Have you heard the news?

It's interesting to be of an age that's in between those who live and breathe online and those who have an aversion to ever going there. Truth be told, many of my contemporaries who are not compelled to be online for work or in order to communicate with their kids, aren't there either.

I've lately found myself discussing the pros and cons of social media with friends and siblings. My sister is resisting the requests of her 12-year-old to have a Facebook account for fear of cyberbullying and security risks. My old university room mate has no interest at all in anything beyond using her work email and Blackberry for her job. Many friends are reluctantly on Facebook to be current, but fear they'll be sucked into an inane loss of time should they embrace Twitter.

And while ubiquitous media reports either celebrate the power and reach of social media or project the demise of Facebook first and now Twitter, the digital landscape continues to evolve in some pretty interesting directions. And the key is the power to provide or access instantaneous links to current and relevant news, articles, video, images etc. from a wealth of sources across the world.

The best ways I've been able to explain why some of it works for me include:

- Personal blogs (mine and those of others) have kept me in touch with friends, especially those back in BC, since I left almost three years ago. Blogging also provides a creative outlet including the ability to aggregate photos, video, web links etc.

- Professional blogs in the areas of news, media, marketing and communications provide indepth, current insight from experts in their fields

- Facebook offers the ability to keep up on daily details in friends' lives, in addition to being aware of, and able to engage in, political, charitable and professional issues, trends and news (Facebook.com/dawncharlton)

- Twitter has connected me to the voices of people I wouldn't otherwise hear or even know about across the spectrum of news, current affairs, arts, culture, technology etc. as well as providing a quicker and more succinct way to communicate (Twitter.com/dawncharlton)

Most importantly, these communication channels offer an alternative to the mainstream.

Through tweets from a variety of trusted sources, I was able to monitor the real-time results of a political convention here in Ontario when no news media were providing such coverage. We all know about the role that Twitter has played in communicating from Mumbai during terrorist attacks, from the Hudson River, and in many other circumstances where traditional media weren't there at first.

Of interest this weekend has been the ongoing Twitter coverage of the election results in Iran (see #iranelections). While Twitterers are providing ongoing updates from Tehran and elsewhere including links to some traditional media coverage, a large gap has been noted in CNN's coverage (see #CNNfail) - especially given their publicized race to be first to gain 1 million followers. That said, a lot of the news making its way out of Iran today regarding protests includes the fact that journalists are being detained, cut off from internet services or having their footage confiscated.

All of this is pretty compelling and adds to the debate about the role of social media versus traditional news sources - though in this case, it would seem that both are working together to get the stories out.

PS: Huffington Post is live blogging a comprehensive, chronological list of events in Iran helping to put real time updates into context.

PPS: A friend of a friend now living in Tehran is providing sporadic email updates pretty much confirming the info coming to us via various sources regarding the protests and police crackdowns in the streets. In terms of communications:

"... Most mobile carriers have been cut off, all text messaging has been cut off, our phone at home hasn't worked properly for the last week... I have spent the past 3 days trying to get online every 15 minutes or so and been denied. So I've been watching the news (they haven't bothered cutting off any of the English news, only the BBC Persia and some Arab news networks have been shut down). And while I have not been able to get into my email, I can open other pages, although BBC.com and CNN.com etc. are shut down. ..."

Sunday Morning

Today was CBC Television`s last broadcast of CBC News: Sunday a terrific two-hour start to every Sunday for Canadians for the past 8 years. Hosted by Carole MacNeil and Evan Solomon, it has featured regional, national & international stories - in all areas of interest.

Topics have included the range from moving and inspiring to confounding and anger-provoking. As mentioned today, many have been moved to action after finding out about a situation in Canada or somewhere else in the world.

Pieces of note for me have included seeing an 80+ year old Flora MacDonald travelling to Afghanistan. For several years, her Foundation has supported a village there with funding for power for lighting so the children can attend school rather than spend daylight hours making carpets to support their families. Seeing her still active - and encouraging girls and women to be politically involved - was truly an inspiration.

Or the story of Dr. Mark Nowashinsky, the doctor who gave up his practice to go on the road delivering home-based care for Toronto`s seniors while advocating for improvements to senior health care in Ontario.

