CHANGE - FCC Plan for Net Neutrality

The FCC is expected to vote on the 'net neutrality' rules on December 14th. 

These rules presently require ISPs (internet providers) to treat all web traffic the same. Among the concerns arising from an FCC vote to repeal the regulation are these:

• Higher consumer costs
• Reduced consumer access to content services
• A playing field no longer level for consumers or content providers
• Elimination of competitive services
• Censorship of some content

The situation is expected to unleash a wave of lobbying. Opponents of the plan are expected to be Consumer Associations, content services like Netflix and social media giants Twitter, Google, Instagram and Facebook (TGIF). Supporters are expected to include large network providers, especially those who also own content services like Comcast and AT&T.

“Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the internet,” FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai said in a statement last week. “Instead, the FCC would simply require internet service providers to be transparent about their practices.”

 CBC News covered this story and its implications very well and includes several of the interviews carried on the national radio network.

DIGITAL - Instagram Reaches 700 Million Monthly Users

After six-plus years many social media apps become a bit stagnant and growth slows.

Not so for Instagram who announced yesterday they now have 700 million monthly users.

It’s the quick bump in growth that is so impressive - the latest 100 million users signed up in just four months.

This announcement was right on the heels of a blog post which noted over 200 million people use Instagram Stories every day.

To put the growth of Instagram Stories into perspective - the feature was just launched last August, while Snapchat launched five years ago and has 161 million daily users.

Instagram is expanding on its international presence and sticking with its foundation as a visual communication medium.

According to TechCrunch here’s how long it took Instagram to add each 100 million users:

• October 6, 2010 – Launch
• February 26, 2013 – 100 million;  28 months
• March 25, 2014 – 200 million; 13 months
• December 10, 2014 – 300 million; 9 months
• September 22, 2015 – 400 million; 9 months
• June 21, 2016 – 500 million; 9 months
• December 15, 2016 – 600 million; 6 months
• April 26, 2017 – 700 million; 4 months

“Growth was driven by a number of factors, including our ability to better connect people with their friends on Instagram,” said a spokesperson. “We also took steps to simplify and improve our sign-up process, which helped bring in new people from all over the world.”

Instagram is now more than twice the size of Twitter.

DIGITAL - Twitter Shifts Focus, Kills Vine

Twitter is struggling.

The platform had close to 1 billion inactive users in August of last year, and users have continued to flock to rival platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram.

Some users find Twitter confusing or overwhelming, and issues with poor response to harassment are long-standing.

Twitter has finally begun to address the harassment issue and this may make the platform more welcoming to a wider variety of users, but it might be too little, too late when compounded with their other issues.

Although they committed in their 2015 Q4 earnings announcement to, “fix the broken windows and confusing parts… that we know inhibit usage and drive people away,” they still struggle with a disengaged and distrustful user base.

This may be exacerbated by the company’s decision to kill Vine, a service that was never able to bring in revenue but was incredibly popular with a wide range of users.

The decision to eliminate Vine is part of their move towards more focus on the news, and on live events, with more live streaming of current events such as the presidential debates.

While reviews of the platform’s new live streaming experience and the Periscope app have mostly been positive, that won’t entirely offset the disappointment of Vine users.

Vine users, primarily creatives and artists, will move to platforms like YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram, and Twitter risks losing their engagement entirely.

Vine, and Twitter itself, was not able to keep up with other platforms in terms of management stability, responsiveness to customer demands, or profitability.

In an effort to stay afloat, Twitter has laid off 9% of its workforce, or about 350 jobs. And it’s taken steps to shift focus and become more welcoming to users.

Will it be enough?

Unless Twitter finds a way to generate further revenue through advertising or other means, probably not.

However, Twitter hopes to gain stable profitability moving forward, and it is possible that airing live streaming events on the Apple TV app will provide the ad revenue opportunities that have been missing so far.

By Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

BUSINESS - Rumoured Twitter Acquisition by Google or Salesforce

Yesterday, CNBC reported a potential acquisition of Twitter by Google, Salesforce or another technology company.

Twitter stocks took an immediate jump and rose more than 21 percent on Friday ending at more than $22 - the highest they have been since January of this year.

