For-profit social marketing

Now, Twitter is offering its users bribes for advertising on a Twitter account.
 Yes, it is true. First Google buys up YouTube for big bucks, in order to earn advertising dollars.

SEO, blogging and ethical communication

Just when I was having fun with it, I am being hammered with cute young things who 'follow' me, you go to their Twitter page and you find they are porn queens. I blocked the last one immediately. Or else you find others being paid to advertise for businesses.

Now, I find that you can be paid to tweet and advertise for specific products. I just do not know. Why do I want to see more ads from cyberspace? They are coming fast and furious. Why would I assault my friends and follows with more advertising? We have spam, we have pop-ups, the ubiquitous Google ads. I religiously read on-line news and find more saturation of these markets. I am finding a low tolerance for such.

Even Retired Teachers of Ontario are sending out email asking me to support particular causes. No. I will make my own choices. Do not bribe me to sponsor an event, sending poor families to a show, especially a for-profit event.

Leading by Example: Key Developments in the First Seven Years of PIPEDA

Since the inception of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), organizations have been adapting their business practices to comply with the Act, as well as similar new provincial standards as their customers grow increasingly concerned over the protection of their personal information. Meanwhile, the privacy landscape continues to evolve. Advances in information technology and the desire among business to compete globally have meant that the privacy challenges we face today are more complex than ever before.

Legal Corner

• Legal information related to the Privacy Act
• Legal information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

Where there is smoke...

there are pancakes, and Muskoka Lakes firefighters!


I know that some of my followers like equipment, and this is a post for those things!

We had such a nice treat visiting the Milford Bay Firefighters. Friendly folks, raising money.



 They were cooking up a storm. On cookers they had made and/or rebuilt themselves.

Come on, baby, light my fire...





Yes, Milford Bay has female volunteers, too. I know you were asking.


And, yes, he who dies with the most tools wins. They have great equipment.

In Muskoka, of course, you need snowmobiles, special items to get you onto remote roads, because you never know where you have to fight a fire!

Food, coffee, and lots of fun.
These folks word so hard in our communities all over the province.

I bow low in honour!




It was just a few days ago that many of our Bala firefighters were out. They called in another crew from Foote's Bay. Bless them all!

Did you hear them?

Many out at THAT event! There was a fire, and a false alarm, all at the same time.

I feel safe with these young men and women out there.

It is hard to believe that in the 'good old days' they would not allow women to fight fires.

We had great pancakes and sausages! By the time we had arrived, at 1 p.m., they had served 260 people. Well done guys!

SEO, blogging and ethical communication

Blogging in 2010...all about search engine optimization.
You know that the blogosphere is abused by those without a conscience and contains many items where technology has been integrated into marketing.
You'd think that those using the name 'Muskoka', for example, would actually live here!

Not so.

I am tired, too, of being asked to be a 'fan' of someone who simply wants to use my readership, or my name, or my page rank on My Muskoka to increase theirs. The porn ads, and the others (member enlargement, etc.) are just disgusting! I do not mind helping flog a project, an event, a good company, or where to buy a good cuppa joe. If you are driving 35 km to the next Muskoka town, you want this info!

I have clearly differentiated My Muskoka blog from personal positions on things not Muskokan (which I put on this blog). I only use my own photos on My Muskoka, and credit videos not my own. If you embed a YouTube video it does add to the creator's hit count, and that helps them. It can also be viewed directly on YouTube.

money made from
YOUR videos
and posting ads

We are wise to be increasingly wary of those usurping topics, images, and ideas not their own, to ensure that Google searches bring up their web pages. It seems a bizarre way of making a buck. If not unethical, perhaps immoral. Even YouTube, bought by Google for US$1.65 billion in October, 2006, from YouTube's three founders, Karim, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, has gone from fun, personal videos, to an incredible amount of ads. As the UK Guardian article states, "YouTube's expansion has not been without growing pains. Inside, the site's community spirit has been shaken by debates over authenticity after the exposure of the likes of LonelyGirl15, the home-schooled American teen who turned out to be a New Zealand actor."


