Google Chrome Experiment with Arcade Fire

On a recent road trip, I became entranced by the new Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs.  After listening to the creative and evocative tracks, I was even more excited to see the song "We Used to Wait" brought to life in Chris Milk's Google Chrome experiment, The Wilderness Downtown.

Photo credit: The Wilderness Downtown

The Globe and Mail's article on the experiment, "Plug in your postal code and pull out a hankie" aptly describes the nostalgia and sense of awe one gets from seeing her neighbourhood in the video.

While the Google Chrome experiment's use of many browser pop-ups can prove somewhat annoying and un-user-friendly, it's still worth catching out this interactive online music video.

Handling Bad Press

In my Blogging for Business and Non-Profits course this weekend, there was some discussion about how to handle bad press.  Air Canada recently faced fierce Twitter rage with this story:

Air Canada fixes wheelchair; Family credits viral outrage

Photo credit: the Globe and Mail

I think that this Globe and Mail article on the 5 Social Media Lessons for Air Canada shows the importance of making your social media timely and relevant, especially when facing "Twitter rage" from your customers.

Rule number one: don't abandon your Twitter or other social media account.

Blogging for Business Resources

I'm really excited to be teaching a course on Blogging for Business and Non-Profits for the Faculty of Extension this weekend.

Here are a few great resources I've found on the topic:

Introduction to Blogs

• Clay, R. (2008, May 15). 5 reasons your business needs a blog from Fast Company.
• Common Craft. (2007, November 30). Blogs in plain English. 
• Common Craft. (2008, May 28). Social media in plain English.  
• Des Jardins, J. (2005, Aug 1). Business blogging for beginners from Fast Company.  
• Yao, P. (2010, July 6). The art of business blogging from Today Online.

Basic Web 2.0 Features & Functions

• Google. (2007, May 11). Blogger: How to start a blog 
• Google. (n.d.). Blogger help.
• Madia, S.A. (2010, August 16). Five social media land mines companies must avoid from The Globe and Mail. 

Effectively Using Blog Technologies 

• Nielsen, J. (1997, October 1). How users read on the web. 
• Bellamkonda, S. (2010, July 6). How to blog effectively to market your small business from Small Business Trends. 
• Brooks, R. (2010, May 10). A blog won’t help your business from Fast Company.

Blog Technology How-To

• Gunelius, S. (2010, July 5). How to use your business blog to get people talking about your brand from The Business Insider. 
• Steinberg, S. (2010, May 3). 10 ways for your business to make headlines from The Business Insider.

Evaluating Your Blog

• Brooks, R. (2009, Aug 20). 25 ways to promote and market your blog from Fast Company.
• Cowgill, D. (2009, January 29). How to install Google Analytics on Blogger.
• Carr, N. (2006, July 18). Lessons in corporate blogging from Bloomberg Businessweek.