Statistics Canada has launched a Census Forum

A fellow business contact of mine, William Dore, recently pointed me towards a new Census Dissemination Discussion Forum that has been created by Statistics Canada. Essentially it is an open forum for people to post questions about the 2011 Census. Discussion topics are broken down into multiple categories and feature unique publicly accessible commenting ability. While it’s not “technically” a web 2.0 app (e.g. no rss feed), it has all the elements from a “strategic web 2.0″ perspective, since it does engage Canadians and provide a means of easy two-way communication/collaboration; Everyone has an opportunity to have their voice heard.

There aren’t too many questions on there yet, however with a little added exposure from all of us (especially those that actively engage in the world of social media), I’m sure there will be more…

Canada Revenue Agency announces YouTube contest

Whenever I see a new addition on the Government 2.0 Best Practices Wiki, I immediately proceed to do a little investigative research to find out if it’s legit. The other day I stumbled upon this press release (via the CRA RSS feed) announcing the launch of The Canada Revenue Agency’s new “Underground Economy – Not your Problem?” YouTube video contest.

Essentially,  the CRA is inviting Canadians to tell how the underground economy is affecting them and their communities. The contest details are brilliantly laid out in this surprisingly “non-government like” YouTube video (that’s a good thing by the way…):

Here are some things I like about this initiative:

• It takes the existing “one-way” CRA YouTube channel to a “two-way” engagement state, calling on Canadians to submit their thoughts in the form of a video using a  medium accessed by over 336 million people each day.
• It shows that the CRA, an organization that is easy to pick on and “hate”, is ready to engage in dialogue and perhaps vocal negative feedback (this form of openness will surely make it succeed in the long run).
• It is “an idea worth spreading”. These kind of “memes” are worthy of a quick “tweet” and/or even a blog post like this one. The easy “embedability” of a YouTube video allows buzz to spread exponentially.
• It puts other departments that still don’t know what “web 2.0″  is to shame. If the CRA can engage in social media, why can’t department X?

Things I don’t like, or do I?:

• I noticed the comments on YouTube for this video are blocked. On the other hand, comments are not the main objective of this initiative. Besides, they would surely be filled with brainless absurdities from active tax evaders. If someone has something intelligent to say, it’s easy to find other places to do so that are tied in to this initiative. Therefore, while I am usually in avid support of comments, not including them in this case could be justified. Hopefully the contest information website is sufficient for people that have actual questions. Otherwise the only option is to email contest_concours@cra.gc.ca.

There have been numerous entries already, which is a good sign for initiatives of this nature. I’m looking forward to seeing the winning video.

What are your thoughts?

Kaplan University…the best recruitment ad I have seen to date.

Lately I have been approached and in contact with numerous universities that are seeking help in their recruitment endeavours. They say that their ads, brochures and pamphlets aren’t working anymore, they want to start using “social media” as part of their recruitment efforts.

What do I say to this? Social media is not just another tool for your campaign!

Social media is something that should be a permanent part of your product (or your organization). In the case of universities, it should be integrated into the student experience (e.g. podcasts of lectures, social networks for students, wiki use for group projects, mandatory “social media” professional development for professors, etc…). I refuse to encourage my clients to use social media as part of their promotional efforts if social media is not an inherent part of their organization first. Good marketers think of 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). Too many self-proclaimed marketers ignore the “Product” element and their “Promotion” efforts are fruitless as a result.

Have a look a this TV ad from Kaplan University. It is the first university ad I have seen that directly responds to Michael Wesch’s incredible A Vision of Students Today video. Judging from the YouTube comments, most people seem to agree. Now my question is, does Kaplan practice what it preaches? If it doesn’t, this ad will likely see a tremendous backlash, if it does (preliminary feedback from students indicates this is the case), then this may go down as the turning point in university recruitment messaging. What are your thoughts?