Or the story of Palestinian and Jewish youth participating in a filmmaking camp in Canada - learning to become friends and look at life from different perspectives before returning back to their lives in Israel.

Every Sunday morning brought a combination of views on news, politics, spirituality, sports, music, film, culture and other areas of focus - all from intelligent and very Canadian points of view.

Like the hundreds watching the show live in Toronto this morning, I`m sad to see CBC News: Sunday cancelled - a victim of the recent CBC budget cuts. This high quality program has been a unique contribution to Canada and will surely be missed.

Trying Twitter

Being in communications, I know how important (and sometimes daunting) it is to keep up on the trends. Of course, everyone is now well aware of the micro-blogging phenome, Twitter, which has been the talk of all media channels for the past number of months. While I joined Twitter a year ago, I didn't really get it until earlier this year. 

It's a powerful communications form that blends many aspects of life in one place. Used well (I'm definitely still learning), it's a dynamic and convenient way to monitor volumes and volumes of news, updates and opinions while sharing the same. 

That said, Twitter also feeds the already problematic online addiction begun with blogging, facebook, the blackberry et al. Time consuming it is to make and manage all the connections that comprise our social networks. A good example: I need to drag myself away from this laptop right now - grocery shopping is still waiting!

It'll be interesting to see how all of this nets out, but for now, I plan to keep exploring - both from a personal and professional perspective. 

For his hilarious take, check out Stephen Colbert's chat with Biz Stone, Twitter co-founder. And then make sure you follow both!

CBC's HNIC gaffe

CBC Sports has blown it by losing the rights to the Hockey Night in Canada theme song (especially following their loss of the Olympics following Beijing). As many, many Canadians have said over the past few days, the song is our 'unofficial' national anthem, and it's a forty-year-old component of a long-standing, successful national brand.

While the Executive Director of Marketing, Scott Moore shrugged off the loss of the theme song as an opportunity to help 'refresh' the brand, CTV picked up the jingle for use by its TSN/RDS and during Vancouver's 2010 Olympics. As opposed to keeping its venerable brand intact, CBC plans to launch a national contest to generate citizen submissions for a new theme. This instead of paying the $2-3 million price tag to own the song outright after building its equity over the past four decades. Sounds like small-thinking, tactical marketing is driving business strategy, versus the other way around. 

The big questions moving forward will be:

- will Canadians condemn CBC for not caring about the HNIC brand and its elements as much as they do?

- do Canadians really care who carries their beloved hockey programming to them as long as it's a great experience (e.g. fun, inspiring and respectful to the tradition of hockey in Canada)?

- does CTV/TSN/RDS have what it takes to replace CBC as Canada's home for hockey programming?

- did CBC Sports not learn when they tried to let Ron MacLean go?

Whether this will be a big deal or minor gaffe for CBC remains to be seen. 

CBC's Influence

I've been enjoying a sunny Sunday morning at home with coffee, getting things done and listening to CBC Radio. I often find this to be a wonderful way to recharge my batteries - both physically and mentally. Actually spiritually too.

The combination of Sunday Morning, Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe, Tapestry, Eleanor Wachtel's Writers and Company and Cross Country Checkup with Rex Murphy provides an insightful snapshot of life in Canada. While at times it can seem Toronto-centric, for the mostpart these shows, as well as weekday installments of The Current, This Country Canada and others really do cover the spectrum of locations, issues and cultures in Canada and beyond. And though I've lived in Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto, I've always loved the fact I can tune in and connect with familiar voices and people.

Two different shows this morning resulted in an epiphany for me. One featured a comedian who did impersonations of prime ministers. When mimicking Stephen Harper he commented on how difficult it was as he has a fairly indistinctive voice. That said, he did succeed in sounding like Harper's 'new' way of speaking. As many of us have observed, Harper's voice changed significantly prior to his first election race for PM. No longer was he sounding cranky, impatient and mean, but had transitioned to a more (for him) upbeat cadence, ending sentences on up tones, I think in an effort to seem more open-minded, warm and statesman-like.