There is an underlying community of professional web designers and Internet workers, masking as bloggers, who are simply trying to increase their ratings to gain fame and fortune. Well, fortune. That said, with journalists being laid off, sue to lowered newspaper sales, it seems that they have to make a buck somewhere. Unfortunately, there is not one editing them, or ensuring that content is correct, not plagiarised, and fair. Many folks, whose only goal is to increase web presence, are using the web to make a profit off of things that are near and dear to non-profit blogger's hearts.

Internet marketing

Display advertising E-mail marketing E-mail marketing software Interactive advertising Social media optimization Web analytics Cost per impression

Affiliate marketing

Cost per action Contextual advertising Revenue sharing

Search engine marketing

Search engine optimization Pay per click advertising Paid inclusion Search analytics

Mobile advertising

From Wikipedia

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is at the heart of it all. The table from Wikipedia, right, shows some of marketing gurus' other tools. This is why organizations are willing to pay prizes for those who will encourage friends to visit particular pages and 'vote for me'. Some will send out such emails on a daily basis, total SPAM, cluttering bandwith, and frustrating or grabbing friends attention as some non-profit tries to win a prize.

Those featured are sending out bulk email, thereby highlighting a low-ranking webpage, raising their profile, and encouraging friend and foe to visit a site. Nothing is done for free. Many have a reason to blog. Most to flog something; a product, or their services. Some do it without being obnoxious, with gentle ads, or subtle reasons why you should buy, visit or entertain their ideas. Marketers have learned that word of mouth is cheap and cheerful. They avoid Search Engine Marketing in favour of 'word of mouth' of the internet and social marketing sites.

They all know about it. Even Wikipedia ...

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site or a web page (such as a blog) from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results as opposed to other forms of search engine marketing (SEM) which may deal with paid inclusion. The theory is that the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence.

Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or spamdexing, uses methods such as link farms, keyword stuffing and article spinning that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.

Dave Eves wrote: about libel laws last December, but it is true for bloggers, as well. "This story matters as it demonstrates that the law is finally beginning to grasp what the internet means for our democracy and society." (I quoted part of his article, the full blog post: The Supreme Court of Canada: There are no journalists, only citizens )

In our democracy, we need to keep our eyes open and understand when we have been used by a business. We need to know when we are helping sell a website for a company by a marketing agent and go into it with our eyes open. We need to differentiate between those companies we believe in, and how and when blogging, bloggers, and our intellectual property is being used by one another. We need to understand when we are acting as pimps for profit by someone. With eyes wide open.

BTW

Most of the graphics here were purchased and included with various web design packages. I used graphic converter to change the signage. Once I purchase and change them they are now mine to use but not sell.

Hospice Muskoka Volunteer Mentors

This is another ShoutOut for both Hospice Muskoka, and a Muskokan, Elke Scholz  (author/artist, expressive arts therapist), and her Expressive Arts Therapy Bereavement classes. Below you can see the 4 teen mentors, Elke, and myself. Thanks for the parent who took the photo! I never seem to be in photos!! Two of our student mentors (as I recall!) attend St. Dom's, in Bracebridge. Our previous group of mentors, in the fall 6-week course, were fabulous students.

 Elke does individual arts therapy, but also works in schools, and with groups like Hospice Muskoka. Our work includes both children and adults. This particular group, mentored by the four young ladies (left), all high school students, worked with our clients, ages 7 to 11. These are photos of our student's work. We do not post photos of our clients, but their work is fabulous!

I am a trained Hospice Volunteer and I currently have an individual client, I visit her in her home, as well as working with this group. Volunteers receive training and participate in various conferences and training sessions. I have had the Foundations Palliative Care Course, as well as doing personal research into the general area of senior health. I will be speaking at the June 9th NSM Palliative Care Conference at Casino Rama.

Hospice Muskoka is funded 30% by the province (your tax dollars at work), and 70% through donations. We work in homes, act as friendly visitors to those in long-term care, as well as South Muskoka Memorial Hospital. In this, volunteer appreciation week, I like to laud our volunteers who try to make a difference. In fact, when you volunteer, the gifts you receive are incredible. I have had two palliative clients, and both have given me so much in return.

There were two volunteers with our latest group, myself and Mary, another volunteer with Hospice Muskoka. She also volunteered at the Hospice Muskoka Valentine fundraiser, held in Bracebridge, and Mary was unable to attend last night's celebration of our 10-week workshops. This is a February photo!

