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Half a BILLION Facebook Users!

You’ve probably heard by now that Facebook has hit the magic “half a billion” mark.  Hard to believe? Absolutely.   Is it true?  Astoundingly so.   The little idea that could — HAS.  It started out as a way for students at Harvard to connect with each other, and has now exploded into a bonafide phenomenon.   Yes, 500 million people on this planet use the social network every month.  In honour of the milestone, website “PC World” has come out with some great “fun facts” about FB.  Got a pen?  Write ’em down…

1.  If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world after China and India.  (More…) Continue reading “Half a BILLION Facebook Users!”

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Facebook “Panic Button” Now Available in Britian!

It’s been in the cards for awhile now, but today it’s official.  Facebook users in Britain can now add a “panic button” to their profile to report and prevent malicious behaviour on the social networking site.  What kind of malicious behaviour?  Bullying and sexual harrassment.  The special app was created by The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre – a British law enforcement agency.  Why the need?  The call for a panic button began after the murder of a 17 year old girl by a 33 year old convicted sex offender posing as a teenage boy on Facebook. (More…) Continue reading “Facebook “Panic Button” Now Available in Britian!”

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Social Media and Elton John!

Lucky girl.  I sat about 100 feet away from Sir Elton John on the weekend – taking in one of the most spectacular concerts ever.  His musicianship is unparalleled.  He is an utter genius.  The iconic melodies still linger in my head.  Singing along with “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” will go down as one of the great moments in my life.  But my how concerts have changed, kids.  Instead of simply letting the beauty of the music wash over you and speak to your soul, it now seems the point of being there is to take constant pictures and/or videos of the stage in order to post them on Facebook or email them to your friends as proof you did something cool on Saturday night.  Are you kidding me??? (More…) Continue reading “Social Media and Elton John!”

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Six Social Media Sins

One of the toughest things for Baby Boomers to wrap their heads around when it comes to Social Media is this:  SM is not a one-way street.  It’s not the new media version of a TV commercial.  It isnt’ designed to lob your sales pitch at the masses.  What it IS designed to do is facilitate open and honest dialogue with people.  That’s the word from Bloomberg Businessweek.  The site has come out with its “Six Social Media Sins”.  Think of it as a list of what NOT to do out there in cyberspace.  What tops the list?  Follow me… (More…) Continue reading “Six Social Media Sins”

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Top 5 Social Media Trends

It’s called “Mashable.com”.  Never heard of it?  Consider your eyes opened.  It’s a fabulous website devoted to Social Media – the good and the bad.   You’ll find a great article there this week about the top 5 SM trends.  What does the future hold for all of us?  Fasten your seatbelt, kids, and let’s go for a Social Media spin.

1.  SM will be all about LOCATION.  Using sites like “Foursquare”, people will continue to want to “check in” with their friends and let them know where they are at all times.  This one is hard for Boomers to understand.  Trust me, the young kids these days are all about “checking in”. (More…) Continue reading “Top 5 Social Media Trends”

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Social Media and the Toronto Blackout

Summertime… and the living is easy… That’s what the old song says, anyway.  But nothing was easy about summertime in Toronto yesterday.  In fact, it was downright HARD.  Around 4:45 pm,  elevators throughout the financial district jerked to a stop, lights went out, computer screens went dark, and people’s eyes shot open in disbelief:  BLACKOUT.  But this Blackout was different from any of the others we’ve seen before.  Why?   Social Media was centre stage. (More…)  Continue reading “Social Media and the Toronto Blackout”

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Technology and Athletics

I had an amazing experience this weekend.  Once in a lifetime.  My friend, Thie Convery, of Dundas, Ontario, Canada swam Lake Erie… That’s almost 20 kilometers shore to shore.  She did it to qualify for her bid to swim Lake Ontario next month.  I was on board one of the boats, and saw it all first-hand.  I saw something else first hand as well. .. the way in which Social Media is now playing a role in events such as these. (More…) Continue reading “Technology and Athletics”

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Happy Canada Day!!!

To paraphrase a famous beer commercial here in the Great White North, “We are Canadian!”  And we’re so lucky to live in this fabulous country.  Have a wonderful time celebrating Canada Day, and come back to see us tomorrow for more insights into the wonderful world of Social Media! 😉