Later in the morning, I heard the Vinyl Cafe. That's when it hit me - Stephen Harper had changed his voice to emulate Stuart McLean! If you listen to McLean's delivery - it's quite amazing how similiar it is. Positive, smiling - in story-telling mode. He's a renowned Canadian personality welcomed to any and every community across the country. There to meet and share experiences with Canadians from all walks of life. Warm, engaging, creative, astute. Perfect! Harper's image/pr consultants surely must have seen the benefits of personifying this well-loved CBCer as Harper's personality on its own was not electable. Too bad this new one isn't the real deal.

Photo: Stuart McLean, CBC

Good things gro ow ow in Ontario

Over the past while we've seen some 'retro' advertising as old television spots are reprised to appeal to those of us who remember them. For example: the 'two scoops of raisins' lumberjack, the 'gouda' ad with the young boy who forgets what cheese he was sent to buy, or the Chef Boyardee ad featuring kids running through the town square while church bells ring. Most of us remember these ads from childhood and now that we're feeding other generations, they appeal to our sense of nostalgia and harken back to what we remember as a simpler time... and apparently they work.

A similar approach is being used with a new version of the old jingle "Good things grow ow ow, in Ontario" that ran in the seventies and eighties. Today's ad features a farmer singing the song (not so well) over the loudspeaker in a grocery store. It's an ok ad, but again it's the fact that we remember the jingle that makes it so effective. And once you hear the song, of course, you can't get it out of your head for days! It's a campaign by the Ontario government to promote buying Ontario's fresh food products, wines and beers. It's timely as it reinforces the 'buy local' message that is now gaining in popularity.

And speaking of good things that grow, Bret, Jill, Claire, Aleah and I went blueberry picking last week. It was spectacular as the weather was great and the berries were perfect. It was my first time, and it turned out to be quite enjoyable. The best part is we now have enough personally picked and transported fresh blueberries in the freezer to last through til next year. You can't get much more local than that.

facebook phenomenon

A friend sent an invite to http://www.facebook.com/ a while ago. After some delay, I finally checked it out and signed up last Sunday. A few days passed and then as friends were added, it has taken off into a budding addiction!

My family's concerned as they see me regularly dash to the computer to see who has written, who has joined, who has sent an invite to join their friends. They're already talking intervention and it hasn't been a week!

The amazing thing is you really can find long-lost friends that you often think about, but can't find a trace of. For example, Sheila, my university roommate for 3 years and MC at my long-ago wedding. We've reconnected this week after many years living in different cities and now that we're both in the TO area, we'll be able to get together soon and catch up. Very cool.

As well, having just moved here from Vancouver, it's great to be able to keep an eye on the activities of everyone back there in one spot - and not simply by trying to remember to email or call, or by surfing everyone's blogs.

I simply love facebook so far! Personally and professionally as it's an interesting study in communication, social networking and the continuing power of the web. According to Marketing magazine, facebook has 24 million users worldwide, with almost 5% growth per week in Canada - "in under a year facebook has become Canada's hottest online social network."

Now the challenge will be prioritizing between blogging and facebooking... thankfully I no longer have a crackberry...

Canadian Icons

Sadly we are hearing today, that Canada has lost a wonderful woman, citizen, journalist, activist and role model - June Callwood at the age of 82.

Watching the tributes, I find myself both inspired and troubled. Fired up to see how one individual with conviction, confidence and commitment can impact the world. There is no doubt about what June Callwood stood for and that she did not accept non-action in anyone capable of doing something.

My unrest comes from the fact I have not personally done everything I can do to get involved. That is certainly one of the reasons I moved back to my roots, in order to truly commit to my community in an active, long-term way.

This day, while sad, is a poignant reminder that, to paraphrase Callwood, we all get this one life and it's our responsibility to live it to its fullest and to do our best. Moreover: "Great consideration for one another... that's what's going to save the world." While our country is poorer for her loss, it is so much richer for having had the generous spirit and tireless contributions of her life.

Callwood is one of several Canadian leaders that have been an inspiration to so many. In March we lost Doris Anderson, another iconic activist and journalist at the age of 85. And 15 years ago, Barbara Frum, renowned journalist died at the age of 55.

To me, all three have been stirring examples of active excellence, humanity and compassion and will continue to be an inspiration always.

Photos: June Callwood - Saturday Night Magazine, Chris Nicolls; Doris Anderson - Laurel McCubbin; Barbara Frum - National Archives of Canada