According to CNBC, Twitter may receive a formal bid “shortly,” with Twitter’s board keen to strike a deal. There is no assurance, but sources told them momentum is building and a potential deal may be finalized by the end of the year.

Companies like Google and Microsoft have been tossed out as potential buyers of Twitter, but this is the first time Salesforce has been put into the mix.

It is known that Salesforce missed out on acquiring LinkedIn, so Twitter could offer a way for Salesforce to become more active in the real-time information field.

Twitter is an attractive target due to the abundance of data it holds, and this means it’s an alluring proposition for any firm that thrives on data.

DIGITAL - Simplifying Social Media Algorithms

While ‘simple algorithms’ is something of an oxymoron, it’s a beneficial weapon in the toolbox to have an idea of how the dynamic algorithms for some of the most popular social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – have evolved.

Al-go-rithm

‘A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer’ – Wikipedia

Facebook

Of the three most popular social media sites, Facebook uses the most complicated algorithm system, having evolved considerably since the advent of the ‘Like’ feature in 2007.

The algorithm, which accounts for hundreds of variables including who posted/type of content/level of interaction with the post/recency of post, then calculates a single digit relevancy score for each post; these posts are then classified in order of relevancy, which determines how they appear in each person’s news feed.

These relevancy scores are also given to advertisements, based on positive and negative feedback.

The News Feed algorithm was changed in 2015 to also be able to give more control to the users themselves; prior to this, Facebook would analyze what users wanted to use through a calculation of feedback, but now the ‘See First’ option (under the News Feed Preferences tab) is a further tool for customization by users.

Other tweaks made last year include the analysis of how much time the user spends on a post, including video engagement; analysis of video engagement includes enabling audio and high-definition and enlarging the video to full screen.

Twitter

A notable change made to Twitter algorithms in 2015 is the ‘While you were Away’ feature, determined by user engagement.

Just a few months ago, the ‘Show me the Best Tweets First’ feature was added, which changes timeline content based on relevancy, rather than chronology. While there is no limit to ‘best tweets’, the average is around a dozen, according to Wired magazine.

To remove the ‘best tweets’ option manually, users can constantly manually refresh their feeds or can change their settings under their ‘Profile’ tab (‘Account’- ‘Content’ – ‘Timeline’ – ‘Show Me The Best Tweets’).

Many Twitter users have expressed concerns that Twitter’s algorithm changes will move the platform away from its ‘live stream’ or ‘real time’ feed to a fully algorithmic stream (like Facebook) but Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said they ‘will continue to make Twitter feel more, not less, live’.

Instagram

Acquired by Facebook in 2012, it wasn’t until 2014 that Facebook began to make changes to the ‘Explore’ tab to display tailored posts. Just this spring, Instagram announced on their official blog, "To improve your experience, your feed will soon be ordered to show the moments we believe you will care about the most”.

Optimizing order will apparently be the first order of business, based on four factors – the number of likes and comments on a post; the relationship with the viewer and the user posting; timeliness of the post; and what shares are between the users. Instagram has yet to announce when these changes will roll out.

It all comes down to one basic premise – filtering out poor quality and irrelevant posts and highlighting current, attractive, newsworthy or visually appealing posts.

The essence of social media is relevant, up-to-the-minute posting and constant sharing and linking to other such materials.

The dynamic nature of social media is, in a word, limitless.

By Lindsay Seewalt

Lindsay is an experienced journalist and mother of three whose heart and home is always open to a four-legged friend. With her Corgi, Angie, as household editor-in-chief, Lindsay gives back to the animal planet through the written word on anything and all ado about pets. She is passionate about topics regarding animal welfare and responsible pet ownership, which she aims to instill in both her readers and children to be compassionate animal lovers who are conscious and considerate that furry friends around the globe deserve a voice.

DIGITAL - Top Social Media Sites that Matter to Marketers

Narrowing down which social media sites are the most important for your organization can be a big challenge. With new ones popping up and the feeling you shouldn’t ‘miss out’ on any of them, it can be overwhelming.

Luckily, Hootsuite has compiled the key demographics for the core group of platforms that are crucial to consider for your social media strategy, allowing you to focus your budget of time and energy where it’s most effective.

They also include a list of companies that have used each platform successfully - giving real-life examples that can only help you create effective campaigns.

