Ask Premier Ed
Earlier this summer fusedlogic launched a social media website called “dearmrpremier.ca” in an attempt to enable an open and direct line of communications with Premier Ed Stelmach and his office. The thought is, Albertans could respectfully ask a question directly of Premier Stelmach and he could select one or more questions to respond to personally with the understanding that he couldn’t possibly answer every single one. The catch is that this would all be open to comment and vote by the public.
We started this prototype process by inviting college students to participate and in fact a few did. Because of ongoing discussions, we haven’t put any resources behind marketing the project, as we were waiting for a more opportune time to move forward. After the soft launch on Twitter we were notified in less than an hour that Premier Stelmach’s staff were actively searching for answers as to who was behind the site. After it was determined through our communications that our intent was not malicious we had asked if there may be an opportunity to discuss the future of the site and the potential of having Premier Stelmach’s direct participation. Those meetings have not as of yet happened.
In the meantime, so that Albertans have a better understanding of the differences in functionality and approach between dearpremier.ca and Ask Premier Ed we’ve prepared a brief comparison of models below.
| Dear Mr Premier | Ask Premier Ed | |
| Channels of Communication | Open post, can be shared on Facebook/Twitter | Twitter, YouTube, Online Form |
| Timeline | Launched March 15, 2009 | Launched November 25, 2009 |
| Openness | All posts are visible, moderation happens after | Moderation happens behind the scenes |
| Likelihood of a Response | Only upon a certain level of public involvement | For a chosen post, guaranteed |
| Discussion Around Ideas | Complete open citizen participation through comments or followup questions | No discussion functionality available |
| Importance Determined By | Public voting | The Premier’s office |
| Design | Simplicity | Integrated with other government resources |
Further Examples of Communication Models:
Open for Questions (Official WhiteHouse.gov page)
Prime Minister Harper’s Facebook Page
Connecting people in their “Thanks a Million” efforts around the world
Recently the team at fusedlogic inc. joined in with others on TinyChat to coordinate efforts around the Thanks a Million Food Bank Challenge and A Million High Fives (#AMHF) with @BJMendelson. We chatted and exchanged ideas with @sedonapies, @ckieff, @third_age, @suzviews and more that joined in during the conversation. It was somewhat surreal sitting in a TinyChat room with others across the planet who are passionate about collecting 1 million Food Bank donations for those less fortunate. For me it confirmed the power of social media and simple conversations between like minded people. Often people think of social media as just another marketing tool, but it can be so much more than that and it has the power to change the world.
My personal goal is to give at least $5 in Food Bank donations every week until December 15, 2009. For me, that’s the price of a Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks. I’m lucky enough that I have that option in my life — that I have the discretionary income to spend on luxuries like fancy coffees from Starbucks. Maybe for you that’s riding your bike to work rather than spending $5 in gas to get there. Maybe that’s one less drink at the bar on a Friday night. Maybe you borrow that book from the library, rather than buy a brand new one (and it saves paper too!)
Donating!
While $5 doesn’t seem like much to some of us, for many it’s the difference between life and death. Reading the statistic that every six seconds a child dies from hunger or related causes reminds me that I have a choice. And my choice is to make a difference. So we invite you to make a difference with the rest of the world. The fusedlogic “Thanks a Million” campaign isn’t really about us as a company at all, it’s about the community –worldwide – and how if we all work together, we will make a difference in the lives of millions around the world.
We are looking for local ambassadors — those who are excited about giving back in their communities and who want to lead the way and gather donations, documenting the journey by snapping pictures. By posting the photos online at www.thanksamillion.ca you join a worldwide initiative to see change take place. Or you can tweet the picture on Twitter and tag it with #1MPics or #thanksamillion and we’ll add it to the page. This project is meant to inspire hope, to show that you aren’t alone in your desire to help others, but that millions around the world hold that same dream, that same passion for change.
Are you interested in getting involved? Email us at kelly@fusedlogic.com or genoa@fusedlogic.com or leave us a comment. I love feedback and I look forward to starting conversations with you and with others around the world.
The Great (Edmonton) Airport Debate
The debate between closing and maintaining the Edmonton City Centre Airport (YXD) has heated up as of late. With City Councilors set to make a decision on July 8, opinion is still widely divided between the two view points.
With that in mind, fusedlogic will be hosting the “Great Airport Debate” at our studio in Sherwood Park. We currently have Mack Male (creator of notmyairport.ca) and Dave MacLean (creator of saveourairport.ca) lined up to continue a discussion they began last week, but were unable to continue due to time restraints. Well, we don’t have any of those here. As well, we may be adding a few more guests to sit on the discussion panel – we’ll update this post as soon as any are confirmed. Read more
nextMEDIA 2009
Despite a snowy start (in June!) to this year’s nextMEDIA 2009 event, the underdressed delegates – from L.A. to Brazil – were still able to enjoy the beautiful locale.
Discussion over the weekend covered the social web from several angles – monetization models, culture and demographics, and search metrics to name a few. Monitors with Tweetdeck rolled along tracking the hashtag #nextMEDIA throughout the venue, keeping conference-goers up to date on the most recent chatter in and around the event. Discussions regularly fell to differentiating between the hype of social media and its more productive uses. Read more
Streaming live from nextMEDIA in Banff
Members of the fusedlogic team are heading to Banff, Alberta to take in the nextMEDIA conference. Probably even more fun for us will be the fact that we’ll be streaming live Saturday and Sunday from the event and looking to do interesting interviews with as many people as we can. So track us down and say hello, we’d love to hear about your business and all about your nextMEDIA experience in general.
Watch @fusedlogic @paulney and @eadnams on twitter as well for updates.
