Brian's Big Yap

If there is a politician or elected official in the Western world who thinks that they don’t need to be aware of social media after the recent Iranian elections, I’d be quite surprised. Its true that many politicians are (wilfully?) ignorant of technology and social media, but even the most ardent luddite cannot help but notice the opportunities presented by these tools.

There is an outside chance that even after President Obama brilliantly displayed the value of social media in his campaign some politicians might still have not seen the value of these tools. The way that social media has shed light on recent Iranian elections, however, should leave no room for doubt with anyone who thinks they should hold elected office.

In an election of questionable legitimacy that has lead to unquestionably brutal police tactics, the one tool that was effectively able to draw world attention was social media. Twitter saw thousands of posts right from Tehran, YouTube ended up with saddeningly graphic videos, blogs were posted by those who voted and were intimidated by state police thugs – and all over the world minds were changed and hearts were won over.

Continue reading All politics is local – and now its social, too. –>

Spotted on NHL.com today (June 10, 2009) two days BEFORE the final game is played.

Oops.

If early reviews of Microsoft’s new ‘Bing’ search engine are any indication, the service will be like Microsoft itself. Some will love it, most will use it, and some will believe it to be pure evil pouring through network cables all over the world. Canadians, though, may find the new ‘Explore Canada’ feature most interesting. Right under the ‘Explore Canada’ logo, the test version of the new site lets people know that “Canada has so many things to see and do”.

First on the list? You guessed it, that great Canadian attraction, the Oil Sands!

Continue reading Turns out someone on the Microsoft ‘Bing’ team really hates Canada. –>

A price tag well into five figures is no longer uncommon for a small business trying to build a website. Many medium sized businesses tag another zero on the end of their bills – yet even larger companies with even bigger budgets are often reluctant to spend a small fraction of that to ensure that their sites actually work.

A small but growing industry has been screaming for attention, but is still not getting the respect they deserve. Usability experts have spent years studying how people use the Internet to determine what works and what doesn’t, and even though their invaluable insights are available for a fraction of what it costs to create a site, the vast majority of comapnies never bring one in.

Continue reading Usability – the best investment that most organizations will never make. –>

I found the conclusion of the Flames game last night to be unusually satisfying. I was watching the game with my son, who has taken a shine to the Flames because of family we have in Calgary that we all care about a great deal. Though it pains me greatly, he actually identifies himself as a Flames fan.

After cheering (overly?) loud after the Hawks built their lead to 4 goals (game summary here), he asked me why I hated them so much. Of course, I sent him to his room and took away video games for a week.

Continue reading An Ode to Hatred (or, Why I Still Can’t Stand the Flames). –>

Most people experiment with something, fail at it, and then give up the project. I am not, to paraphrase Frank Sinatra) most people – I’m going to do it a different way.

The old Mulawka Family Blog is dead, partially because no one was using it, but also because the software I chose to run it (Joomla) was so complex that is was making even the most simple change an increasingly complex endeavor.

Continue reading The King is dead! Long live the King! –>