Marketing Director

Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts

Intellectual Property and Social Media: What is stealing?

Stealing is exactly what Ali Hadi of "Pakistan's First Social Media Company" Proactive Brand Solutions or Proactive Interactive did. Read on for the full story (UPDATE: Ali has requested the removal of the word 'stealing'. What other word could I use?). Last night I had a nice dinner with my family and was describing the video I made last week to my mother who calls me regularly to help her find emails or turn on the TV without turning off the cable box. She asked me if people have to pay for the short video lesson.

I spent the next five minutes unsuccessfully trying to explain the importance of offering information for free on the web. It came down to my personal belief that we can educate the world through the web by providing access to information. She really got me thinking about how I am valuing my intellectual property.

Should I work to create a pay wall? Should the New York Times? Should Wikipedia charge for the information they provide? Doesn't making someone pay ensure they value what they receive in the transaction? What happens to my video once I publish it online for all to see, share, download, show and use?

This story all came to a head today when I took a look at one of my presentations which has been stolen and re purposed without any credit to me. I have embedded the two presentations below, first mine then the other with a crappier layout but the same content. I first noticed it a few months ago through a Google Alert I have setup for my name. At the time I didn't mind and thought that it was flattering. I didn't notice that he was trying to sell the presentation for $100.




Social Media for Beginner's: Personal Branding and Marketing
View more from Kemp Edmonds.



When I first noticed a few months ago I didn't really mind. I posted a comment mentioning my dismay on the presentation. That comment was deleted. Today I added another comment referring to the stolen presentation but I don't expect it to remain on the slide deck too much longer. 
The worst thing that he has done is offer the presentation for $100 on the last slide in the presentation (UPDATE: in an email he explained that $100 was for a workshop about the "Three Musketeers"). I put it out to my Twitter community to assess the situation. This was a great use of Twitter and the community gave me an idea of what others thought of the situation. They were honest and forthcoming with their opinions:
Intellectual property in the Internet age has become something very different from what it was. The problem comes when there is no attribution and a desire to profit from the work of others. I subscribe to Creative Commons Licensing allowing anyone to use my work for free, with attribution as long as it is not for profit. Creative Commons allows creators to declare how others can use their creations. Alistair makes a good point in the second last comment above: "You should use this as an opportunity to teach people that things on the 'net means anyone can get/use it." Alistair is right that is the point. I often call it "Public Permanence" once it's out there it becomes publicly permanent.

I wouldn't care except this person has used my creation in a manner that is against all of the unwritten rules: for-profit, no attribution and without permission. That's the rub though isn't it. There are no rules to the Internet, just yet. They are being established by stories like this and prosecution that is creating precedents around intellectual property, ownership and privacy. What do you think I should do now? What would you do? Is there any point in doing anything?

UPDATE: Thank you for your comments and creating enough noise around this that the presentation has been pulled. I wouldn't be surprised if most of his 'presentations' were lifted from someone else.

I know bits and pieces of my presentation came from reading the internet. That's where most great information comes from these days. I took the time to rewrite, reorganize and add information for my purposes. This is a line that continues to grey and will surely be the topic of a future post. When does creation stop and plagarism start? When it's exactly the same.

These days we are all learning and increasing our collective intelligence together. The problem comes when some of us try and take advantage of that sharing spirit for financial or professional gain.

New Beginnings: How Social Media Changed my Life

@GuyKawasaki and @KempEdmonds at an Olympic Hockey Tweetup thanks to @Jason_Baker
I've had many jobs in my life, almost 50. Today I started my first job that I consider something of a dream job. It all started in 1998 when I made a geocities page and learned about animated GIFs and a href. I knew right then and there that I didn't want to code so I stayed away from the web and computer technology as a vocation for more than a decade

When I traveled years ago I began to see the value in social networks like Hi5, Friendster and the other six I signed up for as I traveled across Canada and throughout Europe. When I returned home I began to see the way that these technologies were transforming our civilization for the better. I was always a wanderer never sure of what I should be doing. All I knew was that it involved people, I love people. While I was on one of these trips that doubled as a job as a "Community Marketing Ambassador" for Bell Canada I met Trevor O'Boyle (that's him eating the sandwich at one of our favourite spots on the tour: Ric's Grill in Lethbridge's old Water Tower).
Trevor was a driven, goal-oriented, high achiever from Mount Royal College in Calgary. He joined our tour after presenting at the Nationals for SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) formerly ACE. That Summer we built a friendship and I knew that when I returned to school I would have to join this ACE thing he kept talking about. So a few years later upon returning to BCIT the first thing I did was join ACE BCIT (SIFE BCIT) an organization of volunteer students working to advance entrepreneurship in Canada. One day I decided to make a short video profiling the organization to tell other students what makes SIFE BCIT the place they want to be. The video (shown below) was then picked up and featured by YouTube on their non-profit and activism sections garnering nearly 7000 views in 48 hours. That was the moment I understood the possibilities of this new medium. YouTube even let me see which countries the viewers had come from it was amazing.



