Even if these staggering figures provided by Facebook, seemingly the sovereign of social media, cannot be taken at face value, it’s clear that people are keeping busy online.

For Roger Kondrat, founder of Calgary-based West17Media, which specializes in helping businesses integrate social media into their marketing strategy, these numbers — and the endless stream of user data being pumped out by various other social media websites — represent something the mass media simply cannot shy away from.

“Ignoring social media is no different than ignoring the web, because the social web is an evolution of the web,” says Kondrat.

Almost as varied in its uses as in its types of users, social media can consist of everything from blogging in a basement to posting photos from a weekend camping trip to organizing a massive political rally through online forums.

For Kondrat, not only did the vast world of social media represent a career choice, but it also gave him a platform to market himself in ways never thought possible.

“Personally, it’s allowed me to make really good connections around the world with people that can either support me, connect me with people, introduce me to clients or connect with potential clients directly,” he says.

Kondrat says it’s the ability to rapidly connect with people and effectively market a product or individual that poses the greatest opportunity.

“For news gathering, information gathering, I don’t really think there’s a better place than social media, because that’s where people are talking, and what are they talking about? They’re talking about what’s right there in front of them,” he says.

Calgary’s social experiment

Numerous local media outlets have already begun integrating with the online community — some more effectively than others.

Avenue Magazine web editor Tony Charron says he frequently updates the publication’s Twitter account to keep readers in the loop on important arts and culture topics from around the city.

Kondrat says he sees the CBC, Calgary Herald and FFWD as frontrunners in Calgary’s race for online supremacy because they actively track developing stories online.

Robert Remington, a Herald columnist since 2003 who also previously worked for the National Post and Edmonton Journal, says the use of social media technology has had a positive impact on his day-to-day work.

“It’s made the job easier,” he says. “I update files all the time to our webpage from my Blackberry, most recently the Dalai Lama’s press conference. Basically you hit the highlights of what is said and then go into more depth for the print edition and subsequent online version. I’ve done the same for George Bush, Condoleeza Rice and so many more I can’t remember.”

Remington has also begun using Twitter, a micro-blogging service that sees users interact through 140-character posts known as “tweets,” not just to promote Herald content but also to find sources and gain perspective on important current issues.

“It has made it, in some cases, much easier to contact people,” says Remington. “For instance, 10 years after the post-Columbine school shooting in Taber, Alberta, I wanted to interview one of the young men who was wounded. He had never spoken before and I found him and contacted him on Facebook. He agreed to meet me in Lethbridge and we did a lengthy interview.”

Calgary Herald columnist Robert Remington says he and and many of his peers have their own blogs they use to promote content not officially associated wih the Herald.

A recently published author himself, Remington says he and many of his peers have their own blogs and Twitter accounts that they use to interact with others and promote work not formally associated with the Herald.

Kondrat says Twitter usage statistics are often misleading because not all users are frequently active on the site. Recent ballpark figures have put the number on the service in the Calgary area in the tens of thousands.

“Figures have shown that a vast portion across the Twitter network log on once a week,” says Kondrat. “You could probably consider that there is a fairly sizable population online now.”

Daily publications such as the Herald are not the only ones delving into the vast sea of social media. Tony Charron, web editor at Calgary’s monthly Avenue Magazine, says he frequently updates the publication’s Twitter profile because it’s a cost-free and efficient way to create exposure and provide followers with quick tidbits from the city’s arts and culture scene.

“As a monthly magazine, it allows for us to break free of our long production cycle and react to things on a shorter timeline and promote our online content,” says Charron. “Even if, perhaps, people do not use the links to a story of ‘go and enter a contest,’ it still reminds them that Avenue is here in the city and lets them know what we’re doing.”

Charron says an important advantage of social media is that marketing success is generated rapidly, unlike readership reports for the print edition that can often take months to develop.

“I am able to see fairly quickly whether any given tweet or Facebook notification results in increased traffic,” he said. “What I have found is that the content needs to be compelling. The things that get the most traffic through social networks are typically the ones that garner the most attention through other means as well.”

Issue of privacy

While Charron and those at the helm of other publications continue to adopt new social media practices, the question of how to keep certain information out of the public spotlight must be raised.

The issue was brought to the forefront last July when Jennifer Stoddart, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, cited a number of privacy breaches in Facebook’s polices.

Stoddart’s concerns included providing confusing and incomplete information to subscribers and not deleting information on users who deactivated their accounts. Facebook’s organizers have since agreed to comply with recommendations made by Stoddart, a move that Kondrat sees as extremely positive for his field.

“I always worried about privacy issues…now, I think what’s potentially happened is that we have moderated the negative and introduced some new positives,” he says.

Remington notes that the privacy issue is a two-way street, as employees representing organizations must also exercise discretion and professionalism online.

“Unlike many casual bloggers, we are schooled in legal issues related to copyright infringement, youth law, libel, defamation, contempt of court, etcetera,” he says. “Unlike many bloggers who cowardly hide behind a cloak of anonymity, we put our names out there so people know who we are.”
While social media ground rules are still being laid out and much of the experimentation online is relatively new, Kondrat remains adamant that media organizations hoping to survive must adapt to the technology in front of them and take the good with the bad: “This is a massive upgrade of how the web updates (over time) and if you’re not involved with it, then my goodness, you are behind.”

Part 2: Race on for #yyc social media supremacy-Calgary organizations from various fields market aggressively online in hopes of gaining a leg up on competitors.

Part 3: Where will the information superhighway lead next?

Related stories:

1. Engaging the Masses: The race for Calgary online supremacy
2. Engaging the masses: Where will the information superhighway lead next?