When we limit our media consumption to one side of the political spectrum, we get a distorted picture of reality
Everyone likes positive affirmation. It’s nice knowing that while the rest of the world has gone crazy, your friends have your back. It feels even better when you have thousands of friends agreeing with everything you say. Frankly, that’s the power of social media, where positive affirmation is only a few clicks away. Social media…
Examples of tweets destroying careers are numerous. Commit your thoughts to Twitter and you're forever setting your opinions in amber
Last week, I got a notice from Twitter that I was ‘celebrating’ 12 years on the social media platform. What an accomplishment. Here are my Twitter stats after 12 years: I have sent out 3,475 tweets. I’m following 50 accounts, one of whom claims to be a graduate of ‘Bovine University.’ Bafflingly, I have 431…
“Misinformation is a dire, imminent threat to the lives of all Canadians"
How do you respond to a deluge of COVID fake news on social media? If you ask Timothy Caulfield, he would say fight back with a tsunami of irrefutable science. That’s just what he and other notable influencers are doing with a new social media campaign called #ScienceUpFirst. So far, it seems to be working, with…
In a world where disagreement is misinformation, can debate even exist?
Before 2016, ‘misinformation’ was just another word in the dictionary. As soon as it became clear that Donald Trump’s straight-shooting presidential campaign was serious, and that he would likely become the Republican nominee, ‘misinformation’ became a strategy. Anything that left Trump’s mouth that media pundits or Democrats considered distasteful, or even just phrased in a…
Listening is a lot harder than most of us admit
How often have you uttered the phrase “How are you?” without even bothering to wait for the recipient of the question to respond? The receiver could say, “I just won the lottery!” or “Well, my wife left me, I lost my job, I’m getting evicted from my home and the dog died!” and it’s all…
Placing content on social networking sites could spell doom for your career
Most job candidates don't consider the power of the social networking Web sites and the impact they have on hiring decisions. If they did, they'd think twice about the information they place on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Companies are more savvy about getting the lowdown on candidates today than they were in the past.…
Map out your strategy, use a scheduling platform to post content and build an ideal customer avatar
Most business people I meet stall out with their social media efforts about six months in if they haven’t seen the results they were hoping for. It feels like you’re posting to no one and it’s not working. You don’t have as much engagement as you had hoped and now you wonder if you should…
Social services providing online help amid pandemic need to be aware of how technology can be used and misused, argues U of A researcher
Social service providers must be more alert to the role of social media and communications technology in domestic abuse, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new commentary co-written by a University of Alberta graduate student. Since the pandemic began, social service providers have been aiding their clients online as some shelters and other…
Popular but unqualified ‘fitness professionals’ could be promoting misinformation and unhealthy behaviour, says U of A researcher
The vast majority of exercise bloggers aren’t qualified to give the advice they’re giving, according to a University of Alberta study. The study suggests this lack of certification could contribute to misinformation and unhealthy behaviour, especially since the pandemic has pushed many online for guidance with their fitness goals. “We looked at some of the…
When we listen to our clients, it allows us to improve on aspects of our organizations that perhaps we haven’t noticed
What would you do if you woke up one morning and right there on your Facebook page, for the whole world to see, was a complaint about how terribly one of your staff members was treating customers? Customer complaints are nothing new. In the past when customers received poor service from you or your staff,…