Volunteerism in Ontario is a hot topic these days, as the Ministry expects more work to be done who may simply be untrained neighbours. They expect families to take up the slack, too. I am glad that Muskoka has a strong group of volunteers, and one of the few children's bereavement programs in Ontario. I am glad, too that Hospice Muskoka has so many keen volunteers in all areas.

Small Airplane accidents

Last year there were several terrible accidents in Muskoka. It appears we are up for more this year, too.
The small plane traffic in our area is amazingly busy. Excellent airports, like Georgian Bay Airways, offers flight training sessions.

2010
In southern Ontario another accident on April 23, 2010.
The plane actually landed in a narrow gap between two houses. One side of the plane was just a couple metres from hitting one of the residences, but OPP Const. Kari Lee said there were no reports of the plane actually hitting anything. 

Courtland has had two fatal plane crashes in 9 months. In August 2009, 82-year-old Alvin Foster died when his Cesna 150-J crashed into a cornfield. This man had a previous plane crash in 2007, April 2, almost exactly 3 years previously. Do you think there is a message here? A death wish?
You can see this pilot buzzing boaters. Pretty scary as kids are dragged on tubes behind the boats, and our local pilot tries to land. Who keeps them accountable?

A light aircraft went down in the wilderness area near Wolf Lake northeast of Bannockburn on Saturday, January 23, 2010. Central Hastings

Haldimand-Norfolk O.P.P. Crime Alerts Network

13 Apr 2010 ... Members of the Norfolk County OPP report of a plane crash on the north side of Highway #3, east of the village of Courtland

2009
Two dead after Muskoka plane crash‎ -Aug. 2009
The Toronto Star reports that the OPP, and volunteer firefighters came to the scene of a small airplane crash in Muskoka. The crash caused a fire, as well as the deaths of the driver and passenger. We passed the OPP car rushing on its way to the scene. We need to remind people to pull over when they hear First Responders on their way to such accidents. Time is of the essence.
It is no wonder that planes go down when they buzz so closely overhead.

How bad are the bugs?

Who says the bugs are bad? It builds character!

This video is terrific.

As only the tough folks in the REAL north can do.
I have to repost it!

Volunteerism in Ontario

I am interested in the debate on *The Current of the demands the Ministry of Education makes on our high school students. They must 'volunteer' for 40 hours before they can graduate. [Policy/Program Memorandum No. 124a]

This is unfair for many kids: those who participate in high level sports, who have part-time jobs, those who have other priorities in their lives. This notion of volunteerism has spread to many sectors.Yet, the philosophy of the provincial government, is that many Transfer Payment Agencies, and other groups can only spend taxpayer dollars with volunteers who serve on Board of Directors.

I was in a meeting the other day. I am on the Board of Directors for FYCSM, and I am the Resource Committee chair. I also volunteer with Hospice Muskoka, I have one client I meet with weekly. I volunteer with Elke doing her Expressive Arts Therapy Bereavement classes for children. I teach creative writing at Beaver Creek. I blog about this.

During this meeting our ED was explaining that there are issues around training for Board members, especially those who work with Transfer Payment Agencies, like FYCSM. They are creating training opportunities, e.g., two-day events, and expecting Board members to attend with no compensation to them, their employers, and for those who are employed they must take a personal leave day from work, or make other arrangements.

You can imagine my anger with this expectation. I have served on enough Boards, been on a number of Boards, worked with Robert's Rules, and my time in precious to me.

What an insult to us as Board members.

