to 3 minutes
7. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to coat
8. Stir in the broth, water, pepper, cloves, tomato sauce, parsley, and thyme; bring to a boil
9. Add the bison/elk, carrots and sweet potato and stir through
10. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 to 1.5 hours

Serve with fresh bread and a glass of shiraz (adults only).

Creativity, inspiration and confidence in the kitchen is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I had the privilege of speaking with CC about the book, content and context — and I even worked in a question on CC’s thoughts about the role of content in public affairs and politics. The result is the first podcast on this site in a LONG time!

Following the interview, CC, Bob Goyetche and I spoke about organizing the first ever Creator Camp to take place in the evening of December 8. I’ll post updates to that here and on my Twitter feed (@markblevis).

Interview with C.C. Chapman is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I ended up having a bit too much fun with it. By the time I was done pulling ideas together, the music sounded like a hybrid of Prince and Barry White. So, I woke up early the next morning and embellished my morning voice to do a satirical spoken word track. I made an eight-second version as well; the long one is much more ridiculous and worth a listen.

I’d completely forgotten about it until I stumbled across it on my hard drive this morning. I had a great laugh listening to it and, since I have no shame, I thought I’d share it.

Photo of Mitch Joel and John Wall by Bob Goyetche.

You’ve got a great voice (So much to give) is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I had the privilege of speaking with Liberal MP Denis Coderre and NDP MP Libby Davies about their use of Twitter. Unfortunately, Heritage Minister James Moore was unavailable. This podcast features the full-length version of the round table discussion. The podcast was recorded for the Fleishman-Hillard PoliticalView.ca group blog.

Topics addressed include:

• Twitter as a channel for personal and political-professional communication
• Twitter in humanitarian efforts and advocacy
• engagement vs broadcast mindsets
• Tweetups (gatherings organized through Twitter)
• managing individual opinions
• digital economy

Round table on Twitter and Canadian politics is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Knowing Dave to be a natural in front of a mic, I cornered him at the bar (he was ordering a Red Bull) before his session to ask him about his session and its significance for communication professionals and the organizations they serve.

The attached podcast is the result of our brief conversation about the 2010 social media ecosystem, communication culture and integration, integration, integration.

Dave Fleet and the 2010 social media ecosystem is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Where books used to lead to radio shows, Terry and Mike went the other way. On October 27th, they released their book The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Just days earlier, Terry, knowing me to be a fan of his radio show, left a message on my blog, making himself and Mike Tennant available for cross-examination.

Little ol’ me. I guess it’s true what they say: “bloggers and podcasters really do have influence…”

Subjects covered:

• marketing
• advertising
• collaborating
• creativity
• curiosity
• “Do This Or Die“

Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

That’s precisely what happened to me when I sat down with Artist/Illustrator Raul Colón at AJL09 a few weeks ago.  So, I unpacked my audio gear, reconnected it all, pressed record and held the microphone up to Raul and basically re-created the conversation we’d just had — and it was just as interesting the second go ’round.

If you work or play in a creative space, you should hear what Raul has to say about arming yourself with inspiration and exercising your creative muscles.

MORE RAUL COLON:  Click here to listen to Raul Colón talk about illustrating the intersection of two lives in one event, getting excited about a book project and striking the balance between fact and fantasy.

Raul Colón on creative inspiration and exercise is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

The first meetup of podcasters in Ottawa took place at the Chateau Laurier Hotel on May 26, 2005.  It was organized by Tod Maffin.  He was traveling across the country on a speaking tour and organized informal gatherings of Canadian podcasters along the way.

I’d largely forgotten about this meeting until a recent series of conversations with UBC student Tracy Fuller who’s doing her thesis on the history of podcasting in Canada.  I was surprised to find three photographs and nearly ninety-minutes of audio on a hard drive I labeled “Archive”.

It turns out the May 26, 2005 gathering of Tod, Maurizio Ortolani and myself might hold historical significance.  In an email exchange last week, Tod wrote “I’m almost certain this would have been the first meetup of Canadian podcasters ever”.

This episode of my Sound Connections podcast features excerpts of the meetup including discussion about the soundseeing tour of my appearance on All in a Day (CBC Ottawa drive-time radio show), some of the podcasts and listening habits of the time, our own podcasting activities, the difference between radio and podcasting, technology and other geekiness, magic moments in podcasting and scoring permission to play some great independent music.  You also get to hear the lounge’s player piano, sometimes too well.

The following podcasts (sorted alphabetically) are mentioned:

• 2Down (Ian Macleod)
• AIRpod (various)
• ARC23 (Adam Cohoon)
• Bob and AJ (Bob Goyetche and AJ)
• Catfish Show (Cat and Bob Goyetche)
• Daily Source Code (Adam Curry)
• Electric Sky (Mark Blevis)
• In Over Your Head (Julien Smith)
• MacCast (Adam Christianson)
• Morning Coffee Notes (David Winer)
• NAC podcasts (Maurizio Ortolani)
• CBC’s Quirks and Quarks (Bob McDonald)
• Really Learn Spanish (Johan van Rooyen)
• Rock and Roll Geek Show (Michael Butler)
• Swing is in the Air (Jacques Emond)
• Yeast Radio (Madge Weinstein)

Listen to audio of the June 9, 2005 podcast meetup that brought together podcasters from Montreal and Ottawa for the first time.  See a photo of that meetup.

The first meetup of Canadian podcasters, ever? is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

In this commentary I talk being fearless in gathering streeters, scraping ceremonial coverage from the radio, getting permission to use music by Bryan Adams and The Duhks, and making audio elements fit together tightly like an elaborate puzzle.

Other shows that I’ve produced in a similar style:

• Muchos Gracias, Robin Brande (on Just One More Book!!)
• Happy Birthday, Derek K. Miller (on Penmachine)

If you would like to hear commentary on a particular episode I have produced, send me an email (markblevis@gmail.com) or call my community hotline (+1.206.350.6487) and tell me which one you’d like to hear.

Producer’s Commentary – Remembrance Day is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.