The next thing I did was create a series of business video lessons. One of those videos has an amazing long tail (lots of traffic over time) as it is titled "5 ways to find new business ideas" and now receives more than 40 views a day from people all over the world looking for new business ideas. I knew at that point that something amazing was possible, we now all possess the ability to publish, to create and to share. The exclusivity on creating content is gone. We can all publish now it's as easy as getting started.





That was the beginning of the journey to my current position with BCIT's School of Business as the leader of a new Centre for Social Media Education in Business. This is a dream job. A year ago I never would have thought as I sat in classrooms and lecture halls concentrating on the evolving social media space via Twitter and Mashable that I would make it here, thank you to everyone. My interest has only increased over time as I share and discuss the knowledge and examples I have collected. I now see that all of us are curious and interested in the evolving role of evolving communications in our lives.
Paul Shorthouse @pshorthouse and @KempEdmonds (1 year after BCIT at Globe 2010)
This is where I hope to make a difference; through education. I have embedded a treat below. It is my number one tip for using Google, social media and Twitter in particular for real-time search. I hope that I will have a new 'number one tip' soon and then another, what would you want to learn about? The more specific the better, please leave it in the comments. Enjoy and please view in full screen 720P HD.




Facebook Advertising Undressed

Facebook has passed Google in terms of market share of weekly visits in the US highlighting it's position as America's favourite website. With no end to the growth in sight Facebook Advertising is a must for any online advertising campaign or is it? This post will reveal how your information is 'given' to advertisers by Facebook.
People love Facebook but Facebook advertising is many things to many people. I asked my network on Facebook, "What do you think of Facebook Advertising?". The perspectives varied especially between those who use Facebook ads and those who can't stand to even see them. In this post I am addressing this complaint which came from more than a couple of the responders.

This is something of a common complaint about Facebook. The user's 'cut' is the entire Facebook ecosystem: the communication, the games, the quizzes etc. Facebook doesn't 'sell our personal information'. They provide advertisers access to a targeting system based on information you enter into Facebook. Your information is never revealed to advertisers and doesn't leave the site. This is the kind of information that advertisers receive:

Sample 'Responder Demographics' Report:


The information on the far right is: % of Impressions, % of Clickers and CTR. (m1317 = Male 13 -17 years old)




Sample 'Responder Profiles' Report:
 

*NOTE: Facebook's reporting system is imperfect. When a column is empty it moves items from columns to the right to the open column on the left. IE: the only books or movies listed by clickers were 'twilight series' and 'twilight' respectively, but 'rap' is a Music interest which has been pushed left because there was no 'Book' or 'Movie' in the second position. I hope that's not too confusing. The columns are: Interest, Book, Movie, Music, TV Show.

This may give an advertiser hints about what kinds of people click their ads but in no way does it release your personal information to advertisers. Besides choosing TV programs to advertise on what else could this be used for? Facebook offers advertisers and promoters many opportunities that are hard to find online especially when it comes to targeting. This is how Facebook turned a profit last year, ahead of schedule. Any business or product that employees people has to have a revenue model to grow. That is what Facebook is doing and ultimately it is to benefit the users. The history of the creation of Facebook is a fascinating read from the Business Insider.

What do you think of Facebook advertising? Love it as an advertiser? Hate it as a user? Or don't even notice it. These seem to be the three perspectives I have found I would love to hear yours in a comment below. Watch this space for a new post "Facebook Advertising's Benefits: Beyond the Click".

Athletes experience Social Media confusion at The 'Twitter' Olympics #TNMH

I recently read an article in Wired on athlete confusion around social media publishing policies. One skier told he 35,000 Twitter followers that "because of the Olympic rules (blackout period). I will not be able to post any updates from now until March 3rd. Sorry, it bums me out too!" The update was also posted to her Facebook, showing some savvy, nice one.

Apparently, the move was made based on a faulty understanding of the International Olympic Committee’s rules on blogging and social networking. There is no Olympic rule that sets up a blackout period for athletes according to Bob Condron, the Director of Media Services for the United States Olympic Committee. “Athletes are free to blog during the Games. Twitter is just a blog that’s written 140 characters at a time. You can’t act as a journalist if you aren’t,” says Condron. “You need to do things in a first person way.”