Did you know that YouTube reaches more 18 to 34 and 18 to 49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S and that besides being the second largest online search engine, it is also heavily used as a resource for how-to content?

The New York Times saw a 2.3 times increase in subscriptions through strategic use of Facebook - a platform that over 1 billion people use daily.

Twitter has over 80 million monthly users and 50 percent of users visit or shop at the website of a small or medium business they follow.

Instragram users are two and a half times more likely to click on ads than on other social media platforms. With 75 million daily users, that’s a lot of clicking.

Hootsuite’s post goes into more - very useful - detail about these platforms as well as Pinterest, Snapchat and LinkedIn.

Read the full article here.

DIGITAL - 24 Ways to Test Your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Content

If social media marketers don’t test the effectiveness of their posts, they won’t know what works, what doesn’t and what could work better.

Simply Measured has created a free guide with 24 social media tests specific to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

On Instragram you can measure the best time of day to post to your specific audience, if posts are more effective if a product is featured or no product, and tags versus followers.

With over 1.44 billion users worldwide, nearly one million of whom log in each day, Facebook has an unprecedented audience. The number of brands you have to compete with on Facebook is almost as staggering as the opportunity.

The guide includes Facebook tests to measure the effectiveness of custom calls to action, posts with offers as opposed to posts without, serious versus not serious, video views versus views to 95% and more.

If you want your Tweets to have more impact, test the time of day, frequency and number of posts and rate of decay.

Clear guidelines for every test keeps things simple and straightforward for marketers to use and improve their marketing strategy.

Download your free guide here.

DIGITAL - Tips: Effective Posting on Popular Social Media Sites

Do you look at the different digital media networks and wonder what the difference is? Why a story or idea works on one and not the other?

You’re not alone. It can be challenging to figure out the different platforms.

Here are some tips for posting on the most popular digital media networks.

Timing is Everything

The best time to post on digital media depends on the platform, the region, the content of your post and your goals.

Hubspot recently created an infographic which includes best times for a variety of platforms. Use this as a guide, measure your own results and go from there.

Use Hashtags Wisely

It used to be the humble pound sign and now it’s a way to hone in on different topics online. Hashtags are used and can connect conversations on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and Tumblr.

Hashtags should be specific and cater to the social network you’re using. Before posting, plan the hashtags you want to use for your organization’s general posts and do the same for campaigns.

Facebook – Start a Conversation

Most Facebook users are chatting with friends or catching up on news, so it’s a great medium for telling stories and asking questions.

Posts on Facebook get more attention if they include a photo. Keep your photo in the 1200 x 630 pixel range.

Use Facebook insights to see which posts get the most engagement and make adjustments using this data.

Pinterest – Inspire and Educate

People on Pinterest want to buy a new product, learn a skill or find a new project, so informative posts are the most popular.

It is often used as an internet bookmarker – saving and storing links from all over the world in an easy-to-use, pretty platform.

Resize your photos to 600 x 1200 pixels and spread your posts out over time rather than uploading a lot at once.

LinkedIn – Professional Posts

Users approach LinkedIn with a work mind-set and it’s the place to share industry strategies and updates.

The tone of conversations should be like speaking with peers and potential clients. Unlike other digital media platforms, you can use industry terminology and it won’t be out of place.

Images boost engagement and work best if they are horizontal and about 646 x 200 pixels.

You don’t need to share or update every day because LinkedIn users don’t check in as often as other platforms.

Twitter – Up to the Minute Conversations

Twitter users are following news at a specific moment in time and want to talk about it.

Your space is limited to 140 characters and it’s a great platform to share news, updates and answer questions.

The use of hashtags began on Twitter in 2007 and is now the norm.

Adding images to your tweets can increase your retweets by about 150%. Horizontal 440 x 220 pixel images are best.

Instagram – Visual Perspective

Beauty, inspiration and entertainment are what Instagram users look for.

Images are number one, but the captions are also very important. It’s a great place for a call to action, a quote or a story about your photo.

Instagram images used to have to be square, but the platform recently gave the option for vertical and horizontal images. Don’t forget to add a logo or other branding element to insure you benefit from any ‘regramming.’