The message from the Ministry is that Board members are not doing a good enough job, and we need training. Other EDs tell us that they simply ensure that they put retirees (like myself) in important positions in order for them to attend such propaganda meetings without cost to the Board or the TPA, or an employer. It is my belief that being on a Board of Directors one is elected, and is accountable. TPAs  and EDs should not be formulating Board representation, it is the Board as a whole and the electoral process that ensures we represent taxpayers. I am furious.
~~~~~~~~~~
*Compulsory Volunteering - If you force someone to volunteer, does it defeat the purpose? This is National Volunteer Week. And a large percentage of high school students have to do a certain amount of volunteer work before they can graduate. We look at how well that's working out.

Did you hear them?

UPDATE: I have it on good authority that it was, indeed, a two alarm fire. In that there was a garage on fire on Trafalgar Road, as well as a false alarm at the the Dudley Inn motel. They called in back-up from Foote's Bay. That is why there were so many studly firefighters here! I love our volunteer men and women!

The sirens. In Bala. For almost a half hour or so. Most intriguing.  I can hear them coming along highway #169, then they stopped.

Dropping hubby off at his Habitat for Humanity meeting (they build one a year or so in Muskoka), I drove north apiece. (I love that word!)



What I noticed is obviously the numbers of crews, and equipment, but also the number of females.




What impresses me is that Muskoka has such a high number of female volunteer firefighters!

I don't know if young people understand how hard some women fought to become able to participate in these kinds of activities.

They were not accepted in the early days.

They faced much abuse in the beginning in the U.S., until it was simply part of the norm.

I notice, when you see media reports of crises in other countries further afield, is the sad lack of female participation. It was too late for me, but I do recall the time our neighbour's horse was hit by a car and both the veterinarian and the attending OPP constable were female.
This had to have been somewhere around 1990. And at that time it was glorious to see them.

What I celebrate in Muskoka, is that these people are volunteers. Strong men and women who are able to give back to their communities, day in, day out, and ensure that Muskoka is protected.
We need excellent equipment, due to the variety of the terrain (hills, valley, gravel, dirt roads), locations (e.g., islands!), and through rain, snow, sleet and hail.

They compete in the firefighter competitions, too.

Rumour in the pub was that it was a pulled alarm in the motel.
But I didn't see much action there!
It all took place near the Post Office at the two fire hydrants. I'm just sayin'!

It was a well-run exercise, with many working hard and fast.

Considering the wide range of heating sources in Muskoka, and the distances travelled from the trucks, to the volunteers, and the range in size of homes, I am glad we are well-equipped and prepared.

Ain't no flies on us:

Another drive-by set of shootings. Firstly, the horse. Can you see the blackflies swarming her? Honestly, not being a horse person, I didn't check if it was a him or a her! I didn't notice anything particular, I assume it was a her!

This red-tailed hawk was a beauty.

At Sparrow Lake, this is the goose giving the gander the gears.

Next, a porcupine that didn't make it. I've never seen one close-up. 

The family, especially the dog, laughed as they passed me! Poor Brian sitting in the car, shaking his head, keeping away from the blackflies, me taking photos with flies swarming.

Torrance Barrens is amazing.
The turkey, having crossed the road, is nearly invisible. If anyone can explain how to better focus my lens, I've love the tip! If I could think faster, I would.

We went looking for the weasel, and found a fox, instead. Serendipity meets irony, perhaps.

The fox stood and stared at me. Silly 2-legged one. Waskully weasel. Witty fox.

I am constantly amazed with camouflage. We spotted this critter at the side of the road. Can you see her? She thought I couldn't see her. They freeze, thinking they can hide in the shade of the tree.

Bearing in mind the first photo of the horse, I suppose I lied.

I leapt out of the car, grabbed the camera, NOT the zoom lens (duH-with a capital 'H'), forgot the videocam.

And where do you thing the blackflies were? Not on Brian, tucked nicely in the car. He's no fool.

The things I do for love (of blogging)! She looks at me like I'm nuts. And I am. Flies swarming...

Do you know where calamine lotion comes from? I do. I love AWAD.
ETYMOLOGY:
After Cadmus, a Phoenician prince in Greek mythology who introduced writing to the Greeks and founded the city of Thebes. Near the site where Cadmus was to build Thebes he encountered a dragon. Even though he managed to kill the dragon, only five of his comrades survived, with whom he founded the city. Other words coined after him are calamine (a pink powder used in skin lotions), from Latin calamina, from Greek kadmeia ge (Cadmean earth) and the name of the chemical element cadmium.

The deer thought I was OK. No guns booming, only camera clicking. And she fed a bit on the grass.
Turning tail as she ran off. I chased them, there were 3 or 4, having gone back to the car for the videocam. How pointless, but good exercise!

Click on it for a higher resolution photo. Ah, swamps in April....
There ain't no flies on us! 
There ain't no flies on us! 
There may be flies on some of you guys, 
But there ain't no flies on us!