Speedskater Nick Pearson posted on Twitter, “Due to Olympic regulations I can no longer post pics on Twitter through the Olympics.” On the left is a photo he took from his room in the athlete's village. IOC guidelines state that athletes may post photos of themselves as long as they don’t show any of the actual sporting action during the Games. On the right is a picture of the Olympic speed skating oval he took Feb 4th accompianed by this twitter post, "After all has been cleared up, pictures are a go!!!! Just nothing from the competitions or the opening ceromies." Both of the photos are linked to the originals so if one disappears we can guess what may have happened.

The IOC's concerns are about the very expensive exclusive advertising and broadcast sponsorship deals. Many of these athletes are sponsored by companies other than Olympic sponsors and photos of them in the Olympic venues or spirit may be considered 'offside'. For athletes with no major outside sponsor obligations these worries around twitter pictures and Facebook posts seem like a bit of joke for good reason, they are. No one can stop the wave of social media and this Olympics will confirm it.



Expect heavy social media activity among athletes in Vancouver. These are going to be the Twitter Olympics. On The Georgia Straight's website I found this list of about 50 Canadian athletes who tweet which stands in contrast to the situation with described in Wired. At least their article forced the US Olympic committee to clarify the situation for the athletes. The US Olympic Twitter page's recent tweets are a great example of dealing with the problem and some of the limitations of Twitter to serve customers.

Social Media for Entrepreneurs

Social Media Primer for High School Students


This presentation was originally delivered to St. George's students on January 22nd, 2010.

Social Media Crash Course for Meeting Professionals

This presentation was originally given as a roundtable talk to the Meeting Professionals International BC Chapter January 14, 2010.



View more from Kemp Edmonds.

6 Steps to Launch your Digital Identity

This course will lay out from the start what is required to be successful in your own right using 'new tools' (social networking and social media) to fulfill your own goals. This course is about helping students to achieve what they are looking for from social networking and media. The course will be held at BCIT's Burnaby campus just east of Vancouver. See the course outline here. If you have any questions about the course contact me directly by email here.

This course will not be exclusively focused on business, personal or professional. The purpose is to lay out the benefits and uses of the tools and let students pursue their own goals with ongoing support and education. Within the class we will be creating a microcosm of what happens on social networks among the larger population and encouraging students to pursue that larger network from the start.

This course has come about as a result of my work in the Social Media realm dating back to 2008. I have been avidly reading everything I can get my hands on including more than a dozen books on the subject and it's related trends. Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody is a great general look at 'the movement' and what it can achieve, for a more Twitter focused book pick up Shel Israel's Twitterville.

When deciding on a single book to use as a supplement to the course I wanted to find something that taught me things and made the path to achieve a strong presence in the new social media realm easy for anyone. For those reasons I have chosen Chris Brogan and Julien Smith's 'guidebook' Trust Agents.The book speaks to the business or professional user but it's lessons and tasks will help anyone looking to establish their digital identity.

A few weeks back I was speaking with a collegue who wanted to start building their professional presence online and these were the first 6 steps I gave him. These steps can be used or substituted for things you have already completed.

6 Steps to launch your digital identity
  1. Choose a name for your new digital identity. For the most success in a professional or business sense use your real name if possible (See Glenn Hilton). If you wish to remain anonymous use a nickname that describes in some way what you are trying to achieve (See Atomic Poet).
  2. Register for a Gmail account with "YourDigitalIdentity@gmail.com" if available. This will be the email you will use to sign up for everything else.
  3. Go to Twitter and sign up with the username "YourDigitalIdentity".
  4. Go to LinkedIn and start your LinkedIn Account. Use your real name. (See mine)
  5. Go to Go Daddy or any other low cost domain registrar and register the domain www.YourDigitalIdentity.com
  6. Go to Blogger or Wordpress and setup a blog. Make a few simple posts or even just titles. No one will find your blog until you want them to.
Do these things when you have time, a Saturday morning or need a short break from your work (not while at work though). Don't feel like you have to do them all at once. "Baby steps" as Richard Dreyfus' character famously explained to Bill Murray's in What about Bob?.
It's not a mountain if you climb it one step at a time. -Kemp Edmonds

8 Questions with Gillian Shaw (The Vancouver Sun)

The following is a transcribed version of an audio interview with Gillian Shaw, technology writer for the Vancouver Sun, made at the Fresh Media Forum on Saturday October 24th, 2009. This interview was originally published as part of BCIT's 3 Blog Nights.