While it’s easiest to post the same information on every platform, it’s much more effective to customize posts for each. Start with the overall message along with a graphic, and make changes to fit – it’s worth the extra time and effort.

DIGITAL - Twitter Forms Trust and Safety Council

At the same time digital media has grown and had a positive impact on businesses and their ability to market and on individuals’ ability to share ideas and build networks, concerns have grown over cyber-bullying, hate speech and threatening or harassing behaviour.

Twitter’s newly formed Trust and Safety Council was created to address these issues and ensure people feel safe expressing themselves on Twitter.

“The volume of content on Twitter is massive, which makes it extraordinarily complex to strike the right balance between fighting abuse and speaking truth to power,” wrote Patricia Cartes, Twitter’s Head of Global Policy Outreach in a blog post. “It requires a multi-layered approach where each of our 320 million users has a part to play, as do the community of experts working for safety and free expression.”

Twitter has more than 40 organizations and experts from 13 regions as inaugural members of the Council. Organizations include:

• Safety advocates, academics, and researchers focused on minors, media literacy, digital citizenship, and efforts around greater compassion and empathy on the Internet;
• Grassroots advocacy organizations that rely on Twitter to build movements and momentum;
• Community groups with an acute need to prevent abuse, harassment, and bullying, as well as mental health and suicide prevention.

As digital media continues to play a huge role in business and the community, initiatives like Twitter’s Council will help ensure the pros outweigh the cons of this important tool.

Summit 2014 welcomes those who cannot attend

The 2014 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies is being produced with real time access through a 
LIVE TWEET EVENT 
22-25 October. 

Join nearly 100 industry thought leaders as they discover Innovation, gather facts and evidence and embrace inspiration to create healthy communities for pets and people. 

Attending delegates and those unable to attend are ALL invited to follow along, join the conversation and post thoughts and pictures on the PetLynx Twitter account @PETUTILITY and #2014SUAS. 

Events begin at 0830 hrs MST. 

Central Conference Highlights

The 2014 Urban Animal Regional Conference tour kicked off today in Toronto, Ontario. More than 40 thought leaders and urban animal service providers gathered to network, discover local and national innovation and participate in relevant and crucial industry conversations. 

Following the Innovation Showcases, Conference delegates nominated Ontario SPCA's iAdopt (Stephanie Johns) and the Shelter Medicine program partnership between Ontario SPCA and Boreal College (Tanya Firmage) to present to present at a national level at the 2014 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies in October. 

Dr. Drew Van Niekerk and Kijiji's Shawn McIntyre presented keynotes illuminating pet sourcing and the barrier it can create in a positive pet experience. Conference delegates were then separated into groups to discuss the importance of sourcing, identify the barriers and propose opportunities. The following bullet points were selected from the event's LIVE TWITTER FEED: 

• A bad pet experience can happen regardless of the source. When different pet sectors blame another for a pet owner's bad experience, we are missing an opportunity to educate with a consistent message. 
• Educate the pet owner based on the decisions they've already made rather than judging them and telling them they've made the wrong decision. 
• Impact of inconsistent industry messaging: confusion, misinformation, relinquishment, potential for adversity within industry
• Current message is confusing and inconsistent. Based on opinions and protection of our own business. 

Stay tuned to InfoStream for highlights from the Atlantic Conference on Thursday, 24 April. 

2014 Regional Conferences welcome those who cannot attend

PetLynx Live Tweet Event - 2014 Urban Animal Regional Conferences: 

• Tuesday, April 22 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Time
• Thursday, April 24 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Atlantic Time
• Monday, April 28 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mountain Time
• Wednesday, April 30 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Time 

Follow the Conferences as they are tweeted in real-time on the PetLynx Twitter account @PetUtility using the hashtags #UARC.

For registration and Conference information, CLICK HERE. 

2014 Social Media Trends

There are few people who would consider themselves a stranger to social media in 2013. About 14% of the earth's population are on Facebook. More than 500 million people have Twitter accounts and YouTube garners over 1 billion unique visitors every month.

As we enter 2014, businesses and organizations are recognizing the opportunities offered by online and social marketing and changing several facets of their business strategies. A common thread with all projected trends is duration and simplicity. Users want to see concise messaging and prefer images and short video clips.  

