Big Data: Sound Investment or Hype? An FDI Perspective
Big Data: Sound Investment or Hype? An FDI Perspective If you read the Economist, Macleans or the New York Times, you’re probably well acquainted with the term “big data”. Poised to solve everything from national security to the common cold, the concept has been popping up everywhere in the past few years. Does it deserve […]
How Technology is Changing FDI
How Technology is Changing FDI Walmart, McDonalds, Costo – each of these retailers is a household name in Canada, yet few Canadians understand the complicated process through which they have established a Canadian presence. Foreign direct investment – or FDI – is “[i]nvestment from one country into another…that involves establishing operations or acquiring tangible assets, […]
The Minimalist Guide to Monitoring Government
The Minimalist Guide to Monitoring Government A couple of weeks back, I wrote a post on using strategy and media-monitoring software to reduce information overload. The responses I received solidified my view that overload is one of the biggest problems in the workplace today. Naturally, the greater the number of sources you have to monitor, […]
4 Reasons Monitoring Municipal Government Matters
Two weeks ago, while most Canadians with an interest in politics were following the Paul Calandra debacle, I was thinking about municipal government. I’d been doing some research for a Gnowit project on government relations, digging through recent surveys and notes, when a particular trend grabbed my attention. As it turns out, one of the […]
Using Media Monitoring to Escape Data Overload
Using Media Monitoring to Escape Data Overload In workplaces across the globe, information overload is weakening office morale. It’s diminishing productivity, quashing inventiveness, and launching industry leaders into spates of poor decision making. The constant stimulation of computer screens and communication devices is causing the mental burnout of employees and managers alike. This is an […]
If Canadian Cities Were Seen as Products, Which Cities Would You Buy?
If Canadian Cities Were Seen as Products, Which Cities Would You Buy? The strength of a product or brand relies not only on public perception, but also on how that perception aligns with the image its brand managers want to project. Think of the stereotypical Mac vs. PC divide (or, for that matter, the iPod […]
How Open Data Can Help Fix Youth Unemployment
How Open Data Can Help Fix Youth Unemployment In April of this year, CBC’s chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge hosted a segment on The National entitled, Class of 2014: Generation Screwed? Over the course of the fifteen-minute feature, Mansbridge interviewed university students from various backgrounds and disciplines in an attempt to understand the economic challenges they […]
Rob Ford is a Great Teacher. Here’s Why.
Rob Ford is a Great Teacher. Here’s Why. Let’s begin with a question: would Rob Ford have a better public image if he had accepted the substance abuse allegations in 2013? One could easily argue that the public perception of Ford would be negative either way. During his mayoral campaign in 1999, Ford was hit […]
Should the Government Outsource its Media Monitoring?
Should the Government Outsource its Media Monitoring? Media monitoring costs are always an issue, especially when taxpayer dollars are involved. Back in 2012, the Harper government came under harsh criticism for spending close to a million dollars to monitor a wide variety of broadcasts across Canada. No matter how you look at it, $750k is […]
What do PR Disasters and Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Have in Common?
What do PR Disasters and Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Have in Common? WARNING: This short story contains spoilers if you haven’t seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. past episode 16 (and, to some extent, Iron Man 3). That being said, even if you’re not familiar with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I invite you […]