What’s it like being from the boomer generation working in the new media space?

It’s really exciting actually. Our business has changed so much since I started. I didn’t start when they had typewriters but close enough. At that time we had one-dimensional writing. We could write our stories and they would land on your doorstep in the morning and that was it. It was a one shot deal. You had one chance to talk to the audience and they had a limited chance to talk back to you. Even with email you just don’t have that 24/7 interactive opportunity that you have today. Between that and being able to tell our stories in so many ways - video, podcasts, blogs - it adds so many dimensions and I love everything about that.

It seems like the local tech community in Vancouver is reaching a critical mass. What’s your feeling on the current state of the local tech community?

I write in this space and I am a journalist but I am also really enthusiastic. I am a really big booster of our homegrown technology and what people are doing here. One of the things that’s often said, I think it’s true, is that some of our best companies, best talent and best innovation are recognized more on the world market before they are recognized at home. I try to change that with what I do and what I write. I work to shed light on it and tell the stories of some of the great innovation that’s going on right now in our city.

What do you think the importance of understanding and using new media is to new graduates, specifically in journalism?

I think it’s totally important. It is really key and crucial and really just a lot of fun to be able to use all the different tools we have available. I don’t think there is space for a one trick pony anymore. I don’t think you can just say, “I write and my stories appear in print” or “I just create one kind of media or another”. Although there are specialists, if you are going to be in journalism I think you need to take advantage of all the different ways of sharing your stories.

Do you teach your co-workers about new media?

I try to help whenever people ask and a lot of people ask me. I am a bit of a social media evangelist so I really like to share that information. I am very fortunate because I learn a lot from the people in my network and my community who are very kind and generous with their time and expertise. They pass that along to me so I try to do the same.

What is your favourite part of the democratization of media and journalism?

As a journalist, the most important thing is that now everybody can be a publisher and everyone can be a reporter. We’ve seen some very important cases, such as the Dziekanski death at the airport, where it was having a citizen there with a camera that made the difference between that case being buried and his death going unremarked or investigated and the braidwood inquiry that we see today.

In your opinion how will the democratization of journalism affect the Olympics?

I think the Olympics are a really great opportunity for Vancouver social media to showcase itself to the world. I think Vancouver’s social media scene is already regarded as being quite leading edge. People look to Vancouver and its social media to see what people are doing here. The Olympics will provide a broader forum and spotlight it even more here. I think it can only be good.

What do you think is next in media both traditional and new?

I have ideas everyday about the technological inventions I would like to see. Coming off a talk about the future of media, which is area I focus a lot on, I think that one of the jobs ahead is for people to figure out how to continue this on and continue the expansion. In some ways the problem is how to make money in the delivery of news in our 24/7 world. We’ll all be better served when some of these questions are answered.

What is your favourite app on your iPhone?

I just love the video capability of the new 3GS because I had the 3G, which didn’t have video. The second I got video everything and everybody in my life when online. Even though I carry a little a mini video recorder I just love using the iPhone. I like the fact that is such a multipurpose tool. If I go somewhere and just have my phone in my pocket I can still be posting my videos to YouTube.

Thanks so much for taking sometime today, Gillian. Gillian can be found at her blog and her column in the Vancouver Sun.

True North Media House & the Olympics

Social Media and Education #bcv09

This is an original presenation by Kemp Edmonds.
It first appeared at Barcamp Vancouver 2009

6s named in Shaw's Defamation Lawsuit

After writing a blog post in August highlighting the challenges of 6s Marketing and Novus' attempt to use social media to take on Shaw's $9.95/month pricing scheme the story has progressed. This update is necessary as Shaw is now suing BOTH Novus and 6s for defamation.

The full story of the defamation lawsuit is well told by Curt Cherewayko as originally published in Business In Vancouver (subscription only) and again on Techvibes where it is accessible to all.

Both the the Twitter account for 10buckstoo and the website (http://10buckstoo.com) are gone. Now only to be seen by lawyers, etc. The last remenant of the story is the Facebook Page now with 5 members left in it. The only statement on that page reads:

"As Shaw has ceased marketing this offer, this page is being closed down. Thanks for your support."

The only really remaining record of the story is blogs especially, techvibes.com.The precedent this lawsuit could set is huge for digital marketing. To see the story as it unfolded check out this post. Read all about it and decide for yourself what you think could or should happen. I would love to read your comments on these new developments. Will Shaw win this lawsuit? Will 6s' reputation be damaged in the long-term? What part did Novus play in creating the 10bucktoo campaign?