A 2013 study by Manta showed that 49% of small businesses surveyed increased the time spent on social media from 2012 to 2013. The same found that 26% of businesses spent a majority of their investment dollars on online advertising, marketing and social media despite 40% of businesses seeing only between $100 and $1000 Return on Investment (ROI) from social media activities. This suggests that while the ROI from social media has yet to be mastered, most organizations see a benefit to maintaining stable social channels.   

This article on Business 2 Community (B2C) forecasts Twitter will surpass Facebook in 2014. This plays into other reports which maintain that User Generated Content (UCG) will drive social marketing in the new year. Connecting with an audience by asking them to share experiences in photos and short status updates will be the key to attracting and retaining customers.  

In 2014, social media experts anticipate marketing will transition from monologue to dialogue as UCG is facilitated and consumers are invited to join conversations and engage in brand development. 

Several reports anticipate that images will outrank content for user engagement. A strong info graphic will not only hold the interest of users and keep them engaged longer but will also lend itself as brand advertisement.

Finally, hashtags will become the leading online search tool as every major social media channel accepts and encourages its use. The hashtag allows users to join conversations, follow events and search exclusively for products, thoughts and experiences.  

2013 Social Media Statistics 

• 1.5 billion Facebook users
• 500+ million Twitter users
• 500+ million Google+ users
• 238+ million LinkedIn users
• 130+ million Instagram users
• 70+ million Pinterest users
• over 1 billion+ unique monthly visitors on YouTube

Summit 2013 welcomes those who cannot attend

PetLynx Live Tweet Event - 2013 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies, 16 - 19 October, 2013. 

Follow the Summit as it is tweeted in real-time on the PetLynx Twitter account @PetUtility using the following hashtags as per Summit events and sessions: 

#2013SUAS

#InnovationShowcase

#SummitFE

#FridayForum

#SummitAwards

#PetExperience

#SummitKeyNote

#PetIndustry

#SummitFoundation 

View the Summit 2013 Agenda and Briefing Book.

Social Media's role in Alberta Floods

As the water levels rose in Calgary, social media became a beacon for people looking to understand what was happening, receive information and support those affected. As in other recent disasters, hashtags began to appear which unified otherwise unique tweets and spoke to the social camaraderie shared around the world. 

According to a report compiled by MarketWired, the three top used Twitter hashtags used during the Alberta Floods from June 20-30, 2013 were: 

• #YYCFlood (342,322)
• #ABFlood (209,266)
• #YYCHelps (311,119)

The City of Calgary, 660 News and Calgary Police Service were the most active posters on Twitter with unique tweets using an above hashtag and overall, Flood related hashtags were featured in tweets 32 times every minute. 

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi worked tirelessly during the disaster to keep Calgarians safe and informed. As a result, his Twitter account grew more than 28,000 followers during the 10-day period with unique hashtags such as #Nap4Nenshi and #NenshiNoun popping up on thousands of Tweets.   

comScore Report Shows Canada Leads the World

The 2012 Canada Digital Future in Focus report from comScore was released last week and examines how the prevailing trends in general web usage and demographics, social media, online video, digital advertising, mobile and search are defining the current Canadian marketplace. This annual report provides insight into what these trends mean for the year ahead.

Key insights include:

• Canada continues to lead the world in online engagement, with visitors spending an average 45 hours per month online, representing a fertile ground for digital marketers and advertisers.
• While Facebook is nearing a point of visitor saturation in Canada, other social networks’ visitor bases are posting strong growth, including Twitter, LinkedIn and Tumblr. 
• Engagement on many social sites is trending upward, with Facebook driving the large majority of the increase in total minutes and page views for the overall category.
• Online video is becoming an increasingly popular channel, with total videos viewed up 58 percent. 
• YouTube continues to dominate the marketplace, representing nearly 1 in every 2 videos viewed in Canada.
• Display advertising is evolving to be more social, not only with the rise of “socially-published ads” (i.e. those published on social networking sites), but also the increase of “socially-enabled” ads running across the web that direct click-throughs to the brand’s Facebook fan page.
• Smartphone penetration has reached 45 percent in Canada, with daily mobile content usage growing more than 50 percent in several key content categories.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

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comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics.