Posts Tagged ‘Canada’
The Questions Unanswered
Don’t let the title fool you, there are many questions unanswered, this question is one we all must deal with, and we need to embrace the solution, because we most likely won’t like it. This question has absolutely nothing to do with technology, but technology may play a role in roughly 30 years, to help find an answer to the question. This blog post is primarily information taken from the British Columbia Labour Market Outlook for 2009 – 2019. Stay with me because the problem and or the question yet to be answered impacts every country in the world.
Now there is talk of employment growth in every country and labour sector related to technology, in my home province 1,126,000 job openings are expected over the ten year period from 2009 – 2019. Encouraging right? Approximately 60% of job openings (676,000) will be due to the replacement demand generated by retirements and deaths. The remaining 40% of job openings (450,000) will be due to the expansion demand created by new job openings that arise as a result of economic growth. The projected average annual employment growth for B.C. is 1.8 % over the above ten year period.
ironically, the majority of the population live in an area called the Lower Mainland, made up of Cities & Townships, Vancouver, North Vancouver, New Westminster, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge/Haney, Mission, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley and Delta. This is roughly 2.5 million people, the total population of the province is just over 3.4 million. You can see the dilemma.
The greatest growth is anticipated to be across the province, the North Coast and Nechako areas will see a 2.8 % increase while the Lower Mainland / Vancouver Island will only see a 1.8 % increase in growth. The top three occupation groups with the most expected job openings are:
1.) Sales and Service Occupations
2.) Trades, Transport and Equipment Operators and Related Occupations
3.) Business, Finance and Administration Occupations
Ironically, the health sector is not in the top three.
As you can see, there is a trend being presented here, and it is much the same around the world. It is expected that nearly 70% of job openings in the future will require some form of post-secondary education or higher. The next issue to tackle is the cost of that education, it’s higher than most can afford.
Let’s get to the bigger problem, today we have a the largest sector of the worlds population (Baby Boomers) about to retire, the generation behind them is 75% smaller than the Boomers.There isn’t enough workers to fill the vacancies these boomers will leave behind, how will the work get done and who will look after them? Another concern with this picture is, our failing medical systems, the boomers will be a huge burden, and there won’t be enough people to provide this care the boomers will require.
What will we do and how will we do it? There is the question unanswered, we still haven’t figure it out for the most part, well, there is one way to solve the problem. It’s called immigration, starting in 2016, migrants are expected to account for a larger share of the new labour supply in B.C. than new labour market entrants. This is not just British Columbia’s problem, it’s a global problem, imagine….every Baby Boomer is now over 50 years of age! Almost 50% of Canada’s population is over 50 years old, soon to be replaced by migrant workers, that’s not a bad thing, at least there are workers available to solve the problem the work force is facing.
How will technology play a role, well….Nanotechnology, it’s expected that this technology will allow humans to live forever, perfect health, and eventually we will birth perfect babies. This is many years off, but it will eventually will be introduced and many will embrace it. Nanotechnology is expected to cure diseases like Diabetes, Cancer and so on, who wouldn’t want to live longer knowing you would be healthy.
My Disclosure
The question was raised to me today, do I give disclosure on products and services I promote and or sell? I said yes, well I try too, if there is an affiliate link in a post, I usually put in brackets beside the link like the following: (Affliate Link) Unless it’s a graphic advertisment on the sidebar you should see the disclaimer. Is that giving disclosure, or is it a warning? It really doesn’t matter, I will not promote something I don’t believe brings value, if I don’t believe it’s any good, how will I convince you it is?
Now my understanding is that in the mighty US of A you now must give disclosure, I’m Canadian and that particular law does not apply (YET!). Yes, it will eventually make it’s enforcement here in Canada but as of this writing it has not been put into action.
Anyway, I have decided to go a step further and post on a seperate page my disclosure on all affilaite relationships currently in place with Owen Greaves Consulting. You will find it under the About Owen Greaves menu item, and it’s called Disclosure. (not an affiliate link)
I hope this will suffice all the ney say’rs out there.
One Thing Social Media Can't Change
I woke up this morning with the question running through my brain, I wonder what he’ll say? He is the Doctor, a Specialist or a Sports Doctor. I broke my left shoulder back on July 5th, my physician was concerned that the break wasn’t healing so he shipped me off to see this guru of bones for athletes.
