Edmonton 2009 Neighbourhood Census Data – Extended!

Today, the city released their 2009 Municipal Census data which can be accessed from the City of Edmonton website here.

There was some online discussion about the city’s choice to release the information in .pdf form instead of the more accessible .csv format.  While .pdf is probably more than sufficient enough for most people, check out links to the .csv versions below.

The one thing that the .pdf versions lacked were any pretty graphs.  As an accountant, a pretty graph is about the only way I can express my deep-rooted love for spreadsheets, and as such, have included some for you to enjoy below. Read more

Canadians shopping online in record numbers

I read yesterday that online shopping by Canadians hit $12.8 billion last year. That’s pretty impressive, but you have to look at the numbers that form part of the story to find the really interesting data.

One third of Canadians 16 and older made purchases online and even more interesting, Alberta led the country with 51 per cent of people making purchases online. Why that is, I’m not sure. Just over half the people from 25 to 34 in Canada made purchases online as well.

According to StatsCan more retailers are offering online shopping, which makes sense. What retailers should also know is that 43 per cent of Canadians have used the Internet to research their purchases, with 64 per cent saying they’ve gone to a “bricks and mortar” store to make their purchase.

How businesses can respond

What it means is that if you’re a business that doesn’t have a solid web presence, you may be missing out. The Internet is an incredible research tool, so make sure your company has the information people are looking for.

For retailers it’s important to have the basics down: solid website, good design, good search engine optimization and pay-per-click ads, but what else? That’s not going to guarantee online marketing success, whatever business you’re in.

A good social media strategy can help tie all your marketing together. Engaging with your market in other ways such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and many other social media can help your business in many ways.

By listening to your clients and potential clients, no matter what type of business you’re in, you can gain valuable information to help serve them better. A good social media strategy will help you do that, and is a win-win for you and your client: you’re doing more business and your client is getting what they need and want.

A good social media strategy is important for online retailers, but also to those companies that are being researched online and contacted off line.

Alberta social media strategy

It’s remarkable that Albertans are leading Canada in terms of shopping online. It should be a wakeup call for those Alberta companies who are ignoring their online marketing.

I would really like to know more about why Alberta leads the country in online shopping. Could it be the booming economy here? Not sure. According to what I’ve been reading though, Alberta’s economy is still strong, possibly the strongest in North America. It’s still a good place to do business.

Online marketing will continue to be a growth industry. It might be a good idea to examine your online marketing efforts and social media strategy to make sure you’re part of the growing online research and shopping trend.

RapLeaf study reveals gender and age

Rapleaf Study Reveals Gender and Age Data of Social Network Users

San Francisco, CA – July 29, 2008 — In a follow up to the Study of Social Network Users vs. Age, Rapleaf today released full data on the 49.3 million people included in the study. Snapshot of the data along with full downloadable dataset below:

comScore – social networking statistics

Continuing with our education approach to social media, I wanted to provide some a year’s comparison of the top social networking stats from a recent  comScore press release for your reading and learning enjoyment.  The growth and popularity of social networking continues to grow world-wide…

Social Networking Explodes Worldwide as Sites Increase their Focus on Cultural Relevance

Facebook and Hi5 More than Double Global Visitor Bases During Past Year

RESTON, VA, August 12, 2008 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study of worldwide usage of social networking sites, indicating that while the growth in new users in North America is beginning to level off, it is burgeoning in other regions around the world. During the past year, the total North American audience of social networkers has grown 9 percent compared to a much larger 25 percent growth for the world at large. The Middle East-Africa region (up 66 percent), Europe (up 35 percent), and Latin America (up 33 percent) have each grown at well-above average rates.

Social Networking Growth by Worldwide Region June 2008 vs. June 2007 Total Worldwide Audience, Age 15+ – Home and Work Locations Source: comScore World Metrix
	Unique Visitors (000)
	Jun-07	Jun-08	Percent Change
Worldwide	464,437	580,510	25%
Asia Pacific	162,738	200,555	23%
Europe	122,527	165,256	35%
North America	120,848	131,255	9%
Latin America	40,098	53,248	33%
Middle East – Africa	18,226	30,197	66%

“While the social networking trend first took off in North America, it is beginning to reach a point of maturity in the region,” said Jack Flanagan, comScore executive vice president. “However, the phenomenon is still growing rapidly in other regions around the world – especially as the established American brands turn their focus to developing markets.”

Facebook and Hi5 Lead Global Growth among Top Social Networking Sites

During the past year, many of the top social networking sites have demonstrated rapid growth in their global user bases. Facebook.com, which took over the global lead among social networking sites in April 2008, has made a concerted effort to become more culturally relevant in markets outside the U.S. Its introduction of natural language interfaces in several markets has helped propel the site to 153-percent growth during the past year. Meanwhile, the emphasis Hi5.com has put on its full-scale localization strategy has helped the site double its visitor base to more than 56 million. Other social networking sites, including Friendster.com (up 50 percent), Orkut (up 41 percent), and Bebo.com (up 32 percent) have demonstrated particularly strong growth on a global basis.

Worldwide Growth among Selected Social Networking Sites June 2008 vs. June 2007 Total Worldwide Audience, Age 15+ Home and Work Locations Source: comScore World Metrix
	Total Unique Visitors (000)
	Jun-2007	Jun-2008	% Change
Total Internet : Total Audience	778,310	860,514	11%
Social Networking	464,437	580,510	25%
FACEBOOK.COM	52,167	132,105	153%
MYSPACE.COM	114,147	117,582	3%
HI5.COM	28,174	56,367	100%
FRIENDSTER.COM	24,675	37,080	50%
Orkut	24,120	34,028	41%
BEBO.COM	18,200	24,017	32%
Skyrock Network	17,638	21,041	19%

Facebook Gains Traction in Europe and Other Regions

Facebook’s recent ascension to become the top global social networking site has been spurred by its substantial growth across worldwide regions. Though its largest visitor base is still in North America (49 million), Facebook’s growth in the region is a relatively modest 38-percent. In every other worldwide region, Facebook’s audience has more than quadrupled.  Europe is quickly catching up with North America as Facebook’s largest visitor base with 35 million visitors in June, a 303-percent increase and a net addition of nearly 27 million monthly visitors versus year ago. Other worldwide regions have seen even more dramatic growth on a percentage basis.

Worldwide Growth for Facebook.com June 2008 vs. June 2007 Total Worldwide Audience, Age 15+ Home and Work Locations Source: comScore World Metrix
	Total Unique Visitors (000)
	Jun-2007	Jun-2008	% Change
FACEBOOK.COM	52,167	132,105	153%
North America	35,698	49,248	38%
Europe	8,751	35,263	303%
Asia Pacific	3,712	20,712	458%
Middle East – Africa	2,974	14,951	403%
Latin America	1,033	11,931	1055%

“Facebook has done an exceptional job of leveraging its brand internationally during the past year,” added Mr. Flanagan. “By increasing the site’s relevance to local markets through local language interface translation, the site is now competing strongly or even capturing the lead in several markets where it had a relatively minor presence just a year ago.”