New Contributors This Week We have two new contributors this week: Nicky Senyard who shared her take on the differences between markets and communities and Adina Zaiontz who debuts by…
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By Ben Boudreau
Before it even began, Podcamp Halifax was ready to launch the social media scene of Atlantic Canada into orbit with the help of keynote speaker and founder of Rocketboom.com, Andrew Baron. For most of us, the thought of sustaining a daily international news program online may sound daunting enough but for Andrew and his team it's just another day in the life of the people behind the podcast featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone and even CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Andrew's keynote, delivered to a diverse crowd spanning all ages, industries and levels of expertise, covered a lot of ground but one of the biggest takeaways was his analogy of social media immersion. He suggested quite eloquently that learning how to use social media is like adjusting to a new city and culture. If you were to move to North Korea, you would adapt and get your footing faster by leaving the house, eating at local restaurants, talking to people and exploring surroundings. If you were to just sit inside your house and peek out the window, you wouldn't get the same level of understanding.
To understand social media, you have to be a citizen of the internet both taking information from the 
community and contributing to it. Read more blogs, get a Twitter account and follow people, participate, comment, and push yourself past being an observer to truly witness the value of social media today.
Oh – and don't claim to be a social media expert. Andrew will make fun of you and you will deserve it.
Here's a brief interview with Andrew before his keynote at the first ever Podcamp Halifax:
by Leona Hobbs
Online video is hot. Consider:
- More than 20.1 million Canadian Internet users watched an average of 145 videos per viewer in August 2008. (Source: comScore Video Metrix, All Locations- Persons 2+)
- Video currently generates more traffic in the US than was transmitted across the entire Internet backbone in 2000. (Cisco Systems via eMarketer)
Video is undeniably part of the mix to build and extend your brand online. So, I’ve got to ask, are you using all the video assets at your disposal?
Too frequently, gorgeous footage is locked away in B-roll and projects far removed from the web and the digital marketing teams. And let’s face it, these are belt-tightening times for Marketers. "Hidden" video lends itself to soft innovation.
I had the opportunity to hook up with Stephen Gardner, Executive Producer at Gardner Productions, a Toronto-based video and commercial production house. Stephen and I worked together back in my agency days putting together B-Roll for clients. One of our projects saw us doing a shoot at a grocery store in Newmarket at 4:00 a.m. (good times).
We had a chat about this explosion in online video and how to make the most of the opportunity.
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