Anyway, I had to drive to the next community to see him as wasn’t local to where I lived. The drive was beautiful, the sky was clear and I was taking my time enjoying the journey I was on. I found his office relatively easy and pulled into the parking lot wondering if I had to pay to park there, I didn’t…SWEET! I mean how often do you find free parking?
I went in and filled out the paperwork, then I waited, I waited and waited some more before finally getting into wait a little longer. The door opens, at last I’m thinking, and then he asks me why I was there! I said pardon, don’t you have my file on hand? Nope! I told him what happened and then he said, I want you to go a block and half and get some X-Rays done. It was like he wasn’t even listening! Feeling a little frustrated and annoyed at the same time I agreed to go. He gave me the paper and the address, he then gave me directions and off I went. Guess what? The directions were bogus, he sent me the wrong way and I was gone for almost 40 minutes before I came back with X-Rays in hand. Enough about that.
The good news is, the shoulder is healing but very slowly, and the break was actually a shatter but everything was pulling together just fine and he said I would be as good as new in about 6 more weeks of waiting. I said, I want to play sports again…when can I play soccer again? He felt the shoulder couldn’t take a hit or a fall just yet and preferred that I waited another 6 weeks. I asked why 6 weeks, I want you to come back and see me then and we can discuss it then. I thanked him even though I felt cheated, off home I went. Doctor’s are you listening?
While driving home I got to thinking, how would Social Media change the experience I just went through. Again, taking my time going home, I hammered on this thought and I just couldn’t find an answer. Maybe you have some thoughts on the topic, if so, leave your thoughts in the comments. I’m just not convinced that Social Media would have made the Doctor listen better, actually pay attention to what I was saying and or how I was feeling. You have to keep in mind, in Canada our medical system is unique at best and the Doctors are pretty safe from public pressure when it comes to the customer service expectation. How could Doctors learn from these communities, could these communities make these kinds of changes in Doctors? As you can see my head was racing with questions and very few conclusions.
I would love to hear from communities on this particular topic, and hear some great ideas on how we or I could proceed so we could make this experience more positive. Or is this One Thing Social Media Can’t Change?
How Do I Implement Social Media?
There are two questions that come up in almost every conversation I have on the topic of Social Media here in my local community, not online but offline. It never fails, these are the most asked questions I face.
1.) How Do I make or Implement Social Media in my Business?
2.) How do I make money and get the appropriate ROI using Social Media?
That’s more than two questions and alot to unpack, but that’s how they end up coming to me.
Keep in mind, I live in Canada and we typically are not early adopters on most things, we are at least 6 – 18 months behind our neighboring domestic USA. But that’s another story. We tend to be behind on what these new technology tools and movements are, what they mean and how to integrate them into our businesses and lives. So when the questions come from the executives the department leaders don’t have the right answer and worse yet they try to figure it out on their own, using old metrics and methods to generate some kind of understanding.
These two questions are hard to answer over a coffee or even in a board room, bringing in someone who has an understanding and is actually involved or an early adopter having success with Social Media to walk through some very important questions. Success doesn’t have to mean they are making millions, it means they have done many things right putting them in a position to monetize their passion or existing business.
There is many a debate on where Social Media fits in an organization, the Marketing / PR Department, HR, IT Department and so on. I would suggest to you it fits into all three. The Marketing / PR Department will most likely be the message creator for consistency purposes and also would hand off the Social Media chores to the Online Community Communications person. The HR Department would be involved for NDA purposes and orientation of new and existing staff, this would include the Internet Policy that the I.T. Department most likely helped develop. I.T. supports and ensures up time for all aspects of Information Technology needs.
I am assuming here that Information Technology was implemented properly in the organization, which means, I.T. is in line with business needs and processes for the purpose of obtaining the goals of the organizations business plan. As you can see there is much that needs to be discussed before you venture out into this environment without building a team to discuss how you will proceed. The key is to bring someone in your area that is in the know and can help your team by ensuring the right questions are being asked and that they are getting answered. This person is much like a Project Manager with a difference, he/she is a lighthouse, a beacon and a sounding board. In the end it is up to the organization to decide what and how they want to proceed.
The point of this article is not lay out what you have to do step by step, but to prompt you to bring in someone who is knowledgeable, who is respected and recognized as someone in Social Media circles that can truly assist your organization. Someone with a strong background in technology and online marketing. This person can help you build the appropriate team, that will go a long way to ensuring success in developing your Social Media Strategy.
If you are in need of help, feel free to contact me at: owen@owengreaves.com
Are The Words "Social Media" Missing From Your Business Vocabulary?
This question has been nagging at me these past few weeks like I was being pecked to death by a chicken, could it be that these words are not computing with local business owners? It’s like your smallest child learning how to read an can’t pronounce a word, they end up creating a new word because they can’t say what they are reading. No it’s not a learning disability, it’s an understanding of what those words actually mean and how to use it in this new age and environment of marketing. It’s changed, or has it? Anytime you have the word ” Social ” attached to a phrase or sentence, people think less formal, beach party, BBQ or relaxing on the deck with friends. Yes, that is a form of being social and it is somewhat related to the term in business circles as well. The problem isn’t the word, it’s the thinking that is attached to the words, and small business owners can’t seem to break how they feel or think about the word. It’s not that they can’t, they just don’t know how and it’s embarrassing enough that they won’t ask for help on the topic for fear of looking stupid. I mean come on, it’s the words ” Social Media ” how could I not know what that means! So rather than find out, they think, let’s not go there and or I’ll avoid the conversation all together. Worse yet, I’ll ask my kids. Small to medium business, all business for that matter needs to educate themselves on the tidal wave before them and how to ride that wave without being wiped out.
In my corner of the world here in Western Canada, a very small group of people participate in the formal sense of the words social media. This group is comprised of mostly people from chat rooms or FaceBook and the like, not a many are business owners trying to add this environment into their marketing mix or even their support systems. I say this because I’ve been coming up against this lack of understanding everyday and this uncomfortable feeling when you try to share with them, to help them understand what it is or could be for their business. It’s like the words Social Media aren’t even in their vocabulary or business language, it’s completely missing, and if it is there, it’s a picture of people standing around a water cooler. So in light of that, I am posting the Wiki definition of Social Media here for all the world to see.
Social Media Definition
Social media is online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It’s a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political and business use.
Distinction from Industrial Media
Social media are distinct from industrial media, such as newspapers, television, and film. While social media are relatively inexpensive and accessible tools that enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information, industrial media generally require significant resources to publish information. Examples of industrial media issues include a printing press or a government-granted spectrum license.
“Industrial media” are commonly referred to as “traditional”, “broadcast” or “mass” media.
One characteristic shared by both social media and industrial media is the capability to reach small or large audiences; for example, either a blog post or a television show may reach zero people or millions of people. The properties that help describe the differences between social media and industrial media depend on the study. Some of these properties are:
1. Reach – both industrial and social media technologies provide scale and enable anyone to reach a global audience.
2. Accessibility – the means of production for industrial media are typically owned privately or by government; social media tools are generally available to anyone at little or no cost.
3. Usability – industrial media production typically requires specialized skills and training. Most social media do not, or in some cases reinvent skills, so anyone can operate the means of production.
4. Recency – the time lag between communications produced by industrial media can be long (days, weeks, or even months) compared to social media (which can be capable of virtually instantaneous responses; only the participants determine any delay in response). As industrial media are currently adopting social media tools, this feature may well not be distinctive anymore in some time.
5. Permanence – industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is printed and distributed changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas social media can be altered almost instantaneously by comments or editing.
Community media constitute an interesting hybrid of industrial and social media. Though community-owned, some community radios, TV and newspapers are run by professionals and some by amateurs. They use both social and industrial media frameworks.
Here is the link from the above: Social Media Definition
The real issue isn’t what the words mean, it’s how a consultant or media firm explains them, provides a case study that reflects that a business can derive an ROI from Social Media. Thus, giving the term value and a new way of marketing and communicating with their customers, by building a deeper, richer relationship that builds a new kind of loyalty. More importantly it provides a forum where you the business owners actually cares about what your clientele think about your products and services. A place where you can give them and even better experience of dealing with you.
Another challenge for these words and business owner’s; there are people out there claiming to be knowledgeable and understand social media that just plain don’t. These individuals land high positions in large organizations, they get the position and then scramble around to figure out how to do the job when they have no business being there in the first place. A great rant on this topic is from my friend Olivier Blanchard of The Brand Builder, his video entitled, “Is your Social Media Director qualified?”, it articulates far better than I Olivier’s frustration and concern with these individuals in one short video. Take the time to view it.
As you can tell there is alot of work to be done, an educational track that needs to be articulated in a way that business owners can connect the dots, connect the words to a real opportunity and value they have not considered before. Each business owner needs to bone up and learn that the term Social Media is a new marketing environment but also a relationship they have avoided in the past. You can no longer avoid it because it is the new word of mouth, it can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You have to decide which it will be.