Tag Archives: Toronto

Web Worthy Wednesdays – August 8th – 14th, 2012

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Welcome to Mansfield Communications’ Web Worthy Wednesdays! In this feature, we compile links suggested by our staff into a list of the top five most interesting and thought-provoking (in our opinions, of course) articles found this past week on the web. Enjoy!

In no particular order:

If you build it, they won’t give a @#$%
Julien doesn’t beat around the @#$%^&* bush in telling you why your ideas suck, and how to make them better. He also tells you how to make sure people hear your ideas, and how to connect with those who can help spread your ideas and make them successful. Don’t mind the cursing, that’s his way – just take in the message!

Open letter: PR pros, let’s be better
It’s sad but true – the PR industry as a whole can be really lazy with how it deals with bloggers. But we can be better! Stephanie Fusco helps guide us in the right direction with this piece – a must-read for anyone in the industry, and particularly for anyone handling blogger relations.

Is All Publicity Good?
When trying to generate publicity and get your name out there, consider what message you want to convey, prepare for criticism, and ask yourself if you are prepared for the success or failure that may result from your media relations push.

Google Buys Newspaper Ad to Show Why Newspaper Ads Don’t Work (Wait, what?)
Well, isn’t this ironic? Buying ads in newspapers to discredit newspaper advertising… wait, what? Just read it, you will get a laugh at the very least!

Ten reasons to ditch Toronto (for a day)
Summer will soon be drawing to a close, so take advantage of the nice weather and be adventurous! There are many waterfalls, hiking trails, and natural wonders to be seen that are a short trek outside the city.

Did you read an article recently that you think is a must-read? Share it with us in the comments!

G20 Protests: Social Media vs. Traditional Media: When Two Worlds Collide

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July 26, 2010 was considered by many to be one of Toronto’s darkest days.  More than 400 people were arrested as violence broke out after thousands of anti-G20 protesters marched through downtown Toronto, prompting police to use tear gas in the city for the first time.

I was alerted to the protests via a text from a friend who ended up having to take shelter from the mayhem in The Rivoli (admittedly there are worse places one could be).  Her picture text displayed an army of police dressed in full armour marching straight towards a crowd of people down Queen just south of east of Spadina.  I immediately turned on both my television set and TweetDeck, watching CBC Newsworld while simultaneously reading the hundreds of Twitter updates and pictures that graced my computer screen.  The pictures and updates where vivid, shocking and tense.  While CBC Newsworld did a decent job of covering the riots, Twitter hands down offered the most up to date and truthful account of what really was going on in our city.  It was amazing to witness the power, speed and authenticity of social media and how it has really changed the face of mainstream media and communications in general.  CBC Newsworld andCP24 were updating accounts of the protests via tweets and pictures that were sent from various spectators that were sent to the CBC , CP24, Twitter and Flickr accounts.

A few journalists utilized social media solely as their medium to document the #G20 protests.  Steve Paikin, host of TVO’s flagship current affairs program , The Agenda, provided  a shocking and disturbing picture of police brutality through his tweets . Over the course of two hours, he became a trending topic for Canada and helped provide confirmation that, contrary to official denials and protestations, the police used rubber bullets when dealing with demonstrators despite denying the former.  His followers went from a few hundred to over 7000 in a course of a few hours thanks to people re-tweeting his tweets and calling attention to his journalistic integrity and bravery which some may argue could unfortunately not be said for the mainstream media.

While I still believe in the power of traditional media and will not be cancelling my cable any time soon, I find myself continually relying on Twitter  to for the latest in news and trends and commend CBC and CP24 for recognizing and embracing the power of social media and utilizing it to provide up to date news coverage to their viewers.

Karen Nussbaum

Rethink Romp 2010

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This past Thursday a few of us from Mansfield attended the annual Rethink Romp at the Steamwhistle Brewery.  The Romp has a different theme every year and (lucky us) this year’s theme was Superheroes!  At first, I had serious reservations about dressing up as a superhero and going out in public (no matter how good the cause), but as soon as I found a Batman utility belt at Malabar, my attitude completely turned around.

As Spidergirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman and I stepped out of the cab that night, my hesitation had a slight relapse as we saw several plainly (meaning: regularly) dressed people entering the building.  Once inside, it was a different story.  The brewery was decked out in colourful signage and teeming with superheroes.  All the signage inside was created to replicate the pages of a comic book, complete with exclamation marks and dramatic description for everyday things.  All of the sponsors station were labeled in the same way and my personal favourite was the photobooth with sign cards to hold up saying things like, “BAM!, ZOINKS! And KABOOM!”  I can think of few events as well coordinated and executed as this one.  I was deeply impressed and inspired by how smoothly this event went off.

Event planning and management is one of my favourite things about working in public relations.  I love putting together creative and exciting experiences for the people invited and watching the evening unfold.  Of course, it’s equally as gratifying to manage events for your clients, so they too can enjoy the evening and leave all (potential) issues to you.

Needless to say, I had a lot of fun at the Romp and I learned a lot too.  To learn more about Rethink, go here:  http://www.rethinkbreastcancer.com/

- Sarah