A while back I read the book “Groundswell” by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff from Forrester Research. I was very impressed at the time, with what seemed to be the most comprehensive analysis of social media user segments available, explained very nicely in a book. I have since used many of their graphs and diagrams in my presentations, however I always wished that there was a better way to use their research. Naturally, this goldmine of data was bound to evolve into something more interactive, customizable and useful for people actually trying to apply it. Enter the Consumer Profile Tool (below), now with 2009 data, including Canadian statistics!

It’s pretty much self-explanatory. However, for specific descriptions of each segment, please refer to the following presentation:

When I first launched the CEPSM social media marketing workshop in April, 2008, I really had no idea that it would garner such a positive response. In fact, we quickly stopped going through the logistical hassle of organizing public workshops since there was more than enough demand for private ones (organizations inviting me in). CEPSM was never meant to be solely in the workshop business, but this way all logistical items were taken care of by the client. However, over the last year, CEPSM has been getting numerous requests from individuals in the public and non-profit sectors to once again offer a social media marketing workshop that is open to the public. Well guess what, we listened.

To solve our logistical dilemma , we decided to partner with an organization that has been conducting workshops successfully for decades, The Centre of Excellence for Communications. Yes, I know it’s ironic that we happen to share similar names, however don’t let that confuse you. The CEC’s core business is workshops, whereas CEPSM’s core business is the consulting side (although training is part of our consulting process). I’ll stop confusing you though. The bottom line is this, on November 25-26, 2009 CEPSM/CEC are jointly launching the 2-day Social Media Strategies for the Public Sector workshop. The intent is to offer this workshop in major cities across Canada for the first year and then see how it evolves from there.

Those of you familiar with my 1-day workshop will notice the switch to 2-days. I wanted to change things up a bit and add a hands-on session where each participant can get their hands dirty by actually using all of the tools I introduce during Day 1.  Further still, we will be using a live Google Doc to fill out certain sections of the workbook collaboratively.I like to practice what I preach as much as I possibly can. This is a great opportunity for me to do so.

For those of you interested in receiving this training as part of a University Certificate, be sure to see if our Professional Certificate in Public Sector Marketing course offered through Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business is a right fit for you. I’m really looking forward to being part of the instructional team this year!

Ok then, if you have any questions whatsoever, fire me an email or give me a call. Also, to stay up to date on my speaking schedule visit the Upcoming Speaking Engagements page on my blog. And yes, we will still be offering our private workshops for those interested. This is not meant to replace them.

As usual, in the spirit of  “social” media, I have decided to post up my recent “Government Blogging” presentation slides (from the CSPS Armchair Presentation) on SlideShare. I have embedded the presentation below. Please note that these slides are meant to supplement my speaking, not replace it. Certain slides are purposely not supposed to make any sense to you without an explanation. Nonetheless, I have posted them anyway since I find that I am often overwhelmed with emails requests for a copy after I present (almost out of reflex it seems). There’s also the sad fact that government servers (my main audience is comprised of public servants) don’t allow for files larger than 5mb to be sent to them. As a result, it’s easier for me to send  a link than it is to send a 12mb PDF. My thoughts and opinions on this “stone age” policy are part of a discussion for a future post…

In the spirit of community and social media, I have decided to post up a revised version of my presentation from Podcamp Montreal on SlideShare. It is highly visual in nature and is not really meant to act as a stand alone document, however some of you may find it useful. The topic of this presentation was “Social Media & Canadian Government Usage Examples”. I focused mainly on the Canadian federal government due to limited presentation time and the sheer amount of content to cover. I have embedded it below. Feel free to skip through my intro or browse through it in the 17.6 seconds I always present it in.  Otherwise it looks like a ridiculous self-promotion, which it is not meant to be (it was a personal branding experiment). Enjoy!

The wonderful folks at Forrester Research have uploaded a great presentation explaining the social media user segments they derived from their own national study last year. Have a look…

By the way, the book they recommend at the end, “Groundswell“, is a must-read!