Malcolm Gladwell coming to Ottawa…and I got tickets for you!

I may have mentioned this in another post a few weeks ago, however it definitely deserves it’s own post. United Way Ottawa has invited  Malcolm Gladwell , one of the most influential writers of our time, to speak at the National Arts Centre on June 11th, from 4-5pm. The format will be MG having an open conversation with  journalist and member of the United Way board of directors, Mark Sutcliffe. For all you newbies, Malcolm is a staff writer for The New Yorker and has also written best-selling books such as The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. Many of the concepts explained in his books stem from the findings of various researchers throughout the last century. Malcolm takes these concepts to the next level by applying them to modern times and using them to explain various aspects of social behaviour. If you haven’t read one of his books, stop what you’re doing, go to Amazon right now and order one…you won’t regret it. For the rest of you that need no convincing, read on…

As soon as I found out about MG coming to town, I ordered two $75 tickets without hesitation. A few weeks later one of my contacts at United Way Ottawa (former client) offered me two additional tickets. Rather than keep these to myself, I have decided to give these away on my blog in the form of a little Malcolm Gladwell “QCT” contest. Let me explain…

The Prize: Two tickets to see Malcolm Gladwell speak at the NAC ($150 value)

The Rules: Leave a comment on this blog post mentioning your favourite Malcolm Gladwell quote, concept, or theory. It can be one sentence or a novel.

The Deadline: June 1st, 2009 (midnight)

How will I pick the winner? I will write down the name of each person that leaves a comment, put it in a hat, and get my fiancee to pick a winner. I will announce this individual in a blog post on June 2nd, 2009.

Since I’m the one holding the contest, I may as well start it off by leaving you with my favourite Malcolm Gladwell quote:

“There can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis.”

Good luck!

Public Safety Canada making strides in social media

Ok I’ll admit it. I’m excited about this because Public Safety Canada has been one of my long-standing clients (social media training, social media strategy development and social marketing) for well over 3 years. Specifically, the Emergency Preparedness Branch, which is responsible for the Get Prepared initiative.

The intent of “Get Prepared” is simple: “To ensure Canadians (during an emergency) are prepared to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours while emergency workers focus on people in urgent need”.

There are three easy steps for Canadians to do this as illustrated in the image below and on their website. In terms of measurement, Google Analytics conversion goals have been set up to measure the successful navigation through each step. This is a great example of tying your website goals directly into your branch/organizational goals).

Here are some of the social media engagement steps they have taken that I’m excited about:

• Social Media Press Releases in both English and French
• Organic, genuine, strategic blogger relations (in this case with mommy bloggers). Have a look at an example here (note the comments).
• Lee Lefever video entitled: “Preparing a Family Emergency Kit” in both English and French (English version embedded below).

There are still many internal roadblocks that need to be overcome, however this team is definitely making strides in the right direction. Let me know your thoughts!